By Lomi Kriel and Sofia Menchu GUATEMALA CITY | Thu Dec 6, 2012 7:31pm EST GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - Software guru John McAfee, fighting deportation to Belize, was rushed to a hospital in Guatemala on Thursday shortly after his asylum request was rejected, but a suspected heart attack turned out to be stress in a fresh twist to the saga. The 67-...

By David Alexander WASHINGTON | Thu Dec 6, 2012 7:07pm EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is shifting warships into position to track and possibly defend against a planned North Korean rocket launch while urging Pyongyang to cancel its second such attempt this year, the head of the U.S. Pacific Command said on Thursday. Admiral Samuel L...

By Nidal al-Mughrabi GAZA | Thu Dec 6, 2012 7:06pm EST GAZA (Reuters) - Hamas's exiled leader will step onto Palestinian land for the first time in 45 years on Friday for a "victory rally" in the Gaza Strip, displaying his newfound confidence after last month's conflict with Israel. The Islamist group's leader, Khaled Meshaal, who has not visited...

By Michael Holden LONDON | Thu Dec 6, 2012 6:22pm EST LONDON (Reuters) - Max Clifford, Britain's highest-profile celebrity publicist, was arrested for alleged sex crimes on Thursday by a special police unit set up in the wake of an abuse scandal involving a former BBC TV star, his lawyer said. Clifford, 69, made his name and fortune helping some ...

By Kwasi Kpodo and Richard Valdmanis ACCRA | Thu Dec 6, 2012 6:16pm EST ACCRA (Reuters) - Ghanaians choose on Friday who will run one of Africa's most stable democracies as a surge in oil revenues promises to boost development and economic growth. Ghana has earned a reputation as an oasis of stability and progress in West Africa, a part of the wo...

By Erika Solomon and David Brunnstrom BEIRUT/DUBLIN | Thu Dec 6, 2012 6:03pm EST BEIRUT/DUBLIN (Reuters) - The two superpowers divided by Syria's civil war met head to head on Thursday, with signs emerging that Russia might curb its support for President Bashar al-Assad and Washington saying events were gathering speed on the ground. U.S. Secreta...

By Giuseppe Fonte and Barry Moody ROME | Thu Dec 6, 2012 3:08pm EST ROME (Reuters) - Silvio Berlusconi's party withdrew its support for Prime Minister Mario Monti on Thursday, raising the risk of a snap election in Italy, but President Giorgio Napolitano said he would work to avoid a crisis and there was no need for alarm. The centre-right People...

By Anthony Deutsch and Thomas Escritt AMSTERDAM | Thu Dec 6, 2012 2:35pm EST AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Human error was probably to blame for a collision that killed five crew and sank the Baltic Ace car carrier, its Greek manager said on Thursday, and Dutch rescuers said it was unlikely six missing seamen would be found alive. The Dutch Defence Minis...

By Mehreen Zahra-Malik WANA, Pakistan | Thu Dec 6, 2012 11:49am EST WANA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistan's Taliban, one of the world's most feared militant groups, are preparing for a leadership change that could mean less violence against the state but more attacks against U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan, Pakistani military sources said. Hakimulla...

BRASILIA | Thu Dec 6, 2012 9:58am EST BRASILIA (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez looks set to miss a regional trade summit in Brazil on Friday after going to Cuba for cancer-related medical treatment, officials said. Chavez had been enthusiastic about attending the Mercosur bloc's meeting in Brasilia to celebrate Venezuela's entry, so his abse...

By Noah Browning RAMALLAH, West Bank | Thu Dec 6, 2012 9:50am EST RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Jordan's king visited the West Bank on Thursday in a show of support for Palestinians stung by Israel's decision to expand settlements after their successful bid for de facto U.N. recognition of state...

By Michael Georgy KABUL | Thu Dec 6, 2012 9:44am EST KABUL (Reuters) - The Taliban said on Thursday they carried out a suicide bombing that wounded Afghanistan's intelligence chief in Kabul, another sign that the government is struggling to improve security ahead of a NATO pullout in 2014. Asadullah Khalid was wounded when the bomber struck at a ...

By Giuseppe Fonte ROME | Thu Dec 6, 2012 9:34am EST ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti on Thursday faced a revolt by Silvio Berlusconi's PDL party, which ratcheted up tension ahead of an election early next year by walking out of a Senate confidence vote. The walkout by the center-right People of Freedom (PDL) party was a symboli...

By Marwa Awad and Edmund Blair CAIRO | Thu Dec 6, 2012 9:34am EST CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's Republican Guard restored order around the presidential palace on Thursday after fierce overnight clashes killed seven people, but passions ran high in a struggle over the country's future. The Islamist president, Mohamed Mursi, criticized by his opponents...

By Erika Solomon BEIRUT | Thu Dec 6, 2012 8:50am EST BEIRUT (Reuters) - Western powers are whipping up fears of a fateful move to the use of chemical weapons in Syria's civil war as a "pretext for intervention", President Bashar al-Assad's deputy foreign minister said on Thursday. He spoke as Germany's cabinet approved stationing Patriot anti-mis...

By Erik de Castro NEW BATAAN, Philippines | Thu Dec 6, 2012 8:10am EST NEW BATAAN, Philippines (Reuters) - Rescue workers searched on Thursday through thick mud, broken homes and fallen trees for survivors, two days after a typhoon swept the southern Philippines killing nearly 400 people and leaving at least as many missing. Typhoon Bopha, with c...

SAO PAULO | Thu Dec 6, 2012 8:08am EST SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc and Google Inc both opened their digital bookstores in Brazil on Thursday, hot on the heels of e-book offerings by local booksellers in a fast-growing online retail market. The simultaneous introduction of the two services highlighted the wide-open nature of Brazil's $12 billion ...

By Crispian Balmer JERUSALEM | Thu Dec 6, 2012 7:57am EST JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel once tried to kill Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal in a botched assassination attempt on the streets of the Jordanian capital, Amman. Fifteen years later, it is starting to view him in a slightly different light and Israeli analysts say he might yet prove the man w...

By Jessica Donati and Daniel Fineren LONDON/DUBAI | Thu Dec 6, 2012 7:53am EST LONDON/DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranian oil tankers are sending incorrect satellite signals that confuse global tracking systems and appear to conceal voyages made by other ships to Syria, which, like Iran, is subject to international sanctions. The two countries are close al...

By Lee Chyen Yee HONG KONG | Thu Dec 6, 2012 6:50am EST HONG KONG (Reuters) - Apple Inc's rank in China's smartphone market, which is set to become the world's largest this year, fell to No.6 in the third quarter as it faced tough competition from Chinese brands, research firm IDC said on Thursday. IDC's announcement comes a day after Apple's sha...

By Mehreen Zahra-Malik WANA, Pakistan | Thu Dec 6, 2012 5:34am EST WANA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistan's Taliban, one of the world's most feared militant groups, are preparing for a leadership change that could mean less violence against the state but more attacks against U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan, Pakistani military sources said. Hakimullah...

By Anthony Deutsch and Sara Webb AMSTERDAM | Wed Dec 5, 2012 6:33pm EST AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - At least three crew members died when a cargo ship carrying cars sank after colliding with a container ship in the North Sea on Wednesday night, Dutch coastguards and media reports said. The coastguards mounted an air-and-sea rescue operation after the B...

By Ian Graham BELFAST | Wed Dec 5, 2012 6:29pm EST BELFAST (Reuters) - A number of police officers were injured in Northern Ireland on Wednesday in a second night of rioting this week, just two days before U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visits to lend support to the province's fragile peace. Up to 1,600 pro-British loyalists, enraged at ...

By Steve Scherer ROME | Wed Dec 5, 2012 6:21pm EST ROME (Reuters) - Italian former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi gave a strong hint on Wednesday that he would stand in next year's election, declaring he would not allow Italy to spiral into recession and saying he had been "besieged by requests" to run. Though Berlusconi has repeatedly changed ...

DUBAI | Wed Dec 5, 2012 5:39pm EST DUBAI (Reuters) - An earthquake measuring 5.5 in magnitude struck eastern Iran on Wednesday, killing eight people and injuring 12 others as emergency teams scrambled to rescue others and treat the injured, Iranian media reported. People fled their homes as the quake struck and brought walls and buildings down. But other...

By Edmund Blair and Marwa Awad CAIRO | Wed Dec 5, 2012 5:32pm EST CAIRO (Reuters) - Islamists battled with protesters outside Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi's palace on Thursday, after his vice president suggested amendments could be agreed to the draft constitution that has divided the nation. Fires burned in the streets near the palace perime...

BRUSSELS | Wed Dec 5, 2012 3:38pm EST BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO on Wednesday called on North Korea to cancel plans for its second rocket launch of 2012, saying it would violate U.N. resolutions and could further destabilize the Korean peninsula. NATO ambassadors expressed "grave concern at North Korea's declared intent to launch a rocket using ballistic ...

By Erika Solomon and David Brunnstrom BEIRUT/BRUSSELS | Wed Dec 5, 2012 2:46pm EST BEIRUT/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Washington fears a "desperate" Syrian President Bashar al-Assad could use chemical weapons as rebels bear down on Damascus, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday, repeating a vow to take swift action if he does. Rebels fig...

By Jeffrey Heller and Justyna Pawlak JERUSALEM/BRUSSELS | Wed Dec 5, 2012 1:29pm EST JERUSALEM/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Israel moved ahead with plans to build 3,000 settler homes in one of the most sensitive areas of the West Bank, as the European Union summoned Israel's envoy to add its voice to a storm of international protest. Israeli Prime Minist...

By Marwa Awad and Tamim Elyan CAIRO | Wed Dec 5, 2012 8:29am EST CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood called for a rally backing President Mohamed Mursi outside his palace on Wednesday and leftists planned a counter-demonstration, raising fears of clashes in a crisis over a disputed push for a new constitution. Mursi returned to work at h...

By Eric de Castro NEW BATAAN, Philippines | Wed Dec 5, 2012 8:06am EST NEW BATAAN, Philippines (Reuters) - Blocked roads and severed communications in the southern Philippines frustrated rescuers on Wednesday as teams searched for hundreds of people missing after the strongest typhoon this year killed at least 283 people. Typhoon Bopha, with cent...

By Shihar Aneez and Ranga Sirilal COLOMBO | Wed Dec 5, 2012 7:57am EST COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's main opposition said on Wednesday the chief justice, facing an impeachment motion moved by the ruling party, must be given a chance to cross-examine witnesses amid a standoff between the judiciary and the government . The dispute has raised the ...

VIENNA | Wed Dec 5, 2012 7:53am EST VIENNA (Reuters) - A nuclear-armed Iran would cause a regional arms race and make Tehran more isolated and vulnerable, according to a former Iranian negotiator who argues that the Islamic state is not seeking to build nuclear bombs. Israel and the United States suspect Iran is developing a nuclear arms capability and h...

BRUSSELS | Wed Dec 5, 2012 7:48am EST BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday it was crucial that NATO allies stick to their commitments to fund Afghanistan's security forces after Western forces end their combat role in the country in 2014. Afghanistan's foreign backers have pledged $4.1 billion per year to fund Afghan ...

By Matt Falloon and David Milliken LONDON | Wed Dec 5, 2012 7:48am EST LONDON (Reuters) - More austerity looks certain when British finance minister George Osborne presents a half-yearly budget statement on Wednesday, even if he tries to juggle some spending around to ease the pain. A darker economic outlook means Osborne is likely to commit to f...

By Jeffrey Heller JERUSALEM | Wed Dec 5, 2012 7:41am EST JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel moved forward on Wednesday with plans to build some 3,000 settler homes in one of the most sensitive areas of the occupied West Bank, in defiance of international protests. A Defence Ministry official said architects and contractors appeared before a subcommitte...

By Justyna Pawlak and Erika Solomon BRUSSELS/BEIRUT | Wed Dec 5, 2012 7:11am EST BRUSSELS/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Rebels said on Wednesday they had surrounded an air base near Damascus, a fresh sign of battle closing in on the Syrian capital a day after NATO drew a line in the sand by agreeing to send air defense missiles to Turkey. The Western milita...

By Jussi Rosendahl HELSINKI | Wed Dec 5, 2012 6:14am EST HELSINKI (Reuters) - Nokia is to partner with China Mobile, the world's biggest operator, to launch a version of its flagship Lumia smartphone tailored for the world's largest market. China Mobile, which has more than 700 million subscribers but no contract to sell iPhones, will start selli...

DUBAI | Wed Dec 5, 2012 6:10am EST DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran has obtained data from a U.S. intelligence drone that shows it was spying on the country's military sites and oil terminals, Iranian media reported its armed forces as saying on Wednesday. Iran announced on Tuesday that it had captured a ScanEagle drone belonging to the United States, but Washingt...

By John Ruwitch and Michael Martina SHANGHAI/BEIJING | Wed Dec 5, 2012 4:21am EST SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) - New Chinese regulations allowing police to board vessels deemed to be breaking the law off the southern island of Hainan were a provincial-level initiative, but Beijing likely signed off on them, an official said on Wednesday. China is i...