Freeport reviewing safety at Indonesia mine after tunnel collapse

JAKARTA (Reuters) – Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc is reviewing the safety of its underground operations at its Indonesian mine in Papua after a tunnel collapse last week that killed 28 people, the company’s chief executive said on Wednesday. Freeport closed the remote Papua mine on Wednesday last week, a day after a training tunnel away from its main operations fell in on 38 workers. Ten of the workers were rescued. All have now been accounted for, and a search is continuing to retrieve the bodies of seven of the dead workers. Operations at the mine have been suspended. …

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China charges six in sex video "extortion" case

BEIJING (Reuters) – A court in the city of Chongqing has charged six people with working together to blackmail government officials by recording videos of them having sex, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday. The six were charged with extortion on Monday, Xinhua said, citing a statement from judicial authorities in Chongqing, where they are slated to be tried. Investigators said the group “lured officials into having sex with women and secretly recorded their encounters to blackmail them from 2008 to 2009″, Xinhua said. …

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Turkey passes "wealth amnesty" law to lure back funds from abroad

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – The Turkish parliament passed a “wealth amnesty” law late on Tuesday designed to lure back funds held abroad by affluent Turks without punitive taxes and fines. Under the legislation, Turks will pay just two percent on eligible funds, avoiding taxes that could otherwise reach 30-40 percent. They will also avoid an investigation into whether the wealth was generated in Turkey and improperly kept overseas. In order to benefit from the amnesty, Turkish individuals or companies will be obliged to declare their wealth before the end of July. …

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Seven kidnapped Egyptian security officers released: army spokesman

A helicopter flies overhead as soldiers in military vehicles proceed towards al-Jura district in El-Arish cityCAIRO (Reuters) – Seven members of Egypt's security forces who were kidnapped in Sinai last week have been released and are on their way to Cairo, army spokesman Ahmed Ali said on his Facebook page on Wednesday. “The seven kidnapped Egyptian soldiers are on their way to Cairo after their release thanks to the efforts of the Egyptian military intelligence in coordination with the elders of the tribes and families of Sinai,” he said. (Reporting by Ali Abdelatti; Editing by Pravin Char)

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Asian stocks cheered by Fed reassurance; BOJ stands pat

Employees of the Tokyo Stock Exchange work at the bourse in TokyoBy Masayuki Kitano and Vidya Ranganathan SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Asian stocks rose on Wednesday following a positive lead from Wall Street, with Japan's Nikkei reaching a fresh 5-1/2 year high and clinging to its gains as the Bank of Japan stood pat after unleashing massive stimulus last month. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.1 percent, reversing some of Tuesday's 0.4 percent decline. The South Korean market climbed 0.8 percent. Tokyo's Nikkei gained 1.2 percent, breaking above 15,500 for the first time in over five years. …

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