WORLD
* The late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who died in 2004, may have lost his life as a result of being poisoned by polonium, according to a study ordered by Al Jazeera, the Qatar-based TV channel reported
* Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard test-fired anti-ship missiles on Wednesday as part of its Great Prophet 7 war games, Iran’s FARS news agency said
* Moscow is calling on Syrian opposition groups to unite to find a peaceful solution to the ongoing crisis, the Russian Foreign Ministry said
* Police in the Ukrainian capital Kiev used tear gas after clashes broke out at a demonstration against a bill significantly enhancing the status of the Russian language in the country, which was passed in a final reading on Tuesday
RUSSIA
* Russia hit out at what it said was the use of civilians as human shields by both sides in the more than year-long conflict in Syria
* Members of the all-female Russian punk group Pussy Riot – who face up to seven years behind bars over an anti-Putin protest – went on hunger strike after what their legal team said was a court ruling reminiscent of Stalin-era repression
* Four people have been confirmed killed after a Eurocopter AS350 helicopter belonging to UTair airlines crashed near an airfield in Russia’s Far East Yakutia region, UTair said 
BUSINESS
* Russia’s wheat prices hit a record high of 8,800-8,900 rubles ($273-276) per ton, which could lead to an increase in fodder and meat prices, Vedomosti business paper reported citing Agrarian Market Studies Institute (IKAR) head Dmitry Rylko.
* Samara-based AVIACOR aircraft maker will build six Antonov An-140-100 light transport planes under a contract with the Russian Defense Ministry by the end of 2012, the regional government said