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By Hamid Shalizi KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Wednesday his government would not join U.S. peace talks with the Taliban until they were led by Afghans and would suspend negotiations with the United States on a troop pact. U.S. officials have said talks with the Taliban would begin in Doha, capital of Qatar, on Thursday, raising hopes for a negotiated peace in Afghanistan after 12 years of bloody and costly war between American-led forces and the insurgents. Fighting, however, continues in the war-ravaged nation. Four U.S. ...

By Jeff Mason and Roberta Rampton BERLIN (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama said on Wednesday Afghans must talk to each other to resolve the conflict in their country even though huge mistrust exists between the government and its Taliban foes. Obama was speaking in Berlin a day after the United States said it would begin talks with the Taliban on Thursday to try to seek a negotiated peace to 12 years of war - a move that has deeply upset President Hamid Karzai's U.S.-backed government. ...

By Abdi Sheikh MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Islamist militants carried out their first major assault for years on a U.N. compound in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Wednesday, dealing a blow to fragile security gains that have allowed a slow return of foreign aid workers and diplomats. A car bomb exploded outside the gate of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) base and attackers then ran inside and opened fire on security guards, U.N. sources said. The al Qaeda-linked Islamist group al Shabaab claimed responsibility. ...

ABUJA (Reuters) - Pirates in speedboats attacked an oil supply vessel and kidnapped four Indian and Polish crew members in increasingly dangerous waters off Nigeria's coast last week, two security sources said on Wednesday. The gunmen launched their assault on the Singapore-flagged tugboat MDPL Continental One around 30 nautical miles from land on June 13, the security sources said. The vessel was ransacked and four crew were taken hostage off the coast of the oil-producing Niger Delta, one of the sources told Reuters. ...

ABUJA (Reuters) - Pirates in speedboats attacked an oil supply vessel and kidnapped four Indian and Polish crew members in increasingly dangerous waters off Nigeria's coast last week, two security sources said on Wednesday. The gunmen launched their assault on the Singapore-flagged tugboat MDPL Continental One around 30 nautical miles from land on June 13, the security sources said. The vessel was ransacked and four crew were taken hostage off the coast of the oil-producing Niger Delta, one of the sources told Reuters. ...

BERLIN (Reuters) - The United States has struck the right balance between the need to gather intelligence and safeguarding civil liberties, U.S. President Barack Obama said on Wednesday, following criticism over U.S. Internet surveillance programmes. "I came into office committed to protecting the American people but also committed to our values and our ideals and one of our highest ideals is civil liberties and privacy," Obama said. "I am confident that at this point we have struck the appropriate balance," he said at a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. ...

LONDON (Reuters) - The stories of a dyslexic hero and a little girl who overcomes her family's fear of a stray dog won two of Britain's most coveted children's literature prizes on Wednesday. "Maggot Moon" by Sally Gardner outshone Booker prize-winner Roddy Doyle to win the Carnegie medal for a book starring dyslexic hero Standish, who takes on a sinister dictatorship while friends and family disappear. ...

By Subhadip Sircar MUMBAI (Reuters) - The rupee rose on Wednesday, yet remained within close of its record low hit last week, as outflows from equity markets added to concerns about the funding of the current account deficit ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision on its stimulus programme. Such concerns have compounded because of the likelihood of the Fed tapering its bond purchases, which could trigger an outflow from emerging markets. Foreign fund selling in Indian equities have picked up pace to add to the huge sell-off in debt markets. ...

MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish golfer Jose Maria Olazabal has won the Iberian nation's most prestigious sports award, the Prince of Asturias prize, after he captained Europe's Ryder Cup team to a stunning win against United States last year. "One of the best golfers in history, with two Masters titles at Augusta and four Ryder Cup wins, a competition in which he also showed his leadership qualities, as captain helping the Europe team to an epic comeback in 2012," the jury said in announcing their decision. ...

BERLIN (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama said on Wednesday reports that the United States was ready to go to war in Syria were exaggerated and he also reiterated his view that the Damascus government had used chemical weapons and could not regain legitimacy. "Some of the stories that have been out there publicly have gotten a little overcranked in terms of the idea that somehow the United States is preparing to go all in and participate in another war. What we want to do is end a war," Obama said. "We're confident that in fact the (Syrian) government has used chemical weapons. ...

By Paul Ingrassia and Mike Peacock LONDON (Reuters) - The World Bank is concerned about the spillover effects on developing countries of a slowing of U.S. money creation and will move to provide affordable capital when borrowing costs rise, its president said on Wednesday. The U.S. Federal Reserve has sparked a bout of financial market turmoil since its chief, Ben Bernanke, announced on May 22 that the Fed could, before the year is out, begin slowing the pace at which it creates dollars. ...

By Belinda Goldsmith LONDON (Reuters) - British actor Daniel Radcliffe won plaudits on Tuesday for a new stage role as a bullied Irish cripple that takes him a critical step further away from his days as boy wizard Harry Potter. In his third foray onto the stage in six years, Radcliffe adopts an Irish accent to play Billy, the bullied 17-year-old title character in "The Cripple of Inishmaan", a politically incorrect black comedy by Martin McDonagh. ...

By Iain Rogers MADRID (Reuters) - Barcelona face a delicate balancing act to convince sought-after Spain Under-21 playmaker Thiago Alcantara that his long-term future lies with the club and he can play a leading role with the La Liga champions next season. The 22-year-old Barca academy graduate, whose contract runs until June 2015, is being groomed as the successor to Xavi in central midfield but is said to be frustrated at a lack of playing time and has attracted the attention of some of Europe's wealthiest clubs. Valued at 22 million euros on website transfermarkt. ...

New Delhi, June 19 (IANS) Is anti-aging cream worth the money? Expert says the quality of an anti-aging cream depends on the formulation and not the price.

Kolkata, June 19 (IANS) In the wake of a noisy protest she faced while visiting a gang-rape-murder victim, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Wednesday claimed that a leading media house was conspiring with the CPI-M, Congress and Maoists to kill her.

Mumbai, June 19 (IANS) A benchmark index of Indian equities market Wednesday ended the day's trade marginally higher than the previous day's close upon hopes of continuation of the US central bank's bond-buying programme.

New Delhi, June 19 (IANS) Here's an interesting offer for vegetarians - a variety of healthy mock meats have been launched to woo their taste buds.

New Delhi, June 19 (IANS) Delhi Police will get 370 more Police Control Room (PCR) vehicles next week, said an officer Wednesday.

London, June 19 (IANS) The amount of applause an audience gives after a performance is a "contagious" chain reaction where people are influenced by one another, and do not depend on the quality of the performance, a Swedish study has found.

Libreville (Gabon), June 19 (IANS) India's Bharti Airtel will invest $125 million more in Gabon to develop the communications network in the central African country.

New Delhi, June 19 (IANS) The World Bank Wednesday offered a $216 million loan for upgrading state highways and road safety in Kerala.

New Delhi, June 19 (IANS) Jackie Chan, one of Asian cinema's most prominent faces, is keen that India, the world's largest film producing nation, and China, globally the second largest film market, must collaborate to make movies, and exchange culture more often. Singing and dancing in a Bollywood film is also on his wish-list!

New Delhi, June 19 (IANS) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Rajnath Singh Wednesday asked state units to postpone their organisational work and provide assistance and relief to people affected by heavy rains and floods in Uttarakhand.

Tokyo, June 19 (IANS) High levels of a toxic radioactive isotope have been found in groundwater near the tsunami-hit Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan, the plant operator said Wednesday.

Mumbai, June 19 (IANS) Pakistani actor Ali Zafar doesn't believe in being overworked as he loves to spend quality time with family.

Hyderabad, June 19 (IANS) Andhra Pradesh ministers from Telangana have rejected the proposed package for the region, saying only a separate state of Telangna would be acceptable to them.