Of all the topics sure to be come up in Sino-U.S. economic talks this week — from the problem of excess capacity to currency controls — the health of China’s financial sector will no doubt feature high on the list. Especially worrying are the multiplying links between the country’s commercial and “shadow” banks — the name given to a broad …

  Istanbul / AFP A bomb ripped through a Turkish police bus near Istanbul’s historic centreon Tuesday, killing seven officers and four civilians in the latest of a string of attacks in Turkey’s biggest city. The car bomb targeted a bus carrying anti-riot police as it was passing through the central Beyazit district close to many of the city’s top tourist …

  Jérusalem / AFP The head of a group of women activists pushing for equal prayer rights at Jerusalem’s Western Wall was detained on Tuesday after taking a Torah scroll there in defiance of the holy site’s rules, the group said. The incident comes as activists, Israel’s government and the ultra-Orthodox Jewish establishment debate a controversial plan to create a …