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West Asia
US Secretary of State Kerry meets Omani Sultan to discuss Syria plan
Secretary of State John Kerry headed back to the Middle East on Monday to press his case for peace talks between Syrian rebels and President Bashar Assad’s regime amid increasing signs the new U.S. strategy to halt the war is being undermined by Russia. Kerry will first have discussions with…
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West Asia
Attacks between Sunni and Shiite kills more than 100 Iraqi people
New attacks in Iraq killed 13 people and wounded dozens on Tuesday, officials said, after a bloody day that claimed more than 100 lives across the country. The latest spiral of violence, which targeted both Sunni and Shiite communities, has increased fears that Iraq is sliding back to the brink…
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West Asia
8 candidates determined for June 14 Iranian presidential election
Iran’s election overseers removed potential wild-card candidates from the presidential race Tuesday, blocking a top aide of outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and a former president who revived hopes of reformers. Their exclusion from the June 14 presidential ballot gives establishment-friendly candidates a clear path to succeed Ahmadinejad, who has lost…
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West Asia
200 orphan couples attend group wedding organized by Yemeni gov’t
Grooms in traditional wedding dresses hold their swords during a group wedding ceremony in Sanaa, Yemen, on May 20, 2013. A total of 200 couples attend a group wedding organized by the Yemeni government, all of whom are orphans growing up in government-run centers. <Xinhua/Mohammed Mohammed>
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West Asia
Lebanese mourners carry Hezbollah fighter’s coffin at funeral
Lebanese mourners carry the coffin of Hezbollah fighter Hassan Faisal Shuker, 18, who was killed in a battle against Syrian rebels in the Syrian town of Qusair, during his funeral procession in his hometown of Nabi Sheet in the eastern Bekaa valley, Lebanon, Monday May 20, 2013. Fierce street fighting…
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West Asia
Egypt-Gaza Strip border closed after 7 Egyptian policemen kidnapped
The mother of Egyptian border policeman Ahmed Abd el-Fadia, who was kidnapped last Thursday in northern Sinai, protests at the Rafah, Sinai, border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza strip, Sunday, May 19, 2013. Rafah, the main crossing point into the Gaza Strip, was closed by policemen Friday, barring people…
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West Asia
Tehran celebrates publishing of Ashraf Aboul-Yazid’s poems in Persian
Egyptian poet and novelist Ashraf Aboul-Yazid celebrated the publishing of his poems in Persian during Tehran International Book Fair. The ceremony started by reciting poems in Arabic, by the poet, and their equivalent in Persian, by the translator professor Nasrin Shakibi Mumtaz. The poet signed copies of his poems to…
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West Asia
Afghan boys play on remains of Soviet military vehicle in Kabul
Afghan boys play on the frame of a Soviet military vehicle on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, May 12, 2013. In February, 1989, after more than nine years of fighting, the Soviet Union withdrew from Afghanistan leaving tanks and other military equipment behind in Afghanistan. The rusting carcases can…
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West Asia
Palestinians clash with Israeli security forces as they mark ‘Nakba Day’
Palestinians clash with Israeli security forces as they mark Nakba Day in Jerusalem, Wednesday, May 15, 2013. Palestinians annually mark the “nakba,” or “catastrophe” the term they use to describe their defeat and displacement in the war that followed Israel’s founding in 1948. Israeli security forces detain a Palestinian man…
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East Asia
New Confucius Institute inaugurated in Istanbul, Turkey
Consul General of China in Istanbul Zhang Qingyang (2nd L), President of Okan University Sule Kut (3rd L), Chairman of Okan University board Okan Bekir (3rd R), President of Beijing Language and Culture University Cui Xiliang (2nd R), Cultural Counsellor of the Embassy of China Yu Jian (1st R) are…
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