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.

Read more here: Weak yen a help for Japan, but headache elsewhere

DUBAI (Reuters) – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday he would take up the ban of his close aide from the June 14 presidential vote with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iranian media reported on Wednesday. Iran’s electoral watchdog on Tuesday disqualified Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie, Ahmadinejad’s former chief of staff, from running in the June 14 presidential vote. “In my opinion there will be no problem with the Leader and I will take up this issue until the last moment with him,” Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday, according to the ISNA news agency. …

Read more here: Iran's Ahmadinejad says will challenge ally's ban from election

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. …

Read more here: Iran bars candidates for presidential election

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.

Read more here: Young objector challenges Israeli army

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.

Read more here: Egypt: 7 security men kidnapped in Sinai freed

NEW YORK (AP) — The American Cancer Society — one of the nation’s best known and influential health advocacy groups — is 100 years old this week.

Read more here: Cancer Society hits 100 as US cancer rate falls

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. …

Read more here: Insight: No more easy pickings in Russia's banking market

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan's Sony Corp lowered its sales target for digital cameras to 1.3 trillion yen ($12.7 billion) for the fiscal year to end-March 2015, from a previous estimate of 1.5 trillion yen. Sony also cut its sales target for smartphones and tablets to 1.5 trillion yen in its 2014 fiscal year from an earlier outlook of 1.8 trillion yen. …

Read more here: Sony cuts sales target for cameras, smartphones for 2014-15

(Reuters) – The Cleveland Cavaliers won the NBA Draft Lottery and the top overall pick for the second time in three years on Tuesday. The Cavaliers were able to edge out the Orlando Magic, who had the highest probability of winning the top selection, as they continue to rebuild a franchise reeling from the loss of LeBron James following the 2009-10 campaign. “It's huge for us,” Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert told reporters. “This is our third year in a row in the lottery. Hopefully it's our last for a long, long time. …

Read more here: Cavs win right to first pick in NBA Draft

The ex-congressman who resigned over raunchy tweets says he running for mayor of New York.

Read more here: Anthony Weiner launches bid to become NYC mayor