INT'l News in brief

NEW YORK (AP):

When a heckled, harried Anthony Weiner resigned from Congress and apologised for the explicit text messages that had destroyed his career, a key figure was notably absent: his then-pregnant wife, Huma Abedin.

On Tuesday, there was Weiner again, making a public mea culpa for a new-found sexting scandal that erupted amid the mayoral run he hopes will rewrite his political future. But the Democrat was there to stay in, not bow out, and Abedin was by his side.

"I love him, I have forgiven him, I believe in him," and the sexting matter is "between us," she said, a message that could prove important to shaping voters' views as they digest his latest admission.

After the gossip website The Dirty posted X-rated messages and a crotch shot that it said the former congressman exchanged with an unidentified woman, Weiner acknowledged sending such messages as recently as last summer, more than a year after he resigned from the House because of similar behaviour with at least a half-dozen women. With Abedin smiling at his side, he said at a news conference that "this is entirely behind me," and both made it clear they were moving ahead with his campaign.

Pope: Resist 'idols' of money, power, pleasure

APARECIDA, Brazil (AP):

Pope Francis urged Catholics to resist the "ephemeral idols" of money, power and pleasure as he celebrated the first public Mass of his initial international foreign journey as pontiff in an emotional visit to one of the most important shrines in Latin America.

Thousands packed into the cavernous Basilica of the Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida, tucked into an agricultural region of verdant fields halfway between Rio and Sao Paulo, and tens of thousands more braved a cold rain outside to catch a glimpse of the first pope from the Americas returning to a shrine of great meaning to the continent and him personally.

Before the Mass, Francis stood in silent prayer before the 15-inch-tall image of the Virgin of Aparecida, the 'Black Mary,' his eyes tearing up as he breathed heavily.

During his homily, Francis urged Brazilians to keep Christian values of faith, generosity and fraternity, a message he was expected to repeat later in the day during a visit to a drug rehabilitation centre in Rio de Janeiro.

MOSCOW (AP):

Edward Snowden may be settling in for a long stay in Russia, his lawyer indicated Wednesday, saying the National Security Agency leaker plans to start studying the Russian language and culture, and that, for the time being, Russia is his final destination.

Anatoly Kucherena's comments came after the lawyer met with Snowden in the transit zone of Moscow's Sheremetyevo international airport amid Russian news reports that Snowden was about to receive documents that would allow him to leave the airport where he's apparently been marooned for more than a month.

Some Russian news agencies cited unidentified sources as saying Kucherena would deliver the documents to Snowden, but the lawyer later said there was no such paperwork. Snowden has applied for temporary asylum in Russia.