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LONDON (Reuters) - Vodafone posted its largest ever quarterly fall in key organic service revenue on Tuesday, prompting it to keep hold of a 2.1 billion pound dividend from its U.S. arm rather than return it to shareholders. The world's second largest mobile operator, at the centre of intense speculation as to whether it will sell its U.S. arm in one of the world's largest deals, posted a 4.2 percent fall in organic service revenue, broadly in line with forecasts. It is the largest quarterly drop since the company started using the measurement in 2003. ...

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Outsourcing company iGate Corp said it had sacked its Chief Executive Phaneesh Murthy for not disclosing a relationship with a subordinate after investigating one of India's best-known IT executives for sexual harassment. Murthy was replaced with immediate effect by interim CEO Gerhard Watzinger, iGate said. Murthy was forced to quit India's second biggest software exporter Infosys Ltd in 2002 following a sexual harassment lawsuit, which was settled out of court. Murthy did not respond to repeated telephone calls by Reuters seeking comment. ...

By Marc Jones LONDON (Reuters) - The dollar edged higher, gold steadied and European shares remained near five-year highs on Tuesday as investors wait to see if the U.S. Federal Reserve will give any signal on the future of its stimulus programme. The dollar was up 0.2 percent against major currencies as European trading gathered pace. Upbeat comments from Chicago policymaker Charles Evans have made Wednesday's release of minutes of the U.S. central bank's last meeting the main focus for markets, with Fed chairman Ben Bernanke due to testify to Congress on the same day. ...

By Ayai Tomisawa TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average edged up to a fresh 5-1/2-year high on Tuesday, reversing earlier losses, as retail investors scooped up underperforming stocks such as Sharp Corp and Tokyo Electric Power Co Inc . Trading was choppy, with the Nikkei moving in and out of negative territory before ending up 0.1 percent to 15,381.02 -- the highest closing level since December 2007. During the day, it rose as high as 15,388.37, its best mark since the same time. Investors remained cautious ahead of U.S. ...

By Alice Mannette and Ian Simpson MOORE, Oklahoma (Reuters) - At least 91 people, including 20 children, were feared killed when a 2 mile wide tornado tore through an Oklahoma City suburb, trapping victims beneath the rubble as one elementary school took a direct hit and another was destroyed. President Barack Obama declared a major disaster area in Oklahoma, ordering federal aid to supplement state and local efforts in Moore after the deadliest U.S. tornado since one killed 161 people in Joplin, Missouri, two years ago. ...

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc announced on Monday it would shell out $1.1 billion to buy blogging service Tumblr, in a bid to revitalize its brand and attract a younger generation of users. Yahoo has been criticized for making big acquisitions that have not always reaped lasting returns. Under CEO Marissa Mayer, the Internet search company has snapped up numerous small startups in recent months, hoping to gain an edge in mobile, bring new talent on board and improve existing services. ...

KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - State-run Saudi Aramco has awarded Larsen & Toubro (L&T) a contract to build facilities including a gas processing plant for its Midyan gas field, state news agency SPA reported. The world's top oil exporter is boosting its output of the natural gas needed to meet rapidly rising domestic power demand and supply raw materials to its strategically important petrochemical industry. ...

Reuters Market Eye - Barclays Capital now expects another 75 bps of rate cuts over the rest of 2013 versus its previous call of 25 bps in easing due to slowing inflation and weakening economic growth. BarCap says in a note it sticks to its call the RBI will cut interest rates by 25 bps in June, but expects 50 bps in additional cuts over the rest of 2013. The investment bank also marginally lowers its current fiscal year GDP forecast to 6 percent from 6.2 percent to reflect recent disappointment in economic activity. ...

By Eric Kelsey LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Ray Manzarek, a founding member and keyboardist of 1960s rock group The Doors, died on Monday at a medical clinic in Germany at age 74 following a battle with cancer, the group's manager Tom Vitorino said. Manzarek, who lived in Northern California's Napa Valley wine country for the past decade, had been seeking treatment in Germany for bile duct cancer, Vitorino said. He died in Rosenheim, Germany, surrounded by his wife and brothers. ...

Reuters Market Eye - The BSE Sensex falls 0.06 percent while the broader Nifty is down 0.2 percent, heading for a second day of decline. Analysts said some consolidation was due for domestic markets after the BSE Sensex rallied about 11 percent since mid-April due to strong foreign inflows. Shares are tracking mild falls in Asian shares ahead of the minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's last meeting. Maruti Suzuki India Ltd falls 1.3 percent on profit-booking after hitting its all-time high of 1,774.40 rupees on Monday. Divi's Laboratories Ltd slumps 6. ...

By Alistair Barr SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc has been given a security clearance by the U.S. government that will make it easier for federal agencies to use its cloud computing services. Amazon Web Services, known as AWS, was certified to operate as a cloud service provider for three years under the government's new FedRAMP program. The accreditation covers all AWS data centers in the United States, the company said on Tuesday. "This will cut the cost and time for agencies to deploy our systems," said Teresa Carlson, vice president of Worldwide Public Sector at AWS. ...

By Fiona Lau and Elzio Barreto HONG KONG (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc raised $1.1 billion by selling its remaining shares in Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, ending a seven-year old investment and handing the Wall Street firm a return of nearly four times its original stake. Goldman's relationship with ICBC was similar to that of other big global financial institutions that purchased stakes in Chinese banks and insurers. ...

By Alexei Oreskovic SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc Chief Executive Marissa Mayer's $1.1 billion acquisition of blogging service Tumblr will be a test of her ability to revive the aging Web portal. Luckily for her, her performance may be graded generously. Mayer faces plenty of challenges in her efforts to turn six-year-old Tumblr into a money-spinner, not least among them retaining users while devising new types of non-intrusive online ads outside of Yahoo's traditional area of expertise. And then there is Tumblr's hefty price tag: a sum that equates to a fifth of Yahoo's cash. ...

Los Angeles, May 21 (IANS) Bioengineers have developed a waterproof fabric that could drain away sweat, a study says.

Mumbai, May 21 (IANS) A benchmark index of the Indian equities markets was trading nearly 0.30 percent down in the pre-afternoon trade Tuesday owing to negative foreign cues and continued profit-booking.

Patna, May 21 (IANS) Four days after the court acquitted former RJD MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav on charges of killing CPI-M leader Ajit Sarkar, he was formally released from jail here Tuesday, police officials said.

New Delhi, May 21 (IANS) Indian sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik has won the Danish 'grand prize' at the 2nd Copenhagen International Sand sculpture festival 2013 for his 15-foot coloured sand sculpture created on the "Go green, Save Earth" theme.

New Delhi, May 21 (IANS) President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi Tuesday paid homage to former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi on his 22nd death anniversary.

Mumbai, May 21 (IANS) Actress Shruti Haasan, daughter of legendary actor Kamal Haasan and actress Sarika, always wanted to be in showbiz, but was skeptical about facing the camera because she didn't find herself attractive enough to be a heroine.

Dhaka, May 21 (IANS) With a hoot and a honk, meandering through Dhaka's famed traffic snarls, the legion of psychedelic rickshaws that are an essential part of Bangladesh's capital have a new claim to fame - they ferried protestors for free from parts of the city to the site of the revolutionary Shahbag movement during its peak in February and March.

Berlin, May 21 (IANS) Veteran singer-songwriter Ray Manzarek died Monday night at his home in Rosenheim, Germany. He was suffering from cancer. He was 74.

Los Angeles, May 21 (IANS) It seems actress Lindsay Lohan is struggling in rehab after the doctors cut her off from Addreall.

Los Angeles, May 21 (IANS) Singer Chris Brown is reportedly "growing close" to retail heiress Chloe Green. The two have been spending time together.

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) is a 153-year-old institution, dating back to 1860. Vinod Rai, who demits office Wednesday, is independent India's 11th CAG.

Beijing, May 21 (IANS) The visit of Premier Li Keqiang to India will promote a strategic partnership, but the US should not become jealous since Beijing and New Delhi do not want to be its enemy, a state-run daily said Tuesday.

Chennai, May 21 (IANS) Producer C.V. Kumar, who has already introduced two short filmmakers into the industry with projects like "Pizza" and "Soodhu Kavvum", is set to turn two more shorts into feature films in Tamil soon.