By Joseph Menn SAN FRANCISCO | Tue Nov 27, 2012 2:41pm EST SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - An unprecedented debate over how the global Internet is governed is set to dominate a meeting of officials in Dubai next week, with many countries pushing to give a United Nations body broad regulatory powers even as the United States and others contend such a mo...

NEW YORK | Tue Nov 27, 2012 2:09pm EST NEW YORK (Reuters) - The puppeteer formerly behind the "Sesame Street" character Elmo faces a new accusation of having sex with an underage boy, a week after a similar allegation prompted him to resign from the iconic public television children's program. In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Manhatta...

By Kerry Grens NEW YORK | Tue Nov 27, 2012 1:58pm EST NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who eat a lot of soy-based foods or fiber don't seem to have fewer menopause symptoms, according to a new study. The findings add to other studies that have found no benefits from eating extra amounts of soy, a food abundant in dietary estrogen."It might be a ...

By Irene Klotz Tue Nov 27, 2012 1:49pm EST CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., November 27 - NASA is looking for new ideas on what to do with two space telescopes left over from a once-secret U.S. spy satellite program. The U.S. space agency asked the scientific community on Tuesday for its input into possible missions for a pair of space telescopes donated last year t...

NEW YORK | Tue Nov 27, 2012 12:58pm EST NEW YORK (Reuters) - Kim Kardashian topped the 2012 list of the most-searched person on Bing, the Web search engine said on Tuesday, with Canadian teen pop star Justin Bieber coming in second. Kardashian, the reality television personality from "Keeping Up With The Kardashians," grabbed the No. 1 spot back from Bie...

By Tom Bill LONDON | Tue Nov 27, 2012 12:49pm EST LONDON (Reuters) - Triton Court, a century-old old art deco building on London's Finsbury Square, is a good example of how the financial crisis is transforming demand for commercial property in Europe. Its grand, arched entrance faces the City's financial heartland while a scruffy, narrow street r...

STOCKHOLM | Tue Nov 27, 2012 11:33am EST STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Commuters in the northern Swedish town of Umea are being treated to ultra-violet light therapy as the long, dark winter for which the Nordic state is renowned draws in. Energy company Umea Energi has decided to install ultra-violet lights at about 30 bus stops for people, which will be in pla...

CHICAGO | Tue Nov 27, 2012 10:13am EST CHICAGO (Reuters) - Controversial U.S. guidelines for mammography issued in 2009, calling for screening every two years rather than annually for women over 50 years old, can result in breast cancers being missed, according to U.S. researchers studying the hotly debated topic. This latest study assessing the impact o...

By Terril Yue Jones BEIJING | Tue Nov 27, 2012 8:28am EST BEIJING (Reuters) - China's military buildup poses no threat to the world, Defense Minister Liang Guanglie said on Tuesday, in an effort to allay fears among Asian neighbors amid long-running maritime disputes. The United States, Japan and many other Southeast Asian states have frequently ...

By Jan Strupczewski and Luke Baker BRUSSELS | Tue Nov 27, 2012 8:24am EST BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The Greek government and financial markets were cheered on Tuesday by an agreement between euro zone finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund to reduce Greece's debt, paving the way for the release of urgently needed aid loans. The deal, cl...

BERLIN | Tue Nov 27, 2012 8:22am EST BERLIN (Reuters) - A top Federal Reserve official warned on Tuesday of potential risks to financial stability from cyberattacks on the U.S. payments system and from a looming funding gap in public pensions. In a speech to a conference in the German capital, the president of the Atlanta Federal Reserve, Dennis Lockhart...

By Dan Williams JERUSALEM | Tue Nov 27, 2012 8:22am EST JERUSALEM (Reuters) - At least two key advisers helping hold Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu back from a threatened war with Iran have been sidelined in a party primary to pick candidates for a January 22 election, political sources said on Tuesday. Dan Meridor and Benny Begin, two...

By Angela Moon NEW YORK | Tue Nov 27, 2012 8:17am EST NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock futures were little changed on Tuesday despite news that international lenders agreed to reduce Greece's debt, as the market's focus turned back to the "fiscal cliff". * Market sentiment had improved after Euro zone finance ministers and the International Monetary Fu...

Tue Nov 27, 2012 8:08am EST (Reuters) - Long-time suitor ConAgra Foods Inc (CAG.N) finally sealed a deal to buy Ralcorp Holdings Inc (RAH.N) for $5 billion to become the biggest private label food company in North America. Ralcorp shareholders will receive $90 per share in cash, representing a premium of 28.2 percent to the stock's Monday close, ConAgra said.Ralc...

By Gennady Fyodorov MOSCOW | Tue Nov 27, 2012 8:01am EST MOSCOW (Reuters) - Former world and Olympic shot put champion Svetlana Krivelyova is being investigated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) over a possible breach of doping rules at the 2004 Athens Games where she won bronze. Valentin Balakhnichyov, president of the Russian athleti...

HELSINKI | Tue Nov 27, 2012 7:58am EST HELSINKI (Reuters) - Early success for the iPhone 5 smartphone has helped Apple to overtake Google's Android software in the United States, research firm Kantar WorldPanel said on Tuesday. Apple's U.S. market share in the 12 weeks to October 31 more than doubled from a year ago to 48.1 percent, putting it within rea...

By Richard Lough and Jonny Hogg GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo | Tue Nov 27, 2012 7:42am EST GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Rebels in Democratic Republic of Congo said on Tuesday they would withdraw from the eastern city of Goma if President Joseph Kabila agreed to their demands, which the Congolese government was quick to dis...

By Marton Dunai BUDAPEST | Tue Nov 27, 2012 7:34am EST BUDAPEST (Reuters) - A Hungarian far-right politician urged the government to draw up lists of Jews who pose a "national security risk", stirring outrage among Jewish leaders who saw echoes of fascist policies that led to the Holocaust. Marton Gyongyosi, leader of Hungary's third-strongest po...

By Roman Kozhevnikov DUSHANBE | Tue Nov 27, 2012 7:24am EST DUSHANBE (Reuters) - Tajikistan has blocked access to Facebook in response to a slew of comments spreading "mud and slander" about veteran President Imomali Rakhmon and officials in the Central Asian republic. The ban on the popular social networking site is the latest crackdown on disse...

BEIRUT | Tue Nov 27, 2012 7:17am EST BEIRUT (Reuters) - A Syrian military air strike killed and wounded dozens of people when it hit an olive oil press near the northern city of Idlib on Tuesday, activists said. Activist Tareq Abdelhaq said at least 20 people were killed and 50 wounded in the attack, citing residents near the Abu Hilal olive oil press, 2...

By Anna Ringstrom STOCKHOLM | Tue Nov 27, 2012 7:00am EST STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Ericsson, the world's biggest telecom network equipment maker, said it was suing Samsung Electronics Co for patent infringement after two years of talks failed to yield a license agreement. Sweden's Ericsson, which reckons more than 40 percent of the world's mobile tr...

By Tom Perry and Edmund Blair CAIRO | Tue Nov 27, 2012 6:23am EST CAIRO (Reuters) - Opponents of President Mohamed Mursi rallied in Cairo's Tahrir Square for a fifth day on Tuesday, stepping up calls to scrap a decree they say threatens Egypt with a new era of autocracy. The protest called by leftist, liberal and socialist groups marks an escalat...

By Jihan Abdalla RAMALLAH, West Bank | Tue Nov 27, 2012 4:41am EST RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Forensic experts took samples from Yasser Arafat's buried corpse in the West Bank on Tuesday, trying to determine if he was murdered by Israeli agents using the hard-to-trace radioactive poison, Polonium. Palestinians witnessed the funeral of their ...

LONDON | Tue Nov 27, 2012 4:13am EST LONDON (Reuters) - British sailor Ben Ainslie has ruled out chasing more Olympic glory and will not compete at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, the four-times gold medalist said on Tuesday. The 35-year-old became the first sailor to win medals at five successive Games earlier this year when he was victorious in the F...

Tue Nov 27, 2012 2:52am EST (Reuters) - Evan Longoria pledged his loyalty to the Tampa Bay Rays by signing a multi-year contract extension that could keep him in uniform through 2023, the team said on Monday. The 27-year-old's original deal was through 2016, but the third baseman has signed a six-year extension worth $100 million with an option for one additional...

Tue Nov 27, 2012 2:48am EST (Reuters) - Frustrated by two failed bids to get squash into the Olympics, world number one Nicol David and her fellow players have embarked on a campaign to raise the sport's global profile in an attempt to win over IOC chiefs in Hong Kong this week. One sport will be added to the program for the 2020 Games with squash up against kara...

Tue Nov 27, 2012 1:20am EST (Reuters) - Even an eye-catching NFL debut by running back Bryce Brown failed to halt Philadelphia's downward slide as the Carolina Panthers beat the nose-diving Eagles 30-22 on Monday. Brown, a rookie who had never even started in college, lit up the Panthers for 178 yards rushing and two touchdowns but it was not enough to avoid a se...

Tue Nov 27, 2012 1:20am EST (Reuters) - Even an eye-catching NFL debut by running back Bryce Brown failed to halt Philadelphia's downward slide as the Carolina Panthers beat the nose-diving Eagles 30-22 on Monday. Brown, a rookie who had never even started in college, lit up the Panthers for 178 yards rushing and two touchdowns but it was not enough to avoid a se...

Tue Nov 27, 2012 1:01am EST (Reuters) - Tampa Bay cornerback Eric Wright has been suspended for four games for violating the NFL's policy on performance enhancing drugs. Wright, who was signed by the team in the off-season, had an appeal rejected by the league. Coach Greg Schiano confirmed the suspension."I am extremely disappointed that the suspension was upheld...

By Larry Fine NEW YORK | Tue Nov 27, 2012 12:44am EST NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Brooklyn Nets beat the visiting New York Knicks 96-89 in an overtime thriller on Monday in the first battle for 'Big Apple' bragging rights between the city rivals. Brooklyn's victory at the new Barclays Center lifted the Nets (9-4) into a tie with the Knicks (9-4) for...

By Mary Slosson Mon Nov 26, 2012 11:04pm EST (Reuters) - Dr. Joseph Murray, the surgeon who carried out the first successful kidney transplant and later won a Nobel Prize for his work in medicine and physiology, died on Monday in Boston at the age of 93. Murray died after suffering a stroke last Thursday, Brigham and Women's Hospital spokesman Tom Langfor...

WASHINGTON | Mon Nov 26, 2012 10:35pm EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A new satellite image shows a marked increase in activity at a North Korean missile launch site, pointing to a possible long-range ballistic missile test by Pyongyang in the next three weeks, according to satellite operator DigitalGlobe Inc. The imagery was released days after a Japanese ne...

Mon Nov 26, 2012 10:13pm EST (Reuters) - Lee Westwood wowed the crowds at the Thailand Golf Championship last year by flirting with a 59 in the first round of the Asian Tour event and the world number six would be more than happy with a similar start to his title defense. Westwood had virtually wrapped up the title at the halfway mark at Amata Spring Country Club...

By Larry Fine NEW YORK | Mon Nov 26, 2012 9:54pm EST NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Giants rookie running back David Wilson, who has not been shy about touting his abilities, will have a chance to back up his boasts after a broken leg put Andre Brown on injured reserve on Monday. Wilson, a first-round draft pick from Virginia Tech, has been relega...

Mon Nov 26, 2012 7:47pm EST (Reuters) - The National Hockey League and locked-out players have agreed to allow U.S. federal mediators assist in negotiations when labor talks resume in hopes of ending a costly lockout in time to salvage what is left of the season. George H. Cohen, director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), said on Monday he...

By Yasmine Saleh and Edmund Blair CAIRO | Mon Nov 26, 2012 3:55pm EST CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's president negotiated with judges on Monday to try to defuse a crisis over his seizure of extended powers which set off violent protests reminiscent of the uprising that thrust his Islamist movement into government. The justice minister said he thought ...

By Genevra Pittman NEW YORK | Mon Nov 26, 2012 5:01pm EST NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A government-backed panel advises doctors to "consider offering screening" for hepatitis C to adults born between 1945 and 1965, in a draft statement released today. The recommendations, from the U.S. Preventive ...

LOS ANGELES | Mon Nov 26, 2012 4:49pm EST LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor Angus T. Jones, star of CBS's raunchy television comedy "Two and a Half Men", has urged viewers to change the channel, saying his new-found religious beliefs are at odds with his job playing a fun-loving teen on the popular show. Jones, 19, who has played Jake Harper - the son of Jon...

By Terry Baynes and Jonathan Stempel Mon Nov 26, 2012 4:37pm EST (Reuters) - The Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for a Christian college to pursue a religion-based challenge against part of President Barack Obama's healthcare reform, which it claims forces taxpayers and employers to subsidize abortions and contraception. Liberty University, based ...

By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK | Mon Nov 26, 2012 4:34pm EST NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Babies who are exposed to lots of traffic-related air pollution in the womb and during their first year of life are more likely to become autistic, suggests a new study. The findings support previous research linking how close children live to freeways with the...