International Top Stories from Associated Press (AP)

Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice's deceptive Benghazi spin ought to be enough to sink her bid for promotion. Mrs. Rice's infamous talking points insisted that a YouTube video, rather than preplanned terrorism, prompted the deadly Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) , The strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines this year was pounding southern provinces Tuesday, cutting power, suspending travel and flooding areas already vulnerable to landslides.

A United Nations treaty advocating equal rights for disabled people faces significant Republican opposition in the Senate this week as lawmakers fear it could cede U.S. sovereignty and is not something that should be addressed during the lame-duck session.

A major defense-spending bill hit an unexpected bump on its journey through the U.S. Senate over an amendment on veterans' gun rights, which devolved into a heated floor debate and foreshadows a potential battle over Democrats' vows to tweak the filibuster rules in the clubby, traditionally collegial body.

WASHINGTON (AP) , The White House and its allies are weighing military options to secure Syria's chemical and biological weapons, after U.S. intelligence reports show the Syrian regime may be readying those weapons and may be desperate enough to use them, U.S. officials said Monday.

The Navy's special warfare command granted permission for two SEALs to advise filmmakers for an upcoming movie about a doomed commando mission in Afghanistan. The Hollywood job was accepted at about the same time the Navy punished several SEAL Team 6 members for sharing purported classified information as consultants for the development of a video game.

Virginia's State Crime Commission is considering a proposal that would strengthen the state's texting-while-driving laws to be in line with those across the country, a move applauded by lawmakers who have backed similar legislation but seen by some as a gesture that is too little too late.

Smartphones can hail a cab, stream football games and take high-quality photos, so the wireless industry's latest trick may seem as out of place as it was long in coming , rendering the phone as useless as a plastic brick.

MEXICO CITY (AP) , Software company founder John McAfee said Monday he has fled from Belize using a bizarre ruse, adding yet another chapter in what threatens to become one of the biggest media fugitive frenzies since O.J. Simpson led police on a low-speed chase in 1994. McAfee claimed in a blog posting he had evaded authorities by staging an elaborate distraction in neighboring Mexico.

BEIJING (AP) , With China's new leaders freshly installed in power, authorities are turning their attention to tying up loose ends in the sprawling, scandal-ridden city once ruled by populist politician Bo Xilai before his downfall buffeted the leadership transition.

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) , The Palestinian president returned triumphantly to the West Bank on Sunday, receiving a boisterous welcome from thousands of cheering supporters at a rally celebrating his people's new acceptance to the United Nations.

The Pentagon's top weapons tester has given a failing grade to the Army's premier battlefield intelligence processor, which troops in Afghanistan have criticized as being too slow and unreliable in sifting data to find the enemy.

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) , A mortar shell left from the Vietnam War has exploded in a southern village, killing four children and seriously injuring five other people. Hieu Nghia village official Le Van Giang says three children aged 4 to 11 died at the scene Sunday afternoon and a 6-year-old boy died at the hospital. The blast seriously injured two other children and three men.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) , Shin Cheol-soo no longer sees his future in the United States. The South Korean businessman supplied components to American automakers for a decade. But this year, he uprooted his family from Detroit and moved home to focus on selling to the new economic superpower: China.

PRAGUE (AP) , Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has arrived in the Czech Republic for talks on energy policy in a country heavily dependent on Russian fuel. It's her first stop in a five-day trip to Europe. Also on her agenda are Turkey's defense and U.S. relations with Pakistan.