Italy PM Letta says borrowing costs threatened by instability
ROME (Reuters) – Prime Minister Enrico Letta warned on Wednesday that Italy could face higher borrowing costs if continued political instability undermined the progress it had made in reassuring financial markets over the state of its public finances.
Hamas seeks to lower tension with Egypt
GAZA (Reuters) – The Hamas Islamist group ruling Gaza sought to ease tensions with Cairo on Wednesday by ordering Muslim preachers to mute their criticism of the Egyptian government over what some of the clerics have called its war on Islam.
Russia could boost Iran arms sales if U.S. strikes Syria: Putin ally
MOSCOW (Reuters) – A senior lawmaker and ally of President Vladimir Putin suggested on Wednesday that Russia could increase arms sales to Iran or review cooperation over Afghanistan if the United States launches military strikes against Syria.
Western oilmen in Iraq brace for Syria backlash
ARBIL, Iraq/LONDON (Reuters) – Sheltering in a bomb-proof safe room in a heavily-fortified office in Baghdad is the new reality for a senior Western oil executive who runs one of Iraq’s oilfield mega-projects.
Taiwan’s Ma forces out speaker of parliament in lobbying scandal
TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou forced out speaker of parliament, widely seen as the government’s second most powerful figure, over accusations of illegal lobbying on Wednesday, a move that could usher in a period of political instabil…
Crude in deadly Canadian crash was ‘violently’ explosive: newspaper
TORONTO (Reuters) – Investigators believe the crude oil aboard a Canadian train that derailed in the center of a small Quebec town in July, killing 47 people, was “violently” explosive and likely not correctly labeled, the Globe and Mail newspaper repo…
Muslim rebels display human shield tied by rope in southern Philippine standoff
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Reuters) – Rogue Muslim rebels seeking to declare an independent state put a dozen civilians tied together by rope on display as a human shield on Wednesday as a standoff with security forces in a southern Philippine city e…
EU rejects Russian pressure on Ukraine, seeks trade ties
STRASBOURG, France (Reuters) – The European Union rejected on Wednesday Russian pressure to deter Ukraine and other former Soviet republics from deepening trade ties with Europe, saying any kind of retaliation was unacceptable.
Islamist rebels kill 12 Alawites in Syrian village: monitors
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Fighters from an al Qaeda-linked rebel group killed 12 members of the minority Alawite sect in central Syria after seizing their village, an opposition monitoring group said on Wednesday.
China ditches pointless awards in latest anti-waste push
BEIJING (Reuters) – China said on Wednesday that it will ditch 76 pointless official – and sometimes obscure – awards as it seeks to rein in waste and extravagance, part of President Xi Jinping’s crusade against pervasive corruption.
