LONDON (Reuters) – Barclays could axe as many as 3,500 investment bank staff and cut its advisory or equities operations in Asia as part of a broader strategic review aimed at fixing the bank's culture in the wake of the financial crisis. The future shape and size of the investment ban k is seen as the most critical part of Chief Executive Antony Jenkins' review, as it contributes more than half of group profits but conducts the "casino" activities politicians and regulators are cracking down on. … Any attack on Iran may lead to withdrawal from NPT: envoy
VIENNA (Reuters) – Any military attack on Iran's nuclear f acilities may lead to the country withdrawing from the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), a pact designed to prevent the spread of nuclear arms, a senior Iranian official said on Friday. In case of an attack, "there is a possibility that the (Iranian) parliament forces the government to stop the (U.N. nuclear) agency inspections or even in the worse scenario withdraw from the NPT," nuclear envoy Ali Asghar Soltanieh said in a statement in English to the U.N. agency's 35-nation board. … Cricket-Australia get happy returns from Mitchells in Perth
PERTH, Nov 30 (Reuters) – Australia’s gamble on a rag-tag band of rookies and fringe players to overhaul their pace bowling unit paid rich dividends at the WACA on Friday, giving the hosts the edge in the third test against South Africa. Although the tourists battled back from the depths of 6-75 to make 225 all out and then took a couple of quick Australian wickets, the hosts were more than happy with their day’s work and none was questioning the contribution of the pace attack. …
Israel's Netanyahu to visit Germany
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his Cabinet will travel to Germany next week -- a visit that comes after Berlin abstained in a U.N. vote on recognition of a Palestinian state.
Syria: Airport road reopens but Internet still cut
Syrian rebels battled regime troops south of the capital Friday and Internet and telephone lines were cut for a second day, but the government reopened the road to Damascus' airport in a sign that the fighting could be calming, activists said. China-backed payment processor to accelerate global expansion
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China's state-backed electronic payment services giant, China UnionPay, launched an international arm tasked with speeding its expansion overseas, heating up competition with rivals such as Visa Inc and Mastercard Inc . The move underscores UnionPay's growing global ambitions, and follows a World Trade Organisation (WTO) ruling that China discriminates against foreign card companies by favoring UnionPay in the home market. … Palestinians celebrate UN endorsement of independent state
RAMALLAH, Palestine – Euphoric Palestinians erupted in cheers, set off fireworks and chanted “God is great” after the United Nations endorsed an independent state of Palestine, giving sweeping international backing to their demands for sovereignty over lands Israel occupied in 1967.
N. Korea rocket preparations might be a bluff
Rocket sections are apparently being trucked into North Korea’s northwest launch site, but some analysts are asking whether it’s just a calculated bluff meant to jangle the Obama administration and influence South Korean voters ahead of presidential elections in three weeks.
PARIS (Reuters) – The euro zone's crisis is far from over and its members must consolidate their budgets and forge a banking union to put the bloc on a more stable economic footing, the leaders of the IMF and European Central Bank said on Friday. Underlining the bloc's woes, data showed both German retail sales and French consumer spending falling faster than expected as well as stubborn Spanish inflation that will likely lift the cost of state pension rises for an already hard-pressed budget. … 
A rebel spokesman says that his fighters have delayed their departure from Goma by 48 hours for "logistical reasons," defying for a second time an ultimatum set by neighboring African countries. 
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India's economy extended its long slump in the last quarter, with lower-than-expected growth keeping it on track for its worst year in a decade and underscoring the ur gency of politically difficult reforms to spur a revival. The economy grew 5.3 percent from a year earlier in the July-September period, provisional gross domestic product (GDP) data showed on Friday, below the 5.5 percent posted for the three months ending in June. … 
PARIS (Reuters) – The French government and steelmaker ArcelorMittal are aimi ng to clinch a deal to save jobs and avoid a temporary nationalization of its Florange steelworks, government sources said on Friday as a midnight deadline neared. ArcelorMittal says the site's two furnaces are not viable but Socialist President Francois Hollande wants them kept open and has threatened a controversial state takeover for the site in northeastern France if no private buyer is found. The two furnaces together employ 600 workers with the entire site providing work for 2,700. … 
Euphoric Palestinians erupted in cheers, set off fireworks and chanted "God is great" after the United Nations endorsed an independent state of Palestine, giving sweeping international backing to their demands for sovereignty over lands Israel occupied in 1967. 
OTTAWA – When David Johnston takes on a cabinet-level trade assignment this weekend in Latin America, it will be a showcase for what could be the unoffical slogan for his vice-regal reign: bland is beautiful. 
Activists say Syrian rebels and government troops are clashing south of the capital as Internet and telephones lines remain cut for a sec ond day nationwide. 
LONDON (Reuters) – Concerns about the deadlock in crucial U.S. budget talks capped gains in world equity markets on Friday, while falling yields on Spanish and Italian bonds kept the euro near a one-month high. Markets are on edge over the lack of progress by political leaders in Washi ngton as a failure to resolve their differences by year-end would trigger automatic spending cuts and tax rises that will tip the U.S. economy into recession. Many investors also expect that once the so called 'fiscal cliff' is resolved, the brighter economic outlook for China and the U.S. … 
BEIJING (Reuters) – The nephew of blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng unexpectedly went on trial on Friday for intentional infliction of injury in a case likely to refocus international attention on China's human rights and legal system. Chen Kegui has been held incommunicado by police for over six months and has been denied access to his choice of lawyers. His case is widely seen as illegitimate by Chen's family and human rights advocates. … 
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syrian rebels battled forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad just outside Damascus on Thursday, cutting access to its international airport, and Dubai-based Emirates a irline and EgyptAir stopped flights to the Syrian capital. The Internet and some telephone lines went down across Syria. Rebels and the government traded blame for the blackout, the worst communications outage in 20 months of conflict. Rebels fighting to topple Assad have been making gains around Syria by overrunning military bases and have been ramping up attacks on Damascus, his seat of power. … 
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany's lower house of parliament will approve a fresh bailout for Greece on Friday in a vote seen as a test of Chancellor Angela Merkel's authority over he r centre-right coalition less than a year before federal elections. The outcome of Friday's vote in the Bundestag is not in doubt but unease over the costs of the euro zone debt crisis and over talk of another write-down of Greek debt means the number of coalition lawmakers voting against will be keenly watched. … 
PERTH (Reuters) – Australia's ove rhauled pace attack mauled South Africa with five wickets in the hour around the lunch break to leave the tourists floundering at 141 for seven at tea on the opening day of the third and final test of the series on Friday. Seamers Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Johnson and debutant John Hastings as well as all rounder Shane Watson all got amongst the wickets to leave South Africa perhaps ruing the decision to bat first on a bouncy WACA track. … 
The political party that ruled Mexico for seven straight decades is back, assuring Mexicans there's no chance of a return to what some called "the perfect dictatorship" that was marked by a mixture of populist handouts, rigged votes and occasional bloodshed. 
PARIS (Reuters) – European Central Bank President Mario Draghi sa id on Friday that budgetary consolidation in the euro zone would entail a short-term economic impact but the currency bloc was on track for a recovery in the second half of 2013. Draghi told Europe 1 radio that euro zone governments must push ahead with implementing a banking union which should apply to all banks to avoid fragmenting the sector. Governments must pursue structural reforms to reduce labor market rigidity, notably in France and Italy, he added. (Reporting By Nicholas Vinocur; Editing by Daniel Flynn) 
Gotye has taken home album of the year at Australia's Aria music awards for hi s internationally acclaimed "Making Mirrors." 
MACAU (Reuters) – Wan "Broken Tooth" Kuok-koi will emerge from jail this weekend into a very different Macau gambling haven than the one he bullied in the late-1990s. Under new leadership, chosen at a Chinese Communist Party Congress this month where corruption was a dominant theme, Beijing is sending strong signals to Macau authorities to tighten regulation and promote responsible gaming in the world's casino capital. It's a far cry from more than a decade ago when Wan and other triad gangsters ran amok during the final days of Portuguese rule of this southern Chinese outcrop. … 
The single line of Napoleon's secret code told Paris of his desperate, last order against the Russians: "At three o'clock in the morning, on the 22nd I am going to blow up the Kremlin." 
Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has publicly criticized the forcible crackdown on protesters at a mine in northwestern Myanmar, saying the public needs an explanation of the violence that injured dozens, including Buddhist monks. 
Islamists approved a draft constitution for Egypt early Friday without the participation of liberal and Christian members, seeking to pre-empt a court ruling that could dissolve their panel with a rushed, marathon vote that further inflames the clash between the opposition and President M ohammed Morsi. 
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Hyundai Motor Co's admission that it overstated fuel economy claims on several of its top-selling cars has the industry worried, with speculation rife among executives and analysts at the Los Angeles auto show that more automakers may have to do the same. Four weeks ago, Hyundai and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp conceded that they overstated the fuel economy by at least a mile per gallon on more than 1 million recently sold vehicles. "I think we might see more of this," said Jake Fisher, the head of automotive testing at Consumer Reports. … 
LONDON (Reuters) – WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, holed up in London's Ecuadorian embassy for nearly six months, played down concerns about his health on Thursday, saying he enjoyed be ing at the centre of the legal and diplomatic storm. Assange, 41, whose website angered the United States by releasing thousands of secret diplomatic cables, took sanctuary in Ecuador's embassy in June, jumping bail after exhausting appeals in British courts against extradition to Sweden for sexual assault allegations. … 
Satellite photos indicate North Korea has moved two sections of a long-range rocket in preparation for a launch that would alarm both its adversaries and lone ally China. 
When he came to power six years ago, President Felipe Calderon set goals to alleviate poverty, create jobs and increase public safety. 
VIENNA (Reuters) – The United States set a March deadline on Thursday for Iran to start cooperating in substance with a U.N. nuclear agency investigation, warning Tehran the is sue may otherwise be referred to the U.N. Security Council. The comments by U.S. diplomat Robert Wood to the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency signaled Washington's growing frustration at a lack of progress in the IAEA's inquiry into possible military dimensions to Tehran's nuclear program. Iran – which was first reported to the U.N. … 
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The 193-nation U.N. General Assembly on Thursday overwhelmingly appro ved the de facto recognition of the sovereign state of Palestine after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on the world body to issue its long overdue "birth certificate." The U.N. victory for the Palestinians was a diplomatic setback for the United States and Israel, which were joined by only a handful of countries in voting against the move to upgrade the Palestinian Authority's observer status at the United Nations to "non-member state" from "entity," like the Vatican. … 
(Reuters) – The U.N. General Assembly's overwhelming vote to recognize Palestine as a non-member state offers little prospect for greater clout in world politics but it could make a difference in the i nternational courts. The formal recognition of statehood, even without full U.N. membership, could be enough for the Palestinians to achieve membership at the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC), where member states have the power to refer for investigation alleged war crimes or crimes against humanity. With its upgraded status at the U.N. … 
HAVANA (Reuters) – Colombia's Marxist-led FARC rebels said their peace talks with the government were going well, but the lead negotiator for President Juan Manuel Santos was more reserved as the two sides finished the first round of meetings aimed at ending their protracted conflict. In separate sessions with the press, neither side spoke of breakthroughs in the talks, but nor was there any sign they had hit irresolvable obstacles as happened in previous peace attempts. They will reconvene in Havana on Wednesday. … 
(Reuters) – In a move that ratchets up tensions in labor negotiations, Boeing Co on Thursday asked for federal mediators to help unstick talks with the union that represents its 23,000 engineers, saying the sides were far apart on pay and benefits. "We hope the expertise of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service can help move the two sides toward a resolution," Boeing said in a statement. The move halted discussions around mid-day in Seattle and no further meetings are scheduled, the two sides said. … 
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn and the hotel maid who accused him of sexually assaulting her last year have reached a preliminary agreement to settle the civil lawsuit she brought against him, a person familiar with the case said. The person, however, cautioned that the agreement could still fall apart. The development was first reported by the New York Times, which cited people with knowledge of the case. Lawyers for Strauss-Kahn and the maid, Nafissatou Diallo, will appear before a judge in New York next week, the Times reported. … 
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Al Qaeda fighters are still trying to make inroads into Afghanistan , U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Thursday, cautioning that battling the group would be a core U.S. mission there for years to come. Panetta made the comments as the United States weighs how large a military force to keep in Afghanistan when the NATO combat mission ends in 2014, ending a war that, at that point, will have stretched for over 13 years. There are approximately 66,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, but the residual force may number less than 10,000. … 
(Reuters) – Fisker Automotive Inc said on Thursday that it has temporarily idled production of its Karma plug-in hybrid after its lithium-ion battery supplier A123 Systems Inc cut its output. A123, which is the sole battery supplier for the Karma, slowed production after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October, Fisker spokesman Roger Ormisher said. Fisker has enough lithium-ion batteries on hand in case an owner needs a replacement, Ormisher said. The company expects to have clarity on its battery inventory after December 6, when an auction to sell A123 is scheduled. … 
CAIRO (Reuters) – An Islamist-led assembly was expected to finalize a new constitution on Friday aimed at transforming Egypt and paving the way for an end to a crisis which eru pted when President Mohamed Mursi gave himself sweeping new powers last week. Mursi said his decree halting court challenges to his decisions, which provoked protests and violence from Egyptians fearing a new dictator was emerging less than two years after they ousted Hosni Mubarak, was "for an exceptional stage". "It will end as soon as the people vote on a constitution," he told state television on Thursday night. … 
CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) – Canada's government said on Thursday that pending U.S. approvals for CNOOC Ltd's $15.1 billion bid for Nexen Inc will not affect its own review of the transaction. A spokeswoman for Industry Minister C hristian Paradis said that under the Investment Canada Act (ICA), the government's review of the bid is not altered by the two companies' decision earlier this week to refile their application to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. … 
FORT MEADE, Maryland (Reuters) – A U.S. Army private facing court-martial on suspicion of leaking secret documents to the WikiLeaks website testified on T hursday he was confined to a "cage" in the early days after his arrest in 2010, and thought he would die there. Bradley Manning, in his first public comments since his arrest in Iraq, said his isolation led to a rapid decline in his awareness of his surroundings. He said that he was initially given little or no information about the charges against him. "My nights were my days and my days were my nights," Manning said. … 
LONDON (Reuters) – British consumer confidence unexpectedly picked up to an 18-month high in November, according to a survey on Friday that offered Chancellor George Osborne some relief before he sets out his plans to revive a stagnant economy next week. The GfK NOP headline index rose to -22 from -30 in October, the strongest since May 2011 and better than forecasts for an unchanged reading. Although Britain's economy emerged from recession in the third quarter, policymakers have warned of a slow and drawn-out recovery. … 
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain's over-50s are in blissful ignorance of how little their pension pots will pay out and need an urgent financial health check if their retirements are to be as comforta ble as they expect, an industry report said. Workers approaching retirement in the next 15 years need to see their pension pots grow by almost 80 percent to meet their expectations, the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) said on Friday. … 
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn will settle the civil lawsuit brought by the hotel maid who accused him of sexually assaulting her last year, the New York Times reported on Thursday, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Lawyers for Strauss-Kahn and Nafissatou Diallo will appear before a judge in New York next week, the Times reported, though the newspaper said one person familiar with the details emphasized that a final agreement has not yet been signed. … 
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Honda Motor Co introduced it s redesigned Civic sedan only a year-and-a-half after a major model change of the best-selling compact car in the United States. Even Honda admits that the 2012 Civic, introduced in the spring of 2011, missed the mark. For a company that prides itself on rock-solid reliability, it was a shock last summer when influential Consumer Reports ranked the Civic dead last in a field of 12 compact sedans it tested. Sales of the new Civic, a 2013 model, will start this week and the refreshed car was shown off on Thursday at the LA Auto Show. … 
DETROIT (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co , vying to challeng e Toyota Motor Corp's stronghold on the U.S. hybrid market, said it expects to wind up with 11 percent of the U.S. market for hybrid, plug-in hybrid and battery electric vehicles this year. This target would be a record for the second-largest U.S. automaker and is more than double its current presence of 5.2 percent in the U.S. electrified vehicle market. Toyota, the maker of the popular Prius hybrid, held 70.4 percent share during the first 10 months of the year, according to auto information site Edmunds.com. Ford's larger U.S. … 
The black-and-white photos show masses of people yearning for independence, celebrating a vote recognizing a state in Palestine. It was a day that generations of pupils would be taught to remember with reverence: Nov. 29. 
CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is doing well as he receives medical treatment in Cuba, Vice President Nic olas Maduro said on Thursday, despite a two-week absence from public view that has raised fresh doubts about his health. Chavez, 58, said in a letter to parliament on Tuesday he was returning to Havana for "hyperbaric oxygenation," which is used to treat bone decay caused by radiation therapy. The president has undergone three cancer operations in Cuba since mid-2011. … 
The United Nations voted overwhelmingly Thursday to recognize a Palestinian state, a long-sought victory for the Palestinians but an embarrassing diplomatic defeat for the United States.