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Morocco Lawmakers Stoke Cannabis Debate

Moroccan lawmakers hosted an unprecedented debate on Wednesday on legalizing cannabis for medical and industrial purposes in a country where tens of thousands depend on growing it for a living.

There have been growing calls among politicians and civil society groups for the crop to be legalized, to boost development in the northern Rif region where it is cultivated, and MPs invited experts to parliament to discuss the possible benefits.

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Four Killed as Yemen Tribesmen Block Oil Convoy

Clashes between Yemeni troops and aggrieved tribesmen blocking a convoy of oil tanker trucks killed three soldiers and one protester Wednesday, officials said.

The incident occurred near Okla, northwest of the Shabwa provincial capital of Ataq, when tribesman demanding jobs at the Okla oil well stopped the trucks.

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Nine Dead in Iraq as Militants Attack Shopping Mall

A massive attack on a shopping mall in northern Iraq was the deadliest in violence that killed nine people nationwide on Wednesday amid fears of a slide into all-out conflict.

The coordinated attack on the complex, which involved a car bomb, gunmen and would-be suicide bombers, came amid a surge in unrest that has claimed more than 6,200 lives this year.

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Egypt Bails 23 Secular Protesters Held over Disputed Law

A Cairo court on Wednesday freed on bail 23 Egyptian protesters from secular youth movements who were detained last week for holding an unauthorized demonstration, judicial sources said.

The protesters were detained for holding on November 26 what was the first illegal demonstration two days after interim president Adly Mansour passed a law banning unauthorized gatherings.

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French Arafat Probe Fails to Allay Palestinian Doubt

A French report ruling out poisoning in Yasser Arafat's 2004 death, rather than laying to rest suspicions of an assassination, has prompted denial and incredulity from Palestinian officials and relatives of the late president.

The Palestinians, who have long cried foul, with some pointing the finger directly at Israel, cited Wednesday apparent inconsistencies between the French findings and separate ones from Switzerland and Russia that gave currency to alleged poisoning by polonium.

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Iran Rejects Case against Policeman over Blogger Death

An Iranian court has rejected accusations of premeditated murder against a policeman over the death in custody of an opposition blogger, the reformist Sharq daily reported on Wednesday.

Sattar Beheshti, 35, died at the notorious Kahrizak prison a few days after he was arrested in October 2012 following criticism of the government in his blog, according to opposition groups who allege he was tortured to death.

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Rockets Kill 18 in Govt-Held Areas of Syria's Aleppo

Rockets killed at least 18 people on Wednesday in regime-held areas of Syria's main northern city of Aleppo, a focal point of the 33-month conflict pitting loyalists against rebels.

On the political front, a Syrian minister said President Bashar Assad would remain president and lead any transition agreed upon at Geneva peace talks planned for next month, despite the opposition's demands he be excluded from the process.

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Al-Arabiya Says Reporter Seized in Philippines Freed

A reporter with the Pan-Arab Al-Arabiya news channel has walked free from the southern Philippines jungle 18 months after he was abducted by Islamist militants, Filipino police said late Wednesday.

Bakr Atyani, a Jordanian, was found by a police patrol on the remote southern Philippine island of Jolo, more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) south of Manila, police in nearby Patikul town said.

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Arafat Widow Says Convinced his Death Not Natural

The widow of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat said on Wednesday she was still convinced he was poisoned, after French experts ruled out the theory that he had been assassinated.

"I'm still completely convinced that the martyr Arafat did not die a natural death, and I will keep trying to get to the truth," Suha Arafat told AFP.

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Iraq PM in Talks on Syria during Iran Trip

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki arrived in Iran on Wednesday, state television reported, for two days of talks that will also focus on the conflict raging in Syria.

It is Maliki's first visit to Tehran since Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate who champions engagement with the West, became Iran's president in August after defeating a pool of conservative candidates in a June election.

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