08.23.2012]blodic.us

Reuters International|blodic.us

Freeport Indonesia union says mine shut but maintenance under way

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Between 35 and 40 percent of workers at Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc's Indonesian unit returned to work on Saturday to carry out maintenance work after a tunnel collapse that killed 28 people, a union official said.

Pakistan school bus explosion and blaze kill 17 children: media

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Seventeen Pakistani children burnt to death on Saturday when a gas cylinder on the bus taking them to school exploded, media said.

In Syria's shadow, Iraq violence presents new test for U.S.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Saddled with Middle East problems ranging from Iran to Syria and beyond, President Barack Obama now faces one that is both old and new: Iraq.

Syria opposition seeks to unify as momentum for talks builds

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Syria's fractious opposition scrambled to agree a new leadership on Friday in a bid to present a coherent front at peace talks which the United States and Russia are convening to seek an end to more than two years of civil war.

Stockholm calmer but violence spreads outside Swedish capital

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - A nearly week-long spate of rioting spread outside Stockholm on Friday but authorities said police reinforcements sent to the Swedish capital had reduced the violence there, even though dozens of youths set cars and a recycling station ablaze.

Guatemalan ex-president extradited to U.S. on money laundering charges

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - Former Guatemalan President Alfonso Portillo was extradited on Friday to the United States to face money laundering charges, the U.S. embassy in Guatemala said.

IMF's Lagarde escapes formal investigation in French case

PARIS (Reuters) - French magistrates decided on Friday not to place IMF chief Christine Lagarde under formal investigation over her role in a 285-million-euros ($368,5 million) arbitration payment made to a supporter of former president Nicolas Sarkozy.

Church of England unveils plan for women bishops in 2015

(Reuters) - The Church of England published a plan on Friday to approve the ordination of women bishops by 2015, a widely supported reform it just missed passing last November after two decades of divisive debate.

Top Bosnia court orders release of president, charged with graft

SARAJEVO (Reuters) - Bosnia's Constitutional Court ruled on Friday that the president of the autonomous Muslim-Croat federation, charged with corruption, had been detained illegally, and ordered a lower court to release him immediately.

Bahraini protesters clash with police over raid on cleric's home

LONDON (Reuters) - Hundreds of Bahraini Shi'ite Muslims angered by a raid last week on a top cleric's home clashed with police on Friday, while thousands more gathered in the cleric's village for a peaceful sit-in against their Sunni-led government.