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Israel ministers agree to halt settlement tenders

JERUSALEM — Israel’s premier agreed on Tuesday not to invite tenders for West Bank settlement building in the coming months so as to advance the peace process, but critics said this fell far short of US demands for a settlement freeze.

More than 2,000 delegates have convened for Fatah's three-day congress in Bethlehem [AFP]

Abbas’ Fatah confers for second day

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party is meeting for a second day in Bethlehem, in a conference seen by many as an opportunity to reform the party.

Nigeria army fights Islamist sect

Heavy fighting continued overnight between the Nigerian military and members of a radical Islamist sect in the northern town of Maiduguri.