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U.S. Envoy to Syria in Hama for Talks with Opposition Leaders

The U.S. ambassador to Damascus is visiting the flashpoint Syrian city of Hama and plans to observe mass demonstrations Friday against President Bashar al-Assad's regime, the State Department said.

Last Friday, an anti-regime rally brought out half a million people in Hama, according to pro-democracy activists. The security services did not intervene and Assad fired the city's governor the next day.

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Israel-Turkey Reconciliation Talks Collapse

Israel-Turkey talks meant to repair ties strained by a fatal attempt to breach Israel's Gaza blockade have collapsed, an Israeli official said on Thursday.

The talks were being held ahead of a U.N. report which Israel’s Haaretz newspaper said listed faults of both sides' handling of the issue, in which Israeli commandos killed nine Turkish nationals.

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Top U.N. Official Slams Report Backing Israel on Flotilla

A U.N. rapporteur Thursday slammed a highly anticipated U.N. report said to back a 2010 Israeli commando raid on an aid flotilla aiming to break the Gaza blockade which left nine people dead.

"The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Prof. Olivier De Schutter, has received a draft of this report and he firmly opposes its conclusions," De Schutter's office said in an email.

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Saleh Makes 1st Appearance after Bomb Attack

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, his face burned and his hands covered with bandages, appeared on television Thursday for the first time since he was wounded in a bomb attack on his palace in Sanaa.

Saleh, who has been hospitalized in Saudi Arabia since the June 3 attack, was barely recognizable and sat stiffly as he spoke in the pre-recorded statement broadcast on Yemeni television.

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Families Flee Syria's Hama as Ban Says Killings 'Must Stop'

Around 100 families have fled Syria's central city of Hama fearing a military crackdown on massive protests against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, a rights group said on Thursday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that about 1,000 people in total had left Hama, where it said Syrian troops had killed 23 civilians since Tuesday.

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Bahrain's Opposition to Shun Part of Dialogue

Bahrain's main Shiite opposition formation will shun parts of the national dialogue which the authorities say aims to bring forward reforms in the restive kingdom, a member said on Thursday.

"We will boycott the meetings of the economic and social committees but will continue to attend the meetings of the political and rights committees," Khalil al-Marzooq a leading member of the Islamic National Accord Association (al-Wefaq), told Agence France Presse.

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Egypt Approves New Liberal Party

Egypt's electoral commission has granted a license to a new liberal party founded by telecom magnate Naguib Sawiris ahead of key polls in September, state media reported on Thursday.

The Free Egyptians Party, which was legalized on Wednesday, said it would work for a civil state and promote freedom of faith.

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Blast Hurts Israeli Soldier on Gaza Border

An Israeli soldier was moderately injured on Thursday in a blast apparently caused by an explosive device along the border with the Gaza Strip, an army spokesman said.

"The soldier was moderately injured, apparently by an explosive device," he said, without saying on which side of the border the incident had occurred.

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Libyan Babies, Children Arrive in Malta for Treatment

Five sick Libyan babies and children arrived in Malta overnight Thursday for treatment at the country's public hospital, a government statement said.

The children, aged between four months and five years, arrived on a flight from rebel-held Benghazi accompanied by relatives. They were welcomed by Health Minister Joe Cassar.

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'Qaida' Ambush Kills 10 Yemeni Soldiers

Suspected al-Qaida militants killed 10 soldiers in an ambush on a road in southern Yemen, where the jihadist network has a stronghold, a military official said on Thursday.

The gunmen opened fire on the vehicle in which the soldiers were travelling on Wednesday, north of the city of Loder, in Abyan province, killing them all, the official told Agence France Presse.

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