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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Boeing Co is 90 percent finished with retrofits of the battery system on its 787 Dreamliner and should finish the rest by next week, Ray Conner, president of the company's commercial airplane division, told an investor conference on Wednesday. Conner told the conference that he saw "great momentum" on the 787 program, after overheated batteries prompted a fleetwide grounding earlier this year. Production of the new airliner had reached seven airplanes a month and earlier problems with the supply chain had been resolved, Conner said. ...

By Cris Chinaka HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe signed a new constitution into law on Wednesday, replacing a 33-year-old document forged in the dying days of British colonial rule and paving the way for an election later this year. Approved overwhelmingly in a referendum in March, the constitution clips the powers of the president and imposes a two-term limit. However, it does not apply retroactively so the 89-year-old Mugabe technically could extend his three decades in office by another 10 years. ...

By Clara Denina LONDON (Reuters) - Gold was flat on Wednesday, giving up earlier gains after U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned of the risks of holding interest rates too low for too long, which boosted the dollar. Spot gold had briefly broken above $1,400 to a one-week high of $1,414.25 an ounce after Bernanke said the Fed needed to see further signs the economy was gaining traction before removing current measures. But it failed to hold onto those gains and was little changed on the day at $1,376. ...

By Pedro da Costa and Alister Bull WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve's monetary stimulus is helping the U.S. economy recover but the central bank needs to see further signs of traction before taking its foot off the gas, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday. In testimony that offered no sign that he is ready to retreat from the Fed's latest round of bond buying, Bernanke emphasized the high costs of unemployment and inflation that continues to run below the Fed's target. ...

By Eyanir Chinea CARACAS (Reuters) - A Venezuelan supermarket puts a stack of toilet paper on its shop floor, and desperate consumers snatch it up within five minutes. A woman's voice over the loudspeaker reminds shoppers each person can only buy four packages. Few seemed convinced by the government's promise just days earlier that the oil-rich South American nation would promptly import 50 million rolls. "It's a sad moment when a rich country like Venezuela reaches this situation," said Yenny Caballero, waiting at a check-out line at a store in an upscale part of the capital. ...

By Ryan Vlastelica NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock markets around the world rose on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke signaled that the U.S. central bank's stimulus program would remain intact. In testimony to Congress, Bernanke said the Fed's monetary policy was still providing significant benefits to the economy and that prematurely tightening it would carry substantial risks. Shares were volatile, at one point jumping 1 percent before paring those gains as Bernanke said that economic improvement would lead the Fed to consider tapering its stimulus. ...

REUTERS - Video game maker Atari Inc is seeking court approval for the sale of all its assets as it works its way out of bankruptcy protection. The company said on Tuesday it tried looking for a buyer with the help of its investment banker Perella Weinberg Partners, but was unable to find a "stalking horse," or initial bidder, acceptable to it. Atari has set a minimum bid of $15 million for the Atari brand. The company received a $5 million debtor-in-possession financing from Alden Global Value Recovery Master Fund LP. ...

By Alan Baldwin MONACO (Reuters) - Adrian Sutil appeared reluctant to forgive and forget on Wednesday after Lewis Hamilton had hoped for a thaw in their frozen friendship. The two Formula One drivers, team mates in junior series and the best of friends until Sutil was involved in a nightclub fracas in China two years ago, were asked about their damaged relationship at a Monaco Grand Prix news conference. "Things are definitely different," said Hamilton, the 2008 world champion, sitting on the front row with Sutil looking down from behind. ...

By Tom Perry and Yousri Mohamed CAIRO/ISMAILIA (Reuters) - Seven Egyptian security men kidnapped by Islamist militants in Sinai last week were freed on Wednesday and President Mohamed Mursi vowed to pursue a crackdown on lawlessness in the desert peninsula. The abduction underlined the threat posed by jihadists who have exploited a security vacuum that opened up in the isolated Sinai after the 2011 uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak. The state has struggled to restore order there since. ...

By Sylvia Westall KUWAIT (Reuters) - After two lacklustre decades, Kuwait is experiencing a quiet revival of an arts scene once known as the most avant garde in the Gulf, thanks to a new generation eager to tackle sensitive issues using cutting-edge art forms. The artists have been exhibiting works in the graphic arts, photography, animation and fashion in private galleries but also bypassing traditional venues and arts groups - and possible censorship - by showing their work online to reach an audience beyond the 3.7 million people in Kuwait. ...

By Erika Solomon BEIRUT (Reuters) - Rebels fighting for control of the Syrian town of Qusair called for reinforcements on Wednesday to repel forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in a civil war which is spreading violence through an already volatile region. Opposition fighters said air strikes and shelling rocked the small town on the Syrian-Lebanese border that has seen some of the fiercest fighting in months in the two-year-old war that has so far cost at least 80,000 lives. ...

LONDON (Reuters) - Borussia Dortmund midfielder Mario Goetze will miss Saturday's Champions League final against Bayern Munich due to a thigh muscle injury, the Bundesliga club said on Wednesday. The versatile 20-year-old German international, who will join Bayern next season, was injured in the second leg of the semi-final against Real Madrid on April 30 and had been battling to get fit for the final at Wembley. ...

By Barbara Liston and Mark Hosenball ORLANDO, Fla./WASHINGTON. (Reuters) - An FBI agent shot and killed a Florida man who turned violent while being questioned about the Boston Marathon bombings early on Wednesday, the bureau said. A friend of the dead man told the Orlando Sentinel and Orlando television stations that he was 27-year-old Ibragim Todashev of Orlando, a Chechen who had previously lived in Boston. Two brothers identified by the FBI as suspects in the April 15 bombings were also ethnic Chechens with roots in Russia's volatile North Caucasus region. ...

New Delhi, May 22 (IANS) The UPA is committed to transparency and allegations of impropriety in telecom spectrum and coal blocks allocations are being investigated and wrongdoers will be punished, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Wednesday.

New Delhi, May 22 (IANS) In an obvious reference to the urban centres of criticism, Congress president Sonia Gandhi quipped Wednesday that "Dilliwalas" don't seem to know the UPA's success story.

New Delhi, May 22 (IANS) Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi Wednesday described Defence Minister A.K. Antony as his "guru".

Bangalore, May 22 (IANS) Megha Muthukumar of Tamil Nadu and Aarja Chakraborty of West Bengal scripted upset wins en route to the girls singles quarter-finals of the Karle Infra ATF under-14 Asian junior ranking tennis tournament here Wednesday.

New Delhi, May 22 (IANS) Strongly backing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi Wednesday said he has been carrying out his responsibilities with "great dignity" in the face of "unrelenting hostility" and the alliance stood solidly by him.

Kochi May 22 (IANS) Applications have been invited for the INK Fellows Programme 2013 for using the physical and digital platform for sharing innovative ideas, an organiser said Wednesday. The programme will be hosted in Kochi.

New Delhi, May 22 (IANS) Former Ranji cricket player Baburao Yadav, arrested in the IPL spot fixing scandal, had planned to play in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) with the help of one of the arrested bookies, police said Wednesday.

New Delhi, May 22 (IANS) Congress president Sonia Gandhi Wednesday appealed to the opposition to cooperate with the government in passing the key food security and land acquisition bills in the interest of people, while expressing her disppointment that parlianent was not allowed to run to enable the passage of the bills.

New Delhi, May 22 (IANS) Ajit Chandila of Rajasthan Royals was about to spot fix in another Indian Premier League (IPL) match too, for which he had taken Rs.15 lakh from a Punjab-based bookie, when he was arrested May 16, police claimed here Wednesday.

New Delhi, May 22 (IANS) A five-member Russian delegation Wednesday met Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit here and offered expertise in the area of water treatment.

Ghazni (Afghanistan), May 22 (IANS) Five people were killed and 20 others wounded Wednesday evening by a suicide bomber in Muqur district in eastern Afghanistan's province of Ghazni, Xinhua said, quoting a provincial police source.

New Delhi, May 22 (IANS) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Wednesday said that the UPA government had improved the performance of the economy, made growth more inclusive and ensured better delivery of welfare programmes.

Shimla, May 22 (IANS) Himachal Pradesh Transport Minister G.S. Bali submitted his resignation to senior Congress leaders as he was allegedly unhappy with his portfolio, party sources said. The minister himself refused to comment on the issue.