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Gen. Carter Ham, who heads the U.S. Africa Command, meets with Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika last September. Amid upheaval in the region, AFRICOM is still attempting to define its mission.

U.S. Military Seeks Its Role In Troubled North Africa

8:53pm January 23, 2013

by Tom Bowman

The U.S. Africa Command, designed to strengthen defense relationships in Africa, is still trying to define its mission. African states have been wary, while the State Department and aid groups also express concerns. But growing conflicts in the region may soon put AFRICOM to the test.

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A wave of racist tweets prompted a Jewish student organization to file a lawsuit asking the American company Twitter to reveal the identities of users sending anti-Semitic tweets. Twitter says data on users is collected and stocked in California, where Fr

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French Twitter Lawsuit Pits Free Speech Against Hate Speech

8:48pm January 22, 2013

by Eleanor Beardsley

A French judge will decide this week if Twitter must hand over the identities of users sending anti-Semitic tweets. The case, brought against Twitter by a Jewish student group, is a clash of legal cultures: U.S. free speech guarantees vs. European laws banning hate speech.

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Al-Qaida's Next Stronghold? What's At Stake In North Africa

2:10pm January 22, 2013

Recent unrest in Mali and Algeria point to the growing influence of al-Qaida in North Africa. Wall Street Journal Pentagon reporter Julian Barnes and Ret. Col. Thomas Dempsey, chair for security studies at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, explain the latest developments and the threat al-Qaida presents in the region.

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In Myanmar, A Hunt For Fabled Cache Of Buried WWII Spitfires

1:15am January 22, 2013

by Anthony Kuhn

A team of researchers hopes to verify a fantastic tale that British troops leaving Burma in 1945 buried dozens of Spitfire fighter planes around the country. For 16 years, an English farmer has hunted the aircraft. Now, he believes he is close to unearthing them — and, he hopes, restoring them to flying condition.

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'A Number Of Crises' Facing Obama In W. Africa, Beyond

11:24am January 21, 2013

Steve Inskeep talks with Michele Flournoy, who served as undersecretary of defense for policy in the Obama administration. Flournoy weighs in on foreign policy challenges facing the president in his second term.

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During 2nd Term, Obama To Pivot To Asia

10:01am January 21, 2013

by Julie McCarthy

Both India and the U.S. seem disappointed with each other after the high expectations raised by President Obama's election in 2007. India is concerned about the uncertainty in U.S. policy toward China and Afghanistan.

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Ambassador Huddleston: U.S. Must Save Mali

10:01am January 21, 2013

The casualties are still being counted from last week's attack on an Algerian gas plant by Islamist militants. The four-day siege left dozens of people dead. The group warned of more such attacks against any country backing France's military intervention in neighboring Mali. For a perspective on Mali, Renee Montagne talks to Vickie Huddleston, who served as the U.S. ambassador to Mali from 2002 to 2005.

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Nightmare Details Emerge After Siege Ends In Algeria

10:01am January 21, 2013

After the four-day hostage crisis in Algeria, the death toll has risen to at least 81. Algerian forces that were searching the natural gas plant in the Sahara that was taken over by Islamist militants found at least 25 more bodies on Sunday.

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Obama's Foreign Policy: The Way Forward With Iran

8:44am January 20, 2013

As President Obama prepares for a second term, a host of international challenges await. In a piece in the Washington Post, former national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski suggests that as Obama prioritizes his foreign policy goals, "It is essential that the issue of war or peace with Iran be fully vented."

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Standoff Over Hostages Continues In Algeria

7:25pm January 19, 2013

NPR's Eleanor Beardsley has an update on the situation at an Algerian gas facility where Islamic extremists took western hostages four days ago. The Algerian government says the fates of all the workers at the facility will be known by the end of the day.

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