News in brief

By The Associated Press

Opponents of Louisiana law want judge to block it before new school year starts

BATON ROUGE, La. | Opponents of a new Louisiana law requiring that a version of the Ten Commandments be posted in public school classrooms have asked a federal court to block implementation of the requirement while their lawsuit against it progresses and before the new school year starts.

A group of parents of Louisiana public school students, representing various faiths, filed the lawsuit last month, soon after Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed the new law. In motions filed Monday, their attorneys asked for a preliminary injunction blocking the law. And they sought an expedited briefing and hearing schedule that would require the state to respond to the request for an injunction by July 19 and for a hearing on July 29. Public schools open in August.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Baton Rouge, says the law violates First Amendment clauses protecting religious liberty and forbidding laws establishing a religion.

Indonesian landslide leaves 12 dead and dozens missing

JAKARTA, Indonesia | A landslide triggered by torrential rains crashed onto an unauthorized gold mining operation on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island, killing at least 12 people, officials said Monday. Dozens others were reported missing.

More than 100 villagers were digging for grains of gold on Sunday in the remote Bone Bolango district in Gorontalo province when tons of mud plunged down the surrounding hills and buried their makeshift camps, said Heriyanto, head of the Search and Rescue Office.

He said 44 people managed to escape from landslide, some of them pulled out alive by rescuers, including six injured, and recovered 12 bodies, including three women and a 4-year-old boy. Some 48 others are missing, he said.

—From AP reports