First Vatican envoy to Malaysia sparks Muslim anger over ‘Allah’
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – The Vatican’s first envoy to Malaysia has opened a storm of controversy by apparently supporting the use of the word “Allah” by Christians, prompting a rebuke from the government and condemnation from nationalist Malay groups i…
Russian lawyer expects Snowden to leave airport limbo soon
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden could leave Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport within a week, a Russian lawyer said on Wednesday.
Abbas to present peace talks offer to PLO: official
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) – President Mahmoud Abbas plans to consult with the Palestinian leadership on Thursday on U.S. efforts to revive peace talks with Israel, a Palestinian official said on Wednesday.
Erdogan tells Turks to shun credit cards, rounds on banks
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan urged Turks not to use credit cards, accusing banks of locking people into poverty with excessive fees, and rounding on an “interest rate lobby” he says is seeking to weaken the economy.
Exclusive: Egypt’s “road not taken” could have saved Mursi
CAIRO/PARIS (Reuters) – Mohamed Mursi might still be president of Egypt today if he had grasped a political deal brokered by the European Union with opposition parties in April, Egyptian politicians and Western diplomats say.
Exclusive: China in $5 billion drive to develop disputed East China Sea gas
BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese state-run oil companies hope to develop seven new gas fields in the East China Sea, possibly siphoning gas from the seabed beneath waters claimed by Japan, a move that could further inflame tensions with Tokyo over the dispu…
Japan’s ruling bloc headed for majority in upper house election: polls
TOKYO (Reuters) – Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling coalition is expected to secure a big victory in Sunday’s upper house election, surveys showed on Wednesday, resolving six years of parliamentary stalemate and further weakening the opposition.
Arabian al Qaeda’s number two confirmed dead – AQAP
DUBAI (Reuters) – A Saudi second-in-command of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) was killed in a U.S. drone attack in Yemen, AQAP said on Wednesday.
Panama finds weapons on North Korean ship coming from Cuba
PANAMA CITY (Reuters) – Panama seized a North Korean cargo ship it suspects was hiding missile equipment in a shipment of brown sugar from Cuba, after a standoff in which the ship’s captain tried to slit his own throat.
Militants assassinate pro-Assad Syrian in Lebanon
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Militants assassinated a well-known supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Lebanon early on Wednesday, security sources said, the latest sign of Syria’s civil war spreading to its smaller neighbor.
