Mick Jagger's love letters to singer Marsha Hunt up for auction

REUTERS - Love letters written by Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger to American singer Marsha Hunt, discussing poetry and his personal turmoil, will hit the auction block next month.

Hunt, with whom Jagger had his first child, Karis, told Britain's Guardian newspaper she was selling the letters, written in July and August 1969, because she had been unable to pay her bills.

"I'm broke," Hunt, who lives in France, told the newspaper.

The Guardian said on Friday the 10 letters would be sold by Sotheby's on December 12.

The auction house values the letters from between 70,000 and 100,000 pounds.

Jagger wrote them to Hunt while filming the Tony Richardson movie "Ned Kelly" in Australia.

They are described as showing a sensitive side of the then-young singer, who wrote about the poetry of Emily Dickinson, meeting author Christopher Isherwood and an unrealized multimedia project.

Jagger's relationship with Hunt, who is African-American, was kept under wraps until 1972.

"The sale is important," Hunt told The Guardian. "Someone, I hope, will buy those letters as our generation is dying and with us will go the reality of who we were and what life was."

Hunt has said she was the inspiration for the Rolling Stones' song "Brown Sugar," which Jagger wrote while in Australia.

The rock star also cites in the letters the disintegration of his relationship with singer Marianne Faithful, whom he was also dating at the time, and the death of Rolling Stones' guitarist Brian Jones. (Reporting by Eric Kelsey; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Peter Cooney)

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Geithner to lead U.S. Treasury into 2013

By Rachelle Younglai

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner plans to stay on into early next year to help the Obama administration forge a deal with lawmakers to avert a looming fiscal crisis, the White House said on Friday.

The Obama administration and Congress have less than two months to stave off the "fiscal cliff," a $600 billion combination of tax hikes and spending cuts that could throw the economy back into recession if Washington does not take action.

"Geithner has indicated that he will stay on through inauguration and he will be, obviously, a key participant in the negotiations around the so-called fiscal cliff issues," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters.

Geithner has long said he planned to step down if President Barack Obama won a second term, after a grueling several years dealing with the financial crisis, a deep recession and lackluster recovery, first as head of the New York Federal Reserve Bank and later as Obama's Treasury chief.

In helping the White House negotiate last year's budget deal to raise the debt limit and cut the deficit, Geithner won over many Republicans, who viewed him as reasonable and willing to listen to their concerns.

On Friday, Obama, who was re-elected on Tuesday, said he was prepared to compromise with Republicans, but was adamant that a tax increase for the wealthiest Americans be part of any debt reduction deal.

It is not clear who Obama will pick to replace Geithner, but his chief of staff and former budget director, Jack Lew, is seen as a favorite because of his expertise and the fact that budget and tax reform could dominate the administration's domestic agenda.

The White House did not have a specific date for when Geithner would leave and would not comment on whether he would stay until the administration brokered a budget deal.

It was also unclear if the Senate would have time to confirm a successor before Obama is sworn in for his second term on January 21, given the urgency of the fiscal talks and the number of other important positions that have to be filled.

Obama will want to move quickly to replace Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is also p lanning to leave, and CIA Director David Petraeus, who resigned abruptly on Friday, citing an extramarital affair.

Another possible contender for the Treasury job is Erskine Bowles, who was President Bill Clinton's chief of staff and who was appointed by Obama to help craft a deficit reduction plan.

Roger Altman, a Clinton-era deputy treasury secretary and co-founder of investment firm Evercore Partners; Sheryl Sandberg, the chief operating officer of Facebook; and Laurence Fink, the chief executive of asset manager BlackRock, are other names that have been floated. (Reporting By Rachelle Younglai; Editing by Bill Trott and Peter Cooney)

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UK campaigners call for Nobel Prize for shot Pakistani girl

By Maria Golovnina

LONDON (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Britons called on the government on Friday to nominate Malala Yousufzai, a Pakistani girl shot in the head by the Taliban for advocating girls' education, for the Nobel Peace Prize.

The 15-year-old is receiving specialist treatment in the English city of Birmingham after gunmen shot her on October 9 for standing up against the Taliban and openly advocating education for women.

The attack has drawn widespread international condemnation and Yousufzai has become a powerful symbol of resistance to the Taliban's attempts to suppress women's rights.

On Friday, a campaign led by a Pakistani-British woman urged Prime Minister David Cameron and other senior government officials to nominate Yousufzai for the Nobel Peace Prize.

"Malala doesn't just represent one young woman, she speaks out for all those who are denied an education purely on the basis of their gender," campaign leader Shahida Choudhary said in a statement issued by global petition platform Change.org.

More than 30,000 people have signed the petition in Britain as part of a global push by women's rights advocates to nominate her for the prize. Similar campaigns have sprung up in Canada, France and Spain.

Under the Nobel Committee's rules, only prominent figures such as members of national assemblies and governments are able to make nominations.

Yousufzai was unconscious and fighting for her life when she was flown to Britain a month ago but the hospital in Birmingham where she is being treated says she is recovering well.

On Friday it released photographs of Yousufzai reading a book and clutching a white teddy bear, dark bruises covering her eyelids.

She appeared serious and focused on her reading, her hair covered with a bright pink-and-white scarf.

Her father and other family members have flown to Birmingham, which has a large Pakistani diaspora, to oversee her recovery. On October 26 her father said his daughter would "rise again" to pursue her dreams after hospital treatment.

Her shooting was the culmination of years of campaigning that had pitted the young girl against one of Pakistan's most ruthless Taliban commanders, Maulana Fazlullah.

Fazlullah and his men have taken over Yusufzai's native Swat Valley and have blown up girls' schools and publicly executed those they deem immoral. An army offensive in Swat has however forced many Taliban fighters to flee.

The call to nominate the girl comes on the eve of this Saturday's "Global Day of Action" for Yousufzai, marking one month since her shooting.

In October, the Nobel Peace Prize went to the European Union for promoting peace and democracy. (Editing by Andrew Roche)

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"Dancing" co-host Brooke Burke has thyroid cancer

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Dancing with the Stars" co-host Brooke Burke said on Thursday that she has been diagnosed with thyroid cancer and will need surgery.

The television presenter and model said in a three-minute video posted on the website Modernmom.com that she will need her thyroid removed.

"I need to have thyroid surgery and a thyroidectomy, which means I'm going to have a nice, big scar right here on neck," Burke said, drawing a finger across her throat.

Burke, a former winner of ABC's celebrity ballroom dancing competition, said she had a biopsy in July, but it had taken her months to go public with the results.

"I'm ready to deal with it, and I'm going to be fine," she said.

There was no word on when the surgery would take place, but Burke's publicist said her work schedule for "Dancing with the Stars" would not be affected.

Burke, 47, said in July that her doctor suggested she undergo a thyroid ultrasound after he felt a lump in her neck during a routine physical.

The thyroid is a gland in the neck that produces hormones that regulate vital body functions, such as heart rate and blood pressure.

Burke's co-host Tom Bergeron said on Thursday during an appearance on the CBS chat show "The Talk" that he had known about her condition for several months. "We are all there with her," he said.

"I've known about this for a few months ... I have had experience with this in my family. You never want to hear the word cancer. But thyroid cancer is one of the most treatable cancers. It has an incredibly high success rate," he said. (Reporting By Eric Kelsey; Editing by Jill Serjeant)

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Los Angeles mandates condoms for porn actors, industry threatens suit

By Dan Whitcomb

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Los Angeles County voters passed a ballot initiative mandating that pornographic film actors wear condoms during sex scenes, prompting a trade group on Wednesday to threaten to sue and take production elsewhere.

Measure B, which was sponsored by the group AIDS Healthcare Foundation, won approval on Tuesday by a margin of 55.85 percent to 44.15 percent, according to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder's office.

"This is what democracy looks like; we took this to county government, and they didn't act so we took it directly to the voters, and they spoke conclusively," AIDS Healthcare Foundation President Michael Weinstein said.

The law requires adult film actors filming in Los Angeles County to use condoms during sex scenes. Most U.S. pornographic productions are made in the county's San Fernando Valley.

Diane Duke, chief executive for the industry group Free Speech Coalition, told Los Angeles County supervisors in a letter on Wednesday that the law was unconstitutional and that it fell under state jurisdiction, not that of local government.

"Therefore, we will file suit and challenge this intolerable law in court," Duke said in the letter. A copy was provided to Reuters.

She said the adult filmmakers had been approached to move elsewhere, adding: "In the upcoming weeks and months, we will provide a roadmap for adult production to move its over a billion dollar industry and its accompanying 10,000 jobs to these welcoming communities."

David Sommers, a spokesman for the Board of Supervisors, declined to respond specifically to the letter, saying he had not read it. He said county health officials were still grappling with the law's implications.

"This type of enforcement is a new thing for us and it's a one-of-a-kind law and so how we move forward with its implementation is a conversation we're just beginning to have given how the voters decided Measure B," he said.

The initiative requires porn producers to get a health permit from Los Angeles County to make their movies showing explicit sex and nudity. Using condoms on set would be a condition of obtaining that permit.

California workplace laws mandate the use of condoms by porn performers, but AIDS Healthcare officials say the statute is not specifically aimed at the industry and is widely violated.

The Free Speech Coalition said in its letter that such requirements would impose "excessive costs of compliance." (Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

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Obama win shows demographic shifts working against Republicans

By Susan Heavey

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Tuesday's decisive win by Barack Obama in the U.S. presidential election highlighted how population shifts - ethnic and generational - have buoyed Democrats while forcing Republicans to rethink their message.

Without recasting their core message and actively trying to expand their base beyond older mostly white Americans, conservatives could struggle even more in future elections as the nation's population incorporates more Latinos, Asians and other minorities as well as young voters, analysts said.

First-time voters, including many young people and immigrants, favored the president by large margins, while older voters leaned to Republican Mitt Romney, Reuters/Ipsos Election Day polling showed.

Obama won an estimated 66 percent of the Hispanic vote, according to Reuters/Ipsos election day polling, at a time when the Latino population is growing rapidly in states such as Florida, one of eight or so politically divided states that were crucial in the presidential race. Other estimates put Obama's share of the Hispanic vote above 70 percent.

"The nonwhite vote has been growing - tick, tick, tick - slowly, steadily. Every four-year cycle the electorate gets a little bit more diverse. And it's going to continue," said Paul Taylor of the nonpartisan Pew Research Center.

"This is a very powerful demographic that's changing our politics and our destiny," Taylor said, adding that the number of white voters is expected to continue to decline a few points in each future election cycle.

Data has shown for years that the United States is poised to become a "majority minority" nation - with whites a minority of the country - over the next several decades. But Tuesday's results highlighted the political impact.(See http://link.reuters.com/hyd83t for a graphic.)

About 80 percent of blacks, Latinos and other nonwhite voters cast their ballots for Obama on Tuesday compared with less than 17 percent for Romney, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling. Obama also won about 63 percent of total voters age 18 to 34.

Overall, Romney won nearly 57 percent of the white vote compared with 41 percent for Obama, the polling data showed. The vast majority of votes cast for Romney came from white voters.

Demographer William Frey said that division is troubling.

The United States has long history of racial divide stemming from its roots in slavery and including the civil rights battles of the 1960s.

"We still are a country that's kind of divided, and a lot of that fissure in the population tends to be based in race and age and ethnicity," said Frey, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute. "There's kind of a dangerous result in this election when we see older whites moving in one direction and younger minorities moving in another direction."

Frey said he sees the gap less as racism and more as a cultural generation gap.

"It's a little bit of a warning sign that we need to pay attention to," he said.

A GROWING PRESENCE FOR MINORITIES

U.S. data released earlier this year showed the number of ethnic minority births topping 50 percent of the nation's total births for the first time.

It will be years before those newest Americans will be old enough to vote, but the demographic shift is clear. Most analysts project whites to be the racial U.S minority sometime between 2040 and 2050.

Latinos, the fastest-growing demographic in the United States, are a huge factor.

More than 70 percent voted for Obama compared with about 28 percent for Romney, according to Reuters/Ipsos data.

"We are a much more diverse country than we were" just a generation or two ago, said Pew's Taylor, who also oversees the center's Social and Demographic Trends project and the Pew Hispanic Center. The rising number of multiracial children are also likely to become more of a factor, he added.

Obama, whose historic win in 2008 made him the first ethnic minority U.S. president, had a black father and a white mother.

Aging baby boomers also are a key factor in the demographic transition, as older voters "leave the electorate," as Taylor delicately put it, and young voters more accepting of diversity and an active government are added to the rolls.

That could help drive certain civil rights ballot initiatives, like votes in Maryland and Maine on Tuesday to approve same-sex marriage. In each instance, support from younger voters helped put the measures over the top.

"It was an election in which the future won over the past," said Marshall Ganz, a Harvard University lecturer on public policy, said of Tuesday's various contests.

'A RECIPE FOR EXTINCTION'?

Tuesday's outcome poses big questions for Republicans as they seek new national leaders and prepare for the next congressional election in 2014 and beyond.

Conservatives' stance against immigration reform and gay marriage is "a recipe for extinction," said analyst Mike Murphy, a one-time adviser to prominent Republicans including Arizona Senator John McCain, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, former New Jersey Governor Christie Todd Whitman and Romney, a former Massachusetts governor.

"The question is whether or not we're going to have an adult conversation inside the party about our need to attract more people than grumpy old white guys," Murphy told MSNBC. "Demographically, our time is running out."

Ted Cruz, a Latino Republican elected to the U.S. Senate from Texas, said on CBS that his party had to recruit candidates who connect with that community in a "real and genuine way."

Not all Republicans were willing to concede to demographics. Some highlighted tactical and strategic issues in their lost bid for the White House and their failed efforts to take control of the U.S. Senate.

And analysts said Democrats, too, have lessons to learn.

"It is a very powerful wake-up call to both political parties," said Pew's Taylor.

Brookings' Frey said Democrats still must keep the white vote in mind for at least the next couple of election cycles.

"Whites are not dead," he said. "They're still a big part of this population." (Additional reporting by Ros Krasny and Gabriel Debenedetti in Washington; and David Adams in Miami; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

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Asian shares steady, counting starts in US election

By Chikako Mogi

TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares were steady on Wednesday as investors hoped for a decisive result in a close-fought U.S. presidential election, with early counting underway and voting continuing in crucial swing states which will decide the outcome.

Polls showed President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney remained in a neck-and-neck race, with 270 electoral college votes needed to win.

The first clues to who will win could come from the swing states of Virginia, Florida and Ohio. Polls in all three states close at 8 p.m. EST (0100 GMT) and if the results are clear, U.S. television networks could begin projecting winners soon after.

The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.1 percent, pulled higher by Australian shares which rose 0.3 percent as an overnight rise in commodities boosted mining stocks. South Korean shares opening up 0.3 percent.

Japan's Nikkei average opened up 0.6 percent.

"The broad outline of the U.S. election is expected during trading hours. If the uncertainty is dispelled with results pointing to a clear winner, the main board is expected to trace last night's Wall Street gains." Park Jung-sup, an analyst at Daishin Securities, said of Seoul shares.

The dollar was down 0.1 percent against the yen at 80.28, but off Tuesday's low of 79.96 yen.

The general market view is a Romney win would favor stocks due to the perception his policies are pro-business, while a second term under Obama would favour bonds as he is perceived to favour low interest rates.

Without a decisive win and a clear majority in Congress by either Obama or Romney, investors expect messy negotiations over a "fiscal cliff" - nearly $600 billion worth of spending cuts and tax increases that risk pushing the economy into deep recession.

A sharp downturn in the world's largest economy raises concerns about demand for industrial metals, analysts say.

They also say a win by Romney would hurt gold in the short term and overall risk sentiment, as he has been critical of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's aggressive quantitative easing, which has kept risk-favourable market sentiment and supported gold for the prospect of future inflationary pressure.

"An Obama re-election would be a 'status quo' and sigh of relief for those outside the U.S. and the early rally started in North America will likely continue," said Neal Gilbert, market strategist at GFT in a note to clients. "If Romney is the early favourite, expect uncertainty and indecision to reign as risk markets take back many of their early gains."

"A close race could be devastating mainly because the market hates uncertainty and a flood of funds in to the safety of the USD would be the likely outcome, destroying the risk trade," he said.

If the election falls short of a clear result, it risks roiling financial markets as was the case in 2000 when Bush versus Gore battle ended up in the Supreme Court.

U.S. crude futures fell 0.5 percent to $88.28 a barrel.

Aside from the U.S. election, markets will eye Greece, as the parliament later on Wednesday votes on 13.5 billion euros of fresh spending cuts and tax hikes. The austerity measures are crucial to unlocking 31.5 billion euros in aid from global lenders to keep the debt-laden country afloat.

The euro eased 0.1 percent to $1.2804, near a two-month low around $1.2764 hit on Tuesday.

(Additional reporting by Joyce Lee in Seoul)

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INSIGHT - Boeing may take year to decide on mini-jumbo revamp

By Alwyn Scott and Tim Hepher

NEW YORK/PARIS (Reuters) - Boeing Co appears to be at least a year away from offering a new version of the 777, its most profitable jet, timing that would be later than some airline customers want and could push them into the arms of rival Airbus.

Carriers such as Dubai's Emirates Airline and British Airways had planned on the new mini-jumbo, provisionally called the 777X, entering service by the end of the current decade. That being the case, the industry widely expected Boeing to begin selling the new jet by the end of this year.

With just seven weeks left in 2012, that timetable now appears increasingly unlikely, based on internal conversations between the planemaker and its customers.

"It's going to be way further off than people think," said a person familiar with the discussions who declined to be identified because the person was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

"Boeing is in conversations about it," the person added. "But the launch date (for sales) is a year away at least."

The 777X is aimed at the market for long-haul jets , worth hundreds of billions of dollars for Boeing and Airbus over the next decade or so. But some think delay by Boeing in creating the new 777 could push airlines into buying Airbus' rival A35 0-1000 jet , due to enter service in 2017.

Emirates, British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways <0293.HK> and United Airlines < UAL.N>, big buyers of the 777, have been pressing for the 777X to come sooner rather than later. The 777 is one of the most successful jets of all time and airlines are eager for an ramped-up version that can go farther on less fuel with more passengers.

Rather than wait, United started talks with Airbus about upgrading some of its 25 orders for the A350-900 to the A350-1000, industry sources said. Cathay Pacific chose the A350-1000 in July. Analysts say others may grow impatient and follow.

In contrast, the 777X may not enter service until 2021 or 2022, rather than the end of the decade, based on Boeing's recent statements, said Richard Aboulafia, an analyst at the Teal Group in Fairfax, Virginia.

He was referring to comments by Boeing Chief Executive Jim McNerney on a conference call with analysts on October 24 in which he said, "We are looking at the end of the decade, beginning of the next decade" for entry into service.

"When you start throwing around 'early next decade' you're sending a message to customers to either buy our existing jets or go see Airbus," Aboulafia said. "You do not want to send that message."

A spokeswoman for Boeing said it hasn't changed the timing but declined to say if it will begin selling the first 777X by the end of the year.

"While we haven't set a firm timeline or launched the program, we've consistently talked about a potential market entry around the end of the decade and we are engaging with our customers to define the airplane and its ultimate timing," said Karen Crabtree, head of product strategy communications for Boeing. Boeing also said it always aims to balance spending between investment and shareholders.

STRATEGIC SHIFT?

Some analysts say the vague 777X timetable is fresh evidence of a bigger shift: a new reluctance by Boeing to plow capital into ambitious plane-development programs and an intention to instead return it to shareholders through higher dividends and share buybacks. Just five months ago, Boeing was seen by many as restoring an "engineering culture" that gave priority to new planes and production over immediate shareholder gains.

Also, linking "Boeing" and "delay" on the 777 serves as a painful reminder that the 787 D Dreamliner, the world's first commercial carbon-fiber plane, arrived three and a half years behind schedule.

To be sure, Boeing and Airbus always do a delicate dance when launching new jets. Launch too early and they give their rival a chance to create a more technologically advanced jet. Launch too late and their rival has too much time to rack up sales, stealing the market.

In this case, the 777 delay frees up cash for other Boeing projects, such as the new 737MAX, aimed at the shorter-range market. It also avoids disrupting sales of the current 777 model, which is very popular.

And since timing and design of the 777X are must-win decisions, some say Boeing is wise to take time and get it right - even if that upsets some customers.

"We've all seen Boeing move quickly when they need to," said a person at a big Boeing customer who spoke on condition of anonymity. "If the industry is still asking this question (about timing) this time next year, then we may have some issues."

Last spring, the industry widely understood Boeing would seek board approval to begin selling the 777X by the end of the year or early 2013. That would mean work on building the jets could start in 2014, allowing the jet to enter service, or begin carrying commercial passengers, around 2019 .

But the June resignation of Boeing's commercial airplane chief, Jim Albaugh - credited with solving many 787 production problems - and the ticking clock have raised concerns. Some analysts say Boeing is already at risk of waiting too long and losing its advantage in timing.

EYE ON AIRBUS

For its part, Boeing is keeping a wary eye on sales of the A350-1000, according to industry sources, and stands ready to pounce quickly if Airbus receives a surge in orders for its 350-seat rival model.

But if sales of the rival continue at a relatively sedate pace, Boeing will want to avoid moving too quickly and disrupting sales of its current-generation 777-300ER, while trying to catch the replacement cycle of 747-400s due to retire around the end of the decade, industry sources said.

Additionally, Boeing wants to be certain, before settling on the performance and economics of its 777X, that Airbus plans no further design tweaks to the A350-1000 to boost sales. Airbus has said it is happy with the design and there will be no further redesigns.

The A350-1000, the biggest member of the A350 family, is an all-new carbon composite design boasting fuel savings over the 777-300ER.

Boeing has limited margin for error. It also is juggling other complex programs such as the 787 and the stretched-jumbo Boeing 747-8. Airbus, too, has big programs under way, including smaller A350 versions and A380 superjumbo derivatives.

With order backlogs of more than 4,000 jets each, neither company faces a dire threat.

"When they get going, they'll do well," analyst Aboulafia said of Boeing. "But they'll miss a golden opportunity to deliver a knockout punch - launching the 777X quickly and badly damaging the A350-1000 before it gets traction in the market." (Reporting by Alwyn Scott and Tim Hepher.)

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NEWSMAKERS - Cautious reformers tipped for new China leadership

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's ruling Communist Party will this month unveil its new top leadership team, expected to again be an all-male cast of politicians whose instincts are to move cautiously on reform.

Sources close to the leadership say 10 main candidates are vying for seven seats on the party's next Politburo Standing Committee, the peak decision-making body which will steer the world's second-largest economy for the next five years.

Only two candidates are considered certainties going into the party's 18th congress, which starts on Thursday: leader-in-waiting Xi Jinping and his designated deputy, Li Keqiang, who are set to be installed as president and premier next March.

Of the remaining eight contenders, only one has the reputation as a political reformer and only one is a woman.

Following are short biographies of the candidates, including their reform credentials and possible portfolio responsibilities.

For a graphic on China's leadership structure, click on:

http://link.reuters.com/fus73t

XI JINPING

REFORM CREDENTIALS: Considered a cautious reformer, having spent time in top positions in Fujian and Zhejiang provinces, both at the forefront of China's economic reforms.

Xi Jinping, 59, is China's vice president and President Hu Jintao's anointed successor. He will take over as Communist Party boss at the congress and then as head of state in March.

Xi belongs to the party's "princeling" generation, the offspring of communist revolutionaries. His father, former vice premier Xi Zhongxun, fought alongside Mao Zedong in the Chinese civil war. Xi watched his father purged and later, during the Cultural Revolution, spent years in the hardscrabble countryside before making his way to university and then to power.

Married to a famous singer, Xi has crafted a low-key and sometimes blunt political style. He has complained that officials' speeches and writings are clogged with party jargon and has demanded more plain speaking.

Xi went to work in the poor northwest Chinese countryside as a "sent-down youth" during the chaos of the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution, and became a rural commune official. He went on to study chemical engineering at Tsinghua University in Beijing and later gained a doctorate in Marxist theory from Tsinghua.

A native of the poor, inland province of Shaanxi, Xi was promoted to governor of southeastern Fujian province in 1999 and became party boss in neighbouring Zhejiang province in 2003.

In 2007, the tall, portly Xi secured the top job in China's commercial capital, Shanghai, when his predecessor was caught up in a huge corruption case. Later that year he was promoted to the party's standing committee.

- - - -

LI KEQIANG

REFORM CREDENTIALS: Seen as another cautious reformer due to his relatively liberal university experiences.

Vice Premier Li Keqiang, 57, is the man tipped to be China's next premier, taking over from Wen Jiabao.

His ascent will mark an extraordinary rise for a man who as a youth was sent to toil in the countryside during Mao's Cultural Revolution.

He was born in Anhui province in 1955, son of a local rural official. Li worked on a commune that was one of the first places to quietly revive private bonuses in farming in the late 1970s. By the time he left Anhui, Li was a Communist Party member and secretary of his production brigade.

He studied law at the elite Peking University, which was among the first Chinese schools to resume teaching law after the Cultural Revolution. He worked to master English and co-translated "The Due Process of Law" by Lord Denning, the famed English jurist.

In 1980, Li, then in the official student union, endorsed controversial campus elections. Party conservatives were aghast, but Li, already a prudent political player, stayed out of the controversial vote.

He climbed the party ranks and in 1983 joined the Communist Youth League's central secretariat, headed then by Hu Jintao.

Li later served in challenging party chief posts in Liaoning, a frigid northeastern rustbelt province, and rural Henan province. He was named to the powerful nine-member standing committee in 2007.

- - - -

WANG QISHAN

REFORM CREDENTIALS: A financial reformer and problem solver with deep experience tackling tricky economic and political problems.

Wang Qishan, 64, is the most junior of four vice premiers and an ex-mayor of Beijing. But he has a keen grasp of complex economic issues and is the only likely member of the Standing Committee to have been chief executive of a corporation, leading the state-owned China Construction Bank <0939.HK> <601938.SS> from 1994 to 1997. As such, he may take a leading role in shaping economic policy, including trade and foreign investment.

Wang is an experienced negotiator who has led finance and trade negotiations as well as the Strategic and Economic Dialogue with the United States. He is a favourite of foreign investors and has long been seen as a problem solver, sorting out a debt crisis in Guangdong province where he was vice governor in the late 1990s and replacing the sacked Beijing mayor after a cover-up of the deadly SARS virus in 2003.

Wang is also a princeling, son-in-law of a former vice premier and ex-standing committee member, Yao Yilin. His possible portfolio could be chairman of the National People's Congress (China's rubber-stamp parliament), head of parliament's advisory body, executive vice premier (responsible for economic issues) or the party's top anti-corruption official.

- - - -

LIU YUNSHAN

REFORM CREDENTIALS: A conservative who has kept domestic media on a tight leash.

Liu Yunshan, 65, may take over the propaganda and ideology portfolio for the Standing Committee.

He has a background in media, once working as a reporter for state-run news agency Xinhua in Inner Mongolia, where he later served in party and propaganda roles before shifting to Beijing.

As minister of the party's Propaganda Department since 2002, Liu has also sought to control China's Internet, which has more than 500 million users. He has been a member of the wider Politburo for two five-year terms ending this year.

Liu has not worked directly for the Communist Youth League, but is aligned to it through his lengthy career in an inland, poor province, long ties to the party's propaganda system and close relationship with Hu Jintao.

- - - -

LI YUANCHAO

REFORM CREDENTIALS: A reformer who has courted foreign investment and studied in the United States.

Li Yuanchao , 61, oversees the appointment of senior party, government, military and state-owned enterprise officials as head of the party's powerful organisation department. On the Standing Committee, he could head the fight against corruption.

Li, whose father was a vice-mayor of Shanghai, has risen far since his parents were persecuted and he was a humble farm hand during the Cultural Revolution.

Politically astute, Li can navigate between interest groups, from Hu's Youth League power base to the princelings.

As party chief in his native province, Jiangsu, from 2002 to 2007, Li oversaw a rapid rise in personal incomes and economic development, attracting foreign investment from global industrial leaders such as Ford, Samsung and Caterpillar.

He earned mathematics and economics degrees from two of China's best universities and a doctorate in law. He also spent time at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government in the United States.

- - - -

ZHANG DEJIANG

REFORM CREDENTIALS: A conservative trained in North Korea.

Zhang Dejiang, 65, saw his chances of promotion boosted this year when he was chosen to replace disgraced politician Bo Xilai as Chongqing party boss. He also serves as vice premier in charge of industry, though his record has been tarnished by the downfall of the railway minister last year for corruption.

Zhang is close to former president Jiang Zemin who still wields some influence. He studied economics at Kim Il-sung University in North Korea and is a native of northeast China.

On his watch as party chief of Guangdong, the southern province maintained its position as a powerhouse of China's economic growth, even as it struggled with energy shortages, corruption-fuelled unrest and the 2003 SARS epidemic.

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ZHANG GAOLI

REFORM CREDENTIALS: A financial reformer with experience in more developed parts of China.

Zhang Gaoli, 65, party chief of the northern port city of Tianjin and a Politburo member since 2007, is seen as a Jiang Zemin ally but also acceptable to President Hu, who has visited Tianjin three times since 2008. Zhang is an advocate of greater foreign investment and he introduced financial reforms in a bid to turn the city into a financial centre in northern China.

He was sent to clean up Tianjin, which was hit by a string of corruption scandals implicating his predecessor and the former top adviser to the city's lawmaking body. The adviser committed suicide shortly after Zhang's arrival.

A native of southeastern Fujian province, Zhang trained as an economist. He also served as party chief and governor of eastern Shandong province and as Guangdong vice governor.

Zhang is low-key with a down-to-earth work style, and not much is known about his specific interests and aspirations. But with his leadership experience in more economically advanced cities and provinces, including party secretary of the showcase manufacturing and export-driven city of Shenzhen, he could be named executive vice premier.

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WANG YANG

REFORM CREDENTIALS: Seen by many in the West as a beacon of political reform.

Wang Yang, 57, is party chief of the export dependent economic hub of Guangdong province. He was not included in a list of preferred Standing Committee candidates drawn up by Xi, Hu and Hu's predecessor, Jiang Zemin, according to sources close to the leadership, but is firmly in the running.

Born into a poor rural family in eastern Anhui province, Wang dropped out of high school and went to work in a food factory at age 17 to help support his family after his father died. These experiences may have shaped his desire for more socially inclusive policies, including his "Happy Guangdong" model of development designed to improve quality of life.

Concerned about the social impact of three decades of blistering development, he lobbied for social and political reform. However, this approach has drawn criticism from party conservatives and Wang has more recently adopted the party's more familiar method of control and punishment to keep order.

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YU ZHENGSHENG

REFORM CREDENTIALS: Relatively low-key but considered a cautious reformer.

Yu Zhengsheng, 67, is party boss in China's financial hub and most cosmopolitan city, Shanghai.

His impeccable Communist pedigree made him a rising star in the mid-1980s until his brother, an intelligence official, defected to the United States. His close ties with Deng Pufang, the eldest son of late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping, spared him the full political repercussions but he was taken off the fast track.

Yu bided his time in ministerial ranks until bouncing back, joining the Politburo in 2002. However, the princeling's age would require him to retire in 2017 after one term.

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LIU YANDONG

REFORM CREDENTIALS: Uncertain.

Liu Yandong, who turns 67 this month, is the only woman given a serious chance to join the Standing Committee but is considered a dark horse. She is a princeling also tied to President Hu's Youth League faction.

If promoted, she could head up parliament's advisory body, but her age would also force her to retire after only one term.

Her bigger challenge is that no woman has made it into the Standing Committee since 1949. Not even Jiang Qing, the widow of late Chairman Mao Zedong, made it that far.

Liu, daughter of a former vice-minister of agriculture, is currently the only woman in the 25-member Politburo, a minority in China's male-dominated political culture. She has been on the wider Politburo since 2007 as one of five state councillors, a rank senior to a cabinet minister but junior to a vice-premier.

(Reporting by Terril Yue Jones, Ben Blanchard, Benjamin Kang Lim and Sui-Lee Wee in Beijing. Additional reporting by Chris Ip, Grace Li, Jean Lin, Young Wang, Alice Woodhouse and Julie Zhu; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Mark Bendeich)

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Actress Kristen Bell expecting first child with Dax Shepard

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actress Kristen Bell is expecting her first child with actor Dax Shepard, her spokeswoman said on Monday.

"Veronica Mars" actress Bell, 32, is expecting the child in late spring with her fiance, "Parenthood" actor Shepard, 37, the actress' representative Marcel Pariseau told Reuters.

The couple announced their engagement in January 2010 and this is the first child for both.

Bell has forged a successful career in TV shows including "Heroes" and "House of Lies," and movies such as "Forgetting Sarah Marshall."

She starred alongside comedian Shepard in the 2010 romantic comedy "When in Rome" and more recently in this year's independent film "Hit and Run." (Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Patricia Reaney and Lisa Shumaker)

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Two TDP leaders join YSR Congress

Hyderabad, Nov 4 (PTI) In a boost to YSR Congress, two TDP leaders, including a sitting MLA, today joined the Jaganmohan Reddy-led party in Andhra Pradesh. TDP MLA from Gopalapuram T Vanitha and former TDP legislator P V Krishna Rao joined YSR Congress in the presence of party president Y S Vijayamma here along with few other leaders from West Godavari district. PTI SJR ABC RAI SRE

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Indian doctor found murdered in Abu Dhabi

Dubai, Nov 4 (PTI) An Indian doctor was found murdered at an Abu Dhabi hospital with a deep cut on his neck, with media reports suggesting that he was attacked by a Pakistani national. Dr Rajan Daniel, hailing from Kerala, had been working at Ahalia Hospital since 2007. Last week his body was found on the floor of the hospital with a deep cut on his neck. A man fleeing his room was nabbed by the hospital staff and handed over to the police. Media reports here said the attacker had been under Dr Daniel's observation for a urinary disease for several weeks and apparently visited the doctor for a follow-up. He was also said to be upset over the treatment of his ailment. "It is unimaginable how a patient can murder the doctor even if the treatment has shown unsatisfactory results," an Indian doctor in Abu Dhabi said. Some reports also suggest that the attacker blamed the doctor for the death of his relative. A police official said the suspect was a Pakistani national and he was being interrogated by a special police team to establish the motive behind the crime, Gulf News reported. Meanwhile, arrangements are being made to send the victim's body to India. PTI Corr NSA

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Stabbed schoolboy struggles for life

Chaibasa (Jharkhand), Nov 3 (PTI) The boy, who was stabbed by a man in the premises of a primary school at Diggilota in West Singhbhum district, was struggling for his life at Tata Main Hospital here. "He is on a ventilator in the Critical Care Unit of Tata Main Hospital here," a doctor attending upon him said. The boy, Simnath Diggi, and a girl student Jasmine Murmu, had been stabbed in the school campus by Madan Gope during school hours on November 1. While six-year-old Jasmine died of her injuries on the same day, Diggi was admitted to Tata Main Hospital in a serious condition, Suraj Oraon, Officer-in-charge of Sonua police station, said. Oraon told PTI that they have arranged Rs 15,000 for the family members of the victim boy to meet the expenses for his treatment. Earlier, the knife-wielding man had attacked the two children who allegedly created noise while attending the class, the police said. Following the incident, the villagers caught hold of Gope and thrashed him before he was handed over to the police. PTI BS AMD PAL

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Case filed against Karnataka Law Minister Suresh Kumar

Bangalore, Nov 3 (PTI) Spelling fresh trouble for Karnataka's ruling BJP, police today booked a case against Law Minister S Suresh Kumar and two others for allegedly denotifying over four acres meant for construction of houses for slum dwellers. Bangalore Metropolitan Task Force police registered a case against Suresh Kumar, M Krishnaiah Setty, former Housing Minister, and V P Baligar, former Principal Secretary to then Chief Minister for allegedly denotifying four acres 20 guntas (one gunta is about 1,086 sq ft) at Laggere in Bangalore North taluk. The case was filed under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act- 1988 and CRPC, acting on a complaint filed by one Dinesh Kallalli. Kallalli said in his complaint that in 1982, 4.2 acres in survey number 9/2, which belonged to K Gopinath, brother of senior RSS leader Narahari, was notified to build houses for the financially weaker and downtrodden sections. The process of land acquisition process was completed in 2003 and six years after the land came into its possession, the Karnataka Slum Development Board commenced construction of houses by calling for tenders. When the construction process was in the final stage, the B S Yeddyurappa government took the decision to denotify land in 2009 under the alleged influence of Suresh Kumar who was the Law Minister then. Kallalli charged the decision to denotify the land was taken to help Gopinath though the KSDB stoutly objected, alleging it was against the interest of the weaker sections and also that the tender process had almost been completed. But the government went ahead with its decision, he alleged. Meanwhile, Suresh Kumar told PTI from Bellary that "I am not a minister incharge of Bangalore or Bangalore Development Authority, it is held by the Chief Minister. I do not know in what context I have been named in the complaint. Only after knowing the details, I can react". PTI BH MSR BN PAL

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