LONDON -- Piracy off the coast of West Africa has now overtaken Somali piracy, reports Oceans Beyond Piracy. Pirates off West Africa attacked 966 seafarers and captured 206 in 2012, compared with 851 attacked and 349 seized near Somalia.
The report concludes that West African pirates were motivated by a quest for quick profits from selling hijacked cargoes of refined oil, while Somali pirates sought lucrative ransoms and held captives for much longer periods.
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RIO DE JANEIRO -- Mass demonstrations are taking place in Brazil in protest over poor public services and government corruption while billions of taxpayers’ money is being spent on staging international sports tournaments.
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WASHINGTON -- The White House says it has confirmed that the Assad regime has used chemical weapons -- including the nerve agent sarin -- against rebels on four occasions, resulting in between 100 and 150 deaths. Moscow disputes the findings.
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SAN FRANCISCO -- Apple has joined Facebook and Microsoft in disclosing how many requests the U.S. government has made to view customer data. Apple received between 4,000 and 5,000 requests for customer data between December and May.
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WASHINGTON -- President Obama’s June 26-July 3 trip to Africa could be one of the most expensive of his tenure. The trip could cost $100 million as U.S. officials are providing nearly all the resources, rather than relying on local forces.
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PARIS -- The much-anticipated A350, Airbus’ first all-new plane in eight years will go head-to-head with Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner. Airbus is planning three versions of the A350 while Boeing is to introduce a stretched 787-10 at the Paris Air Show.
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TEHRAN -- Hassan Rouhani, the new president of Iran, has said he is ready to restore diplomatic ties with the U.S. and hold bilateral talks on Tehran's nuclear programme, but despite his portrayal as a moderate, Rouhani is also very much part of the establishment.
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CUPERTINO -- Apple is considering launching iPhones with larger screens, and a cheaper plastic model, over the next year, say Asian supply chain sources. The company is under pressure from Samsung, who now dominate the market.
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LONDON -- President Barack Obama and top European officials formally launched negotiations over a trans-Atlantic EU-U.S. trade deal, potentially the biggest trade deal ever. The first round of talks are set to start in Washington next month.
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