KATMANDU, Nepal (AP) — An 80-year-old Japanese extreme skier who climbed Mount Everest five years ago, but just missed becoming the oldest man to reach the summit, was back on the mountain Wednesday to make another attempt at the title.

By David Lewis KOULIKORO, Mali (Reuters) - Under a blazing sun and the critical gaze of British and Irish instructors, a line of 11 Malian soldiers lie prone in the dust firing AK-47 rounds at targets, one-by-one. "One out of 10 - not very good," Captain Ibrahim Soumassa, commander of the Malian unit, tells one of the men. "We're at 25 meters. When we're at 100, it'll be difficult." A European Union training mission faces a considerable challenge as it seeks to succeed where years of U.S. ...

By Nick Macfie ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - China and Pakistan should make cooperation on power generation a priority, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said, as Islamabad seeks to end an energy crisis that triggers power cuts of up to 20 hours a day, bringing the economy to a near standstill. Li arrived in the Pakistan capital under extra-tight security on Wednesday on the second leg of his first official trip since taking office in March after a visit to Pakistan's and China's arch rival, India. Li's plane was escorted by six air force fighter jets as it entered Pakistan air space. ...

CAIRO (AP) — Six Egyptian policemen and a border guard kidnapped by suspected militants in the volatile Sinai Peninsula last week were freed by their captors Wednesday after successful mediation, the country's military spokesman said.

PARIS (Reuters) - Airbus has won an order for three A330-300 aircraft from Oman Air, the national carrier of the Sultanate of Oman, the European planemaker said on Wednesday. The order, which Airbus said would bring Oman Air's A330 fleet to 10 aircraft, is worth about $720 million based on list prices. The planes will be operated on long-haul routes and can seat close to 300 passengers, Airbus said. (Reporting by James Regan; Editing by John Irish)

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan says it shares "identical views" on foreign policy with China, whose premier is beginning a two-day visit to Islamabad in the latest sign of the tight relationship between the two Asian powers.

By Michael Taylor and Yayat Supriatna JAKARTA (Reuters) - Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold Inc said it will not restart production at the world's second-largest copper mine in Indonesia after a tunnel collapse that killed 28 workers until it is convinced of the mine's safety. Arizona-based Freeport suspended operations at the remote Papua mine on Wednesday last week, at a cost estimated at about $15 million a day in lost production, a day after a training tunnel away from its main operations fell in on 38 workers. ...

BEIJING (AP) — Two emotionless prison guards watch Ai Weiwei as he eats, sleeps, paces, showers — and even sits on the toilet — in the Chinese artist's new obscenity-filled, metaphor-rich music video mocking state power.

MUSCAT, Oman (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met Wednesday with officials in Oman to discuss their plans to buy a $2.1 billion air defense system from American manufacturer Raytheon.

By Richard Hubbard LONDON (Reuters) - The dollar dipped and benchmark Bund futures rose on Wednesday as expectations hardened that the head of the U.S. central bank will later in the day signal no tapering off of the bank's ultra-easy monetary policy. Ben Bernanke, who speaks before the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress at 1400 GMT (10 a.m. EDT), is expected to follow the line set by two other Federal Reserve officials, who struck a dovish tone on the economy on Tuesday. ...

CAIRO (Reuters) - Seven members of the Egyptian security forces kidnapped by Islamist militants in Sinai last week were released on Wednesday, ending a crisis that has highlighted lawlessness in the desert peninsula bordering Israel. Security sources said the men were freed following talks mediated by Bedouin tribal leaders. They were handed over to the army in an area south of Rafah, a town straddling the border with the Palestinian Gaza Strip. ...

TOKYO (AP) — A steady decline in the yen is proving a godsend for exporters such as Toyota and has won solid support from Japan's main trading partners, who are betting the impact on their own currencies will be offset by gains from a recovery in the world's third-largest economy. It's not such good news for entrepreneurs like Thamonwan Thawornthaweewong, whose Angry Bird fish balls, squid rings and other products now cost more to sell in Japan.

TOKYO (AP) — A steady decline in the yen is proving a godsend for exporters such as Toyota and has won solid support from Japan's main trading partners, who are betting the impact on their own currencies will be offset by gains from a recovery in the world's third-largest economy. It's not such good news for entrepreneurs like Thamonwan Thawornthaweewong, whose Angry Bird fish balls, squid rings and other products now cost more to sell in Japan.

BERLIN (AP) — Germany is celebrating the 200th anniversary of Richard Wagner with the unveiling Wednesday of a monument in the composer's birthplace of Leipzig.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Rolls-Royce has won a contract to supply engines to power 23 Airbus aircraft ordered by U.S. leasing company CIT Aerospace, it said on Wednesday. Rolls, the world's second-largest maker of aircraft engines behind U.S. group General Electric , said the deal included Trent XWB engines to power 10 A350 aircraft and Trent 700 engines for 13 Airbus A330 jets. The Trent XWB, specifically designed for the Airbus A350, is the fastest selling Trent engine ever, with more than 1,200 already sold, according to Rolls. The A350 is due to enter service in 2014. ...

WASHINGTON (AP) — A far-reaching bill to remake the nation's immigration system is headed to the full Senate, where tough battles are brewing on gay marriage, border security and other contentious issues, with the outcome impossible to predict.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A far-reaching bill to remake the nation's immigration system is headed to the full Senate, where tough battles are brewing on gay marriage, border security and other contentious issues, with the outcome impossible to predict.

MASINLOC, Philippines (AP) — Along the northwestern Philippine coast, poor children with claw hammers clamber aboard an abandoned fishing vessel to pry loose and steal rusty nails from its deck. It's become a familiar sight in villages where some fishermen have been forced to give up their livelihoods since China took control of their fishing haven last year.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Five men are under round-the-clock U.S. surveillance in Libya, wanted for questioning in the attack last year on the diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya. The White House believes there is enough proof for a military force to seize them as terrorist suspects, officials say, but prefers to wait until investigators have enough evidence to try them in a U.S. civilian courtroom.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon is asking Congress for more than $450 million for maintaining and upgrading the Guantanamo Bay prison that President Barack Obama wants to close.

KINSHASA (Reuters) - The World Bank on Wednesday announced $1 billion in development funding for Africa's Great Lakes region, where renewed fighting this week between the government and rebels in eastern Congo has raised fears once again of an escalation in conflict. World Bank President Jim Yong Kim unveiled the proposed aid financing for one of Africa's most intractable conflict regions on the first day of a trip with U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon to Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda. ...

MUSCAT, Oman (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is talking with officials in Oman about their plans to buy a $2.1 billion air defense system from American manufacturer Raytheon.

By Marcus George DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranian authorities barred two potentially powerful and disruptive candidates from running in next month's presidential election on Tuesday, ensuring a contest largely among hardliners loyal to the clerical supreme leader. Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a veteran companion of the Islamic Republic's founder, a former president and thought potentially sympathetic to reform, was denied a place on the ballot by the Guardian Council of clerics and jurists, state media said. ...

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military has jailed a young man for six months for refusing to serve because of his opposition to Israel's occupation of the West Bank, focusing attention on the longstanding conflict between the country's universal military service and divided political beliefs.

CAIRO (AP) — Six Egyptian policemen and a border guard kidnapped by suspected militants in the Sinai Peninsula last week were freed by their captors Wednesday after successful mediation in the volatile region, the country's military spokesman said.

By Megan Davies MOSCOW (Reuters) - Foreign banks that once treated Russia as virgin land where easy money could be made are now finding it a cut-throat market tougher than some bargained for. While players such as Citi and Austria's Raiffeisen thrive, many have found post-Soviet Russia too hard to crack: rife with credit, legal and corruption risks, and dominated by state giants Sberbank and VTB. The latest to hit trouble has been France's Societe Generale. ...

By Megan Davies MOSCOW (Reuters) - Foreign banks that once treated Russia as virgin land where easy money could be made are now finding it a cut-throat market tougher than some bargained for. While players such as Citi and Austria's Raiffeisen thrive, many have found post-Soviet Russia too hard to crack: rife with credit, legal and corruption risks, and dominated by state giants Sberbank and VTB. The latest to hit trouble has been France's Societe Generale. ...

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's central bank says the world's third-biggest economy is "picking up" as demand recovers in other countries and remains resilient at home, though the trade deficit widened in April, for the tenth straight month.

(Reuters) - Merck & Co Inc said it has entered into a $5 billion share repurchase agreement with Goldman Sachs Group Inc, as the drug giant looks to prop up shareholder value in face of stiff competition from makers of less-costly generics. Under the accelerated share repurchase agreement (ASR), Merck has agreed to repurchase about 99.5 million shares from Goldman Sachs based on current market prices. ...

BANGKOK (AP) — Asian stock markets were mostly higher Wednesday after investor confidence was boosted by a Federal Reserve official's comments that the U.S. central bank should stick with its super-easy monetary policy.

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un dispatched a high-profile official and close confidant to China on Wednesday as Beijing faces pressure to rein in its belligerent neighbor.

By Ju-min Park and Ben Blanchard SEOUL/BEIJING (Reuters) - North Korea sent one of its top military officials as a "special envoy" from its leader Kim Jong-un to Beijing on Wednesday, accompanied by a high-powered delegation in what appeared to be a bid to mend frayed relations with its most important ally. The delegation led by Choe Ryong-hae, vice chairman of the country's top military body, was the most senior to visit China since Kim's kingmaker uncle Jang Song-thaek made the trip in August 2012. ...

By Stanley White and Leika Kihara TOKYO (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan kept policy steady on Wednesday despite concerns over recent volatility in bond market, saying growth is starting to pick up even as risks loomed from an uncertain global outlook. The central bank upgraded its assessment of the economy, saying it "has started picking up," as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's program of aggressive fiscal and monetary stimulus has boosted sentiment and a weaker yen has halted a decline in exports. ...

By Emily Flitter NEW YORK (Reuters) - Prosecutors are considering charging Steven A. Cohen's SAC Capital Advisors as a criminal enterprise engaged in a long pattern of insider trading in stocks, according to a person familiar with the matter. Prosecutors may use the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, most commonly associated with prosecutions against the mafia, to move against Cohen's $15 billion hedge fund company, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity. While this is one option under consideration, no final decision has been made, the source added. ...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Now that tech darling Apple Inc. has been dragged front and center into the debate over the U.S. tax code, lawmakers are hoping that the spotlight on such a high-profile company could be the catalyst for Congress to take action to close loopholes or reform the law.

WASHINGTON (AP) — When Ben Bernanke testifies about the U.S. economy Wednesday, the Federal Reserve chairman's words will be examined for any clues that the Fed might soon taper — or increase — its support for the economy.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan has started looking into resuming inter-governmental talks with North Korea after a surprise visit to Pyongyang by an aide to Japan's prime minister, the Asahi Shimbun and other newspapers said on Wednesday. Such talks, intended to discuss North Korea's abduction of Japanese citizens decades ago and other issues, were last held in November 2012, but have been halted due to the North's missile launch in December and nuclear test in February. ...

By Tom Bergin LONDON (Reuters) - Apple's ability to shelter billions of dollars of income from tax has depended on an unusual loophole in the Irish tax code that helps the country compete with other countries for investment and jobs. A U.S. Senate investigation revealed Tuesday that Apple, maker of iPhones, iPads and Mac computers, channeled profits into Irish-incorporated subsidiaries that had "no declared tax residency anywhere in the world. ...

By Deepa Seetharaman DETROIT (Reuters) - A boutique carmaker led by former General Motors Co executive Bob Lutz and China's largest auto parts supplier made an offer this month to buy cash-strapped "green" car company Fisker Automotive, people familiar with the matter said. VL Automotive and China's Wanxiang Group are looking to gain control of Fisker through a prepackaged bankruptcy. This comes alongside a separate push by investors in Europe and Hong Kong, including billionaire Richard Li, to buy out the U.S. Department of Energy's position in Fisker. ...