Bangladesh Islamist leader sentenced to death for 1971 war crimes
DHAKA (Reuters) – A Bangladesh war crimes tribunal sentenced a top Islamist politician to death on Wednesday for crimes during a 1971 war of independence, as his supporters clashed with security forces in different parts of the country.
Trial of captain resumes after liner disaster in Italy
GROSSETO, Italy (Reuters) – Francesco Schettino, captain of the Costa Concordia cruise liner, was not the only one to blame for a disaster off Italy last year in which 32 people died, his lawyers said at his trial on Wednesday.
Stray bullets from Syria kill two Turkish citizens
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) – One man and a 15-year-old boy were killed when they were hit by stray bullets from Syria in the Turkish border town of Ceylanpinar, Turkish security sources and health officials said on Wednesday.
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.
