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33 Dead in Sudan Bus Collision

Thirty-three people were killed and 24 injured when two inter-city buses collided in Sudan late Wednesday, in one of the country's worst road accidents in years, police said.

The crash between a full-sized passenger bus and a minibus occurred near the small community of El Kamlien, about halfway between Khartoum and Wad Medani.

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U.S. Senators Slam Oscar-Tipped Bin Laden Movie

Three top U.S. senators, including former White House hopeful John McCain, on Wednesday slammed a new Osama bin Laden manhunt movie for suggesting that torture helped find the Al-Qaeda chief.

In a letter to Sony Pictures head Michael Lynton, Democratic senators Diane Feinstein and Carl Levin and Republican McCain took issue with "Zero Dark Thirty," the new film by Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow.

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Hong Kong Probes UBS over Interbank Rate Rigging Claims

Hong Kong's de facto central bank said Thursday it would probe UBS over possible rigging of the city's interbank offered rate, a day after the Swiss giant agreed to pay a huge fine over the Libor scandal.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority said it has received information from overseas regulators about "possible misconduct" by UBS involving submissions for the city's interbank rate, known as Hibor, and other reference rates in Asia.

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China Arrests Nearly 1,000 Doomsday 'Cult' Members

China has arrested nearly 1,000 people in a crackdown on a Christian sect that spread doomsday rumors and targeted communist rule, state media said Thursday ahead of the supposedly Mayan-foretold apocalypse.

The Christian-inspired group "Almighty God" has been accused of spreading doomsday rumors apparently linked to the ancient Mayan Long Count calendar and urging followers to slay the "red dragon" of communism, state media reports said.

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Globe-Trotting Clinton Grounded by Ill-Health

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the most traveled U.S. top diplomat ever, has had her wings clipped by ill-health and will not be able to make any trips for several weeks, a top aide said Wednesday.

"Given her condition, the secretary's doctors have advised that she may not fly for any significant duration in the coming weeks," her closest aide, Philippe Reines said in a statement.

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Record Backing Expected for U.N. Anti-Death Penalty Vote

A record number of countries are expected to back a U.N. General Assembly call for a moratorium on capital punishment on Thursday, diplomats said.

The vote held every two years now sees the likes of the United States, Japan, China, Iran and Iraq stuck in a shrinking minority as pressure grows for an end to executions.

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Ailing Iraq President in Germany for Treatment

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a key figure who has long sought to bridge political and sectarian divides in his war-scarred country, arrived in Germany on Thursday for treatment after he suffered a stroke.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said Talabani, 79, was in the country for medical care.

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Tough-Talking Putin Visits Brussels

The European Union welcomes Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, highlighting its partnership with a Moscow determined to forcefully defend its interests against Western interference.

EU officials described the 30th EU-Russia summit as topping "15 years of intense summitry" between "indispensable partners" in a changing world.

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Benghazi Fallout Grows as Four U.S. Officials Suspended

The scandal over the Benghazi attack grew Wednesday as a top State Department official resigned and three others were suspended when a probe uncovered major security failures and mismanagement.

The news came amid a clamor of calls for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to testify to U.S. lawmakers about the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, after ill-health forced her to pull out of this week's hearings.

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Yemeni President Restructures Army, Removes Saleh Cronies

Yemeni President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi announced on Wednesday the restructuring of the army and defense ministry, purging them of relatives and cronies of former head of state Ali Abdullah Saleh, state television said.

Hadi took a series of decisions, including one scrapping the elite Republican Guard which was under the command of Saleh's oldest son Ahmed, the state broadcaster said.

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