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News Israeli air force shoots down drone aircraft Obama and Democrats raise record funds, poll holds steady Ex-papal butler convicted, sentenced to 18 months Greek austerity talks to continue, progress seen Turkey strikes back at Syria after Erdogan warning Yemen foils al Qaeda plan to bomb air base used by United States: official U.S. jobless rate tumbles to near four-year low Obama touts jobs report as he seeks to lift campaign Probe points to friendly fire in Arizona Border Patrol death U.S. court fight starts for radical cleric sent from Britain Obama and Democrats raise record funds, poll holds steady Islamist cleric from Britain to appear in U.S. court Foxconn denies China iPhone plant hit by strike Blast in east Nigeria's Taraba wounds eight: official U.S., South Korea to forge joint response to North's missile force Nervous Venezuelans stock up on supplies before election U.S. deficit ends fourth fiscal year above $1 trillion: CBO Turkish army returns fire after Syrian mortar strike At least seven crashes tie up Florida highway Turkey warns Syria more strikes would be fatal mistake Child molester Sandusky likely to speak at sentencing Foxconn's iPhone plant "paralyzed" as thousands strike: report Merkel to visit Greece as money running out South Africa's Amplats fires 12,000 strikers, union leader shot Romney closes gap with Obama to 2 points after debate: Reuters/Ipsos poll As rial plunges, Congress looks at expanding Iran sanctions Militants' extradition could give Obama political headache U.S. jobless rate tumbles to near four-year low EADS-BAE merger plan hits political crunch point Iran blames economic "conspiracy" as criticism grows Supreme Court to hear appeal over FCC rule making Lehman's brokerage, Europe units settle $38 billion of claims Israeli police use stun grenades to break up al-Aqsa protest Spain tops agenda for euro zone permanent bailout fund What if a post-election Fed were shackled? Kenyans can sue UK over colonial-era torture Exclusive: Credit Suisse probed over mortgages - sources Analysis: Investors opt for gold ahead of U.S. "fiscal cliff" Analysis: Egypt's Mursi dogged by own promises in first 100 days Obama touts jobs report as he seeks to lift campaign Israeli air force shoots down drone aircraft JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The Israeli air force shot down a drone after it crossed into southern Israel on Saturday, the military said, but it remained unclear where the aircraft had come from. The drone was first spotted above the Mediterranean in the area of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip to the west of Israel, said military spokeswoman Avital Leibovich. It was kept under surveillance and followed by Israeli air force jets before it was shot down above a forest in an unpopulated area near the border with the occupied West Bank. Leibovich said it was shot down at about 10 a.m. ... Full Story Top Obama and Democrats raise record funds, poll holds steady WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama's campaign and its Democratic allies raised $181 million in September for his re-election effort, the largest total that either side has announced yet in the 2012 campaign. The big September number and a good jobs report on Friday that showed unemployment dipping to 7.8 percent from 8.1 percent shifted some attention from Obama's lackluster debate performance on Wednesday against Republican Mitt Romney. ... Full Story Top Ex-papal butler convicted, sentenced to 18 months VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - A Vatican court convicted Pope Benedict's former butler of stealing sensitive documents and sentenced him to 18 months detention on Saturday, at the end of one of the most sensational trials in the recent history of the Holy See. A Vatican spokesman said the pope, who reigns as a supreme monarch in the world's smallest city state, would "most likely" pardon Paolo Gabriele. ... Full Story Top Greek austerity talks to continue, progress seen ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece will continue talks with international lenders next week on new austerity measures for the debt-ridden country to clinch its next loan tranche, the finance minister said on Saturday, with both sides saying progress had been made. Negotiators had been pushing for a deal before a meeting of euro zone finance ministers on Monday, but Greece said it would settle for a statement acknowledging that talks were advancing. ... Full Story Top Turkey strikes back at Syria after Erdogan warning ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey returned fire after Syrian mortar bombs landed in a field in southern Turkey on Saturday, the day after Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan warned Syria that Turkey would not shy away from war if provoked. It was the fourth day of Turkish retaliation for firing by Syrian forces that killed five Turkish civilians on Wednesday. The exchanges are the most serious cross-border violence in Syria's conflict, which began as a democracy uprising but has evolved into a civil war with sectarian overtones. They highlight how the crisis could destabilize the region. ... Full Story Top Yemen foils al Qaeda plan to bomb air base used by United States: official ADEN (Reuters) - Yemeni security forces foiled a plan by militants linked to al Qaeda to bomb an air base jointly used with the United States to carry out attacks against the group, a security official said on Saturday. A car packed with explosives was discovered by authorities near the gate of Al Anad air base in Yemen's southern province of Lahj, the official told Reuters. "This was a planned suicide attack. Once the car was discovered, security forces immediately arrested two men who were inside the vehicle ... The car was filled with explosives and anti-tank missiles," he added. ... Full Story Top U.S. jobless rate tumbles to near four-year low WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. unemployment rate unexpectedly dropped to 7.8 percent in September and reached its lowest level since President Barack Obama took office, providing a boost to his re-election bid. The Labor Department said on Friday that employers added 114,000 workers to their payrolls last month, a moderate number, but it said a combined 86,000 more jobs were created in the prior two months than it had previously thought. Other aspects of the report also were strong. In particular, a separate survey of households found a big surge in hiring. ... Full Story Top Obama touts jobs report as he seeks to lift campaign FAIRFAX, Virginia (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Friday hailed a drop in the U.S. jobless rate to the lowest level since he took office, saying the country had "come too far to turn back now," as he sought to recover from a lackluster debate performance against Republican challenger Mitt Romney. A decline in unemployment to 7.8 percent in September, announced just more than four weeks before Election Day, gave an unexpected shine to the most vulnerable part of Obama's record - his economic stewardship - and offered him a chance to reset his re-election bid. The rate dropped from 8. ... Full Story Top Probe points to friendly fire in Arizona Border Patrol death PHOENIX (Reuters) - Friendly fire probably killed a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Arizona near the Mexican border this week, the FBI said on Friday, citing "strong preliminary indications" from the ongoing investigation. Before daybreak on Tuesday, Nicholas Ivie was one of three agents responding on foot to a tripped ground sensor, in a well-known smuggling corridor, when gunfire erupted. They were a few miles north of the border, near the tiny border town of Naco. A second agent was wounded in the incident, but has since been released from the hospital, and the third agent was unharmed. ... Full Story Top U.S. court fight starts for radical cleric sent from Britain NEW YORK (Reuters) - Islamist cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri appeared in federal court in New York on Saturday after Britain extradited the one-eyed radical preacher to the United States to face trial and a potential life sentence on terrorism charges. The Egyptian-born Abu Hamza, 54, is accused by Washington of supporting al Qaeda, aiding a kidnapping in Yemen and plotting to open a training camp for militants in the United States. He was flown late on Friday to the United States along with four other men also wanted on U.S. terrorism charges. ... Full Story Top Obama and Democrats raise record funds, poll holds steady WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama's campaign and its Democratic allies raised $181 million in September for his re-election effort, the largest total that either side has announced yet in the 2012 campaign. The big September number and a good jobs report on Friday that showed unemployment dipping to 7.8 percent shifts some attention from Obama's lackluster debate performance on Wednesday against Republican Mitt Romney. ... Full Story Top Islamist cleric from Britain to appear in U.S. court NEW YORK (Reuters) - Islamist cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri will appear before a federal judge in New York on Saturday after Britain extradited the one-eyed radical preacher to the United States to face trial and a potential life sentence on terrorism charges. The Egyptian-born Abu Hamza, 54, is accused by Washington of supporting al Qaeda, aiding a kidnapping in Yemen and plotting to open a training camp for militants in the United States. He was flown late on Friday to the United States along with four other men also wanted on U.S. terrorism charges. ... Full Story Top Foxconn denies China iPhone plant hit by strike TAIPEI/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Foxconn, the Taiwanese made-to-order electronics giant that assembles Apple Inc's products, denied reports that a plant in China was crippled by a strike, saying on Saturday that its production is on schedule at an important time for Apple. The report of a strike issued by China Labor Watch, a New York-based advocacy group, came weeks after Apple kicked off its largest-ever global rollout for the new iPhone 5 smartphone. Apple is already struggling with tight availability of the phones in stores, analysts say. ... Full Story Top Blast in east Nigeria's Taraba wounds eight: official LAGOS (Reuters) - An explosion near a state television studio in eastern Nigeria's Taraba state wounded eight people overnight, the emergency services said on Saturday. It was the second blast in the remote town of Jalingo, in Nigeria's volatile ethnically and religiously mixed Middle Belt, in two days. A blast at an outdoor bar there killed at least one person and wounded 14 on Thursday. National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) spokesman Yushua Shuaib said by text message that a woman and five children were among the wounded, alongside two others. ... Full Story Top U.S., South Korea to forge joint response to North's missile force WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and South Korea are set to announce this weekend a joint response to the perceived threat from North Korea's growing ballistic missile force, according to a State Department notice to U.S. lawmakers on Friday. A senior U.S. congressional aide said he understood that the two countries have agreed to a watershed deal under which Seoul may develop missiles capable of hitting any part of the North from anywhere in the South. ... Full Story Top Nervous Venezuelans stock up on supplies before election (Note: Election law forbids publication of polls in Venezuela for a week before voting) CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelans packed supermarkets on Friday to stock up on food and other essentials in case of trouble around Sunday's presidential vote, which was shaping up as the biggest electoral challenge of Hugo Chavez's 14-year rule. Energetic young state governor Henrique Capriles has gained momentum in the closing days of the campaign and he seemed to have the opposition's best chance of unseating Chavez since the socialist president came to power in 1999. ... Full Story Top U.S. deficit ends fourth fiscal year above $1 trillion: CBO WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The federal budget deficit for the just-ended 2012 fiscal year shrank by $207 billion from the prior year, but still marked its fourth straight year above $1 trillion, Congress' budget referee estimated on Friday. The deficit equaled about 7 percent of U.S. economic output, down from 8.7 percent in 2011, 9 percent in 2010 and 10.1 percent in 2009, but it was still greater than in any other year since 1947, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office said. Economists generally consider any deficit that exceeds 3 percent of U.S. ... Full Story Top Turkish army returns fire after Syrian mortar strike ISTANBUL (Reuters) - The Turkish military returned fire after a mortar bomb shot from Syria landed in countryside in southern Turkey on Saturday, the state-run Anatolian news agency reported. It was the latest in a series of Turkish retaliatory attacks in response to mortar bombs and shelling by Syrian forces that have killed five Turkish civilians further east along the border. The strikes and counter-strikes have been the most serious cross-border violence seen so far in Syria's conflict, and underlined how it could destabilize the region. ... Full Story Top At least seven crashes tie up Florida highway (Reuters) - A collision on Florida's Interstate 75 on Friday sparked a series of additional crashes involving dozens of cars, shutting the roadway and leaving at least 52 people injured, a spokesman for the Florida Highway Patrol said. The initial accident, which occurred on Friday afternoon near the border of Sarasota and Manatee counties on the west coast of Florida south of Tampa, is believed to have been caused by weather conditions and driver error, said spokesman Chris Miller. He said he expected the highway would be reopened within a few hours. ... Full Story Top Turkey warns Syria more strikes would be fatal mistake ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey's prime minister said on Friday his country did not want war but warned Syria not to make a "fatal mistake" by testing its resolve, and its army retaliated for a third day running after more mortar rounds from Syria landed on its soil. In a belligerent speech to a crowd in Istanbul, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan warned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that Turkey would not shy away from war if provoked. The speech followed a Syrian mortar barrage on a town in southeast Turkey that killed five people on Wednesday. ... Full Story Top Child molester Sandusky likely to speak at sentencing (Reuters) - Convicted child molester Jerry Sandusky is likely to break a long silence when the former Penn State assistant football coach is sentenced next week, a defense attorney said on Friday. Sandusky, 68, is expected to receive what amounts to a life sentence on Tuesday at Centre County Court in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. He was convicted in June on 45 counts of molesting 10 boys over a 15-year period in a scandal that rocked college athletics and riveted national attention on child sexual abuse. ... Full Story Top Foxconn's iPhone plant "paralyzed" as thousands strike: report SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Thousands of workers went on strike Friday at a Foxconn plant in China that makes Apple Inc's iPhone 5, paralyzing production of the smartphone, rights advocate China Labor Watch reported. The reported strike comes at a crucial time for the U.S. corporation, weeks after kicking off its largest-ever global rollout of the smartphone. Apple is already struggling with supply constraints, analysts say. ... Full Story Top Merkel to visit Greece as money running out BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel will make her first visit to Greece next week since the euro zone debt crisis erupted, in a show of support for Athens after it said it would run out of money at the end of November without fresh international aid. Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras hailed the trip as a positive development at a time when his country is locked in negotiations with euro zone and IMF creditors who are holding back some 31.5 billion euros ($41 billion) in urgently needed loans. "The key is liquidity. ... Full Story Top South Africa's Amplats fires 12,000 strikers, union leader shot JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's Amplats fired 12,000 wildcat strikers on Friday, a high-stakes attempt by the world's biggest platinum producer to push back at a wave of illegal stoppages sweeping through the country's mining sector and beyond. Later on, a trade union leader was shot dead near a mine run by platinum producer Lonmin in a potentially explosive escalation of the two-month-old violent labor unrest that took the death toll to 49. ... Full Story Top Romney closes gap with Obama to 2 points after debate: Reuters/Ipsos poll WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's lead over challenger Mitt Romney has narrowed to just two percentage points since the Republican's strong performance in their first debate, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Friday. In more bad news for Obama, one in five voters said the Democrat's performance in the contest in Denver on Wednesday made them feel more negative about him and almost a third said they felt more positive about his Republican challenger. ... Full Story Top As rial plunges, Congress looks at expanding Iran sanctions WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lawmakers are considering expanding American economic sanctions on Iran - measures that already have helped push that country's currency into free fall but have not yet convinced Tehran to abandon its nuclear program. Democratic Senator Robert Menendez, a member of the Senate Banking and Foreign Relations Committees, said he plans to push for new penalties on foreign banks that handle any significant transactions with the central bank of Iran. Only oil-related transactions are now covered by sanctions. ... Full Story Top Militants' extradition could give Obama political headache WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The British government's imminent move to extradite five prominent Islamic militants to the United States for trial could trigger security and political headaches for President Barack Obama and his administration. After years of appeals, two British judges gave final legal sanction on Friday to the extradition of the militants, who include a one-time U.K.-based spokesman for late al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and a notorious hook-handed imam who once preached at a big London mosque. ... Full Story Top U.S. jobless rate tumbles to near four-year low WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. unemployment rate unexpectedly dropped to 7.8 percent in September and reached its lowest level since President Barack Obama took office, providing a boost to his re-election bid. The Labor Department said on Friday that employers added 114,000 workers to their payrolls last month, a moderate number, but it said a combined 86,000 more jobs were created in the prior two months than it had previously thought. Other aspects of the report also were strong. In particular, a separate survey of households found a big surge in hiring. ... Full Story Top EADS-BAE merger plan hits political crunch point PARIS/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Tensions over a supermerger between EADS and BAE Systems spilled into the open on Friday and cast doubt on a rapidly approaching deadline as France, Britain and Germany jockeyed over the role of the state in the world's largest aerospace and arms group. After rattling investors with a $45 billion merger project last month, the chief executives of Europe's largest aerospace firms headed into the weekend with the fate of their historic tie-up plans hinging on events outside their control. ... Full Story Top Iran blames economic "conspiracy" as criticism grows DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran will defeat a "conspiracy" against its foreign currency and gold markets, an adviser to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Friday, with pressure mounting on the authorities to deal with the rapid collapse of the rial. Riot police fought demonstrators and arrested money changers in and around the Tehran bazaar on Wednesday during protests triggered by the fall of the Iranian currency, which has lost a third of its value against the dollar over the last ten days. ... Full Story Top Supreme Court to hear appeal over FCC rule making (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Friday to review the ability of a federal agency to set its own jurisdiction, in a decision that could affect the ability to deploy wireless telephone services across the United States. At issue in the case was the ability of the Federal Communications Commission to step in and help further the placement of wireless communications facilities when state and local governments failed to act on applications fast enough, even if it means superseding local zoning standards. ... Full Story Top Lehman's brokerage, Europe units settle $38 billion of claims (Reuters) - The U.S. brokerage unit and a European unit of the former Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc said they settled litigation over $38 billion of asset claims, a major step toward customers and creditors recovering money. The announcement Friday by Lehman Brothers Inc and Lehman Brothers International Europe comes four years after Lehman, once Wall Street's fourth-largest investment bank, filed for bankruptcy at the height of the 2008 global financial crisis. ... Full Story Top Israeli police use stun grenades to break up al-Aqsa protest JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli police hurled stun grenades to disperse dozens of protesters who threw stones outside the al-Aqsa mosque, Islam's third holiest site, after Friday prayers. Two people were slightly injured and one person was arrested for attempting to stab a policeman as he was being taken into custody, Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. The mosque is part of a site revered by Jews as well as Muslims, and is a frequent source of friction between these religious groups. ... Full Story Top Spain tops agenda for euro zone permanent bailout fund BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone finance ministers will formally launch the euro zone's permanent, 500-billion-euro bailout fund on Monday, bolstering the single currency area's defenses against the sovereign debt crisis that is now threatening Spain. The European Stability Mechanism (ESM) will be used to lend to distressed euro zone sovereigns in return for fiscal and structural reforms that put the economy of a country that lost investor trust back on track. ... Full Story Top What if a post-election Fed were shackled? LONDON (Reuters) - Investors staring squarely at the U.S. fiscal cliff may well be ignoring a bigger monetary policy pitfall. Many asset managers are puzzled at the how little attention world markets seem to have paid to the U.S. Republican party's stiff criticism of the hyper-active Federal Reserve and its successive bouts of reflationary money printing since 2008. ... Full Story Top Kenyans can sue UK over colonial-era torture LONDON/NAIROBI (Reuters) - Three elderly Kenyans tortured by British colonial forces were told they can sue Britain, in a London court judgment likely to encourage other claims dating back to the days of the British Empire. The government, which had tried for three years to block their legal action, said on Friday it planned to appeal as the judgment could have far-reaching legal implications. ... Full Story Top Exclusive: Credit Suisse probed over mortgages - sources NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. federal and state authorities are investigating Credit Suisse AG over mortgage-backed securities packaged and sold by the bank, people familiar with the probe said on Thursday. The Justice Department and the New York Attorney General are among those probing Credit Suisse's actions, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity. A spokesman for Credit Suisse, Switzerland's second-largest bank, declined to comment. Zurich-based Credit Suisse is the second bank known to be targeted by U.S. ... Full Story Top Analysis: Investors opt for gold ahead of U.S. "fiscal cliff" LONDON (Reuters) - Investors are going for gold as their top commodities choice in what looks like a turbulent fourth quarter for the sector, planning for the possibility of a "fiscal cliff" that could shrink the U.S. economy and spur more money printing. Many are wary of extending exposure in several basic resources - including industrial metals - as global economies struggle and a slowdown dampens demand in top raw materials consumer China. ... Full Story Top Analysis: Egypt's Mursi dogged by own promises in first 100 days CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi has won grudging respect from detractors in his first 100 days by sending the army back to barracks faster than anyone expected and raising Egypt's international profile in several newsmaking visits abroad. Yet his political fortunes and those of the Muslim Brotherhood which propelled him to power may well depend on his delivering on more mundane issues such as easing traffic congestion and bread and fuel shortages by October 7 as promised. ... Full Story Top Obama touts jobs report as he seeks to lift campaign FAIRFAX, Virginia (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Friday hailed a drop in the U.S. jobless rate to the lowest level since he took office, saying the country had "come too far to turn back now," as he sought to recover from a lackluster debate performance against Republican challenger Mitt Romney. A decline in unemployment to 7.8 percent in September, announced just more than four weeks before Election Day, gave an unexpected shine to the most vulnerable part of Obama's record - his economic stewardship - and offered him a chance to reset his re-election bid. The rate dropped from 8. ... Full Story Top

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