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Australia Rescues 13 Shipwrecked Iranians Off Pakistan

An Australian warship has rescued 13 Iranians shipwrecked off Pakistan on its way to the Middle East to join an international force conducting counter-terrorist and anti-piracy operations, officials said Wednesday.

HMAS Darwin came across the men, some elderly, on Saturday in calm seas after their boat was reportedly struck by an unknown vessel and sank. They claimed to have been adrift for five days in international waters.

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Court-martial Begins for U.S. General over Sex Assault

Court-martial proceedings began Tuesday for a U.S. general accused of sexual assault and other crimes in an extraordinary case that could shape a debate about the military's justice system.

In a military court in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Brigadier General Jeffery Sinclair faces numerous charges including adultery, disobeying orders and forcing his lover -- a junior officer -- to perform oral sex against her will.

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U.N. Chief in Sierra Leone to Shut Down Peace Mission

United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon arrived in Sierra Leone Tuesday to oversee the closure of the organisation's peace mission, with the nation in recovery after a brutal civil war.

The secretary-general is due to attend a ceremony on Wednesday to formally shut down the U.N. Integrated Peacebuilding Office (UNIPSIL) which marks the end of 15 years of peace operations in the country.

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U.S. House Condemns Venezuela's Deadly Crackdown

The House of Representatives on Tuesday voiced near-unanimous condemnation of Venezuela's government and its "inexcusable" deadly crackdown on opposition leaders and protesters.

The chamber passed a resolution blasting President Nicolas Maduro's forces for their oppressive tactics in some of the most serious South American unrest in years.

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Colombia's Santos Throws Hat in Ring for re-Election

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos submitted his official bid for re-election Tuesday, with a promise to complete the work he's begun in negotiations with leftist rebels.

Accompanied by his family and supporters from his center-right majority, Santos, 62, registered with the election authority in Bogota for the May 25 polls.

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Canada Suspends Military Exercises with Russia

Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Tuesday ordered the suspension of joint military exercises with Russia, over Moscow's troop intervention in Ukraine's Crimea region.

"I have this morning directed that, effective immediately, all planned bilateral activities between the Canadian Armed Forces and the military of the Russian Federation be suspended," Harper said in a statement.

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Thousands Protest against Caracas Government ahead of Chavez Anniversary

Thousands of flag-waving protesters flooded the streets of Venezuela's capital Tuesday to keep the pressure on the government on the eve of commemorations marking the anniversary of Hugo Chavez's death.

Led by students, marchers dressed in white proceeded peacefully as they streamed through middle-class neighborhoods of Caracas toward Petare, a sprawling slum on the city's eastern edge.

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EU Foreign Policy Chief Holds 'Useful' Talks with Lavrov over Ukraine

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton held "useful" talks in Madrid Tuesday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov over the spiraling crisis in Ukraine, a European source said.

"We had a useful discussion which lasted over an hour," a European diplomatic source quoted Ashton as saying after the meeting held in the Russian ambassador's residence in Madrid.

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Putin Calms War Fears but Defiant on Keeping Crimea

Russian President Vladimir Putin has calmed fears of an imminent war between Russia and Ukraine's new authorities but also made clear that Moscow has no intention of loosening its new grip on Crimea in defiance of Western anger.

Breaking an uncharacteristic silence since the downfall of president Viktor Yanukovych 10 days ago, Putin on Tuesday displayed no fear of a prolonged crisis in ties with the West over the situation in the Ukrainian region of Crimea which is now controlled by pro-Moscow forces.

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Ukraine's Hungarian Minority Nervous as Crisis Rages

Ukraine's 150,000 ethnic Hungarians, feared as potential fifth columnists for ousted president Viktor Yanukovych, face a growing threat from far-right nationalists.

In the region of western Transcarpathia, the large Hungarian minority has grown increasingly uneasy.

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