Three more protesters killed in Cairo clashes

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CAIRO, Dec 19 (agencies): Egypt's Health Ministry says at least three more protesters have been killed in clashes with army soldiers in central Cairo, bringing the four-day death toll to at least 14. A doctor at a field hospital in Cairo's Tahrir Square puts the toll from Monday's violence at six. Ahmed Saad says all of them were killed by gunshots. The discrepancy could not be immediately reconciled. The clashes have been raging since Friday in and around Tahrir, which served as the epicenter of the popular uprising that toppled longtime leader Hosni Mubarak in February. Syria signs deal to allow observer mission Syria Monday agreed to allow an observer mission into the country to monitor the implementation of a deal to end nine months of bloodshed, an AFP reporter said. Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Maqdad and Arab League Assistant Secretary General Ahmed Ben Helli inked the document at League headquarters in Cairo. Bahrain opposition urges talks Bahrain opposition groups has urged the government to embark on "serious" dialogue to end the Gulf kingdom's crisis, condemning a harsh crackdown on sporadic but defiant Shiite protests. In a statement late Sunday five opposition groups, led by the main Shiite formation, Al-Wefaq, said the regime of the Sunni-led government should launch political reforms to get the small nation out of political deadlock following the harsh clampdown in March on a month-long pro-democracy protest. Iraq VP barred from overseas travel in political crisis Iraq's Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi has been barred from travelling overseas, officials said on Monday, the latest development in a political crisis shortly after US troops completed a pullout. Hashemi and Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlak, both Sunnis and members of the secular Iraqiya bloc, have come under increasing pressure, with three of the vice president's bodyguards arrested in connection with "terrorist activity" and Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki calling for Mutlak to be sacked.