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By Nick Mulvenney SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia are rightly underdogs for the upcoming Ashes series in England but will do everything they can to bring the coveted urn back home, skipper Michael Clarke said on Wednesday. There was more talk of aspiration than expectation as the Australia squad officially bid farewell to the country in a ceremony at Sydney airport before their departure for England at the weekend. ...

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani cricket-hero-turned-politician Imran Khan left hospital on Wednesday after treatment for back injuries suffered in a fall in Lahore, television stations said. Khan, who has been fitted with a spinal brace to aid recovery, fell from a fork-lift taking him to a poll campaign podium on May 7. A general election four days later handed a landslide victory to Nawaz Sharif and his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). But Khan's campaign electrified many, pushing his Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) from a marginal party to the country's third-largest. ...

By David Henry TAMPA, Florida (Reuters) - Jamie Dimon, chairman and chief executive of JPMorgan Chase & Co took an unusual step to fight off investors seeking more oversight of his activities - he hinted he might quit. And it worked. At the bank's annual meeting on Tuesday, JPMorgan shareholders voted down a proposal to strip Dimon of his chairmanship, giving the measure even less support than last year. Investors showed some unhappiness with the bank's management by only barely re-electing three directors who oversaw a massive trading loss last year. ...

Reuters Market Eye - The rupee hits a fresh near 6-month low in opening trades. The rupees falls to 55.48 after opening at 55.335, currently at 55.43/44 versus Tuesday close of 55.41/42. Dealers say follow-on dollar buying is pushing the pair up after a late surge on Tuesday. The chief dealer of a private bank tips 55.20-55.50 band for the session. Dealers say the bias may remain for the pair's strength on month-end dollar demand with crucial 55.20 level taken out on Tuesday. ...

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Shares in Tech Mahindra Ltd rose as much as 7.6 percent on Wednesday after its January-March quarter net profit rose 24 percent, beating estimates. Tech Mahindra said its March-quarter consolidated net profit rose 24.4 percent to 3.77 billion rupees. The results came out after the close of markets on Tuesday. (Reporting by Abhishek Vishnoi; Editing by Rafael Nam)

REUTERS - Vivian Cheruiyot is not defending her world 5,000 and 10,000 metres gold medals in Moscow in August because she is expecting her first child, the Kenyan said in a statement. The 29-year-old, who won both races at the 2011 world athletics championships in Daegu, South Korea, took silver and bronze in the 5,000 and 10,000 at last year's London Olympics. In a statement released by her agent Ricky Simms on Wednesday, Cheruiyot said she would resume her career next year. She had first revealed her decision not to compete in Moscow on Tuesday but gave no reason for her absence. ...

By Andrea Burzynski NEW YORK (Reuters) - Country singer Kelly Pickler won the 16th season of ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" on Tuesday night, winning over judges and TV audiences with her graceful style and high-jumping jives with partner and professional dancer Derek Hough. Pickler, who first grabbed attention as a contestant on "American Idol" in 2006, screeched and jumped up and down when she learned she had won. Fellow finalist Jacoby Jones, an NFL player, hoisted her on his shoulders to celebrate. ...

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) aims to restart a 60,000 barrels-per-day fire-hit crude unit at its Visakhapatnam (Vizag) refinery by the end of June, a company source said. The crude unit was shut on May 16 following a fire that hit a pipeline attached to the unit. "The first assessment is scheduled for mid-June. After that, we will get a clear picture," said the source, adding that the aim is to restart the unit by the last week of June. (Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Writing by Seng Li Peng)

By Ian Chua and Vidya Ranganathan SYDNEY (Reuters) - Asian stocks rose on Wednesday following a positive lead from Wall Street with Japan's Nikkei reaching a 5-1/2 year high, while the yen took a defensive stance ahead of the outcome of the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) policy meeting. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.1 percent, reversing some of Tuesday's 0.4 percent decline. The South Korean market climbed 0.4 percent. Tokyo's Nikkei gained 1.1 percent, breaking above 15,500 for the first time in over five years. ...

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea sent one of its top military officials to Beijing on Wednesday as a "special envoy" of its leader Kim Jong-un, state news agency KCNA reported. There were few details of Choe Ryong-hae's visit, which came amid strained relations between China and North Korea after Beijing backed U.N. sanctions on Pyongyang for its February nuclear test. Choe is the most senior North Korean official to visit Beijing since Kim's uncle Jang Song-thaek made the trip in August 2012. ...

JAKARTA (Reuters) - The death toll from a tunnel collapse at a mine run by the Indonesian unit of Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc has been raised to 28, the company said in a statement on Wednesday, after giving up hope of finding any more survivors. The Arizona-based company closed the world's second-largest copper mine on Wednesday last week, a day after a training tunnel away from its main operations fell in on 38 workers. Ten workers were rescued. (Reporting by Randy Fabi and Michael Taylor; Editing by Richard Pullin)

By Mary Wisniewski and David Bailey REUTERS - The people of central Oklahoma know all too well the destructive power of a tornado, but when a big one rolled toward the town of Moore again on Monday, residents had few basements and storm shelters to run to when the alarm sounded, officials said. Two elementary schools that were hit by the EF-5 tornado - the most powerful category - did not have "safe rooms" where students could shelter from the storm, and no applications for safe rooms had been made, Oklahoma Emergency Management Director Albert Ashwood told reporters. ...

REUTERS - A unique first edition of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" annotated by author J.K. Rowling has sold for a record 150,000 pounds at a London charity auction, Sotheby's said on Tuesday. The 1997 book, featuring handwritten notes, 22 original illustrations and a 43-page "second thoughts" commentary by the author, fetched the highest price to date for a printed book by Rowling, Sotheby's said in a statement. ...

Washington, May 22 (IANS) Residents of suburban Oklahoma were returning home as rescue workers neared the end of the search for survivors and the dead after a mammoth tornado - said to be as wide as 22 football fields - flattened countless homes and claimed 24 lives, including nine children.

Moscow, May 22 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Russia is developing an advanced target simulation system for its air defence units based on the short-range Pantsyr system, the defence ministry has said.

Film: "Ramaiya Vasta Vaiya; Music Director: Sachin-Jigar; Singers: Atif Aslam, Shreya Ghoshal, Mika Singh, Monali Thakur, Mohit Chauhan, Neha Kakkar; Rating **1/2

Washington, May 22 (IANS) A bipartisan immigration reform bill cleared a key hurdle after its authors negotiated a compromise with a Republican senator to relax some restrictions on high-tech companies on hiring foreign techies, many of whom come from India.

Dubai, May 22 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Iraq's central criminal court has resumed an investigation into officials suspected of corruption in a $4.2 billion deal to purchase Russian weapons.

Washington, May 22 (IANS) India and the US have called upon all nations - without naming any country - to take effective steps to work toward eliminating sanctuaries and infrastructure that supports terrorism and to increase efforts to counter violent extremism.

Los Angeles, May 22 (IANS) Actress Jessica Alba has been honoured in recognition of her philanthropic efforts towards children-related issues.

Abu Dhabi, May 22 (IANS/WAM) The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Singapore have held talks over international development.

Mumbai, May 22 (IANS) In a surprise move, Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt was secretly shifted from a Mumbai prison to a Pune jail early Wednesday, official sources said.

Los Angeles, May 22 (IANS) For actress Kerry Washington, fashion is a "creative outlet" to express herself.

Abu Dhabi, May 22 (IANS/WAM) The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and China have held talks over their bilateral economic relations.

London, May 22 (IANS) Singer Tulisa Contostavlos and her beau Danny Simpson are reportedly facing a rough patch in their relationship.

Los Angeles, May 22 (IANS) Socialite Khloe Kardashian has broken her silence against those who have targeted her pregnant sister Kim Kardashian for gaining a lot of weight.