South Africa union war follows old pattern on new turf

When a wildcat strike hit Impala Platinum's Marula mine in South Africa's Limpopo province this month, union leaders there had no idea it was coming.

"We were taken by surprise. We came to work that morning and everyone was outside saying they were not going to work," said Solomon Digoro, deputy chairman of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) at Marula, 280 kilometers (170 miles) northeast of Johannesburg.

He has a better idea of what might come next: a takeover by arch rival the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU), which looks set to expand after leading a five-month mine strike in the western half of South Africa's platinum belt that pushed the continent's most advanced economy into reverse in the first quarter.

90 years for thug who attacked Irish immigrant Natasha McShane with baseball bat

      County Armagh victim Natasha McShane has started to speak and use her right hand after brutal baseball bat attack.

Heriberto Viramontes (35) has been sentenced to 90 years in prison for the brutal attack on County Armagh student Natasha McShane and her friend, in Bucktown, Chicago in April 2010.

The savage baseball bat attack left McShane (27) in a wheelchair with impaired communication abilities and Stacy Jurich with permanent health issues, including seizures.

Viramontes will serve two consecutive sentences of 25 years for the attempted murder of McShane, 25 years for the attempted murder of Jurich, 20 years for armed robbery, and 20 years for causing great bodily harm.

The judge said a "significant sentence is necessary."

He was found guilty of the attack in October 2013. Prosecutors asked for a sentence of 120 years in prison.

Yum, McDonald's apologize as new China food scandal brews

McDonald's Corp and Yum Brands Inc are facing a new food safety scare in China, denting the fast food giants' efforts to shore up reputations and businesses that were hurt by a 2012 safety scandal in one of their biggest markets.

McDonald's and KFC-parent Yum apologized to customers on Monday after Chinese regulators shut a local meat supplier following a TV report that showed workers picking up meat from a factory floor, as well as mixing meat beyond its expiration date with fresh meat. The firms said they'll stop using the supplier.

The report, which focused on McDonald's and Yum, brings the pair back into the firing line following the 2012 scandal that involved chicken pumped with excessive amounts of antibiotics. It's unclear whether the meat supplier, a local unit of U.S.-based food provider OSI Group LLC, may have sold goods to other clients too.

Rebels recover black boxes from downed Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, will hand over to investigators

Rebels have recovered the black boxes from downed Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 and will hand them over to the International Civil Aviation Organization, a rebel leader said Sunday.

Alexander Borodai also said the bodies recovered from the crash site in eastern Ukraine would remain in refrigerated train cars at a station in the rebel-held town of Torez, 15 kilometers (9 miles) away, until the arrival of an international aviation delegation.

Ukraine and the separatists accuse each other of firing a surface-to-air missile Thursday at Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 as it flew from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur some 33,000 feet (10,000 meters) above the battlefields of eastern Ukraine. Both deny shooting down the plane. All those onboard the flight - 283 passengers and 15 crew - were killed.

It was immediately not clear Sunday if the rebels and the Ukrainian government were working together or were at odds with each other on recovering the bodies - and from their comments, many of officials didn't appear to know either.

Mourinho taunts Arsenal over Fabregas deal

Jose Mourinho has taunted Arsenal by claiming he needed just 20 minutes to persuade Cesc Fabregas to join Chelsea because the former Gunners midfielder didn’t want to return to his old club.

Mourinho signed Fabregas from Barcelona for £27 million ($46 million) earlier in the close-season despite Arsenal having first option to take back the Spain star.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger reportedly didn’t want to re-sign Fabregas because he was happy with Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere and Mikel Arteta as main central midfielders.

But Blues boss Mourinho, who has had many verbal jousts with Wenger, couldn’t resist the chance to tweak his rival as he insisted Fabregas had no interest in a reunion with the club he left to join Barcelona in 2011.