ROME (Reuters) – Five months before an election that will be crucial not just for this country but the whole euro zone, Italy is mired in some of its greatest political uncertainty since World War Two. Nobody knows what electoral system will be used or who the candidates will be in a parliamentary poll that will be marked by Italian voter anger over the pain of austerity. … Vatican may eventually limit Sistine Chapel visits
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling frescoes turned 500 on Wednesday with the Vatican warning it may eventually limit visitors to protect one of the w onders of Western civilization. On October 31, 1512, only 20 years after the discovery of America, Pope Julius II said an evening vespers service to inaugurate the room where Michelangelo toiled for four years, much of it on his back, to finish his ceiling frescoes. The frescoes immediately became the talk of the town and have since become the talk of the world. … 
RAMADI, Iraq (Reuters) – In guesthouses and mosques across Iraq's Anbar province, the talk at Sunni tribal gatherings has turned from the usual d ebate over local politics to a matter even more pressing – the war next door. Many people in Iraq's Sunni heartland, once al Qaeda's stronghold in the country, are most concerned with helping their kin. Tribal ties span the border, and Sunni chieftains and community leaders say Iraqi tribes regularly send Syrian relatives food and supplies. Some openly support Free Syrian Army rebels with arms when border controls allowed. … 
KUWAIT (Reuters) – Kuwaiti prosecutors have charged an opposition leader with insulting the Gulf state's ruler, a defense lawyer said on Wednesday, in a case likely to fuel tension before a parliamentary election on December 1. Musallam al-Barrak, an outspoken former member of parliament was picked up from his home on Monday night, two weeks after an opposition rally at which he made rare critical remarks about the emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah. … 
Israel's prime minister and France's president, despite di fferences over the Mideast peace process, are pushing together for firmer sanctions on Iran to keep it from developing nuclear weapons. 
Five centuries after Michelangelo's ceiling frescoes were inaugurated at the Sistine Chapel, at least 10,000 people visit the site each day, raising concerns about temperature, dust and humidity affecting the famed art. 
Jimmy Savile was one of Britain's biggest stars -- and, allegedly, one of its worst sexual predators. Now the nation is asking whether there was a link between one and the other. 
OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada's economic growth remains on track for the year despite unexpectedly weak gross domestic product data for August, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Wednesday. "We're going to see some variations, but overall, for the year we are on track with GDP growth," Flaherty told reporters. (Reporting by Randall Palmer, writing by Alastair Sharp) 
Councilman Pushes For Charges Against Twitter User Who Spread Falsehoods. "I hope the fact that I'm asking for criminal charges to be seriously considered will make him much less comfortable and much less smug," says Vallone. Andrew Kaczynski … 
LISBON (Reuters) – Portugal's parliament is expected to approve the biggest tax increases in the country's modern history on Wednesda y, paving the way for a court battle over a budget which the government says is vital for keeping its international bailout afloat. The government of Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho is searching for ways to guarantee revenues for meeting budget goals set under the 78-billion euro bailout deal with the European Union and International Monetary Fund. … 
PORT SUDAN (Reuters) – Two Iranian warships left Sudan on Wednesday after a visit that drew attention to the countries' military ties less than a week after Khartoum accused Israel of bombing a Sudane se arms factory. Israel accuses the Muslim East African country of channeling weapons to the Gaza Strip, controlled by Iran's ally Hamas, via Egypt's Sinai desert – a charge Khartoum denies. Last week, a fire at the Yarmouk munitions plant in the south of Khartoum killed four people, and Sudan said an Israeli air strike was behind the blast. Israel has not commented on the fire. … 
(Reuters) – Canada's main stock index looked set to join Wall Street by opening higher on Wednesday, with investors also set to take cues from Canadian corporate earnings. U.S. stock index futures rose in what could be a volatile day of trading as equity markets reop en after a damaging storm forced a two-day market closure. TOP STORIES Millions across the U.S. Northeast stricken by massive storm Sandy will attempt to resume their normal lives as companies, markets and airports reopen despite grim projections of power and mass transit outages around New York for several more days. … 
DUBAI (Reuters) – Bahrain must lift its total ban on opposition protests, which violates the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, rights group Amnesty International said on Wednesday. Bahrain, a U.S. ally which hosts the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet, has been in political turmoil since pro-democracy protests led by its Shi'ite Muslim majority erupted last year and were put down by the island's Sunni Muslim rulers. … 
BRUSSELS/ATHENS (Reuters) – Euro zone finance ministers conferred on how to keep Greece afloat as negotiations between Athens and its foreign lenders neared conclusion over reforms the country must implement to receive fresh emergency loans. Greece needs to push through spending cuts and tax measures worth 13.5 billion euros ($17.5 billion) as well as a raft of economic reforms to appease EU and IMF lenders and secure bailout money to avoid bankruptcy. … 
(Reuters) – PVH Corp will buy lingerie and sportswear maker Warnaco Group Inc for about $2.8 billion in a cash-and-stock deal to bring the Calvin Klein clothing brand under one roof. PVH, which owns and makes formal wear and sportswear under the Calvin Klein brand, will gain the underwear and jeans businesses that have been under license to Warnaco since 1997. PVH expects the combined businesses to generate $8 billion in revenue for the full year. … 
ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece's government scraped through a parliamentary vote on a contentious article in a privatization law dema nded by lenders on Wednesday, highlighting the fragility of the ruling coalition. The article, which intends to scrap the government's obligation to own a minimum stake in a string of former state companies, passed with 148 deputies backing it and 139 deputies against the measure. Support for the measure fell far short of the 176-seat majority Prime Minister Antonis Samaras's three-party coalition enjoys in parliament. … 
LONDON/SEOUL (Reuters) – EU sanctions on Iran's natural gas have unintentionally also brought its exports of liquefied petroleum gas to a near halt, industry sources say, starving Tehran of yet more dollar revenue and threatening to push European winter fuel b ills yet higher. LPG, which comprises propane and butane, comes mainly from oil rather than natural gas, but shippers and insurers are steering clear of Iranian supplies due to uncertainty over the scope of the new European Union sanctions. "It's a grey area if natural gas includes LPG or not," said one LPG trader. … 
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Most Is raelis would be reassured if Mitt Romney won next week's U.S. presidential election, feeling they had an unquestioning friend rather than a dispassionate critic in the White House. But any change would probably be a question of style over substance, analysts say, with a Republican administration expected to follow the path already laid out by President Barack Obama when it comes to Iran and the Palestinians. The allies are too joined at the hip on fundamental challenges for the head to make that much difference. … 
It's not clear whether Sean Penn knew ahead of his visit to Bolivia of the missions he'd be asked to assume by President Evo Morales. 
DETROIT (Reuters) – General Motors Co on Wednesday posted a far stronger-than-expected profit and said it was targeting a return to break-even levels in its money-losing Europ ean operations by mid-decade after a loss of as much as $1.8 billion in that region this year. GM's net income attributable to common shareholders in the third quarter fell to $1.48 billion, or 89 cents a share, compared with $1.74 billion, or $1.03 a share, in the year earlier quarter. Excluding one-time items, GM earned 93 cents a share, far above the 60 cents analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S had expected. … 
Chrysler Group LLC Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne reiterated that Jeep sport-utility vehicle production will stay in the U.S. after presidential candidate Mitt Romney suggested output may move to China. "Jeep production will not be moved from the … 
Cars are blurred as they pass by a darkened Flatiron Building in a section of Manhattan still in a blackout following Hurricane Sandy. (Photo: Mario Tama, Getty Images). Story Highlights. Death toll is at 50 so far; Kennedy, Newark airports to re-open; Looting a … 
President Obama walks into the White House in a driving rain after returning to Washington to monitor preparations for an early response to Hurricane Sandy. (Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press / October 29, 2012) … 
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Voters will choose a president next week using a flawed and undemocratic system, says the man known as "The Magician" by opposition leaders over h is stewardship of Russian elections they say were marred by fraud. "The U.S. presidential election is not direct, not universal and not equal, and it does not safeguard the secrecy of voting," Vladimir Churov, an ally of President Vladimir Putin who heads Russia's Central Election Commission, wrote in the government newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta. "The electoral system and electoral laws in the United States are far from perfect. … 
The cyclonic storm, Nilam, which lay centred at about 50 km to 60 km south of Chennai, is likely to cross the coast near Mamallapuram on Wednesday evening. The process of landfall, which is expected to begin from around 5-30 p.m., will go on till 11-30 p.m., … 
NEW YORK People in the coastal corridor battered by superstorm Sandy took the first cautious steps to reclaim routines upended by the disaster, even as rescuers combed neighborhoods strewn with debris and scarred by floods and fire. But while New York … 
Wait a minute. Episode 7? If you're like most New Jerseyans, you've probably spent the last 72 hours transfixed on the fear and damage brought forth by Hurricane Sandy. So naturally, you might have missed some other items in the news. Like this: The world … 
Unemployment in the 17-country eurozone rose to a record 11.6 percent in September, official figures showed Wednesday, in another grim development for a region that is struggling to get to grips with a three-year debt crisis. 
A group of people who have accurately predicted the winner of the popular vote in the last four presidential elections thinks President Barack Obama is headed for a second term: the American people. Fifty-four percent of Americans think Obama will win the … 
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syrian rebels said on Wednesday they had formed a brigade of sympathetic Palestinians in a Damascus district to fight armed Palestinians aligned with President Bashar al-Assad. About 150,000 Palestinian refugees live in the Syrian … 
The massive storm that started out as Hurricane Sandy slammed into the East Coast and morphed into a huge and problematic system, killing at least 55 people in the United States. Power outages now stand at more than 6.8 million homes and businesses, … 
Greece's general government debt is projected to stand at 189.1 percent of gross domestic product in 2013, figures in next year's revised budget show. 
NEW YORK -- President Barack Obama promised help for storm victims on the East Coast of the United States assistance ahead of a visit to New Jersey on Wednesday. New Jersey beach communities were among the hardest hit by super storm Sandy … 
TORONTO (Reuters) – A humorist, travel w riter and novelist who penned a fictional tale about the inner workings of Nigerian email scams won Canada's most prestigious and lucrative literary prize on Tuesday. Will Ferguson won the C$50,000 ($50,000) Scotiabank Giller prize for his novel "419," published by Penguin Canada. "I'd like to raise a toast to the written word," Ferguson, said in his acceptance speech as he drank from a flask at the podium. … 
MIAMI -- Does it really have to be like this? Ray Allen didn't like losing his starting job in Boston. Ray didn't like Rajon Rondo. He didn't feel appreciated by the Celtics. So Ray made a deal with the hoop devil. He signed with the Miami Heat. And now Kevin … 
Activists say Syrian warplanes are pounding opposition strongholds around Damascus and in the north, as the regime of President Bashar Assad intensifies airstrikes against rebels seeking to topple him. 
Vijay Kumar clutched a worn plastic folder containing his high school diploma and his nursing aide certificate as he joined a long queue at an employment exchange in a New Delhi suburb. It's a familiar ritual. For six years he has struck out. 
LONDON (Reuters) – Barclays has fired staff, clawed back pay and taken other disciplinary action after a "very r igorous" internal investigation into the bank's manipulation of Libor interest rates, its new chief executive said. "In some circumstances this has led to people being removed from the firm, in some cases it's led to disciplinary action, and along with that there has been a series of compensation actions … appropriate to individual's involvement," Chief Executive Antony Jenkins told reporters on a conference call. … 
MADRID (Reuters) – Spain will come out of its current crisis through a combination of domestic reforms and policy decisions taken at a European level, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said in parliament on Wednesday. "Overcoming the crisis depends on national reforms but also European policies," Rajoy said. The Spanish leader has kept financial markets guessing as to whether he will ask for a financial rescue from the European Union. "The European Union is moving, but at a pace that can seem desperately slow to some of us," he also said. … 
The future of a pricey malaria program meant to provide cheap drugs for poor patients may be in jeopardy after health officials clashed over its effectiveness in two new reports. 
In a small town in northern China's Inner Mongolia where sheep and cattle easily outnumber humans, Fan Chen paid a party boss three times an average urban resident's annual salary to become a local police chief. 
Greek lawmakers are to vote Wednesday on a privatization bill that will be the first major test for the country's troubled governing coalition, while journalists have walked off the job at the start of rolling 24-hour strikes to protest austerity plans that will affect their healthcare funds. 
A Chinese government think tank is urging the country's leaders to start phasing out its one-child policy immediately and allow two children for every family by 2015, a daring proposal to do away with the unpopular policy. 
Afghanistan's Election Com mission says the country's next presidential election will be held on April 5, 2014, in a vote that is seen as crucial for the future of the war-ravaged country. 
LONDON (Reuters) – Barclays unveiled two new U.S. regulatory probes on Wednesday as the bank, already rocked by an interest rate rigging scandal, said profits fell by a fifth due to charges for the mis-selling of insurance. Barclays said the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission were investigating whether its relationships with third parties who help it win or retain business are compliant with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. It is also being investigated for past power trading in the western United States. … 
Pitcher Jake Peavy and the Chicago White Sox agreed Tuesday to a $29 million, two-year contract. 
LONDON (Reuters) – Hong Kong was named the world's top financial center for the second year running by the World Economic Forum (WEF), thanks to the strength o f its business environment, infrastructure and a favorable tax regime. The WEF's annual Financial Development Report considered a wide range of factors and underscored the rise of Asian trading centers and the influence of China as the world's second-largest economy. Rival surveys based purely on the total value of transactions typically put New York or London in top place. … 
KABUL (Reuters) – Afghanistan will hold its next presidential election on April 5, 2014, the Election Commission announced on Wednesday. President Hamid Karzai, who is constitutionally barred from seeking a th ird term, had denied speculation that security problems and the exit of foreign troops that year would delay the poll. The credibility of the vote will be vital to the security and stability of Afghanistan after the final foreign combat troops have left by the end of 2014. Karzai's re-election in 2009 was blighted by allegations of fraud. … 
LONDON (Reuters) – British consumer confidence fell to its lowest in six months in October, highlighting the fragility o f Britain's recovery from recession, a survey by researchers GfK NOP showed on Wednesday. The poll's headline index dipped to -30, the lowest since April when the country was in the middle of an economic slump. Analysts had forecast a steady reading of -28. The latest figure contrasts with the official end of recession between July and September, when the economy grew 1 percent, partly helped by the London Olympics. … 
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Rupert Murdoch's News Corp boosted its share of Australia's pay-TV market after shareholders in Consolidated Media Holdings Ltd voted in favor of a A$2 billion ($2.1 billion) takeover offer from New s. The deal will double the stake of News Corp's Australian arm in dominant pay-TV operator Foxtel to 50 percent and give it 100 percent of content provider Fox Sports, increasing its pay-TV exposure at the same time as it cuts costs at its print operations. Consolidated Media said shareholders at a meeting on Wednesday voted 99.9 percent in favor of the takeover. … 
(Reuters) – Opium poppy cultivation in Myanmar has risen for the sixth consecutive year despite a state eradi cation campaign, a United Nations report said on Wednesday, throwing doubt on government assertions the problem would be over by 2014. Unprecedented eradication efforts managed to destroy almost 24,000 hectares (59,280 acres) of poppy fields in the 2012 season, running from the autumn 2011 to early summer this year, more than triple the previous year's total. But the U.N. … 
Mexico is putting up wind power turbines at a breakneck pace and the expansion is pitting energy companies against the Indians who live in one of the windiest spots in the world.