1,000 doomsday cult members arrested

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BEIJING, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- Nearly 1,000 members of a doomsday cult in China have been arrested for spreading rumors about the apocalypse, supposedly coming Friday, officials said.

The cult -- a Christian group called Almighty God -- predicts Friday, the last day in the Mayan long count calendar, will bring with it three days of darkness and has urged its members to overthrow Communism, the BBC reported.

God Almighty members have been seen passing out leaflets about the apocalypse and spreading rumors about the end of the world.

To calm nationwide anxieties about the apocalypse, police in Beijing have posted an online a notice telling people "the so-called end of the world is a rumor."