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By Simon Evans MIAMI (Reuters) - LeBron James, one win away from a second consecutive NBA title, is refusing to let relentless critics shift him from his goal of earning a place as one of the game's greatest. Despite a remarkable 12 months that has included a maiden NBA title with the Miami Heat, leading the U.S. to a second straight Olympic gold medal and winning a fourth league Most Valuable Player award, James still has his critics. ...

By Julian Linden MIAMI (Reuters) - One of the most turbulent championships in National Basketball Association (NBA) history will reach its climax on Thursday when the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs meet in the decisive seventh game of the Finals. Basketball fans in the United States have been whipped into a frenzy of excitement by what has already been a classic series full of wild fluctuations and escalating drama. ...

By Ben Blanchard and Michael Martina BEIJING (Reuters) - A top North Korean diplomat repeated an offer for international talks on his country's disputed nuclear programme during a meeting in China on Wednesday, saying the denuclearisation of the peninsula was the "dying wish" of North Korea's founder. The Beijing trip by First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan comes just days after North Korea offered talks with the United States to ease tension that spiked this year when the North threatened the United States and South Korea with nuclear war. ...

By Mari Saito TOKYO (Reuters) - A proposal by Sony Corp's top investor to partially spin off the Japanese company's lucrative entertainment business will be the elephant in the room at an annual shareholders meeting on Thursday. Daniel Loeb, who heads New York-based hedge fund Third Point, will miss the gathering and those attending will not consider his suggestion, sources familiar with the matter said. They gave no reason why Loeb would not attend. ...

By Linda Sieg TOKYO (Reuters) - Days after Kaoru Shimada and other Japanese mothers rallied in Tokyo this year to press for more public daycare, she was shocked to read a local politician's blog blasting their "shameless" demands and asserting kids should be raised at home. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has vowed to take steps, including expanding daycare, to help mobilise women power as part of his "Abenomics" plan to end economic stagnation and engineer growth in a country beset by an ageing, shrinking population. ...

By Matt Scuffham and David Milliken LONDON (Reuters) - Britain is ready to start selling its shares in Lloyds Banking Group and will examine whether to break up Royal Bank of Scotland , Finance Minister George Osborne said on Wednesday, after acknowledging the re-privatisation of RBS remains a long way off. The government is keen to show Britain's part-nationalised banks are recovering from the 2008 financial crisis and a profitable sale of part of its 39 percent stake in Lloyds would allow it to claim at least partial success ahead of the next election in 2015. ...

By Asher Levine and Tatiana Ramil SAO PAULO/FORTALEZA, Brazil (Reuters) - Brazil's two biggest cities agreed on Wednesday to revoke an increase in public transportation fares that set off demonstrations that have grown into nationwide protests against poor public services, inflation and corruption. The decisions, made separately in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, followed another day of protests across Brazil, which also included a march by demonstrators around a major international soccer game in the northeastern city of Fortaleza. ...

By Susan Heavey WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An annual U.S. State Department report on Wednesday cited Russia and China among the world's worst offenders in fighting forced labor and sex trafficking, which could lead to U.S. sanctions. The U.S. designation drops Russia and China, which already often are at odds with Washington, in the same category as North Korea and Iran. The State Department ranks countries according to the efforts they make to fight human trafficking and Russia, China and Uzbekistan all fell to the lowest level, Tier 3, in the new report. ...

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp said on Wednesday that users of its forthcoming Xbox One game console will be able to play games offline without establishing an Internet connection, and will be able to lend or sell used disc-based games. The announcement reverses the company's position when it unveiled the console in May, causing consternation among hardcore gamers. ...

By Jared Ferrie YANGON (Reuters) - Her adoring compatriots believe democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi is destined to become Myanmar's next president. But don't bet on it. A year ago, the Nobel Peace Prize winner was feted at home and abroad and flush from her National League for Democracy (NLD) party's landslide wins in April 2012 by-elections, which swept her into parliament. Even a military-drafted constitution designed to exclude her from the highest office seemed a surmountable hurdle. ...

By Ian Chua SYDNEY (Reuters) - Asian stock markets were braced for a fall on Thursday in line with Wall Street after the U.S. central bank confirmed that it would begin to withdraw stimulus this year if the economy continued to recover as it expected. Tokyo's Nikkei futures in Chicago and Australia's share price index futures fell, pointing to weaker openings for two of Asia-Pacific's main markets, following a 1.4 percent slide in the U.S. S&P 500 index. ...

By Alister Bull and Pedro da Costa WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday the U.S. economy is expanding strongly enough for the central bank to begin slowing the pace of its bond-buying stimulus later this year. Bernanke's confirmation that the Fed is getting closer to pulling back on its $85 billion in monthly asset purchases confirmed investor fears, sending stocks and bonds sharply lower and pushing benchmark Treasury yields to a 15-month high. ...

By Hamid Shalizi KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Wednesday his government would not join U.S. peace talks with the Taliban and halted negotiations with Washington on a troop pact, underscoring the fragile nature of hopes for a negotiated peace in Afghanistan. The United States and the Taliban have said officials from both sides will meet in Doha, the capital of Qatar, on Thursday, in a step forward for a stuttering peace process after 12 years `,of bloody and costly war between U.S.-led forces and the insurgents. ...

Kabul, June 20 (IANS) US Secretary of State John Kerry called up Afghan President Hamid Karzai in a bid to defuse tensions over opening of a Taliban office in Qatar, an Afghan spokesperson said Wednesday.

Kathmandu, June 20 (IANS) Twelve poachers of the one-horned rhinos have been sentenced to a jail term, ranging between 10 -15 years, and fined in Nepal.

Los Angeles, June 20 (IANS) Actress Liv Tyler will be seen on the small screen with Justin Theroux in an adaptation of the 2011 novel "The Leftovers".

Beijing, June 20 (IANS) The first summit between President Xi Jingping and his US counterpart Barack Obama held earlier this month proved very successful, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday.

London, June 20 (IANS) Pop star Rihanna left her fans upset after she reportedly turned up late by two hours for a gig in Birmingham. Her fans are said to have accused her of drugs.

Cardiff, June 19 (IANS) India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said Wednesday that Sri Lanka were a dangerous side and it was not possible to focus only on their two frontline batsmen " Mahela Jayawardene or a Kumar Sangakkara" during the semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy slated for Thursday.

Beijing, June 19 (IANS) A series of blasts ripped through a restaurant in China's Shanxi province Wednesday night, killing one person and injuring over 150 others, officials said.

Ljubljana (Slovenia), June 19 (IANS) In probably the first of its kind incident in Slovenia, a woman employee at a kindergarten was shot dead Wednesday by a man who later committed suicide, media reports said. No children were injured in the incident.

Beijing, June 19 (IANS) China and North Korea Wednesday held a "strategic dialogue" on denuclearisation on the Korean Peninsula.

Mumbai, June 19 (IANS) Producer-director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, who is all set to release his film, "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag", based on the life of former athlete Milkha Singh, said that the film was not based on sports and could have been on anybody in an endeavour to show the human spirit.

New Delhi, June 19 (IANS) Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who conducted an aerial survey of the flood-affected areas of Uttarakhand along with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Wednesday, sought quick relief for stranded people, a party statement said.

London, June 19 (IANS) The following is the scoreboard of the Champions Trophy semi-final between England and South Africa at The Oval here Wednesday.

New Delhi, June 19 (IANS) Celebrations by Delhi Congress workers and members of the Youth Congress marked the 43rd birthday celebrations of party vice president Rahul Gandhi, who wanted it to be a low key affair, party sources said Wednesday.