NEW DELHI | Thu Mar 14, 2013 4:08am EDT

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Shazaf Fatima Haider was always interested in how it happened. How strangers met in contrived settings, were expected to like each other and get married.

Eventually, the 30-year-old teacher from Karachi saw the funny side of arranged marriages and cultural backgrounds in Pakistan and decided it was the perfect subject for her debut novel, "How It Happened."

The book, recently launched in India and Pakistan, is the story of Dadi, the matriarch of the Bandian family in Karachi, and her quest to find the perfect Shia Muslim groom for her granddaughter Zeba. Told from the point of view of Zeba's younger sibling Saleha, the novel explores how negotiating ancient marriage traditions in the 21st century could stretch a family to the end of its tether.

Haider spoke with Reuters about her book, Pakistani culture and writing.

Q: How much of "How It Happened" is inspired by real life?

A: Well, some of it was inspired by what I saw around me. I grew up listening to stories of my mother's home town in India and so the fictional town of "Bhakuraj" was born as this vital, bizarre place full of eccentric people. My grandparents died before I was born and I yearned to have a grandmother to be the kind of force that Dadi in "How It Happened" was to Saleha, so I think the yearning gave birth to the narrator and the grandmother, who are my two favourite characters in the novel. Soon after, the Bandians were born and they are quite unlike my actual family. After that, the story took shape and the rest is what is in the pages before you.

Q: Tell us a bit about your research for the novel.

A: No research, what you read is what popped up in my head. I was always very interested in what men and women went through in the process of arranged marriages and had been at the listening end of many a rant by an irate person of eligible age and status. I also had a few suitors grace my drawing room with their presence and I witnessed their discomfort with considerable amusement. And then, one day my friend called me and told me that a prospective mum-in-law had told her that she was interested in my friend because she was an American citizen (her son wanted a passport-holder) I thought, what a perfect subject-matter for satire. So off I went to write and out came "How It Happened".

Q: Did your family know that you were writing the novel?

A: It was a secret. I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to finish it, or that it wouldn't be good enough. One of my closest friends, Sameer Khan, was my only reader and critic - he was a med student but he still read each chapter I wrote and gave detailed feedback. The book wouldn't have been written without his constant encouragement.

Q: Sectarian violence is threatening Pakistan's stability at the moment. The Shia-Sunni rivalry is also a dominant thread in the novel. Do you see things changing any time soon?

A: Oh things are changing, of course, but it's different for different families. Never make the mistake that what is happening on the political scene is a representative of what the ordinary citizen thinks or wants -- people desire unity, peace and stability, not violence and bloodshed. In my family specifically, the Shia-Sunni thing isn't such a big deal any more -- many Zebas have come before us. But I know that some other families would like to stick together with the same religious flock.

Q: Through this novel, what is it that you wanted to say about marriages and cultural backgrounds in Pakistan? Was a humorous novel your first choice?

A: I didn't want to write a didactic novel and I hope I haven't. Humour was the natural choice because it's such a bizarre arrangement, getting strangers to meet in contrived settings and expecting them to like each other. Even animals have difficulty with breeding in captivity! I hope people will read the book and have a good laugh. Because to survive this system with grace, a good sense of humour is vital.

Q: Which is your favourite compliment yet for "How It Happened"?

A: I was very happy to learn that my male readers were enjoying it as much as my female readers. The cover seems to imply that women are the primary audience for this novel, but don't men suffer the rigours of the arranged marriage? One of them tweeted to me and said that he had loved it and that I rocked. And I think he rocked for saying that."

Q: What next after "How It Happened"? Is there scope for a sequel or a novel about education in Pakistan?

A: I am half-way through my second novel but I realize that I'm going to have to change the tone of the story completely which involves a complete re-write. It has nothing to do with "How It Happened". There is certainly scope for a sequel, though I'm not sure I want to visit the world of the Bandians any further. I've lived with them intimately and enjoyed my time with them. It's time for them to go their way and for me to go mine.

Q: Any advice for aspiring writers?

A: Submit as much as you write. Don't reject your own work when there are a thousand other people, agents and publishing houses to do that for you. And don't think your words are sacred - they are not - be open to changing tone or voice or anything such to serve the cause of your story telling. Don't show your work to everyone because everyone will have a different idea of what constitutes good writing. Find that one person whose opinion you trust and show your work to them.

(Reporting by Tony Tharakan; Editing by)

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A job seeker (R) meets with a prospective employer at a career fair in New York City, October 24, 2012.

WASHINGTON | Thu Feb 14, 2013 11:11am EST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, offering hope the sluggish labor market recovery may have picked up a step.

Initial claims for state jobless aid dropped 27,000 to a seasonally adjusted 341,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. The prior week's claims figure was revised to show 2,000 more applications were received than previously reported.

Last week's drop in claims exceeded economists' expectations for only a 6,000 decline and pushed first-time filings down to the lower end of their range for this year.

"It does seem as if claims are trending down a bit. We think payroll growth will pick up this year and this sort of gradual downtrend in claims seems consistent with that," said Sam Coffin, an economist at UBS in New York.

But some economists said a blizzard that slammed the East Coast late last week and difficulties smoothing out the data for seasonal fluctuations could have artificially depressed claims.

While they were encouraged by the decline, they urged caution against reading too much into the data.

"Claims may not be giving a reliable signal about the labor market," said Daniel Silver, an economist at JPMorgan in New York.

A Labor Department analyst said claims for Illinois and Connecticut, one of the states hardest hit by the snowstorm, had been estimated. He said given that most claims are filed online, the blizzard appeared to have little effect on the broader data.

U.S. financial market were little moved by the data as investors focused on news the euro zone economy slipped deeper into recession in the fourth quarter. Stocks on Wall Street were little changed, while the dollar and U.S. Treasury debt prices rose.

LAYOFFS HAVE EBBED

The data offered more evidence that U.S. companies are no longer aggressively laying off workers. However, they still appear to be in no hurry to step-up hiring against the backdrop of still lackluster demand.

The economy has struggled to grow much more than 2 percent since the 2007-09 recession ended, and the jobless rate rose 0.1 percentage point to 7.9 percent in January.

High unemployment prompted the Federal Reserve last year to launch an open-ended bond buying program that it said it would keep up until it saw a substantial improvement in the outlook for the labor market.

It also has committed to hold interest rates near zero until unemployment reaches 6.5 percent, provided inflation does not threaten to push over 2.5 percent.

Job gains averaged 181,000 per month in 2012, far less than the at least 250,000 that economists say is needed to significantly reduce the ranks of unemployed.

"The rate of job losses has slowed in early 2013, which is consistent with a modest pickup in net job creation," said John Ryding, chief economist at RDQ Economics in New York.

"Our projection for 2013 is that the average pace of job growth will be around 175,000 per month and we judge this drop in claims to be broadly consistent with this forecast."

Last week, the four-week moving average for new claims, a better measure of labor market trends, rose 1,500 to 352,500. The average had approached a five-year low in the prior week.

The number of people still receiving benefits under regular state programs after an initial week of aid dropped 130,000 to 3.11 million in the week ended February 2.

That was the lowest level since July 2008 and could be a function of people either securing jobs or simply exhausting their benefits. So-called continuing claims had hovered around 3.2 million since late November.

(Editing by Andrea Ricci and Tim Ahmann)

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The General Motors logo is seen outside its headquarters at the Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan in this file photograph taken August 25, 2009.

DETROIT | Thu Feb 14, 2013 3:49pm EST

DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Co (GM.N) reported a weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter profit on Thursday, citing wider losses in Europe and lower vehicle prices plus higher costs in its core North American market.

The largest U.S. automaker also made an accounting change in the quarter, intended to signal confidence that it will continue to be profitable in coming years. The move resulted in a $26 billion charge for the quarter, however.

Shares of GM, which did not change its 2013 profit outlook, initially bounced between positive and negative territory and were off 3.4 percent at $27.69 in late trading.

"An entrenched GM investor may see no need to sell, while a prospective investor may see no need to rush in," Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas said in a research note.

GM went public in the autumn of 2010, after its 2009 bankruptcy restructuring and $50 billion U.S.-taxpayer bailout.

Several analysts said GM's $699 million operating loss in Europe in the quarter was wider than they had expected.

Conditions in the region will be challenging for another few years, said Edward Jones analyst Christian Mayes, who has a "hold" rating on GM's stock. "They're moving in the right direction, but it's difficult over there to move fast because it's so challenging to shut down plants."

GM posted a profit of 48 cents per share before one-time items, 3 cents shy of the analysts' average estimate, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Operating losses in Europe last year more than doubled to $1.8 billion, reflecting rapid deteriorating vehicle demand and weak economic conditions there. It was the 13th straight year of losses in Europe.

"Europe was a little lighter, although I don't think people are going to really punish the stock for a few pennies' miss in Europe, just because we're probably at or near the bottom of that cycle," said Jefferies analyst Peter Nesvold, who rates GM shares at "hold."

Chief Financial Officer Dan Ammann said GM still expects industry sales in Europe to decline in 2013 and is "not betting on" a pickup later in the year, but Chief Executive Dan Akerson reiterated the company's goal of breaking even in the region by mid-decade.

"It's not like we're just hoping for the best," he said about Europe on a conference call. "We have certain levers that we can pull.

"We're going to be smart about how we cut costs. It isn't just 'close plants.' We're trying to play offense."

Akerson pointed to the new Opel Mokka SUV and Adam minicar in Europe, where GM has said it will introduce 23 new vehicles between 2012 and 2016.

Barclays analyst Brian Johnson said in a research note that "investors should take some comfort," as GM Europe will show a $600 million drop in depreciation and amortization expenses due to a writedown of assets. As a result, he now expects GM Europe's loss this year to be closer to a range of $1.1 billion to $1.2 billion, instead of the $1.4 billion he previously anticipated.

LOWER PRICING AT HOME

During the fourth quarter, costs rose by $400 million in North America, GM's most profitable region. But combined vehicle pricing fell by $300 million there as the company offered incentives to cut through its inventory of trucks on dealer lots ahead of its introduction of redesigned versions this year.

It was the first drop in North American pricing for GM since the first quarter of 2011.

Jefferies' Nesvold said the weaker Japanese yen and the deteriorating European market would probably lead to more competitive pricing in North America.

That would continue the trend seen in the fourth quarter, when GM lost one percentage point of U.S. market share despite raising its incentives slightly, according to research firm TrueCar.com.

GM's revenue in the fourth quarter rose 3 percent to $39.3 billion, above the $39.15 billion analysts had expected.

Net income at the Detroit company almost doubled to $892 million, or 54 cents a share, from $472 million, or 28 cents a share, a year earlier.

Operating profit fell 6.8 percent to almost $1.4 billion in North America, but jumped almost 27 percent to $473 million at the international operations unit, which is dominated by China, where GM is a market leader. South America swung to a $99 million profit from a year-earlier loss of $225 million.

The quarterly results included a $34.9 billion reversal of a valuation allowance on U.S. and Canadian deferred tax assets. The move, which rival Ford Motor Co (F.N) made in late 2011, reflects confidence in GM's ability to generate taxable income in those markets.

GM took a non-cash goodwill asset impairment charge of $26.2 billion related to the valuation allowance, wrote down $5.2 billion worth of assets in Europe, and took a charge of $2.2 billion for its action last summer to cut its U.S. salaried pension obligation.

The company also wrote down $220 million, or about half, of its investment in French alliance partner PSA Peugeot Citroen (PEUP.PA). GM, which paid $423 million for its 7 percent stake in Peugeot, warned last August that it might take such an action due to the deepening fiscal crisis in Europe.

Ammann said on Thursday that GM had no plans to put more cash into Peugeot, with which Akerson said the company has a good relationship.

GM did not change its 2013 outlook from last month, when it forecast its operating profit to rise modestly.

For the first quarter, Ammann said GM expects to take a $200 million charge for the devaluation of the Venezuelan currency. He also said the company has no plans to contribute to its U.S. pension plans this year.

Akerson also said the company would probably not fill its vacant global marketing chief position. Instead, it will have global heads for each brand.

GM would like to boost the number of plants in North America operating on three shifts to increase output and reduce structural costs, a strategy it is following globally, said Chuck Stevens, CFO for the region. Eight of GM's 19 plants there currently operate a third shift.

GM also is targeting a full-size pickup truck market share in the United States of 36 percent to 38 percent this year, Stevens said. That would be up from 36 percent last year.

Ammann told reporters in a later conference call that GM had completed the repurchase of a 1 percent stake in its joint venture with its top Chinese partner SAIC Motor Corp (600104.SS). He said the Chinese government approved the purchase last year.

The deal restored GM's stake in Shanghai GM to 50 percent. However, SAIC retains a 51 percent share in the sales side of the business. In the run-up to its 2009 bankruptcy filing, GM sold the 1 percent share to SAIC for $85 million.

For all of 2012, GM earned $4.9 billion, down from a record $7.6 billion in 2011 due to higher tax rates and weakness in Europe. The results in 2011 included $1.2 billion in gains from asset sales, while 2012 had $500 million in unfavorable items.

(Reporting By Ben Klayman and Deepa Seetharaman; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn, John Wallace, Maureen Bavdek and Nick Zieminski)

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1 of 2. Member of the Commission of Inquiry on Syria Carla del Ponte addresses a news conference at the United Nations European headquarters in Geneva February 18, 2013. Syrians in ''leadership positions'' who may be responsible for war crimes have been identified, along with units accused of perpetrating them, United Nations investigators said on Monday.

GENEVA | Mon Feb 18, 2013 6:39am EST

GENEVA (Reuters) - Syrians in "leadership positions" who may be responsible for war crimes have been identified, along with units accused of perpetrating them, United Nations investigators said on Monday.

Both government forces and armed rebels are committing war crimes, including killings and torture, spreading terror among civilians in a nearly two-year-old conflict, they said.

The investigators' latest report, covering the six months to mid-January, was based on 445 interviews conducted abroad with victims and witnesses, as they have not been allowed into Syria.

The independent team, led by Brazilian Paulo Pinheiro, called on the U.N. Security Council to "act urgently to ensure accountability" for grave violations, possibly by referring the violators to the International Criminal Court for prosecution.

"The ICC is the appropriate institution for the fight against impunity in Syria. As an established, broadly supported structure, it could immediately initiate investigations against authors of serious crimes in Syria," the 131-page report said.

It added: "Individuals may also bear criminal responsibility for perpetuating the crimes identified in the present report. Where possible, individuals in leadership positions who may be responsible were identified alongside those who physically carried out the acts."

Karen Konig AbuZayd, one of the four commissioners on the team of some two dozen experts, told Reuters: "We have information suggesting people who have given instructions and are responsible for government policy. People who are in the leadership of the military, for example."

"It is the first time we have mentioned the ICC directly. The Security Council needs to come together and decide whether or not to refer the case to the ICC. I am not optimistic."

But its third list of suspects, building on lists drawn up in the past year, remains secret. It will be entrusted to U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, upon expiry of its current mandate at the end of March, the report said.

Pillay, a former judge at the ICC, said on Saturday that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should be probed for war crimes and called for immediate action by the international community, including possible military intervention.

"The evidence collected sits in the safe in the office of the High Commissioner against the day it might be referred to a court and evidence would be examined by a prosecutor," said a European diplomat.

The death toll in Syria is likely approaching 70,000 people, Pillay told the Security Council last week in a fresh appeal for it to refer Syria to the ICC, the Hague-based war crimes court.

Government forces have carried out shelling and aerial bombardment across Syria including Aleppo, Damascus, Deraa, Homs and Idlib, the independent U.N. investigators said, citing corroborating evidence gathered from satellite images.

"In some incidents, such as in the assault on Harak, indiscriminate shelling was followed by ground operations during which government forces perpetrated mass killing," it said, referring to a town in the southern province of Deraa where residents told them that 500 civilians were killed in August.

"SPREADING TERROR"

"Government forces and affiliated militias have committed extra-judicial executions, breaching international human rights law. This conduct also constitutes the war crime of murder. Where murder was committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population, with knowledge of that attack, it is a crime against humanity," the U.N. report said.

They have targeted queues at bakeries and funeral processions, in violence aimed at "spreading terror among the civilian population", it said.

"Syrian armed forces have implemented a strategy that uses shelling and sniper fire to kill, maim, wound and terrorize the civilian inhabitants of areas that have fallen under anti-government armed group control," the report said.

Government forces had used cluster bombs, it said, but it found no credible evidence of either side using chemical arms.

Rebel forces fighting to topple Assad in the protracted and increasingly sectarian conflict have committed war crimes include murder, torture, hostage-taking and using children under age 15 in hostilities, the U.N. report said.

"They continue to endanger the civilian population by positioning military objectives inside civilian areas," it said. Rebel snipers had caused "considerable civilian casualties".

"The violations and abuses committed by anti-government armed groups did not, however, reach the intensity and scale of those committed by government forces and affiliated militia."

Foreign fighters, many of them from Libya, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Iraq and Egypt, have radicalized the rebels and helped detonate deadly improvised explosive devices, it said.

The two other commissioners are former chief ICC prosecutor Carla del Ponte and Vitit Muntarbhorn of Thailand.

"It is an investigative mechanism and its evidence can be given to relevant judicial authorities when the time comes. In the interim, it is the one piece of U.N.-approved machinery shining a light on abuses," the European diplomat said.

Referring to del Ponte, who joined in September, the diplomat said: "She brings a harder-edged prosecutorial lens so when they are looking at the evidence she is very well placed to know what sort of evidence would assist a later judicial process."

(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Alistair Lyon)

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The grave of Ben Zygier (R), the Australian whom local media have identified as the man who died in an Israeli prison in 2010 and who may have been recruited by Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, is pictured at a Jewish cemetery in Melbourne February 14, 2013.

CANBERRA | Mon Feb 18, 2013 6:17am EST

CANBERRA (Reuters) - A suspected Mossad agent who died in an Israeli jail in 2010 was arrested by his spymasters who believed he may have told Australian intelligence about his work with the Israeli spy agency, Australian media reported on Monday.

The Australian Broadcasting Corp said dual Australian-Israeli citizen Ben Zygier, 34, had met officers from Australia's domestic spy agency ASIO and had given details of a number of Mossad operations.

Quoting undefined sources, the ABC, which broke the initial story about Zygier's secret arrest and death in prison, said on one of his four trips to Australia, Zygier had also applied for a work visa to Italy.

But Mossad became concerned when it discovered Zygier had contact with the Australian spy agency, the ABC reported, adding it was worried he might pass on information about a major operation planned for Italy.

It said Zygier was one of three Australians who changed their names several times and took out new Australian passports for travel in the Middle East and Europe for their work with Mossad.

The closely guarded case has raised questions in Australia and Israel about the suspected use by Mossad of dual Australian-Israeli nationals.

Israeli lawmakers on Sunday announced plans to investigate Zygier's death, which a judge has ruled was suicide. Australia's Foreign Minister, Bob Carr, has initiated an inquiry into his department's handling of the case.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday sought to reduce media attention on the case and said he "absolutely trusts" Israel's security services and what he described as the independent legal monitoring system under which they operated.

Australia's Attorney-General, Mark Dreyfus, who is in charge of ASIO, on Monday said he would not comment on intelligence matters or suggestions ASIO had exposed Zygier's identity.

He also said he saw no need for a review of how the intelligence agencies handled the case.

"I haven't seen any need either, for any such review to take place within the Attorney General's Department," he told reporters.

(Reporting by James Grubel; Editing by Ron Popeski)

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An Iberia worker looks at a plane as he takes part in a march towards Madrid's Barajas airport February 18, 2013. Workers at loss-making Spanish flag carrier Iberia began a five-day strike at midnight on Monday, grounding over 1,000 flights and costing the airline and struggling national economy millions of euros.

MADRID | Mon Feb 18, 2013 6:46am EST

MADRID (Reuters) - Dozens of Iberia flights were canceled on Monday as workers at the loss-making Spanish flag carrier began a five-day strike over job cuts that is expected to cost the airline and struggling national economy millions of euros in lost business.

There was little sign of chaos on Monday morning in Barajas airport in Madrid, Iberia's hub, as the airline had already rescheduled most passengers on other flights or returned them their money.

Staff, including baggage handlers and air stewards, are holding the strikes in February and March to protest management plans to axe 3,807 jobs and cut salaries at the airline.

Workers kicked off the action with demonstrations at airports and plan a street protest in central Madrid on Wednesday evening.

Unionists began an 8 km-march (5 miles) around Barajas on Monday, telling reporters the airline was under threat, as was the future of the airport.

"Nobody is safe from being sacked," said Elias Gonzalez, a maintenance supervisor at the protest who has worked for Iberia for 27 years.

"There was an initial deal with the company when the merger with the British was agreed, but now there is disagreement."

In anticipation of the strike, Iberia had already canceled 415 flights between Monday and Friday, and as many as 1,200 flights operated by various airlines will be disrupted because of the lack of handling services at Spanish airports.

Domestic flights were the worst affected, with almost half grounded between Monday and Friday, Iberia said, while 10 percent of its lucrative, long-haul flights were canceled[ID:nL5N0BEAXS].

The February 18-22 strike, the first of three scheduled week-long stoppages, coincides with school holidays in Britain, Spain's biggest source of tourists.

Tourism accounts for around 11 percent of Spanish economic output and is one of the country's very few growth sectors in a prolonged recession that has pushed the unemployment rate above 26 percent.

Iberia, which merged with profitable British Airways in 2011 to form the International Airlines Group, reported a loss of 262 million euros ($349.78 million) in the first nine months of 2012.

SURVIVAL

The airline argues restructuring is vital to return the Spanish unit to profitability while unions say the IAG management is degrading pay and benefits in Spain through its low-cost airline Iberia Express.

Some 70,000 passengers will be affected during the Monday to Friday strike this week. About 86 percent have been given a different flights, including those operated by other airlines, while 14 percent had asked for refunds.

On Monday 37 flights due between 0800 and 1400 GMT (3 a.m. ET and 9 a.m. ET) were canceled at Madrid's Barajas airport, most of them Iberia flights but also three British Airways flights to London and a Luxair flight to Luxembourg.

Since the unions notified the strike two weeks ago and the transport ministry obliged them to offer a skeleton service under Spanish strike law, virtually no passengers were stranded at Spanish airports.

Iberia is just one of several companies in Spain, including Vodafone and bailed-out lender Bankia, to lay off workers.

It is fighting an uphill battle against low-cost operators, a depressed domestic economy and competitors that are in better shape after having already gone through restructuring processes.

Sabadell Bolsa analysts said the total 15 days of strikes could cost Iberia between 50 million euros and 100 million euros of losses. ($1 = 0.7490 euros)

(Additional reporting by Robert Hetz, writing by Clare Kane and Sarah Morris, Editing by Angus MacSwan)

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Muslim Brotherhood members and supporters of Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi chant pro-Mursi slogans, during a rally in front of the Sultan Hassan and Refaie mosques in the old town of Cairo November 30, 2012.

CAIRO | Mon Feb 18, 2013 6:30am EST

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's constitutional court rejected five articles of a draft election law on Monday and sent the text back to the country's temporary legislature for redrafting in a ruling that may delay a parliamentary poll due in April.

"The court has returned the draft parliamentary electoral law to the Shura Council after making five observations on five articles which it found unconstitutional," a court statement said.

It did not immediately disclose which parts of the law had been censured, but the court said it would issue a fuller statement later in the day.

A source in President Mohamed Mursi's office said before the decision that if the court found fault with the law, it could delay passage of the law, and hence the election, by a couple of weeks, but probably not months.

Mursi had been expected to promulgate the electoral law by February 25 and set a date two months later for voting, probably in more than one stage for different regions because of a shortage of judicial poll supervisors.

The constitutional court, made up partly of judges from ousted former President Hosni Mubarak's era, has intervened repeatedly in the transition, dissolving the Islamist-dominated parliament elected after the 2011 pro-democracy uprising.

Its composition was changed by the new constitution passed by a referendum in December.

Mursi was criticized in October for issuing a decree giving himself powers to override the judiciary. He backed down and dropped the decree weeks later following widespread protests.

(Reporting by Marwa Awad; Writing by Paul Taylor; Editing by Alistair Lyon)

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NEW YORK | Fri Feb 8, 2013 5:17pm EST

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Paintings from the private collection of U.S. singer Andy Williams, amassed over six decades, could fetch more than $30 million when they are sold at auction in May, Christie's said on Friday.

Works by Willem de Kooning and Richard Diebenkorn are expected to be the top sellers of the portion of the collection that will be auctioned at Christie's Post-War & Contemporary Art sale on May 15-16.

De Kooning's 1984 "Untitled XVII" and Diebenkorn's 1976 "Ocean Park #92" are expected to sell for about $5 million each.

"Williams' highly personal choices in Post War and Contemporary artworks reflect the dynamic energy of New York and Los Angeles in the 50s and 60s," Robert Manley, an international director at Christie's, said in a statement.

Christie's described de Kooning's "Untitled XVII" as a masterpiece of his final years of painting.

"The lyrical 1984 work demonstrates the artist's supreme confidence at the height of his fame, after six decades of painting," the auction house said.

Williams, best known for his rendition of the song "Moon River," died in September at the age of 84. The paintings in the collection are from his two homes and his Moon River Theater in Branson, Missouri.

Williams was first interested in Modern Art and had purchased works by Picasso, Paul Klee and Henry Moore before turning to the other painters.

Picasso's 1927 painting "Figure Feminine Sur la Plage," from Williams' collection, will be up for sale during Christie's Impressionist & Modern Art sale in New York on May 8-9.

"He had the exceptional ability to recognize quality in every category that he turned his attention to - a rare gift among collectors," Manley said about Williams.

The remainder of the collection will be sold this year in sales in New York, London and Paris.

(Reporting by Noreen O'Donnell; Editing by Patricia Reaney and Eric Beech)

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