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Report: Brazil Suspected French Role in 2003 Space Base Blast

Brazil kept French spies under surveillance in connection with suspected sabotage at its Alcantara satellite launch base where a blast killed 21 people in 2003, a newspaper reported Tuesday.

The daily Folha de Sao Paulo, citing Brazilian intelligence documents, said at least three counter-espionage operations targeted French agents and their contacts in Alcantara located in the northeastern state of Maranhao, not too far from the Kourou space base in French Guiana.

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Italy Senate to Vote on Berlusconi Expulsion November 27

Italy's Senate on Tuesday announced it will vote on November 27 on whether to strip former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi of his seat under a law banning convicted criminals from parliament.

Ejection from the Senate following his conviction for tax fraud would mean Berlusconi being out of parliament for the first time since 1994, when the media and construction magnate first burst onto Italy's political scene.

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UNHCR: Iran's 840,000 Afghan Refugees Not Forgotten

The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees has "not forgotten" the 840,000 Afghan refugees in Iran, an official from the body said on a visit to Tehran on Tuesday.

"The whole world is at the moment very much focused on the Syria crisis, it is also important that UNHCR show we have not forgotten the Afghan refugees," UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Operations Janet Lim said.

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Iran Says Deal Possible in New Nuclear Talks

Iran said Tuesday a deal was possible on its disputed nuclear program at talks due to resume Thursday, as it announced the U.N. atomic watchdog chief would visit next week.

"I believe it is even possible to reach that agreement this week but I can only talk for our side, I cannot talk for the other side," Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told France 24 television.

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Gunmen Shoot Dead Four Family Members in Nigeria

Gunmen on Tuesday attacked a village in central Nigeria, killing four members of a family, an army spokesman and a community leader said.

"Four members of a family were killed in Rantis village of Gashes District in Barkin Ladi local government area" of Plateau state, army Captain Salisu Ibrahim Mustapha, of the Joint Task Force, told reporters.

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Germany Asks Britain for Explanation of Spying Report

Germany said Tuesday it had asked to speak to Britain's ambassador following a media report that London has been operating a secret listening post from its embassy in the German capital.

A Foreign Ministry spokesman said the British envoy was called in and it was pointed out that "tapping communication from an embassy would be a violation of international law".

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U.N. Chief Vows Help for Poverty-Hit Sahel

U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon vowed Tuesday to help the people of Africa's poor and conflict-scarred Sahel as he began a regional tour in Mali overshadowed by the murder of two French journalists.

Ban, World Bank chief Jim Yong Kim and top officials from the African Union, African Development Bank and European Union met Mali's president and key government ministers at the start of a three-day trip that will also take in Niger, Burkina Faso and Chad.

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Iran Seeking 'Content' in New Nuclear Talks

Talks on a protracted row over Iran's nuclear ambitions resume this week in Geneva, with Tehran announcing a visit by the U.N. atomic watchdog chief to try to clinch a deal.

The so-called P5+1 group of major powers will meet Iran's nuclear team on Thursday and Friday for the latest round of negotiations revived after the election of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, a reputed moderate.

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Europe Rights Court Fines Ankara over Torture Case

The European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday sentenced Turkey over a case of police torture dating back to 1999, imposing a fine of 20,000 euros ($27,000).

Mesut Deniz, a 38-year-old Turk currently serving a prison sentence, said he was given electric shocks, hanged by his arms, had his genitals twisted and subjected to other forms of torture after his arrest.

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Would-Be Migrant Dies Scaling Melilla Border Fence

A would-be migrant died Tuesday when he fell while trying with 150 others to scale the border fence separating Morocco from Spain's north African territory of Melilla, Moroccan officials said.

The incident, in which another four people were injured, comes a day after 80-100 migrants succeeded in getting across by charging the seven-meter (23-foot) high fence at a point where it had not yet been reinforced.

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