Israel’s new defense chief jokes about curbing his fiery nature
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – In first remarks as Israel’s designated defense minister, right-wing settler Avigdor Lieberman joked about his fiery reputation: “I have undergone surgery to lengthen my fuse.”
Japan PM protests Okinawa crime to Obama, who promises cooperation
ISE-SHIMA, Japan (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe protested to U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday about the killing of a young woman in Okinawa which has reignited resentment of the heavy U.S. military presence on the southern Japan…
Top Shi’ite cleric urges restraint in assault on Iraq’s Falluja
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq’s top Shi’ite Muslim cleric urged government and allied Shi’ite militia forces fighting to retake Falluja from Islamic State militants to spare trapped civilians amid reports of a budding humanitarian crisis in the city.
Car bomb kills three security force members in Turkey’s mainly Kurdish region
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) – A car bomb attack on a gendarmes station in Turkey’s mainly Kurdish southeast killed three members of the security forces and wounded three others on Wednesday, Interior Ministry officials said.
Belgian police detain four on suspicion of belonging to terrorist group
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Belgian police searched houses in the city of Antwerp on Wednesday and detained four people on suspicion of belonging to a terrorist group and trying to drum up recruits to fight with Islamist militants in Syria or Libya, state pro…
Alberta wildfire singes companies beyond energy sector
TORONTO/MONTREAL (Reuters) – The wildfire that has ravaged northern Alberta and cut Canadian crude output by 25 percent is set to crimp corporate earnings beyond the oil patch, especially hitting the rail and hospitality sectors.
Afghan Taliban appoint a new leader, Kabul urges peace
KABUL/PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) – The Afghan Taliban named an Islamic legal scholar who was one of former leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour’s deputies to succeed him on Wednesday, after confirming Mansour’s death in a U.S. drone strike at the weekend.
Former Canadian PM Harper to leave politics, reports say
OTTAWA (Reuters) – Former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper will leave politics later this year, possibly to join U.S. private equity firm KKR, according to domestic media reports.
Italian navy says migrant boat flipped, five dead
ROME (Reuters) – A large wooden fishing boat overcrowded with migrants capsized off the coast of Libya, the Italian navy said on Wednesday, with some 562 people rescued and five found dead.
‘In’ camp keeps almost all its lead ahead of EU vote: Survation poll
LONDON (Reuters) – The campaign to keep Britain in the European Union has maintained almost all its lead over the “Leave” camp ahead of next month’s referendum, according to a Survation poll for online brokerage group IG.
