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U.S., Myanmar Hold Non-Proliferation Talks

U.S. nuclear officials have held talks with their counterparts in Myanmar, weeks after the former pariah nation agreed new safeguards allowing inspections of suspected atomic sites, the U.S. Embassy said Wednesday.

Myanmar, also known as Burma, was suspected of pursuing military and nuclear cooperation with Pyongyang during long years of junta rule that ended last year, prompting an easing of many international sanctions including by the U.S.

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Saudi Beheads Pakistani for Drug Trafficking

Saudi Arabia beheaded a Pakistani man in the eastern Khubar province on Wednesday after he was convicted of drug trafficking, the interior ministry announced.

Arshad Mohammed was arrested for smuggling heroin and hashish into the kingdom, the ministry was quoted as saying by the official SPA news agency.

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Italy Dog Frequent Churchgoer Since Owner Died

Since his owner died two months ago, Tommy the dog has not missed a single mass in the small church in southern Italy where his mistress's funeral was held, Italian media said Wednesday.

When the bells of the Santa Maria Assunta church begin to toll each afternoon in San Donaci near Brindisi, the 12-year-old German Shepherd sets off from the village to get himself a front row seat next to the altar, Il Messaggero newspaper said.

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Egypt Building Collapse Kills 25 People

At least 25 people were killed on Wednesday when a 12-story building collapsed in the Egyptian coastal city of Alexandria, the health ministry said.

Another 12 people were injured, deputy health minister Mohammed al-Sharkawi told AFP.

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French Troops in Close-Quarter Combat with Mali Islamists

French troops engaged in close combat with Islamist rebels on Wednesday in Mali as al-Qaida-linked fighters attacked a gas plant in neighboring Algeria taking several foreigners hostage.

After days of airstrikes on Islamist positions in the territory they have occupied since April, French and Malian troops battled the insurgents in the small town of Diabaly, some 400 kilometers (250 miles) north of Bamako.

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Lindsay Lohan Pleads not Guilty in Latest Court Fight

The troubled American actress Lindsay Lohan pleaded not guilty Tuesday to three misdemeanor charges stemming from an auto accident in a case that could send her to prison.

Lohan did not attend the hearing in Santa Monica, west of Los Angeles, and did not have to do so. The judge convened the next hearing for January 30.

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Two Dead after Helicopter Hits Crane, Crashes in London

Two people were killed after a helicopter hit a crane at a building site in central London and plunged to the ground in a ball of flames on Wednesday, police said.

Eyewitness reports said at least two cars were on fire at the scene of the crash near an apartment block under construction on the banks of the River Thames at Vauxhall, where a huge plume of smoke billowed into the sky.

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China-Taiwan Undersea Cable Set to Open

The first undersea fibre-optic cable between China and Taiwan is set to begin operating this week, official media reported Wednesday, the latest sign of closer links between the Cold War rivals.

Yang Yi, spokesman for Beijing's State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said the cable would enhance communications and was "good news" for the two sides, the Xinhua news agency reported.

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Israel MPs Accuse Obama of 'Meddling' in Vote

Israeli MPs on Wednesday accused U.S. President Barack Obama of meddling in Israel's upcoming elections over an opinion piece purporting to outline his view of Benjamin Netanyahu's "self-defeating" policies.

The piece, which was published by the prominent Bloomberg columnist Jeffery Goldberg, made headlines across the Israeli press and sparked angry reactions from MPs from the Israeli prime minister's ruling rightwing Likud party.

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Cuba Struggles to Contain Fresh Cholera Outbreak

Cuba's second cholera outbreak in four months -- after 130 years without the disease -- has sickened more than 50 people and killed one in Havana, authorities and the family of the deceased said Tuesday.

The latest outbreak was from the same cholera strain found to have been introduced in Haiti by Nepalese U.N. peacekeepers, unleashing an epidemic in 2010 that has killed some 7,900 people.

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