Yahoo! News India

  • HSBC says rupee better suited to stand USD strength Reuters
    HSBC says rupee better suited to stand USD strength

    Reuters Market Eye - HSBC picks INR as one of two Asian currencies along with the yuan that can hold their own in a climate of sticky JPY weakness, a more moderate pace of Chinese expansion, and increasing debate over Fed's quantitative easing. INR is a main beneficiary of lower commodity prices as it suffers from significant oil and gold trade deficits, says HSBC. ...

  • Ireland says not to blame for Apple's low tax rate Reuters
    Ireland says not to blame for Apple's low tax rate

    By Conor Humphries DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland said on Tuesday it was not to blame for Apple Inc's low global tax payments after the U.S. Senate said the company paid little or nothing on tens of billions of dollars in profits stashed in Irish subsidiaries. The Irish government, which has seen the luring of U.S. multinationals with low taxes as a key part of its economic policy since the 1960s, said its system was transparent and other countries were responsible if the tax rate paid by Apple was too low. ...

  • Vodafone keeps Verizon payout to make up for European slump Reuters
    Vodafone keeps Verizon payout to make up for European slump

    By Kate Holton and Paul Sandle LONDON (Reuters) - Vodafone will reinvest a $3.2 billion dividend from its healthy U.S. arm to counter weakness in southern Europe that contributed to the largest ever quarterly fall in the group's main revenue measure. The British firm is trying to decide whether to sell Verizon Wireless, its profitable U.S. unit in what could be the world's third largest deal to support its struggling core operations. ...

  • Hezbollah, Syrian army renew Qusair offensive Reuters
    Hezbollah, Syrian army renew Qusair offensive

    AMMAN (Reuters) - Lebanese Hezbollah fighters and Syrian soldiers, backed by air strikes and artillery, renewed an offensive aimed at driving Syrian rebels from the town of Qusair near the Lebanese border on Tuesday, opposition activists said. They said fighting was raging in Qusair, as well as in areas to the east where several army bases are located, and in the Hezbollah-held southern and western approaches to the town. ...

  • Intense rescue efforts as 91 feared dead in tornado-hit Oklahoma Reuters
    Intense rescue efforts as 91 feared dead in tornado-hit Oklahoma

    By Alice Mannette Ian Simpson MOORE, Oklahoma (Reuters) - Pre-dawn emergency workers searched feverishly for survivors in the rubble of homes, primary schools and an hospital in an Oklahoma City suburb ravaged by a massive Monday afternoon tornado feared to have killed up to 91 people and injured well over 200 residents. The 2-mile(3-km) wide tornado tore through town of Moore outside Oklahoma City, trapping victims beneath the rubble as one elementary school took a direct hit and another was destroyed. ...

  • India leads Asian cuts in Iran oil imports ahead of waiver review Reuters

    By Nidhi Verma and Meeyoung Cho NEW DELHI/SEOUL (Reuters) - India has slashed Iranian oil imports by almost a fifth since December, the sharpest cut among Asian buyers, in a move that should increase its chances of winning a new U.S. waiver next month on sanctions targeting oil trade with Iran. Sanctions imposed by the United States and Europe to force a halt to a controversial nuclear programme that Tehran says is for peaceful purposes saw Iran's oil exports more than halve last year, costing it $5 billion a month in lost revenue. ...

  • Sensex hits one-week low on profit-taking Reuters
    Sensex hits one-week low on profit-taking

    MUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex fell for a second consecutive session on Tuesday to its lowest close in a week as recent outperforming blue chips such as ITC fell ahead of Federal Reserve events that could provide cues on the future of the U.S. stimulus programme. The U.S. central bank is set to release minutes from its last minute on Wednesday, while Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is also due to testify in Congress on the same day. ITC Ltd fell 1.09 percent, while Tata Motors Ltd lost 3 percent. The BSE Sensex fell 0.56 percent, while the 50-share Nifty ended down 0.7 percent. ...

  • Dutch author Bakker wins Booktrust foreign fiction prize Reuters

    LONDON (Reuters) - Dutch author Gerbrand Bakker has won the 2013 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize awarded by Britain's Booktrust charity for "The Detour", a tale of infidelity, exile and isolation. Bakker will share the 10,000 pound prize with translator David Colmer for the story of Emilie, a translation professor and Emily Dickinson scholar, who retreats from her life in the Netherlands to an isolated farmhouse in Wales following an affair with a student. ...

  • iGate sacks Murthy over undisclosed relationship Reuters
    iGate sacks Murthy over undisclosed relationship

    By Sumeet Chatterjee and Harichandan Arakali MUMBAI/BANGALORE (Reuters) - IT 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 the industry's best-known executives for sexual harassment. Murthy had led several initiatives to improve the performance of the Fremont, California-based company, including charging clients for business results instead of man hours, the billing method more commonly used by IT outsourcing firms. ...

  • Bombings in Iraq kill at least 12 Reuters
    Bombings in Iraq kill at least 12

    KIRKUK, Iraq (Reuters) - Several bomb blasts killed at least 12 people in Iraq on Tuesday, police said, a day after more than 70 died in attacks on majority Shi'ites, stoking fears of all-out sectarian war with minority Sunnis. More than 200 people have been killed in the past week as Sunni-Shi'ite tensions, fuelled by the civil war in neighbouring Syria, threaten to plunge Iraq back into communal bloodletting. ...

  • Supreme Court rejects bid to halt IPL Reuters
    Supreme Court rejects bid to halt IPL

    NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The Supreme Court dismissed a petition on Tuesday seeking to scrap the remaining matches of the country's lucrative Twenty20 cricket competition amid growing concerns about corruption in sport. Former test bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth and two other players were arrested along with 11 bookmakers on Thursday on suspicion of spot-fixing in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The case has prompted the Indian government to look at the possibility of introducing a law to combat matchfixing and spot-fixing. ...

  • Vodafone India exec says IPO unlikely this year Reuters
    Vodafone India exec says IPO unlikely this year

    NEW DELHI (Reuters) - A planned initial public offering of Vodafone Group Plc's Indian unit is unlikely this year, the unit's Chief Executive Marten Pieters said in New Delhi on Tuesday. Pieters said the company will wait for clarity on rules around airwaves and cellular permits before going ahead with the IPO. (Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy; editing by Matthias Williams and Gopakumar Warrier)

  • India issues clarification on withholding tax benefits for foreign investors Reuters
    India issues clarification on withholding tax benefits for foreign investors

    MUMBAI (Reuters) - Foreign investors will be eligible to benefit from lower withholding taxes for interest income accrued between June 1, 2013 and May 31, 2015 regardless of when the debt was bought, the Finance Ministry said in a notice on Tuesday. Last month the government had cut tax rates for foreign investors on interest income from government and corporate debt in the above period, but some investors had raised doubts about whether the benefits would apply only to debt bought during that timeframe. ...

  • Syria says destroys Israeli vehicle which crossed ceasefire line Reuters

    BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria said on Tuesday its armed forces destroyed an Israeli vehicle after it crossed a ceasefire line into Syrian territory from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The statement by Syrian military leadership, broadcast on state television, came after Israel said one of its military vehicles in the Golan Heights was hit by gunfire from Syria. Israel said the vehicle was damaged but none of its troops were wounded, and Israeli soldiers returned fire. (Editing by Janet Lawrence)

  • Obama to meet with China's Xi in California June 7-8 Reuters
    Obama to meet with China's Xi in California June 7-8

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold their first meeting since Xi became president in March when they sit down for a June 7-8 summit in Rancho Mirage, California, the White House announced on Monday. The two leaders are likely to discuss ways to apply pressure on North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program after a period of bellicose rhetoric and threats from Pyongyang. The United States also has concerns about cyber attacks it says are emanating from China. ...

  • iGate sacks CEO Phaneesh Murthy for sexual abuse IANS

    Bangalore, May 21 (IANS) iGate Corporation sacked its chief executive officer Phaneesh Murthy on the charges of sexual abuse by a woman employee, the US-based IT major said Tuesday.

  • Indian student in Dubai ranked second in ISC exam IANS

    Dubai, May 21 (IANS) An Indian student in a school here was ranked second in this year's Indian School Certificate (ISC) class 12 examination.

  • Poonam Bhagat's summer collection, a slice of Samarkand, Bokhara IANS

    New Delhi, May 21 (IANS) Poonam Bhagat offers a mix of contemporary silhouettes with a traditional twist with her latest summer-spring collection. From stylish one-piece dresses and jumpsuits to voluminous long robes worn with shararas, palazzos and crinkle skirts -- it has plenty to choose from.

  • Mourinho to leave Real Madrid at end of season IANS

    Madrid, May 21 (IANS) Jose Mourinho's three-year term as coach of Spanish football giants Real Madrid will end June 30.

  • EC, National Literacy Mission to work together IANS

    New Delhi, May 21 (IANS) The Election Commission (EC) and the National Literacy Mission Authority (NLMA) will jointly work towards spreading awareness about electoral literacy, especially among the poor and deprived section of society.

  • Iqbal Azad to replace Abir Goswami in TV show IANS

    New Delhi, May 21 (IANS) Actor Iqbal Azad has replaced Abir Goswami in "Ghar Aaja Pardesi", says a source.

  • India invited as partner country for Cairo film fest IANS

    New Delhi, May 21 (IANS) A Cairo International Film Festival representative has invited India as a partner country for the movie extravaganza, to be held in November.

  • Now go virtual shopping in cafe! IANS

    New Delhi, May 21 (IANS) Online fashion and lifestyle shopping portal Yebhi.com has launched 30 virtual stores across outlets of a cafe chain in two cities - Delhi and Bangalore.

  • MJ's estate mints $600 million since his death IANS

    Los Angeles, May 21 (IANS) Late King of Pop Michael Jackson's estate has made $600 million since his death in 2009. It is more money than the "Thriller" star ever minted while he was alive.

  • Tollywood denies links with spot-fixing IANS

    Hyderabad, May 21 (IANS) The Telugu film industry has no links with the IPL spot-fixing scandal, the Telugu film producers council has said.

  • 'Online system for single-window clearance ready in three months' IANS

    New Delhi, May 21 (IANS) An online mechanism, which will provide single-window clearance to foreign filmmakers keen to shoot in India, will be ready in three months, Information & Broadcasting Secretary Uday Kumar Varma said at the India Pavilion at the ongoing Cannes International Film Festival.

  • Indian lorry driver jailed in Singapore IANS

    Singapore, May 21 (IANS) An Indian lorry driver has been jailed by a court in Singapore for causing the death of one person and injuring 14 others due to negligence while driving.

  • Cold weather affects blood pressure IANS

    London, May 21 (IANS) Cold weather affects blood pressure, shows a study that assessed a staggering 169,000 blood pressure measurements.

  • Use social media to reach out to youth: Modi IANS

    New Delhi, May 21 (IANS) Attending his first meeting of the BJP's parliamentary board after being re-inducted in the central team, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday suggested using social media to reach out to the youth.

  • National Federation Party ready for 2014 Fiji elections IANS

    Sydney, May 21 (IANS) Fiji's National Federation Party (NFP), comprising mostly of Indian-origin members, says it is ready for the elections scheduled for 2014 in that south pacific island nation.