TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — The U.S. ambassador to Libya and three American members of his staff were killed in the attack on the U.S. consulate in the eastern city of Benghazi by protesters angry over a film that ridiculed Islam's Prophet Muhammad, Libyan officials said Wednesday.
They said Ambassador Chris Stevens was killed Tuesday night when he and a group of embassy employees went to the consulate to try to evacuate staff as the building came under attack by a mob guns and rocket propelled grenades.
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Labor unrest grows in South Africa as police say 1,000 strikers are blocking access to the main shaft at Anglo American Platinum, stopping some operations at the world's largest platinum mine.
Anglo spokeswoman Mpumi Sithole said threats and intimidation from "unidentified individuals" had stopped some miners working overnight.
The Indian government has found itself under intense scrutiny after the country's Federal Auditor found Friday that the government lost as much as $33 billion by allocating coal reserves without a transparent auction -- a scandal dubbed "Coalgate" by the Indian press. The country is also investigating five companies that it says acquired coal blocks illegally.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Qatar Holding, a major shareholder of mining group Xstrata, says it has made no decision yet on whether to accept Glencore International's latest offer to salvage a multibillion-dollar merger bid for the Anglo-Swiss company.
Glencore said Friday it would pay 3.05 shares for each Xstrata share, up from its original 2.8 shares offer. It sweetened the offer further Monday by announcing that Xstrata CEO Mick Davis would be the CEO of the new company, but for no more than six months.
DRIEFONTEIN, South Africa (AP) — In a speech punctuated by the cheers of thousands of miners and the blowing of whistles and vuvuzelas, firebrand politician Julius Malema called Tuesday for a national strike in all of South Africa's mines, encouraging the escalation of labor unrest that has already halted production at two platinum and gold mines.
Some 60 miles (100 kilometers) away, 8,000 more striking miners and their followers, shadowed by police in armored cars and helicopters, marched to a hospital to see some of the 190 miners who say they were beaten and tortured in police custody. A mining company security guard wearing a bulletproof vest told reporters the patients had been evacuated for safety reasons.
MARIKANA, South Africa (AP) — Chanting miners wielding machetes, clubs and spears marched from shaft to shaft of South Africa's beleaguered Lonmin platinum mine Monday, trying to intimidate the few workers who reported for duty in the fourth week of a crippling strike whose impact has already included dozens of miners killed by police.
At one point on their 10-kilometer (six-mile) trek, a striker lashed a whip at a man they accused of reporting for work. He took off across the scrubland with dozens of men waving machetes and clubs in pursuit. The man was saved by police officers who pulled him into their moving vehicle.
The Australian coal giant Xstrata announced Monday that it would cut around 600 jobs as it copes with declining demand from China, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The prospect of a major mining boom in Afghanistan is reviving old regional and ethnic rivalries and piquing the interest of the Taliban, The New York Times reports.
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Monday is D-Day for the London-registered Lonmin PLC platinum mine. It hopes workers will report for duty in the fourth week of a violent strike for higher wages that has killed 44 people and has exposed the yawning gap between the elite of high-flying millionaire mine owners and workers who live in tin shacks without electricity or water.
If workers do not return Monday, Lonmin must start shutting down shafts, Peter Major, head of mining and resources for Cadiz Corporate Solutions, was quoted as saying in South Africa's Independent Online news site.
Liberal watchdog group Checks and Balances Project said the State Department inspector general is investigating potential conflicts of interests in the department's environmental review of the Keystone XL pipeline, The Hill reports.
West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin and Attorney General Patrick Morrisey joined a push to have the Supreme Court rule to overturn EPA greenhouse gas regulations, The Charleston Gazette reports.
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., voiced optimism that President Obama would not veto his bill to authorize oil and gas drilling off the coast of Virginia, The Hill reports.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said a key satellite tasked with tracking severe eastern weather failed and a spare has been activated, Reuters reports.
The new chemical safety compromise bill introduced by Sens. David Vitter, R-La., and Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., now has 20 co-sponsors, The Hill reports.
Participants in the Energy Department's Better Buildings Challenge, designed to reduce energy consumption at buildings, saved about $58 million in energy costs last year, The Journal Sentinel reports.
In a Q&A with State House News Service, Massachusetts Senate candidates Rep. Ed Markey, D, and Gabriel Gomez, R, give their take on the Senate battle to confirm EPA nominee Gina McCarthy.
In an interview with GreenBiz.com, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick discusses his vision for his state's energy policy, including his plans for offshore wind generation.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's plan to reform the Long Island Power Authority over flaws exposed by Hurricane Sandy is unpopular among municipal bond investors, Bloomberg reports.
