US military plans drone base near Mali: official

WASHINGTON: The US military plans to set up a base for drones in northwest Africa to bolster surveillance of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in the region and allied Islamist extremists, a US official told AFP on Monday.The base for the robotic, unmanned aircraft would likely be located in Niger, on the eastern border of Mali, where French forces are currently waging a campaign against Al-Qaeda in...

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Twitter acquires Crashlytics crash reporting service

Crashlytics announced that it has merged with Twitter.(Credit:Crashlytics)Twitter has bought Crashlytics, a startup whose crash reporting tool has been incorporated into a wide variety of iOS apps, including Vine, Yelp, Kayak, TaskRabbit, and Waze.In a blog post today, Crashlytics co-founder Jeff Seibert and Wayne Chang announced that the company is "joining the flock," the term often used when people...

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State Dept.: Iranian space monkey launch unconfirmed

When the Iranian government announced this morning the successful launch of a monkey into space, animal lovers and national security experts alike had reason for concern: Such a move would represent a significant scientific development with regard to Iran's ability to launch long-range ballistic missiles; also, in pictures provided by the Iranian government, the monkey looked pretty terrified. According...

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3 Arrested in Deadly Nightclub Fire, Fourth Sought

Brazilian authorities have arrested three people in connection to the fire that killed more than 230 people and injured hundreds at a nightclub in Santa Maria, Brazil, this weekend.The owner of the popular Kiss nightclub, a member of the band Gurizada Fandangueira and the club's security chief have been arrested and are being questioned by police, the BBC reported today.A fourth...

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Violence flares in Egypt after emergency law imposed

CAIRO (Reuters) - A man was shot dead on Monday in a fifth day of violence that has killed 50 Egyptians and prompted the Islamist president to declare a state of emergency in an attempt to end a wave of unrest sweeping the biggest Arab nation. Emergency rule announced by President Mohamed Mursi on Sunday covers the cities of Port Said, Ismailia and Suez. The army has already been deployed...

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Presidential 'tug-of-war' ahead for Czech government

PRAGUE: Heading a wobbly centre-right minority government, Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas has congratulated leftist Milos Zeman on his presidential victory, but analysts warn of a looming "tug-of-war".Zeman, who campaigned on an anti-austerity platform, on Saturday trounced aristocrat Karel Schwarzenberg - foreign minister in the austerity-driven Necas government - in the Czech Republic's...

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Pornographic video clips already showing up on Twitter's Vine

Less than a week after Twitter unveiled Vine, the video-sharing app apparently has developed a porn problem.Released Thursday, the app for iPhone and iPod Touch lets anyone create and share six-second clips, but it also has become a popular venue for male genitalia and pornographic movies taped off TVs and laptops. As first pointed out last night by The New York Times' Nick Bilton, searches for #porn,...

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Israel warns of possible pre-emptive strike in Syria

JERUSALEM Israel could launch a pre-emptive strike to stop Syria's chemical weapons from reaching Lebanon's Hezbollah or al Qaeda inspired groups, officials said Sunday. The warning came as the military moved a rocket defense system to a main northern city, and Israel's premier warned of dangers from both Syria and Iran. Play VideoPanetta: No new signs Syria prepping WMDPlay VideoU.S. military...

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Brazil Nightclub Fire: 232 Dead, Hundreds Injured

Flames raced through a crowded nightclub in southern Brazil early Sunday, killing more than 230 people as panicked partygoers gasped for breath in the smoke-filled air, stampeding toward a single exit partially blocked by those already dead. It appeared to be the world's deadliest nightclub fire in more than a decade.Witnesses said a flare or firework lit by band members may...

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Nightclub fire kills at least 232 in Brazil

SANTA MARIA, Brazil (Reuters) - A fire in a nightclub killed at least 232 people in southern Brazil on Sunday when a band's pyrotechnics show set the building ablaze and fleeing partygoers stampeded toward blocked and overcrowded exits in the ensuing panic, officials said. The blaze in the university town of Santa Maria was started by a band member or someone from its production team...

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