By Justyna Pawlak | BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European governments voiced sharp criticism of Russia on Friday over jail sentences handed down to three members of the punk band Pussy Riot, the EU foreign policy chief saying they added to a recent rise in … Ferdinand fined £45,000 over 'choc ice' tweet
Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand was fined £45,000 ($70,000, 57,000 euros) by the Football Association on Friday for improper conduct over comments he made on Twitter relating to the John Terry racism trial. Glencore seen sticking to its guns on Xstrata for now
LONDON (Reuters) – Trader Glencore , weeks from a key shareholder vote on its bid for miner Xstrata, is set to stick to its $30 billion offer next week when it reports first-half profits dented by falling prices – dashing hopes of an improved offer for now. Analysts and sources familiar with the deal say Glencore has little incentive to sweeten its bid to before disclosing the performance of its marketing arm and industrial operations. The resources sector has had a torrid period with miners reporting their first profit falls since 2009. …
France's Fabius says Syrian regime should be 'smashed fast'
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius called Friday for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime to be "smashed fast" as he visited Turkey's largest refugee camp near the border. Aleppo's residents, trapped and hunted
Night has fallen on the Saif al-Dawla district in Aleppo. A man takes out the rubbish after the iftar meal breaking the Ramadan fast, an old woman unpegs the laundry from her line and quickly shutters her balcony. Guantanamo plea deal prisoner said to have a cat
A former Maryland resident who is detained at Guantanamo Bay seems to have acquired a cat at the isolated prison on a U.S. base in Cuba, a fellow prisoner says in a letter released Friday.
In UK threat on Ecuador, experts see mistake
It was a warning meant to remind Ecuador that Britain's patience has limits. But as the stalemate over Julian Assange settled in Friday, it appeared London's veiled threat that it could storm Ecuador's embassy and drag Assange out has backfired -- drawing supporters to the mission where the WikiLeaks founder is holed up and prompting angry denunciations from Ecuador and elsewhere. U.S. says infiltration not main cause of Afghan "insider" attacks
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Only about 11 percent of so-called “insider attacks” by Afghans against NATO troops are due to Taliban infiltration, the Pentagon said on Friday, as more American troops were killed at the hands of Afghans posing as allies in the 11-year-old war. The vast majority of insider attacks this year — nearly 90 percent — are due to other motives, including personal grudges, Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Steven Warren said, citing a new study by the NATO-led forces in Afghanistan. …
No war too 'hopeless' for Brahimi
Some might say that Lakhdar Brahimi is crazy to try to end the Syria conflict, but the veteran troubleshooter says he has never believed there is a war that is too "hopeless" to tackle. Brahimi to become new Syria conflict envoy: UN
Lakhdar Brahimi, a veteran Algerian diplomat, will take over from Kofi Annan as the international envoy on the Syria conflict, the United Nations said Friday. Nigeria tightens security for Eid, US issues warning
Nigeria tightened security and the United States warned of the risk of attacks Friday ahead of this weekend's Eid festivities, which mark the end of the Muslim month of fasting. Hezbollah warns of living 'hell' for Israelis if attacked
Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned on Friday that his Iranian-backed Shiite militia would make lives of Israelis "a living hell" if it is attacked. Assange saga clouds freedom of speech agenda
LONDON (Reuters) – Julian Assange's supporters outside the London embassy where he is confined say he is being persecuted for speaking truth to power, but free speech campaigners further afield say the WikiLeaks founder has lost his way and damaged the cause. The Australian has been seeking refuge in the Ecuadorean embassy for eight weeks to avoid extradition to Sweden where he is wanted for questioning over allegations of rape. … Bomb blast wounds one, damages police station in Nigeria
A bomb blast in the volatile central Nigerian city of Jos has injured a civilian and damaged a police station as well as nearby houses, an army spokesman said on Friday. Bulgaria says suicide bombing probe 'encouraging'
A month after the suicide bombing of an Israeli tourist bus in Bulgaria, investigators have made no major breakthroughs but progress has been encouraging, the country's interior minister told AFP Friday. Mauritanian murders four children amid Eid stress
A Mauritanian man has slit the throats of his four children to avoid the expense of buying them new clothes for the upcoming Muslim holiday Eid-al-fitr, sources close to the family said Friday. Free-speech advocates worldwide protest Russian punk band's sentence - Los Angeles Times
From Paris to Hollywood, free-speech advocates reacted with outrage Friday at the two-year prison sentences handed down by a Moscow court against the feminist punk-rock trio Pussy Riot for a protest stunt in a Moscow cathedral against Russian leader … 
Fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo and a political standoff in Madagascar topped the agenda of an annual summit of southern African leaders which opened Friday. 
Moroccan activists are calling for an ironically named "Celebration of loyalty to freedom and dignity" next week to protest an annual ceremony at which officials bow down before the king. 
The fatal police shooting of 34 striking miners sends a negative message to investors in Africa's biggest economy, as it tries to fight widespread joblessness and poverty, analysts said Friday. 
Tunisian Salafists are stoking fears of a rising Islamist tide after the hardliners disrupted a string of cultural events they deemed un-Islamic, culminating in an attack that left five people wounded. 
The numbers were small, but the presence undeniable as colorfully masked supporters turned out from Washington to Kiev Friday to support members of the feminist punk band Pussy Riot. The three women were found guilty of hooliganism for a protest in Moscow's main cathedral that denounced Russian President Vladimir Putin. They were each sentenced to two years in prison. 
London shares rose at the end of trade on Friday as eurozone stimulus hopes and positive US economic data boosted investor confidence. 
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Facebook Inc shares sank as much 4.3 percent on Friday to set a new low, a day after early investors got the green light to sell for the first time. More than 270 million shares owned by the early investors became available for trade on Thursday after a 3-month curb on sales ended. That's more than one-half the 421 million shares sold in its initial public offering on May 18. Facebook hit a low of $19.01 Friday morning and were down almost exactly 50 percent from the $38 offering price at its May IPO. At midday, the stock had eased to $19.15, off 3.5 percent. … 
Pakistan coach Dav Whatmore was upbeat Friday about his side's chances at the World Twenty20, welcoming the opportunity for his players to prepare in the Sri Lankan league. 
By RICHARD BOUDREAUX and ALEXANDER KOLYANDR AP Members of the feminist punk group Pussy Riot sit in a glass cage at a court room in Moscow on Friday. MOSCOW--Three members of a once-unheralded feminist group--whose anti-Kremlin protest inside Russia's … 
DALLAS - After more than 45 years, Dallas is again using aerial spraying to fight mosquitos. The last time Dallas used aerial spraying to curb the mosquito population, Texas' Lyndon Johnson was in the White House, Mission Control in Houston was … 
Continual coverage of the trial of Drew Peterson for the murder of his third wife, Kathleen Savio. 10:05 am Five potential witnesses today Prosecutors said they have as many as five potential witnesses today. Through the first three days of testimony … 
WASHINGTON -- Mitt Romney's running mate, Paul Ryan, gets these glowing testimonials on the campaign trail: "An articulate spokesperson for Gov. Romney's vision." ''A serious guy with serious ideas." Those are the appraisals from none other than Barack … 
* PGMs rise after police kill 34 in Safrica mine clash * Platinum heads for best week since February * Gold steadies as euro retreats vs dollar (Releads, updates prices, adds comment) By Jan Harvey LONDON, Aug 17 (Reuters) – Platinum group metals … 
By Tim Padgett | @TimPadgett2 | August 17, 2012 | + Ecuador's Foreign Affairs Minister Ricardo Patiño addresses the media during a news conference to announce his government's decision over Julian Assange's case at the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Quito … 
The state's labor market showed continued resilience in July as California employers added 25200 nonfarm jobs in July, continuing a 12-month streak of job gains. With that figure, the state posted the largest month-over-month increase in the country, … 
Frantic wives searched for missing loved ones, President Jacob Zuma rushed home from a regional summit and some miners vowed a fight to the death Friday as police announced a shocking casualty toll from the previous day's shooting by officers of striking platinum miners: 34 dead and 78 wounded. 
Russia on Friday warned Britain against violating fundamental diplomatic principles after London suggested it could arrest WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange inside Ecuador's embassy. 
LISBON (Reuters) – Support for Portugal's main ruling party has ebbed to its lowest since 2011 elections although it remains just ahead of the opposition Socialists who kicked off the country's eye-watering program of budget austerity two years ago. The centre-right administration has enacted tax hikes, spending cuts and much-needed reforms in the labor market under a 78 billion euro EU/IMF bailout for the debt-laden nation. The international lenders have praised it for its resolve, but its popularity at home has been waning. … 
Animal rights campaigners are calling for an end to the famed Palio bareback horse race in Siena after six of 10 horses crashed during the latest edition. 
The leaders of Russia's Orthodox church and Poland's Catholic church signed a document Friday that urges their nations to forgive each other for past wrongs.