BBC News: Middle East

4 February 2013 Last updated at 13:30 ET

New bomb attack in Iraq kills 19

At least 19 people are killed in a suicide bomb attack in central Iraq aimed at pro-government militia, officials say.

Israeli forces in the West Bank arrest at least 20 members of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, including three members of parliament.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad volunteers to become the first person sent into space by his country's fledgling space programme.

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