Yahoo! News India

By Jane Chung SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea fired a short-range missile from its east coast on Sunday, a day after launching three of these missiles, a South Korean news agency said, ignoring calls for restraint from Western powers. Launches by the North of short-range missiles are not uncommon but, after recent warnings from the communist state of impending nuclear war, such actions have raised concerns about the region's security. ...

By Hamid Shalizi KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai plans to discuss potential arms deals with Indian officials during a trip to New Delhi this week, officials said, at a time when tensions are running high on Afghanistan's disputed border with Pakistan. Kabul's overtures to New Delhi are likely to rile Islamabad where a new government led by two-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif is set to take office soon, promising improved ties with India. ...

REUTERS - Australian Matthew Griffin won the SK Telecom Open at South Korea's Jeju Island by one shot after Sunday's final round was called off due to heavy fog. A 40-foot putt from the back of the green on the 18th guaranteed him the third-round lead on Saturday and it turned out to be the winning shot at the 1 billion Korean won OneAsia event at the Pinx Golf Club. "It's unfortunate to finish like this, but I'll take it," Griffin, who leapt to the top of the OneAsia Order of Merit with the win, said. ...

By Sonya Dowsett MADRID (Reuters) - Many duped savers at Spanish lender Bankia are shunning a state-supervised compensation scheme in favour of expensive lawsuits, prolonging a mis-selling scandal and complicating efforts to restore faith in the banking system. The disputes over mis-selling at Bankia and other nationalised banks have created a major headache for the government as it tries to take the next step in their rescue, imposing large losses on holders of junior debt. ...

By Belinda Goldsmith CANNES (Reuters) - Indian movie actors and a new wave of directors are on a mission at the Cannes film festival - to show that their industry, which turns 100 this year, is more than just Bollywood. The largest Indian contingent to date is on the French Riviera at the world's leading cinema showcase to promote their country, which has the world's biggest film industry, making over 1,000 films a year compared to about 600 in Hollywood. ...

By Jeffrey Heller JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held out the prospect on Sunday of further Israeli strikes inside Syria, pledging to act to prevent advanced weapons from reaching Hezbollah and other militant groups. Although Israel has not publicly taken sides in the civil war between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and rebels trying to topple him, Western and Israeli sources say it has launched air strikes in Syria to destroy weapons it believed were destined for Lebanon's Hezbollah. ...

By William James LONDON (Reuters) - An independent Scotland would have a vastly oversized financial sector that would leave it vulnerable to a Cyprus-style banking crisis, Britain's finance ministry says. Before a referendum due in September 2014 on whether Scotland should split from the United Kingdom, the British government is analysing the impact of independence on Scotland, which has a population of about 5 million. ...

MOSCOW (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon voiced concern on Sunday over North Korea's launch of short-range missiles, urging Pyonyang to refrain from further launches and return to stalled nuclear talks with world powers. Ban, who spoke to Russian state news agency RIA Novosti during a visit to Moscow, called North Korea's launch of three short-range missiles from its east coast on Saturday a "provocative action". "We are very worried over North Korea's provocative action," he told RIA in comments translated into Russian. ...

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranian authorities executed two men on Sunday convicted of working for Israeli and U.S. spy agencies, Iran's Fars news agency reported. Mohammad Heidari, accused of passing security-related information and secrets to Israeli Mossad agents in exchange for money, and Kourosh Ahmadi, accused of gathering information for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, were hanged at dawn, it said. The sentence for their execution was handed down by Tehran's Revolutionary Court and confirmed by the country's Supreme Court. ...

By Katharine Houreld and Syed Raza Hassan ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - An upmarket constituency of Pakistan's violence-plagued city of Karachi voted again under tight security on Sunday, a day after gunmen killed a senior politician from a reformist party in the district and a week after general elections. It was not immediately clear who killed Zara Shahid Hussain, a leading member of the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) party of former cricket star Imran Khan. Imran blamed the killing on the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) party, which has a stranglehold on the city. ...

By Tabassum Zakaria and David Alexander WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Under pressure to fight sexual assault, the U.S. armed forces in recent years rolled out education programs about proper sexual conduct through methods like role playing and video games. The increase in education has nevertheless failed to prevent what the nation's top general called last week "a crisis" after the Pentagon reported a 37 percent jump in the estimated number of sexual assault cases in 2012. ...

MILAN (Reuters) - Qatar Holding and an Italian state-controlled investment fund are interested in investing in Italian fashion house Versace, Il Sole 24 Ore said on Saturday. The Qatar sovereign fund is "carefully looking at" Versace, the Italian daily said, citing financial sources. The paper cited market rumours as saying the fund was flanked by FSI, the Italian strategic investment fund owned by state financing company Cassa Depositi e Prestiti. In November, Qatar Holding signed a joint venture agreement with FSI to invest in Italian companies in sectors including food, fashion and luxury. ...

By Karen Brooks and Steve Gorman REUTERS - A single winning ticket for a record U.S. Powerball lottery jackpot worth $590.5 million was sold in Florida, organizers said late on Saturday, but there was no immediate word about who won or where in the state the ticket was bought. The winning numbers from Saturday night's drawing were: 10, 13, 14, 22 and 52, with a Powerball number of 11, and the odds of winning were put at one in 175 million. The grand prize, accumulated after two months of drawings, surpassed the previous record Powerball payoff of $587. ...

Kingston (Jamaica), May 19 (IANS/CMC) West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) president Dave Cameron says "character and focus" are the main factors that have driven West Indies middle order batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul to reach the milestone of 300 first class matches.

Mumbai, May 19 (IANS) Actress Pooja Gupta, who is gearing up for her next film "Shortcut Romeo", says as an actress she doesn't have any limitations.

Shanghai, May 19 (IANS/CMC) World and Olympic champion Kirani James powered to victory against his main rivals from London 2012 Olympics in the 400 metres at Shanghai's Diamond League meet.

London, May 19 (IANS) A custom-made guitar played by John Lennon and George Harrison has sold for $408,000 at an auction.

New Delhi, May 19 (IANS) Corruption scandals past and present have cast long shadows on the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government that completes four years of its second term May 22, amid a big question mark on whether it will be back for a third time.

Mumbai, May 19 (IANS) She isn't in filmdom for either fame or money, rather Soha Ali Khan wants to do good work and also clarifies that doing a remake of her mother's film is not on her wish-list.

Beijing, May 19 (IANS) 4G services, which provide mobile users with internet access up to 50 times faster than the current 3G network, will be launched in Shanghai next month when the China Mobile company begins large-scale trials.

Rome, May 19 (IANS) Juventus general manager Beppe Marotta confirmed that the Italian Serie A champions are in contact with Carlos Tevez in an attempt to sign the Argentine striker.

Lausanne, May 19 (IANS) The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Sunday announced that two-time Olympic champion Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia will be an official ambassador of the 2014 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Nanjing, China.

Shanghai, May 19 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Russian pole vault queen Yelena Isinbayeva won her first competition of the season by jumping 4.70 metres at the Diamond League meeting here.

Moscow, May 19 (IANS/RIA Novosti) A Russian tourist died in Vietnam after a fight with a compatriot and fellow-traveller in the coastal city of Nha Trang.

Moscow, May 19 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Four inmates jailed for murder and burglary have escaped from a prison in Russia by digging a 20-metre-long tunnel, investigators said.

Pune, May 19 (IANS) Pune Warriors India opted to bat first in their Indian Premier League clash against Delhi Daredevils at the Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium here Sunday.