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NEW THIS DIGEST:

WIKILEAKS. WikiLeaks' payment processor says will sue Visa, MasterCard lawsuit; PayPal returns funds

WIKILEAKS-RAPE CHARGES. Tales of flings at center of Assange case spotlight Sweden's unusual rape laws

KOREAS-CLASH. Positive signs of diplomacy as high-ranking Chinese official meets with NKorean leader

CHINA-NOBEL. China's push against awarding Nobel Peace Prize to dissident seen as backfiring

CLIMATE. Cancun talks search for final-round compromises on climate funding, other tough issues

INDIA-BORDER ABUSE. Rights group: Trigger-happy Indian guards killing indiscriminately on border with Bangladesh

CHINA-VATICAN. Chinese Catholics pick prelate unrecognized by Vatican to head bishops' council

IRAQ. US military says American soldier killed in Iraq; gunmen kill 2 Iraqi policemen

EXECUTION DRUG SEARCH. APNewsBreak: Documents show Calif. prison officials scoured globe for lethal injection drug

HAITI-ELECTION. Haitian singer vows to legally challenge presidential vote results amid protests, rioting

ARGENTINA-ANTARCTIC CRUISE. Antarctic cruise ship limping safely to Argentina wave slams bridge, briefly cuts engine power

BRITAIN-EARNS-HMV. Music and games seller HMV says sales dropped 6 pct in first half, causing loss to grow

GREECE-FINANCIAL CRISIS. EU's Rehn says bloc taking 'positive look' at pushing back Greece's loan repayment date

WORLD MARKETS. World stock markets mostly higher amid Japan growth, US tax cuts extension

WCUP-QATAR-ASIA. Asian body urges FIFA to reschedule 2022 World Cup to winter to avoid Qatar's heat

DUBAI LADIES MASTERS. Lydia Hall takes 1-shot clubhouse lead over Anna Nordqvist on 2nd day of Dubai Ladies Masters

OLY--LONDON 2012-CANOE-SLALOM. Organizers unveil first new venue completed from scratch for 2012 London Games, canoe-slalom course

TOP STORIES:

WIKILEAKS

LONDON — WikiLeaks' payment processor says it is preparing to sue credit card companies Visa and MasterCard over their refusal to process donations to the secret-spilling website. AP Photos. AP Graphic WIKILEAKS

WITH: WIKILEAKS-COLOMBIA; WIKILEAKS-SALVADOR; WIKILEAKS-SAUDI VICE; WIKILEAKS-EL-MASRI; WIKILEAKS-THAT'S CLASSIFIED?

WIKILEAKS-RAPE CHARGES

STOCKHOLM — A starry-eyed admirer was flattered to be invited to dinner with a man she considered a champion of free speech. Another woman supported the cause by lending her apartment to the same man, then returned early from her trip. Both encounters resulted in sex. Now, after unleashing an unprecedented trove of U.S. government secrets, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is behind bars to answer questions about whether his conduct amounted to rape under Sweden's unusually broad definition. By Malin Rising. AP Photos.

KOREAS-CLASH

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea's leader meets in his capital with China's top foreign policy official as a U.S. governor announces a trip to the North in a flurry of promising diplomacy two weeks after a deadly artillery exchange between the two Koreas. By Foster Klug And Kim Kwang-Tae. AP Photos.

CHINA-NOBEL

BEIJING — China's relentless criticism of the Nobel Peace Prize's bestowal on imprisoned Chinese dissident writer Liu Xiaobo shows signs of backfiring, as criticism of Beijing rises a day ahead of the award ceremony. By Christopher Bodeen. AP Photos.

WITH: PHILIPPINES-CHINA-NOBEL

CLIMATE

CANCUN, Mexico — With just two days left, delegates to the annual U.N. climate conference haggle and cajole into the night in search of compromise on a raft of issues, including whether industrial nations should generate $100 billion a year, or up to $600 billion, to help poorer countries cope with global warming. By Special Correspondent Charles J. Hanley. AP Photos.

INDIA-BORDER ABUSE

NEW DELHI — A rights group says India's security forces are routinely gunning down cattle smugglers and other civilians crossing the border with Bangladesh despite scant evidence of any crime

CHINA-VATICAN

BEIJING — China's government-backed Catholic church says bishops have elected new leaders amid tensions with the Vatican. They include the new head of the Chinese bishops' council, who is a prelate unrecognized by the Vatican.

IRAQ

BAGHDAD — The U.S. military says an American soldier has died in southern Iraq. By Bushra Juhi. .

EXECUTION DRUG SEARCH

SAN FRANCISCO — California prison officials went on a frantic two-month search for a lethal drug needed to carry out the state's first execution in five years, which ultimately was called off, documents show. The officials traded lethal injection drugs with their counterparts in Arizona, were snubbed by well-stocked Texas and scoured the globe from Pakistan to London for the drug in short supply. By Paul Elias.

HAITI-ELECTION

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — A popular singer vows to legally challenge election results that narrowly oust him from Haiti's presidential race, while his supporters barricaded streets and set fires in violence that threatens the fragile stability that followed a devastating Jan. 12 earthquake. By Jonathan M. Katz. AP Photos.

ARGENTINA-ANTARCTIC CRUISE

BUENOS AIRES — A large wave slams into an Antarctic cruise ship with 88 American passengers and 77 crew members aboard, but the ship's crew overcome minor damage and head safely back to its scheduled port. AP Photos and Video.

BUSINESS & FINANCE:

BRITAIN-EARNS-HMV

LONDON — Shares in HMV fall sharply after the music and games retailer reported sliding sales and growing losses in the first half and a dismal start to the Christmas season.

GREECE-FINANCIAL CRISIS

VOULIAGMENI, Greece — The European Union takes a "positive look" at extending Greece's repayment period of bailout loans that saved the country from default, top EU economic official Olli Rehn says. AP Photos.

WORLD MARKETS

BANGKOK — World stock markets mostly advance after Japan's third quarter GDP is revised higher and the extension of U.S. tax cuts boosts expectations of stronger economic growth in the short-term. AP Photo.

WITH OIL PRICES

SPORTS:

SOC--WCUP-QATAR-ASIA

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — The Asian Football Confederation urges FIFA to reschedule the 2022 World Cup in Qatar to the winter months of January or February to avoid the desert state's sweltering heat. By Julia Zappei

GLF--DUBAI LADIES MASTERS

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates Lydia Hall of Wales shoots a 5-under 67 at the Dubai Ladies Masters to take a one-shot lead over Sweden's Anna Nordqvist midway through the second round. Moved. By Michael Casey

OLY--LONDON 2012-CANOE-SLALOM

LONDON — Olympic organizers unveil the first new venue completed from scratch for the 2012 London Games, the 31-million-pound whitewater course for the canoe-slalom competition. Expected by 1200 GMT. By Rob Harris

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