The Archbishop of Canterbury wants to put payday lenders out of business but finds a roadblock in the Church’s own portfolio – Japan takes another step from its post-war pacifism – Anthony Weiner’s poll has gone down, and we’re no longer sure if that’s a double entendre. 

Japan is expected to considering acquiring the ability to launch preemptive military strikes, form a Marine Corps, and purchased unmanned drone aircraft.  The new defense review might allow Japanese heavy industries to sell arms to client states.  All this is probably going to set off alarms in Beijing, which has strained relations with its neighbor over a strategic set of islands in the East China Sea.

Embarrassing:  The Church of England has revealed it has invested more than A$1.6 million in the parent company of Wonga, the payday loan outfit that Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby had promised to put out of business.  This is despite the Church’s policy banning the pension fund from investing in payday loan companies.  Welby this week announced plans to put corporate payday lenders out of business by putting the Church’s capital into supporting credit unions and co-ops which will make the same sort of loans at much lower rates.

France is investigating US Clothing retailer Abercrombie and Fitch over allegations job applicants were discriminated against over their physical appearance.  A&F has already lost similar discrimination lawsuits in the US and UK.  The company says it hires attractive young models to lure people into the stores, but the government civil rights group Defenseur des Droits says those “models” are really just sales people and there should be no discrimination based on looks.

South African authorities are investigating the hanging death of the country’s worst accused serial rapist, found in his jail cell on the morning of his trial.  Sifiso Makhubo faced 122 charges, including murder, and attempted murder over allegations he knowingly infected his victims with HIV - it would have been the first such prosecution.  South Africa has one of the highest sexual violence rates in the world.

George Zimmerman got away with murder:  That comes from one of the jurors who ultimately voted to acquit the man who admitted to shooting black teenager Trayvon Martin to death in Florida last year.  Identifying herself only as “Maddy”, the only non-white on the jury appeared on TV saying that try as she might, the judge’s instructions to the jury made it impossible to convict.  Zimmerman admitted to stalking the unarmed teen, confronting him, fighting with him, and shooting him, and claimed self-defense.  And according to Maddy, he got away with it.

A shocking crime in China’s capital:  A paroled criminal could face the death penalty after body slamming a 2-year old girl in a fight over a parking space in Beijing.  People’s Daily said the girl’s mother was checking on her in her pram, apparently blocking the parking space.  The suspect got out of his car and attacked the mother and child, who lingered for hours on life support before (according to some reports) dying in hospital.  The suspect was apprehended at a nearby spa.

Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia and Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro met for talks aimed at repairing relations.  The two have been rubbing each other raw – Santos meeting with Venezuela’s opposition leader, Maduro accusing Colombia of plotting against Venezuela – but now say they need to make up for time lost.  Venezuela has been acting as a go-between in Colombia’s peace process with Marxist rebels who are trying to come in from the jungle and rejoin the political process.

The once-leading candidate for mayor of New York City has seen his poll numbers and favorability ratings go limp (ha) after revelations he emailed photos of his naughty bits to three more women who aren’t his wife.  Anthony Weiner had to resign from congress two years ago over a similar scandal.  Weiner is standing firm (ha) and refusing to step out of the race.  But the new incidents apparently occurred after he said he had learned his lesson.  Aside from being hilarious, the scandal has national implications as well – Weiner’s wife Huma Abedin is a close advisor to Hillary Rodham Clinton, considered to be the early front-runner in the 2016 Presidential Election.