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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Football: I must improve, says modest Messi

BUENOS AIRES: Barcelona and Argentina star Lionel Messi says he must improve on all fronts even as debate rages as to whether he is the best player ever."In everything we do in life we try to improve on all fronts and in football I am no exception," Messi told Clarin daily in an interview published Sunday.Messi, 25, claims to be mulling how to do even better despite having already won...

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Is your hotel trying to choke you with an iPhone app?

Is that cool?(Credit:Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)Some like it cold.It's not everyone's idea of comfort, but sitting in a cool hotel room -- especially when it's hot outside -- can offer a certain pleasure. At least for me.It's a pleasure that a certain group of people want to deny me. They're called hotel owners.Hotel owners, it seems, are rather fonder of making a cool profit.It's bad enough when the room...

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Bipartisan praise for Hillary Clinton as she moves on

Kind words are coming from everyone - including Republicans - as Hillary Clinton steps down from her post as secretary of state. Clinton sat down for an exit interview with President Obama on Friday - their first joint interview ever, to air tonight on CBS' "60 Minutes" - and the two discussed Clinton's tenure at the State Department, their working relationship, and the evolution of their friendship...

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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 while 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...

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At least 30 killed in Egypt clashes over death sentences

PORT SAID, Egypt/CAIRO (Reuters) - At least 30 people were killed on Saturday when Egyptians rampaged in protest at the sentencing of 21 people to death over a soccer stadium disaster, violence that compounds a political crisis facing Islamist President Mohamed Mursi. Armored vehicles and military police fanned through the streets of Port Said, where gunshots rang out and protesters burned...

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SPP's Chiam See Tong congratulates MP-elect Lee Li Lian

SINGAPORE: The secretary-general of the Singapore People's Party, Mr Chiam See Tong, has congratulated MP-elect Ms Lee Li Lian and the Workers' Party for their decisive win in the Punggol East by-election.Mr Chiam said the wide margin of victory shows that Singaporeans increasingly want more democracy and more opposition members in Parliament.He said, together with the Workers' Party,...

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Oppo BDP-105: Not your average Blu-ray player

The Oppo BDP-105 Blu-ray, SACD, and DVD-Audio player(Credit:Oppo)Even by Oppo's high standards the BDP-105 is an extraordinary Blu-ray player. Sure, it's loaded with up-to-the-second features -- 4K upscaling, 2D-to-3D conversion, and a high-quality USB 2.0 digital-to-analog converter -- but what really makes the Oppo special is the sound. Pop the cover and look inside and you'll see why. Most of the...

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Hackers take over gov't website

This screenshot shows the website of the U.S. Sentencing Commission after it was hijacked by the hacker-activist group Anonymous, early Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013, to avenge the death of Aaron Swartz, an Internet activist who committed suicide. The website of the commission, an independent agency of the judicial branch, was replaced with a message warning that when Swartz killed himself two weeks ago...

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Anonymous Hijacks Federal Website Over Reddit Co-Founder's Suicide

Jan 26, 2013 12:27pm (AP Photo)Activists from the hacker collective known as Anonymous assumed control over the homepage of a federal judicial agency this morning.In a manifesto left on the defaced page, the group demanded reform to the American justice system and what the activists said are threats to the free flow of information.The lengthy essay largely mirrors...

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