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Sri Lankan-born author Kretser wins top Australia literary prize
(Reuters) - Sri Lankan-born author Michelle de Kretser won Australia's top literature prize on Wednesday, awarded the Miles Franklin award for her novel "Questions of Travel" that follows two people on separate journeys.

EU Parliament in push to limit U.S. data access
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union lawmakers want to forbid the United States from accessing European citizens' data without the approval of a judge or equivalent authority, a response to the revelations about the Prism spy program.

Cisco to invest in Israeli venture capital funds
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Cisco Systems will invest $15 million in Israeli venture capital funds as part of a broader plan to expand its operations in Israel and outside the United States, the company said on Wednesday.

Britain's Kate to give birth in same hospital as Princess Diana
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, will give birth to the future heir to the British throne in the same hospital where the late Princess Diana gave birth to Princes William and Harry, royal sources said on Wednesday.

Obama turns JFK's Berlin speech into new call for freedom
BERLIN (Reuters) - President Barack Obama offered a new twist on Wednesday to John F. Kennedy's historic 1963 call for liberty -- "Ich bin ein Berliner" -- by saying other oppressed people eager to join the free world were also "citizens of Berlin."

Sri Lankan media code threatens free speech: rights group
COLOMBO (Reuters) - The Sri Lankan government's proposed code of ethics for the media is a threat to free speech, New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Wednesday.

Iraqi Shi'ites flock to Assad's side as sectarian split widens
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Among the Iranian pilgrims, foreign executives and tourists in the departure lounge at Baghdad airport, a group of young Iraqis prepare to wage religious war in Syria - not for the rebels trying to topple President Bashar al-Assad but against them.

China's Xi tells Vietnam wants peace in South China Sea
BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping told his visiting Vietnamese counterpart of Wednesday that maintaining peace and stability in the contested South China Sea was vital for both countries, who should remember their traditional friendship.

FBI ends search for Jimmy Hoffa's body
OAKLAND TOWNSHIP, Michigan (Reuters) - The FBI has called off a search for the remains of former Teamsters boss, Jimmy Hoffa, in a field near Detroit Wednesday, FBI official Robert Foley said, extending nearly 38 years of frustration to find the elusive corpse.

Arizona construction collapse kills one, injures one
PHOENIX (Reuters) - Temporary framing beneath a freeway overpass in Mesa, Arizona, collapsed on Wednesday, killing one construction worker and injuring another, a fire department spokesman said.

Porsche plaintiffs bolstered by court ruling: lawyer
BERLIN (Reuters) - Investors suing Porsche SE for more than 4 billion euros ($5.4 billion) over its failed attempt to take over Volkswagen in 2008 may take encouragement from a German court ruling on Wednesday, a lawyer said.

Wall St. flat as Fed statement, Bernanke remarks loom
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks were little changed on Wednesday before the Federal Reserve releases a statement which could provide clues about the Fed's future stimulus efforts, a key to the market's continued rally.

Somali Islamist rebels attack U.N. base, 22 dead
MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Islamist militants carried out a deadly assault on the main U.N. compound in the Somali capital on Wednesday, dealing a blow to fragile security gains that have allowed a slow return of foreign aid workers and diplomats.

Protests continue in Sao Paulo, troops sent to 5 Brazilian cities
SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Demonstrators blocked a major highway and other roads in Sao Paulo on Wednesday, crippling transportation in Brazil's largest city and financial hub, in an ongoing wave of protests against poor public services, inflation and police violence.

South Sudan president suspends two ministers in fraud inquiry
JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudanese President Salva Kiir has suspended two key ministers in a fraud investigation, the government said on Wednesday.

FBI director says IRS tax exemption probe a top priority
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than a dozen FBI agents are assigned to the criminal investigation into the Internal Revenue Service's added scrutiny of conservative political groups seeking tax-exempt status, FBI Director Robert Mueller said on Wednesday.

BlackBerry shares fall as analyst downgrades stock ahead of earnings
TORONTO (Reuters) - BlackBerry shares fell nearly 4 percent on Tuesday after a Bernstein Research analyst cut his rating on the stock to "underperform" ahead of the company's quarterly earnings release next week.

BlackBerry shares fall as analyst downgrades stock ahead of earnings
TORONTO (Reuters) - BlackBerry shares fell nearly 4 percent on Tuesday after a Bernstein Research analyst cut his rating on the stock to "underperform" ahead of the company's quarterly earnings release next week.

Legendary country singer Slim Whitman dead at 90
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Country singer and songwriter Slim Whitman, known for his smooth falsetto and yodeling talent, died in Florida on Wednesday at the age of 90, his son-in-law said.

Syrians turn to dollar as local currency tumbles
AMMAN (Reuters) - Since the latest nosedive in the Syrian currency, Damascus shopkeeper Aboud Katebee can no longer put price stickers on the imported chocolate bars he sells in the middle class Jaramana neighborhood.