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Report: 20 Fighters from the North Traveled Lately to Syria Via Turkey

Around 20 Lebanese fighters from the city of Tripoli and other areas in the North have lately traveled to Syria to join the extremist Islamic State group, highly-informed security officials said.

The officials, who were not identified, told As Safir daily that the fighters headed to Syria via Turkey in the past weeks.

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Turkey Recovers Remaining Bodies of Trapped Miners

Turkish rescue workers have recovered the remaining bodies of 18 miners who were trapped by a flooding accident in a pit in late October, reports said on Thursday.

The miners died in a disaster in the Ermenek coal mine in the Karaman region of southern Turkey that highlighted the country's already dire mine safety record.

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Turkey Says Moving Closer with U.S. on Syria No-Fly Zone

NATO allies Turkey and the United States are narrowing their differences over plans to create a no-fly zone along the Syrian border, the Turkish foreign minister said on Wednesday.

However, his comments contrast with statements from the White House which suggest the two countries remain divided on how to respond to the Syria conflict.

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Turkey Introduces New Government Controls on Judiciary

Turkey's parliament has passed a contested bill further tightening the Islamic-rooted government's control over the judiciary, state media said Wednesday.

The new legislation, adopted late Tuesday after heated debate, seeks to restructure the higher echelons of the judiciary, stripping top judicial bodies such as Supreme Court of Appeals of their power to appoint judges and prosecutors.

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'Nightmare' for Syrian Refugees as U.N. Cuts Food Aid

Aid workers fear a major humanitarian crisis for millions of Syrian refugees in the Middle East after funding gaps forced the United Nations to cut food assistance for 1.7 million people.

The U.N.'s World Food Program said Monday it needed $64 million (51 million euros) to fund its food voucher program for December alone, and that "many donor commitments remain unfulfilled."

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U.S. Again Rules Out Syria No-Fly Zone

Washington ruled out Monday any imminent plans to create a no-fly zone along the Turkey-Syria border, brushing aside reports that the White House is in talks with Ankara about a refugee safe haven.

President Barack Obama's spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters the U.S. was "open to discussing a range of options with the Turks" but that a no-fly zone over Syria was not on the table "at this point."

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Putin Scraps South Stream Gas Pipeline on Turkey Visit

President Vladimir Putin on Monday unexpectedly announced Russia was shelving the multi-billion dollar South Stream pipeline project to deliver Russian gas to the Europe, blaming the EU for throwing obstacles in its path.

Putin revealed on a visit to Ankara that Russia was drawing the curtain on what for half-a-decade has been one of the Kremlin's flagship projects, saying Turkey in the future could play an important role as a gas hub.

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Pope Risks Islamic Ire With Toughened Terrorism Appeal

The pope's suggestion that Muslims are not doing enough to counter terrorism may increase tension between the West and Islam, but it reflects sincere concern in the Church over the issue, Vatican experts said Monday.

In what Church watchers described as a significant toughening of his tone, the pontiff has called on Muslim political, religious and intellectual leaders worldwide to "clearly" speak out in condemnation of those who kill in the name of Islam.

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IS Jihadists Suffer Heavy Losses in Syria's Kobane

Islamic State group jihadists battling for control of the Syrian town of Kobane suffered some of their heaviest losses yet in 24 hours of clashes and U.S.-led air strikes, monitors said Sunday.

At least 50 jihadists were killed in the embattled border town in suicide bombings, clashes with Kobane's Kurdish defenders and air strikes, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

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Pope Calls on Muslim Leaders to Condemn Islamist Terror

Pope Francis on Sunday urged Muslim leaders worldwide to "clearly" condemn terrorism carried out in the name of Islam.

In a press briefing on board the plane carrying him back to Rome after a three-day visit to Turkey, Francis responded to a question about the Islamic State and other jihadist groups by repeating what he said he had told Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a private meeting on Friday.

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