BAGHDAD -- Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said Friday that he will submit his resignation to the parliament in response to anti-government protests and demand by the Shiite religious leadership.

"I will submit to the Council of Representatives (parliament) an official letter requesting the resignation of the current Prime Minister post so that the council can reconsider its options," Abdul Mahdi said in a statement posted on his official media website. (Iraq-PM)

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BAGHDAD -- The death toll of protesters from clashes on Friday between demonstrators and security forces in Iraq's southern province of Dhi Qar rose to 15, a local television reported.

"The latest reports said 15 demonstrators were killed and some 100 others wounded and suffocated by the smoke and tear gas canisters," an anonymous medical source told al-Nasiriyah satellite channel.

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CAIRO -- The first non-stop flight from Egypt's capital Cairo to the city of Hangzhou in eastern China has taken off from the Cairo International Airport at 02:00 local time (00:00 GMT) on Friday morning.

With the flight number MS953, the flight which is launched by Egypt's flag carrier EgyptAir will spend around 11 hours in the air and land on Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport at 19:00 local time (11:00 GMT). (Egypt-Flight-Hangzhou)

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TEHRAN -- Iran closed a western border crossing with Iraq amid the recent unrest in the Arab country, Tasnim news agency reported Friday.

The closure of the Mehran border crossing took effect on Thursday night, Mohammad Nozari, deputy governor of Iran's western province of Ilam, was quoted as saying by Tasnim. (Iran-Iraq-Border Closure) Enditem

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