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Xinhua world news summary at 1530 GMT, Feb. 4

Xinhua, February 4, 2015 Adjust font size:

Jordan has executed Sajida al-Rishawi, the female suicide bomber asked for by the Islamic State (IS) in a previous proposal to swap prisoners, the state-run Petra news agency reported Wednesday.

Another al-Qaida prisoner, Ziad al-Karbouly, was also hanged to death on the same day, according to the report. (Jordan-IS)

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CARACAS -- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said Tuesday evening he has asked Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) to mediate in the recent tensions between Venezuela and the United States.

In his weekly TV program, Maduro informed that he has asked UNASUR Secretary General Ernesto Samper to start a "diplomatic initiative" to prevent Washington from pushing its relations with Caracas to a "dead end." (Venezuela-U.S.-Talks)

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KIEV -- The Ukrainian Parliament on Wednesday passed a bill to strip former President Viktor Yanukovych of his permanent title of president.

With at least 226 votes needed to approve the bill, 281 lawmakers in the 450-seat assembly supported the legislation, the parliament's press service said. (Ukraine-Yanukovych)

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CAIRO -- An Egyptian court sentenced on Wednesday 230, including prominent liberal activist Ahmed Douma, for life sentence over violence charges, official news MENA reported.

Douma was also a blogger, who spearheaded the 2011 popular uprising which toppled former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. (Egypt-Court-Violence)

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YAOUNDE -- Three Cameroonian soldiers and 14 Chadian soldiers died and a huge number of Boko Haram militants were killed when the group on Wednesday morning attacked military camps in Fotokol, a border town in Cameroon's Far North Region neighboring Nigeria, military sources told Xinhua.

Sources put the number of Boko Haram militants in the attack at around 7,000, adding that they were armed with 30 armored trucks, about ten ordinary vehicles and hundreds of motorcycles, as well as sophisticated weapons. (Cameroon-Attack) Endi