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  The lawsuit filed in federal court in Boston charges Dallas-based Securus Technologies Inc. with negligence, breach of contract and invasion of privacy. It demands that Securus provide an account of how the conversations were accessed, how many were heard and who listened. The suit says the company's "electronic database" was breached and "an unauthorized party obtained improper access" to Hernandez's phone recordings. The calls were hacked in 2014 while Hernandez was in a Boston jail awaiting trial in the killing of Odin Lloyd, the boyfriend of Hernandez's fiancee's sister. Hernandez was convicted and sentenced to life in prison with no parole and is awaiting trial in the unrelated double homicide of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado in Boston in 2012. The Suffolk Sheriff's Department, which oversees the jail, has confirmed the calls were hacked. Securus records all phone calls in and out of the jail, ex...

A female Chinese worker reads a newspaper at a factory in China's Sichuan province. © AP Various news reports have recently suggested that Hon Hai Precision Industry , the Taiwanese contract manufacturer of Apple products, is considering shifting production from China to the U.S. The speculation is nothing new. But this is the first time it has reared its head since Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election. The president-elect's campaign-trail threats of slapping heavy tariffs on Chinese exports have brought something new to the equation. On Nov. 18, the Nikkei Asian Review reported the move from Taipei, citing sources close to the matter. In June, Apple allegedly asked Hon Hai to shift production of the iPhone to the U.S. With the campaign in full swing, the Republican presidential candidate was pulling no punches in his criticism of Apple for outsourci...

Aide’s ‘cake and eat it’ note praised the recent trade Canada-EU trade deal but there are few similarities with the UK   Amid the fragments of negotiating strategy glimpsed this week in Downing Street, one phrase offered momentary cheer to those still hoping to “have their cake and eat it” when Britain leaves the EU. The “Canadian model” is not another admiring reference to the country’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, but his government’s success in negotiating an EU trade deal that provides a possible template for Britain’s future relationship with the bloc. After years of negotiations, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (Ceta) signed by Trudeau and the commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, last month is all the more alluring because it comes without the ties demanded of closer neighbours such as Norway and Switzerland. But those involved behind the scenes of this hard-fought trade deal warn that loo...

A plane carrying 81 people, including a top Brazilian football team, has crashed on its approach to the city of Medellin in Colombia. Colombia's civil aviation body says only six people survived the crash, that occurred on a mountainside. The chartered aircraft, flying from Brazil via Bolivia, was carrying members of the Chapecoense team. The team had been due to play in the final of the Copa Sudamericana, against Medellin team Atletico Nacional. The first leg of the final of the cup, South America's second most important club competition, was scheduled for Wednesday but has now been suspended. Organisers say Atletico Nacional has asked for Chapecoense to be awarded the cup. The match was seen as the biggest in the history of the relatively small club, which entered Brazil's top division for the first time in 2014. Brazilian President Michel Temer announced three days of national mourning, and top Spanish clubs Real Madrid and Barcelona held a minute's...

Fidel Castro was a fixture of international politics for more than 50 years. But his leadership of Cuba divided opinion, and leaders across the world have had to decide whether or not to attend the revolutionary's funeral. In the end, the list of those wanting to pay respect Castro in person appears to be very short, with some notable allies choosing to send representatives instead. Even China - a key partner for Cuba - has yet to reveal whether President Xi Jingping is attending. So who is making the trip to Havana? Staying away Perhaps most surprisingly, considering the two countries' long friendship, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he will not be attending. His spokesman said he was too busy to travel to Cuba but that Russia would be sending a representative. Less surprising is US President Barack Obama's decision to stay away. Despite the steps Mr Obama made towards fixing US-Cuban relations, Castro remains a divisive figure - not least ...

Francois Fillon has taken the conservative ticket in next year's French presidential election by a landslide at party primaries. With nearly all the ballots counted, he had won 66.5% to 33.5% for his run-off rival, Alain Juppe. The former prime minister promised to build a fairer society, saying France wanted "truth and... action". A new opinion poll suggests he would easily beat the far right's Marine Le Pen in the actual election. Who is French presidential candidate Fillon? Fillon under fire over women's rights According to the Harris interactive poll quoted by BFMTV (in French), Mr Fillon would lead the National Front candidate by 26% to 24% in the first round, then win the run-off against her by 67% to 33%. Mr Juppe, also a former prime minister and regarded as more moderate, congratulated Mr Fillon and pledged to support him in his bid to become president. Analysis by Lucy Williamson, BBC News, Paris ...

  Synopsis Born on August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii, Barack Obama is the 44th and current president of the United States. He was a community organizer, civil-rights lawyer and teacher before pursuing a political career. He was elected to the Illinois State Senate in 1996 and to the U.S. Senate in 2004. He was elected to the U.S. presidency in 2008, and won re-election in 2012 against Republican challenger Mitt Romney. Early Life Barack Hussein Obama II was born on August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii. His mother, Ann Dunham , was born on an Army base in Wichita, Kansas, during World War II. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dunham's father, Stanley, enlisted in the military and marched across Europe in General George Patton 's army. Dunham's mother, Madelyn, went to work on a bomber assembly line. After the war, the couple studied on the G.I. Bill, bought a house through the Federal Housing Program and, after several moves, ended up i...

  Angela Merkel is a German politician best known as the first female chancellor of Germany and one of the architects of the European Union. “Spying among friends is never acceptable.” —Angela Merkel Synopsis Angela Dorothea Kasner, better known as Angela Merkel, was born in Hamburg, West Germany, on July 17, 1954. Trained as a physicist, Merkel entered politics after the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall. Rising to the position of chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union party, Merkel became Germany's first female chancellor, and one of the leading figures of the European Union, following the 2005 national elections. Early Years German stateswoman and chancellor Angela Merkel was born Angela Dorothea Kasner on July 17, 1954, in Hamburg, Germany. The daughter of a Lutheran pastor and teacher who moved his family east to pursue his theology studies, Merkel grew u...

The Prime Minister and the German Chancellor at a meeting in Berlin earlier this month PA Angela Merkel has reportedly blocked a request by Theresa May to guarantee the rights of EU citizens before Brexit negotiations begin next year. The Prime Minister's informal approach to the German leader over EU migrants' status – in a state of limbo since the referendum in June – was made earlier this month when the pair held a joint conference in Germany, according to Politico. But Ms May's attempt at a “reciprocity deal”, which would have guaranteed the existing rights of around 1.2 million British people on the continent and millions of EU migrants in the UK, was blocked by the German Chancellor. Read more New poll finds huge support for protecting EU migrants’ rights Since the EU referendum, leaders of other member states have repeatedly warned that...

1. The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie – Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie lived to be one of the greatest businessmen of his generation. His autobiography details his ascent from living on the streets to founding an amazingly successful company. You’ll gain great insights from Carnegie throughout the book. 2. The Autobiography of Malcolm X –  Malcolm X Malcolm X represents one of the most significant figures in the civil rights movement. His autobiography, published in 1965, allows readers to understand his philosophy on black pride, black nationalism, and pan-Africanism. 3. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin – Benjamin Franklin This autobiography from one of the United States’ founding fathers is a must read by both historical and self-improvement standards. The book reveals the formation of Franklin’s ideas, his youth, and his rise from poverty to riches. Benjamin Franklin represents one of the first true examples of the American dream – the ...