Syria rebel infighting kills 3,300 people this year – group

Around 3,300 people have been killed in fighting between rebel factions trying to overthrow Syrian President Bashar Assad since the start of the year, Reuters said, citing the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Al-Qaeda splinter group, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), has been caught up in clashes with other insurgents in Syria, including Al-Qaeda's official Syria branch, the Nusra Front, the group said Wednesday. The fighting started over power struggles and territorial disputes.

13:23

Jordan’s parliament votes to expel Israeli ambassador

Jordan’s parliament has voted unanimously to expel the Israeli ambassador and recall its own envoy to Israel, AP reported. The move came after Israeli lawmakers debated whether to take over a Jerusalem holy site administered by Jordanians. The debate, initiated Tuesday by the Likud party's Moshe Feiglin, considered a proposal for the state of Israel to wrest control of Muslim holy shrines from Jordan, but the debate ended without a vote. No action regarding the Jordanian parliament's vote is expected before the outcome of the Israeli Knesset debate, a Jordanian Cabinet official said.

12:19

Italian navy rescues 600 migrants from 6 boats

The Italian navy said on Wednesday it had rescued nearly 600 migrants crossing the Mediterranean from Africa over the past 24 hours, AFP reported. “The Navy has rescued 596 migrants on six vessels,” including three rubber dinghies, it said. Operation Mare Nostrum (Our Sea) was launched after more than 400 migrants from Eritrea and Syria perished in twin tragedies off Italian shores in October 2013.

11:24

Egypt sentences 26 people in absentia to death for plotting Suez Canal attack

An Egyptian court sentenced 26 people to death on Wednesday for plotting attacks on ships passing through the Suez Canal, Reuters said, citing judicial sources. The defendants were tried in absentia.

10:30

Turkey govt tightens grip on judiciary

Turkish President Abdullah Gul approved a law boosting government control over the appointment of judges and prosecutors on Wednesday, Reuters said. Gul said he had warned the justice minister about 15 points which he regarded as anti-constitutional. The president said these elements had been addressed in revisions to the draft. The Constitutional Court will assess “the other articles of the law which are subject to pro and con arguments,” he said. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan Erdogan accused his enemies on Tuesday of hacking encrypted state communications to fake his phone conversations.

10:16

Hezbollah says it will respond to Israeli air strike

Hezbollah will respond to an Israeli air strike that hit one of its bases Monday night, the militant group said Wednesday. “The new aggression is a blatant assault on Lebanon and its sovereignty and its territory,” according to a statement on Hezbollah run Al-Manar television. Hezbollah “will choose the time and place and the proper way to respond to it,” the group said, adding that the strike hit the Lebanese-Syrian border near the Bekaa Valley village of Janta. Israel has not confirmed the strike, Reuters said.

09:20

Turkish FM Davutoglu says world has failed Syria, conflict is ‘threat to all’

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said Syria's worsening war poses a threat to the whole world. International strategy including “real intelligence cooperation” and withdrawal of all foreign fighters is needed to end the conflict, he told Reuters. Syria is becoming a risk for all European countries as well, “because of the presence of these terrorist groups based on the power vacuum and because of the totalitarian and autocratic nature of the regime,” he said.

08:49

Greek workers strike over Piraeus Port Authority privatization plans

Greek dock workers have started a 24-hour strike to protest plans to sell stakes in the Piraeus Port Authority, AP said. Wednesday's strike over the country's largest port is expected to affect ports across the country. Dock workers were also planning a protest rally and demonstration in Athens. Privatizing state-held assets is a critical part of Greece's international bailout agreement.

07:33

2 Indian Navy sailors missing, 7 hospitalized after submarine incident

Two Indian navy sailors were missing and seven others hospitalized Wednesday after being overcome by smoke on board a diesel-powered submarine, AP reported. The sailors were overcome by the smoke during a firefighting exercise off Mumbai’s coast, according to Capt. DK Sharma, a navy spokesman. A naval helicopter took seven of the sailors to a navy hospital in Mumbai, but two others were unaccounted for. The submarine did not suffer any damage and was heading back to the Mumbai dockyard.

06:35

Japan may relax arms export ban – report

Japan's ruling party wants to loosen self-imposed rules banning arms exports in a bid to boost the country's defense capability, AFP said, citing a report published Wednesday. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has submitted a draft proposal for his cabinet to approve next month. The measure would allow Tokyo to supply weaponry to countries near to strategic sea lanes to help them fight piracy, Kyodo News reported. Lifting the arms export ban could mark a major shift from Japan’s traditional pacifist stance and is likely to irritate China, with whom Japan is disputing ownership of several islands in the sea between the two nations.