Israeli aircraft have battered the headquarters of the Gaza Strip bank the territory’s Hamas rulers set up to sidestep international sanctions.
Cricket-Aussie Christian suspended for smashing up dressing rooms
SYDNEY, Nov 20 (Reuters) – Australian limited overs international Dan Christian has been suspended for one match by South Australia for smashing up three dressing rooms this season. Christian was punished after his frustration at being dismissed led to him damage dressing rooms at the Adelaide Oval, Bellerive Oval in Hobart and Perth’s WACA ground. The 29-year-old all-rounder, who has played 17 one-day internationals and 11 Twenty20 matches for his country, will miss this weekend’s Sheffield Shield match against Victoria. …
Sharp seeks 2,000 job cuts, gets 3,000 volunteers
TOKYO (Reuters) – Struggling Japanese TV maker Sharp Corp said on Tuesday about 3,000 of its workers volunteered for early redundancy, far more than the 2,000 it aims to lay off in a bid to trim costs amid moun ting losses. Sharp said it will book a special loss of 25.3 billion yen ($312 million) for the October-December quarter to cover costs for the layoffs. ($1 = 81.1350 Japanese yen) (Reporting by Shinichi Saoshiro; Editing by Michael Watson) Pushing for change, some in Jordan point to king
It's usually a few younger protesters who break out in the chant -- startling and almost unheard of in this country where the monarchy has always been almost sacrosanct -- "Down, down with the king." Moody's strips France of AAA-rating with one-notch cut
PARIS/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Moody's stripped France of its prized triple-A badge on Monday, cutting the sovereign credit rating on Europe's No. 2 economy by one notch to Aa1 from Aaa, citing an uncertain fiscal outlook and deteriorating economy. The downgrade, which follows a cut by Standard & Poor's in January, was widely expected but is still a blow to Socialist President Francois Hollande as he strives to convince the world he can fix France's public finances and stalled economy. … Backing tough talk, Israeli premier wages 1st war
Throughout his long political career, Israel’s prime minister has earned a reputation as a tough talker. An ardent hawk who wrote a book about how to defeat terrorism, Benjamin Netanyahu has previously threatened to attack Iran, topple Gaza’s Hamas leaders and strike hard at Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon.
Done Deal: Blue Jays-Marlins trade finally official after Selig gives thumbs up
TORONTO – It took longer than Blue Jays fans probably would have liked, but Toronto’s mammoth 12-player trade with the Miami Marlins is finally a done deal.
Israeli aircraft hit Hamas bank HQ in Gaza
Israeli aircraft have battered the headquarters of the Gaza Strip bank the territory's Hamas rulers set up to sidestep international sanctions. Dolphins shot, mutilated, stabbed; attacks along Gulf Coast a mystery for experts
Over the past several months, dolphins have washed ashore along the northern Gulf Coast with bullet wounds, missing jaws and hacked off fins, and federal officials said they are looking into the mysterious deaths.
Obama wades into thorny Asian territorial row
President Barack Obama's attendance at an annual summit of Southeast Asian leaders sets him right in the eye of the region's most stormy dispute: the long-raging rivalry between China and five neighbors for control of strategic and resource-rich waters of the South China Sea. 
TOKYO (Reuters) – Asian shares rose on Tuesday on hopes of a compromise in the U.S. fiscal crisis, while the euro fell after Moody's Investors Service scrapped France's top-notch credit rating, reminding in vestors of the downside risk from the euro zone debt woes. With risk assets from stocks to commodities rallying over the past two sessions, recovering some of last week's sharp losses, markets were prone to profit taking as trading will likely slow ahead of Thanksgiving holiday weekend. The dollar steadied against a basket of key currencies after Monday's 0. … 
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) – In his first meeting with a Chinese leader since his re-election, U.S. Pr esident Barack Obama said on Tuesday Washington and its chief economic rival must work together to "establish clear rules of the road" for trade and investment. Obama's comments, on the final leg of a three-day Southeast Asian trip, come amid simmering tensions in Asia over China and its territorial claims as leaders from the Asia-Pacific meet in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh. … 
ZURICH (Reuters) – As retailers stock up for Christmas, the No. 1 maker of computer mice is fighting to increase its share of the computer accessories market in an increasingly mouse-less wor ld. Founded in a farmhouse near the small Swiss town of Romanel-sur-Morges in 1981, Logitech's star rose rapidly in the 1980s when it marketed the first modern computer mouse, developed at the nearby Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne. … 
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama told Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Tuesday that their two countries had a "special responsibility" to lead the way on bal anced, sustained global economic growth. "As the two largest economies in the world, we have a special responsibility to lead the way in ensuring sustained and balanced growth not only here in Asia but globally," Obama said at the start of bilateral talks with Wen in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh. (Reporting by Jeff Mason; editing by Stuart Grudgings) 
TACOMA, Washington (Reuters) – A U.S. soldier accused of killing five fellow servicemen at a military combat stress center in Baghdad in 2009 entered no plea at an arraignment on Monday at a military base in Washington state. Sergeant John Russell, 48, is accused of going on a shooting spree at Camp Liberty, near the Baghdad airport, in an assault the military said at the time could have been triggered by combat stress. … 
(Reuters) – JPMorgan Chase & Co named little-known executive Marianne Lake as its chief financial officer on Monday, making her one of the most powerful women on Wall Street and the top ambassado r to investors for the largest U.S. bank. Lake, 43, will replace Doug Braunstein as CFO early next year and join only a handful of other women in top Wall Street roles, such as Ruth Porat, the chief financial officer of Morgan Stanley . Lake will answer directly to CEO Jamie Dimon in her new role, reestablishing a reporting line taken away from the CFO post this summer after a massive $6. … 
QUITO (Reuters) – Ecuador's President Rafael Correa holds a commanding lead ahead of February's election as an opinion poll published on Monday showed him more than 30 points ahead of his closest rival. High government spending on roads, hospitals and schools has made the 49-year-old economist very popular with the low-income majority, and he will have the advantage of facing a divided opposition that will include at least five other candidates. … 
TORONTO (Reuters) – Canada's main stock index jumped more than 1 percent on Monday, led by material and energy stocks as commodity prices advanced on hopes that a U.S. budget crisis will be averted. Over the weekend, leading Democratic and Republican lawmakers expressed confidence that they could reac h a deal to avert the "fiscal cliff", a mix of tax increases and spending cuts starting early in the new year unless there is a deal on Capitol Hill. … 
Colombia's main rebel group announced a unilateral cease-fire on Monday as it began much-anticipated peace talks, but the Bogota government responded that it would continue military operations. 
LONDON (Reuters) – The Church of England decides on Tuesday whether to allow the ordination of women bishops when members take part in an historic vo te whose result could prove the first major test for the next archbishop. Women already serve as Anglican bishops in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States, but the Church of England, mother church for the world's 80 million Anglicans, has struggled to reconcile the dispute between reformers and traditionalists on whether to allow them in England. … 
Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers traded fire and tough cease-fire proposals Monday, and threatened to escalate their border conflict if diplomacy fails. No deal appeared near. 
THE HAGUE (Reuters) – The International Court of Justice ruled on Monday that a cluster of disputed small islands in the western Caribbean belonged to Colombia and not to Nicaragua, but drew a demarcation line in favor of Nicaragua in t he nearby waters. The court said the territorial waters extending out from the seven islets, which are nearer Nicaragua's coast than Colombia's, should not cut into Nicaragua's continental shelf. The ruling reduced the expanse of ocean belonging to Colombia. … 
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy's conservatives chose a right-leaning new leader on Monday in a razor-thin victory -- 98 votes -- and with so much rancor that some feared the party could break apart. 
WASHINGTON (R euters) – President Barack Obama and southeast Asian leaders launched an initiative aimed at expanding trade and investment ties between the United States and 10 countries in southeast Asia, the White House said on Monday. The countries announced the start of the process at a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, in Cambodia, where Obama is visiting Phnom Penh for a regional summit. Actions outlined in the initiative – the U.S. … 
(Reuters) – Moody's Investors Service downgraded France's sovereign rating by one notch to Aa1 from triple-A, the agency said on Monday, citing the country� 39;s uncertain fiscal outlook as a result of "deteriorating economic prospects." Moody's said it is maintaining a negative outlook on the country due to structural challenges and a "sustained loss of competitiveness" in the country. Standard & Poor's has a AA+ rating on France, which it downgraded by one notch in January from AAA. (Reporting by Dan Bases; Editing by Will Dunham) 
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Internationa l Trade Commission will review a judge's decision which found that Apple did not violate patents owned by Samsung Electronics in making the iPod touch, iPhone and iPad. An administrative law judge at the ITC had said in a preliminary ruling in September that Apple was innocent of violating the patents. The ITC, which could have opted to simply uphold the judge's decision, said that it would take up the matter. A final decision is expected in January. … 
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Yahoo Inc shares reached their highest level in a year and a half, as investor confidence grows that new Chief Executive Marissa Mayer can pull off a come back that eluded three of her predecessors. The Internet pioneer has yet to actually provide Wall Street with any hard evidence that its business is turning a corner – and she has warned that it will be a lengthy job – but investor faith in the ex-Google executive is running high. … 
OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper signaled on Monday his government will t reat state-owned enterprises differently than private-sector companies when it decides whether to approve foreign investments in Canada. Ottawa is currently evaluating a $15.1 billion bid by China's state-owned CNOOC Ltd to take over Canadian oil producer Nexen Inc as well as a $5.2 billion proposal by Malaysia's Petronas to buy Progress Resources Energy Corp. Decisions are expected in the next few weeks. … 
The wine-red walls of the Brueghel exhibition hall at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art are now bare, like the crime scene of a daring art heist. 
Mount Ruapehu, a New Zealand volcano that stood in for Mount Doom in the "Lord of the Rings" movies, seems to be heading for an eruption. 
TORONTO (Reuters) – Any fiscal problems that would significantly slow the U.S. economy would be of great concern to Canada, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Monday. The United States needed a credible medium-term fiscal plan, Harper said at a business forum in Ottawa, adding that he was following the U.S. fiscal debate with "great interest." (Reporting by Solarina Ho) 
Sleep away from windows, stock up on food, get the family car off the street -- these are the lessons Gazans have learned in previous rounds of fighting between Israel and the territory's Hamas rulers. 
With little notice, Israel has launch ed a blistering air offensive against the Gaza Strip's ruling Hamas militant group. Here's a look at why the violence erupted, the goals of the warring sides and how it may end: 
On a history-making trip, President Barack Obama on Monday paid the first visit by an American leader to Myanmar and Cambodia, two Asian countries with troubled histories, one on the mend and the other still a cause of concern. 
PARIS (Reuters) – Presid ent Francois Hollande's decision to recognize Syria's new opposition bloc aims to secure long-term French interests in the region and boost his foreign policy image but, with few allies following suit, Paris may risk isolation. With his economic policies under harsh scrutiny at home and abroad, Hollande's hesitant response to the Syria conflict before last week had been unflatteringly compared to the decisive approach of predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy when he led Western efforts to oust Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. … 
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain would damage its fragile economy and risk isolation if it ended its often stormy relationship with the European Union, business leaders said on Monday before critical EU budget talks later this week. Britain's main business lobby group urged Prime Minister David Cameron to resist growing "Eurosceptic" calls to cut the island nation's 40-year ties with a bloc that accounts for half of its trade. … 
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Ten European countries agreed on Monday to work together to boost their military air- to-air refueling capacity, to plug a gap in their defenses that was exposed by last year's Libyan war. Europe's air forces have had a shortage of tanker aircraft for years. During the Libya campaign, European states relied heavily on the United States for air-to-air refueling, needed to enable fighter planes to stay in the air for longer. … 
YANGON (Reuters) – It won't be mistaken for a Nixon-goes-to-China kind of moment. But President Barack Obama's visit to Myanmar on Monday sometimes felt like a return to an earlier era of presidential diplomacy – and his aides were determined to make sure that no one missed its historic significance. The trip was carefully choreographed to highlight what the White House sees as a first-term foreign policy success for a newly re-elected president whose record on the world stage shows few triumphs so far. … 
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain's banks should be forced to fully separate their retail arms from investment banking operations if they try to circumvent new rules designed to protect the taxpayer, a top regulator warned. Andrew Bailey, head of banking supervision at the Financial Services Autho rity (FSA), said banks should face the threat of being broken up if they fail properly to comply with proposals to ring-fence retail deposits from riskier activities. Bailey said there was a risk that banks would try to "tunnel under" any ring-fence that was set for them. … 
Sierra Leone's governing party said Monday it was confident that incumbent President Ernest Bai Koroma would win the weekend election without the need for a second round. 
PARIS (Reuters) – The race to lead France's conservative opposition descended into chaos on Monday, with both contenders alleging fraud in a vote that highlighted a deep split between rightists and centrists since the party lost power in May. The bickering wrecked a contest designed to give the right a fresh start after it lost its 17-year hold on the presidency in May, and prompted political commentators to warn that the Union for a Popular Movement could collapse. … 
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – An Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip will not provide any long-term solution to the problem posed by the Islamist group Hamas, and thi s will make the government think long and hard before sending in the troops. After six days of intensive military strikes against the Palestinian enclave, which Israel says are needed to halt regular militant rocket fire, thousands of Israeli soldiers are massing on the border awaiting orders to attack. … 
WARSAW (Reuters) – Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk accepted the resignation of his deputy, Waldemar Pawlak, on Monday after Pawlak lost an internal election for leader of PSL, the junior coalition party, the government's information bureau said. Pawlak, who was also the economy minister, unexpectedly lost the battle for the PSL leadership to Janusz Piechocinski on Saturday. He announced he would step down from the government on Monday. (Reporting by Maciej Onoszko; Editing by Kevin Liffey) 
PARIS (Reuters) – A new balance of power in the Middle East will limit Israel's ability to impose its ceasefire terms on Hamas in Gaza, but technology is compen sating by curbing the Islamist militants' capacity to cause casualties in the Jewish state. The strategic environment has changed radically since the last major armed conflict between Israel and Hamas in the winter of 2008-09, which involved an Israeli ground invasion of the Gaza Strip and ended with 1,400 Palestinian and 13 Israeli dead. … 
GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) – Rwanda accused U.N.-backed Congolese forces of shelling its territory during a battle with rebels near t he border on Monday but said it had no plans to respond militarily to what it called Kinshasa's "provocation". Tension between the central African neighbors has stretched to the breaking point over an insurgency in Congo's eastern hills that Kinshasa's government says is orchestrated by Rwanda with designs on the region's mineral riches. … 
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama will host Mexican President-elect Enrique Pena Nieto next week, the White House said on Monday. Obama plans to discuss a broad range of issues during an Oval Office mee ting on November 27, it said in a statement. "The president welcomes the opportunity to underscore the shared values and strong bonds of friendship between the United States and Mexico," the White House said. Pena Nieto will bring Mexico's Institutional Revolutionary Party back to power after 12 years on the sidelines when he takes office December 1. … 
The newly formed Syrian opposition coalition received backing from the European Union on Monday in a significant vote of confidence for a movement struggling to prove its credibility and gain the trust of the country's factions. 
Syria's increasingly powerful Islamist rebel factions rejected the country's new Western-backed opposition coalition and unilaterally declared an Islamic state in the key battleground of Aleppo, a sign of the seemingly intractable splits among those fighting to topple President Bashar Assad.