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Wearing sports gear in the national colors and sitting on a sofa in a modest family home, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro holds a microphone, chats with locals and expounds on the benefits of socialism. Variations of the scene - on a factory floor, playing soccer in the presidential palace or walking the plains with farmers - play daily on national TV as Hugo Chavez's successor makes "Gobierno en la Calle," or "Street Government," the chosen slogan of his rule.   Almost constantly on the road since being elected in April, Maduro has launched a plethora of new schemes, from raising the minimum wage to sending soldiers into city slums to fight crime. Trumpeting his modest background as a bus driver and union activist, he continually reminds Venezuelans he is the South American nation's first "worker president," guaranteed to empathize with the poor and thus continue Chavez's legacy. The avuncular images that Maduro, 50, has been promoti

France said on Thursday it needed more talks with Syrian rebels before it could supply them with heavy weapons and said recent gains by Syrian government forces did not mean President Bashar al-Assad was heading for a "complete victory." Foreign ministers from the Friends of Syria anti-Assad alliance, which includes the United States, France, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, will meet on Saturday in the Qatari capital Doha to discuss assistance for the Free Syrian Army.   France, which has actively supported the rebels in its former colony, has not yet chosen to arm them since pushing, along with Britain, to have an EU arms embargo lifted. It says it will not make a decision before August 1. "As far as weapons go, there is no question of delivering weapons in conditions that we aren't sure about and that means we won't deliver weapons so that they are turned against us," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told reporters during a visit to the annual Paris

Home resales rose in May to the highest level in 3-1/2 years and prices jumped, a sign the housing sector recovery is gathering steam and could give the economy a significant boost this year. _0"> The National Association of Realtors said on Thursday that existing home sales advanced 4.2 percent to an annual rate of 5.18 million units, the highest level since November 2009 when a home-buyer tax credit was expiring.   "Whatever inventory is coming onto the market, buyers are ready to snap it up," said Lawrence Yun, an economist at the NAR. The increase beat expectations for a rise to a 5 million-unit rate last month. The housing market is one of the brightest spots in America's economy and is helping counter Washington's decision to raise tax rates and cut government spending this year. A very accommodative monetary policy by the Federal Reserve, which has held mortgage rates near record lows, is helping to lift the housing market off the floor. Fed Chai

Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah has offered his resignation to President Mahmoud Abbas just two weeks after taking office, an official in his press office told Reuters on Thursday. It was not immediately clear whether Abbas would accept the resignation by Hamdallah, an academic and political independent whose cabinet convened for the first time last week.   The official told Reuters Hamdallah made the abrupt, unexpected move because of a "dispute over his powers". A note on Hamdallah's Facebook page said his decision came after "outside interferences in his powers and duties". His cabinet consists overwhelmingly of members of the Fatah faction led by Abbas and political commentators had immediately questioned how much leeway he would have to maneuver. Hamdallah's predecessor, American-educated economist Salam Fayyad, resigned in April after six years in power defined by tough economic challenges and rivalries with Fatah politicians eager to

Factory output in China weakened to a nine-month low in June while U.S. manufacturing closed out its worst quarter in the last four, suggesting the road to recovery for the world economy remained an uneven one. A day earlier, the Federal Reserve said the U.S. economy was expanding strongly enough for the central bank to begin slowing the pace of its stimulative bond purchases later this year.   Other major economies are lagging America's, however, which could limit the strength of global growth. China, the world's second largest economy, grew at its slowest pace in 13 years in 2012 and incoming data this year has been weaker than expected. That's evident in the country's large manufacturing sector, which, according to the flash HSBC Purchasing Managers Index, contracted again in June as demand fell. "A slowdown in the Chinese economy doesn't help the outlook for the U.S. particularly, but American growth isn't entirely dependent on what happens in Ch

Home resales hit a 3-1/2-year high in May and factory activity in the Mid-Atlantic region rebounded this month, backing the Federal Reserve's view that risks to the economy have diminished. While other data on Thursday showed more Americans than expected filed new claims for unemployment benefits last week, the increase was not big enough to signal a material shift from the recent pace of moderate job growth.   Higher taxes and deep government spending cuts that took effect this year had raised fears that the economy could slow abruptly, but the recovery appears to moving to firmer ground. "The drag from tighter fiscal policy is starting to dissipate. We have passed the worst of the fiscal-induced slowdown," said Millan Mulraine, a senior economist at TD Securities in New York. The data came a day after the Fed painted a fairly upbeat picture of the economy and said it expected to slow the pace of its bond-buying stimulus later this year, bringing it to a halt aroun

Neighboring Iraq warned that Syria's civil war is tearing the Middle East apart and Lebanon's president urged his country's Hezbollah movement on Thursday to pull its fighters out of the conflict. After two years of fighting that has killed more than 93,000 people, Syria's turmoil is dragging its neighbors into a deadly confrontation between Shi'ite Iran supporting President Bashar al-Assad and Sunni Arab Gulf nations backing the Syrian rebels. The insurgents have suffered a series of setbacks on the battlefield and are besieged in the outskirts of Damascus facing a slow but steady advance by Assad's forces, which have begun to regain the upper hand.   In a sign of the devastation being wrought by the war, the United Nations cultural agency UNESCO put the six World Heritage Sites in Syria on its danger list of imperiled monuments on Thursday, urging international efforts to protect them. Both Iraq and Lebanon have suffered growing violence at home as the

A bipartisan group of 15 U.S. senators urged the Obama administration on Thursday to consider whether the proposed sale of Smithfield Foods Inc to Chinese meat company Shuanghui International posed any threat to U.S. food safety or food security that could justify blocking the deal. "We believe that our food supply is critical infrastructure that should be included in any reasonable person's definition of national security," the senators said in a letter to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, whose department chairs the interagency panel that reviews foreign investment for national security threats.   Smithfield, based in Smithfield, Virginia, is the world's largest producer and processor of pork. Shuanghui is planning to acquire it for $4.7 billion in what would be the biggest takeover of a U.S. company by a Chinese firm. "We strongly encourage you to include the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration in any CFIUS (Committee on Foreign Inve

A fresh effort to end Afghanistan's 12-year-old war was in limbo on Thursday after a diplomatic spat about the Taliban's new Qatar office delayed preliminary discussions between the United States and the Islamist insurgents. A meeting between U.S. officials and representatives of the Taliban had been set for Thursday in Qatar but Afghan government anger at the fanfare surrounding the opening of a Taliban office in the Gulf state threw preparations into confusion. The squabble may set the tone for what could be arduous negotiations to end a conflict that has torn at Afghanistan's stability since the U.S. invasion following the September 11, 2001 al Qaeda attacks on U.S. targets.   Asked when the talks would now take place, a source in Doha said, "There is nothing scheduled that I am aware of." But the U.S. government said it was confident the U.S.-Taliban talks would soon go forward. "We anticipate these talks happening in the coming days," said St

Brazil's biggest protests in two decades intensified on Thursday despite government concessions meant to quell the demonstrations, as 300,000 people took to the streets of Rio de Janeiro and hundreds of thousands more flooded other cities. Undeterred by the reversal of transport fare hikes that sparked the protests, and promises of better public services, marchers demonstrated around two international soccer matches and in locales as diverse as the Amazon capital of Manaus and the prosperous southern city of Florianopolis.   "Twenty cents was just the start," read signs held by many converging along the Avenida Paulista, the broad avenue in central Sao Paulo, referring to the bus fare reductions. In the capital, Brasilia, tens of thousands of protesters by early evening marched around the landmark modernist buildings that house Congress, the Supreme Court and presidential offices. The swelling tide of protests prompted President Dilma Rousseff to cancel a trip next

An estimated 1 million people took to the streets in cities across Brazil on Thursday as the country's biggest protests in two decades intensified despite government concessions meant to quell the demonstrations. Undeterred by the reversal of transport fare hikes that sparked the protests, and promises of better public services, demonstrators marched around two international soccer matches and in locales as diverse as the Amazon capital of Manaus and the prosperous southern city of Florianopolis. While the protests remained mostly peaceful, the growing number of participants led to occasional outbursts of violence and vandalism in some cities. In central Rio de Janeiro, where 300,000 people marched, police afterwards chased looters and dispersed people crowding into surrounding areas. "Twenty cents was just the start," read signs held by many converging along the Avenida Paulista, the broad avenue in central São Paulo, referring to the bus fare reductions. Police th

Micron Inc reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit due to higher prices for its memory chips used in personal computers, mobile handsets and tablet devices. The company said average selling prices of its dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips, mostly used in PCs and which accounted for 39 percent of revenue last year, rose 16 percent during the quarter.   Memory supply constraints have driven up prices this year, with DRAM prices more than doubling, Jefferies & Co analysts said in a pre- earnings note. Prices are expected to remain stable or rise further through the year. Chip suppliers are converting capacity to supply DRAMs for mobile handsets as demand for such chips for PCs is declining, Pacific Crest Securities analyst Monika Garg said. Analysts said Micron is also likely to benefit from higher use of DRAM chips in mobile handsets from the fourth quarter and increased focus on lower cost notebooks by Intel Corp, Microsoft Inc and PC manufacturers. Micron&#

Microsoft Corp recently talked with Nokia about buying the Finnish phone maker's devices unit, but the discussions faltered and are not likely to be revived, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday in its online edition. _0"> The Journal reported that "advanced discussions" on a deal happened as recently as this month, according to unnamed sources it said were familiar with the matter. Microsoft rejected a deal because of price and Nokia's loss of market share to rising Asian competitors, the report said.   Representatives of both companies declined comment. Nokia's smartphones exclusively use Microsoft Windows Phone software, under a deal the two companies struck two years ago. (Reporting by Bill Rigby)

Microsoft Corp said on Wednesday that users of its forthcoming Xbox One game console will be able to play games offline without establishing an Internet connection, and will be able to lend or sell used disc-based games. _0"> The announcement reverses the company's position when it unveiled the console in May, causing consternation among hardcore gamers. The company had reversed its earlier stance on used games and daily online authentication after listening to "candid feedback" from its fans, Don Mattrick, president of the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft, said in a blog post on Wednesday. Last week at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles, Microsoft announced a $499 price tag for its first new Xbox in eight years and said it would go on sale in the United States in November in 21 countries.   Its rival, Sony Corp, said it would sell the next-generation PlayStation model for $399 late in the year. At an E3 presentation to anno

Sprint Nextel Corp should consider raising its offer price for Clearwire Corp or risk being saddled with a contentious relationship with Dish Network Corp, controlled by feisty billionaire Charlie Ergen. Shareholders of Clearwire, already majority owned by Sprint, will vote on June 24 on Sprint's $3.40-a-share offer to buy the rest of the company. But Clearwire's board has recommended shareholders instead accept a higher, $4.40-a-share tender offer from Dish.   If Dish's offer carries the day, Sprint would have some kind of relationship with Dish, whether the satellite service provider becomes a minority Clearwire shareholder or the two agree to a network partnership. Either way, such an arrangement could be fraught with difficulty for Sprint, analysts say. "It would be a cultural shock for any company to be partnered with Dish or to have any operating arrangement with it," said Brean Capital analyst Todd Mitchell, who pointed to a string of Dish relationship

Yahoo Inc on Wednesday downplayed concerns that its plans to recycle inactive user IDs could leave users exposed to hackers, saying only 7 percent of those IDs are tied to actual Yahoo email accounts. The Internet company, which announced last week it would release user IDs that have been inactive for more than 12 months so that other people can claim them, was pressed to defend the plan after critics warned that hackers who take control of inactive accounts could also assume the identities of the accounts' previous owners.   Yahoo hopes the plan will spark fresh interest in its Web products like Mail, where users prefer individualized user IDs often derived from common names. But criticism of the plan comes at a time when fears over the security of personal information on the Internet have been heightened by revelations of massive U.S. government snooping and international online crime. Yahoo stressed that it has put in place various safeguards, such as coordinating with othe

Eccentric software pioneer John McAfee is back in the spotlight - lashing out at the anti-virus software that bears his name in a profanity-laced video. McAfee, an American who helped create the anti-virus software industry, generated a media frenzy at the end of last year when he fled his home on a tropical island in Belize, claiming that police in the Central American nation wanted to frame him for murder.   He has begun producing a series of YouTube videos, the first of which lampoons the McAfee anti-virus software company that he founded in the late 1980s and that is now owned by Intel Corp. He has not worked for the business in more than 15 years. The video, which surfaced this week, shows him complaining about the difficulties of removing McAfee anti-virus software from computers, and reading what he claims are letters of complaint from those who have used it. He says that the software was beautiful before it fell out of his hands. In the video, McAfee uses a lot of vulgar

Lazada, the Southeast Asian online retail company founded by Germany's Rocket Internet Gmbh, has secured another $100 million from investors in its bid to lift the region from its status as an e-commerce backwater. While online shopping is big in Europe, the United States and even in China , where it is likely to account for 6 percent of all retail business this year, Southeast Asians still prefer to do 99 percent of their shopping offline, the company estimates.   Lazada, which operates in Indonesia , Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, hopes to change that. "We see the same positive trends across the region," said Singapore-based Lazada CEO Maximilian Bittner. "What a country like Vietnam or Indonesia may not have in GDP they make up for in enthusiasm for online." On Thursday it announced that it had secured $100 million in funding from existing investors Holtzbrinck Ventures, Kinnevik Investment AB, Summit Partners and Tengelmann Group, as

A year after Facebook Inc's fumbled IPO, Wall Street remains slow to recognize what Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg argues has been an across-the-board improvement in its business. Facebook's ability to deliver ads to mobile phones, improvements in measuring the effectiveness of its ads and increasing user engagement have all put the world's largest social network in a better position than before the IPO, Sandberg told the Reuters Global Technology Summit on Wednesday. "When I look back at the last year since we went public, I believe we are unequivocally a much stronger company today than we were on literally any metric I can think of," Sandberg said at the Reuters Global Technology Summit on Wednesday. Facebook became the first U.S. technology company to debut with a value of more than $100 billion, in May 2012. Its shares have lost almost 40 percent of their value since. "I can't speak to the stock price but I do feel strongly that we ar

The founder of the outlawed Megaupload file-sharing site denounced on Thursday "the largest data massacre in the history of the internet", after a European firm wiped out private photos, videos and documents stored on servers used by the site. _0"> Dutch firm LeaseWeb said it had in February erased 630 servers rented by Megaupload, about a year after U.S. authorities closed the site and charged its operators with facilitating online piracy, racketeering and money laundering. "Our lawyers have repeatedly asked LeaseWeb not to delete Megaupload servers while court proceedings are pending in the U.S.," Kim Dotcom said on Twitter. "We were never warned about the deletion," Dotcom said, adding that the loss of the files had reduced him to tears. Dotcom, who also goes by the name Kim Schmitz, has New Zealand residency. He and his colleagues are fighting extradition to the United States.   He argues that Megaupload was merely a storage facility for