Russian opposition leader Navalny avoids jail, vows defiance
KIROV, Russia (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin’s chief political opponent walked free from a Russian court on Wednesday after it suspended his five-year sentence for theft, and said he could never be “hounded” out of political life.
Murder suspects held in Qatar after British teacher’s body found
DUBAI (Reuters) – Qatar has arrested suspects over the murder of a European woman, the Interior Ministry said on Wednesday, after a British school teacher was found dead in the Gulf Arab state.
Mexico finds wreckage of missing small plane, 14 dead
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexican officials in the northwestern Baja California peninsula said on Wednesday they had found the remains of a small aircraft that went missing on Monday, and said all 14 people aboard were killed.
Lao Airlines plane crashes into Mekong river, killing 44
BANGKOK (Reuters) – A Lao Airlines plane flying in stormy weather crashed into the Mekong river in southern Laos on Wednesday, killing all 44 people on board, among them nationals of 10 countries.
Analysis: Letta plays safe with solid but unambitious Italian budget
ROME (Reuters) – Italy’s 2014 budget plays by the European Union rules, but seems designed more to offend nobody than to give the euro zone’s most chronically sluggish economy a decisive boost.
Greek parliament strips immunity of six Golden Dawn lawmakers
ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece’s parliament voted to lift the immunity of six lawmakers from the far-right Golden Dawn party on Wednesday, paving the way for a deeper investigation into accusations its members were involved in criminal offences.
Suicide bomber kills Pakistani provincial law minister, seven others
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (Reuters) – A suicide bomber killed the law minister of a Pakistani province and seven others on Wednesday as the country marked the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha.
Italian Jews laud protests against Nazi war criminal funeral
ROME (Reuters) – The head of Rome’s Jewish community praised protesters who blocked the funeral of a convicted Nazi war criminal as Italy marked on Wednesday the 70th anniversary of the deportation of Jews from the Rome ghetto.
Germany’s Merkel tells Putin of her concern at Greenpeace arrests
BERLIN (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday of her concerns over the arrest of Greenpeace activists after a protest at an Arctic drilling platform and urged a swift resolution of the case.
New PM candidate boosts India’s opposition BJP party: poll
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has picked up support since naming Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi as its candidate for prime minister last month, but would need new allies to form the next government, an opinion p…