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By Abdi Sheikh MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Islamist militants carried out a deadly assault on a U.N. compound in the Somali capital on Wednesday, dealing a blow to fragile security gains that have allowed a slow return of foreign aid workers and diplomats. Interior Minister Abdikarim Hussein Guled said four foreign U.N. security staff and four local guards were killed in a drawn-out gunbattle that left seven insurgent fighters dead. A U.N. spokesman said casualty numbers were still being verified. ...

By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European antitrust regulators fined nine drugmakers, including Denmark's Lundbeck and India's Ranbaxy, a total of 146 million euros for blocking the supply of a cheaper anti-depressant to the market, the first EU sanction against such deals. The punishments follow a 2009 report by the European Commission on the pharmaceutical sector, which said "pay-for-delay" agreements between companies lead to consumers paying as much as 20 percent more for their medicines. The EU action came two days after the U.S. Supreme Court said U.S. ...

By Alan Wheatley, Global Economics Correspondent LONDON (Reuters) - Half-way towards a lost decade for Europe's economy, pessimism persists about the political will to halt a worrying slide in the region's potential growth. Without sweeping reforms to boost productivity, Europe's output will remain sub-par, making it harder for governments to reduce debt burdens that are unsustainable financially and unemployment rates that are unsustainable socially. Leaders of the 27-nation bloc will have another chance to cut this Gordian knot at a summit in Brussels next week. ...

By Rodrigo Campos NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks dipped modestly at the open on Wednesday, but held on to most of their gains over the last two days, ahead of a highly anticipated Federal Reserve statement and news conference. The Fed will release a policy statement at 2:00 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT), which will be followed soon after by a news briefing with Chairman Ben Bernanke. "The early morning action is not surprising given the fact that we've had two days of position jockeying ahead of the (Fed)announcement," said Andre Bakhos, director of market analytics at Lek Securities in New York. ...

By Nina Chestney LONDON (Reuters) - The world should stop arguing about whether humans are causing climate change and start taking action to stop dangerous temperature rises, the president of the World Bank said on Wednesday. Jim Yong Kim said there was 97 to 98 percent agreement among scientists that global warming was real and caused by human activity. "If you disagree with the science of human-caused climate change you are not disagreeing that there is anthropogenic climate change. What you are disagreeing with is science itself," Kim told a Thomson Reuters Newsmaker event in London. ...

By Ben Blanchard and Michael Martina BEIJING (Reuters) - A top North Korean diplomat repeated an offer for international talks over his country's disputed nuclear programme during a meeting in China on Wednesday, saying the denuclearisation of the peninsula was the "dying wish" of North Korea's founder. The Beijing trip by First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan comes just days after North Korea offered talks with the United States to ease tension that spiked this year when the North threatened the United States and South Korea with nuclear war. ...

LONDON (Reuters) - Rafa Nadal could face world number one Novak Djokovic, defending champion Roger Federer or home favourite Andy Murray as early as the Wimbledon quarter-finals after he was seeded fifth for the grasscourt major on Wednesday. Friday's draw for the tournament, which begins at the All England Club on Monday, could now produce a nightmare scenario for top three seeds Djokovic, Murray and Federer if any of them end up being in the same quarter as 2008 and 2010 winner Nadal. ...

By Jeff Mason and Noah Barkin BERLIN (Reuters) - President Barack Obama defended U.S. intelligence methods on a visit to Berlin on Wednesday, telling Chancellor Angela Merkel and wary Germans that Washington was not monitoring the emails of ordinary citizens or damaging civil liberties. Obama is popular in Germany but revelations before the trip that the United States has a covert Internet surveillance programme, codenamed Prism, have caused outrage in a country where memories of the eavesdropping East German Stasi secret police are still fresh. ...

REUTERS - London Olympics hammer throw medallist Koji Murofushi was the victim of an "overzealous" Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) who were to blame for him being banned from election to the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) athletes' commission, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said on Wednesday. Murofushi's own reputation was not tarnished by the ban, the CAS said in an explanation of its decision to reject the athlete's appeal against the ban. ...

LONDON (Reuters) - List of men's seeds for the Wimbledon tennis championships which begin on Monday: 1. Novak Djokovic (Serbia) 2. Andy Murray (Britain) 3. Roger Federer (Switzerland) 4. David Ferrer (Spain) 5. Rafael Nadal (Spain) 6. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) 7. Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) 8. Juan Martin Del Potro (Argentina) 9. Richard Gasquet (France) 10. Marin Cilic (Croatia) 11. Stanislas Wawrinka (Switzerland) 12. Kei Nishikori (Japan) 13. Tommy Haas (Germany) 14. Janko Tipsarevic (Serbia) 15. Nicolas Almagro (Spain) 16. Philipp Kohlschreiber (Germany) 17. Milos Raonic (Canada) 18. ...

LONDON (Reuters) - List of women's seeds for the Wimbledon tennis championships which begin on Monday: 1. Serena Williams (U.S.) 2. Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) 3. Maria Sharapova (Russia) 4. Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) 5. Sara Errani (Italy) 6. Li Na (China) 7. Angelique Kerber (Germany) 8. Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic) 9. Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) 10. Maria Kirilenko (Russia) 11. Roberta Vinci (Italy) 12. Ana Ivanovic (Serbia) 13. Nadia Petrova (Russia) 14. Samantha Stosur (Australia) 15. Marion Bartoli (France) 16. Jelena Jankovic (Serbia) 17. Sloane Stephens (U.S.) 18. ...

REUTERS - Indian Grand Prix organisers on Wednesday dismissed media speculation that they may not host a Formula One race next year as "totally baseless and malicious". "Our agreement with Formula One Management is to hold F1 races at Buddh International Circuit (BIC) till 2015, and we are fully committed to do that," Askari Zaidi, spokesman for Jaypee Sports International, said in a statement. "There is no reason for us to give up hosting F1 races," he added, reacting to reports on some international websites that suggested the race could be dropped after this year. ...

LONDON (Reuters) - British ballet dancer David Wall, known for becoming the youngest male principal at the Royal Ballet at the age of 21, has died of cancer aged 67 at his home in London. Director of the Royal Ballet, Kevin O'Hare, paid tribute to Wall who died on Tuesday, describing him as a "truly exceptional artist" and one of the company's greatest dance actors. ...

Haridwar, June 19 (IANS) A number of trapped pilgrims and tourists from flood-affected areas in Uttarakhand have accused the local government of doing nothing to help them and demanded that Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna resign.

London, June 19 (IANS) The Afghan government will not take part in peace talks with the Taliban unless the process is "Afghan-led", President Hamid Karzai said Wednesday, a day after the US said it would talk with the Taliban in their new office in Qatar.

New Delhi, June 19 (IANS) Newly-appointed union Minister of State for Health Santosh Chowdhary Wednesday said she would try to implement all the schemes of the United Progressive Alliance government relating to the health sector.

New Delhi, June 19 (IANS) Jackie Chan, martial art expert and one of Asian cinema's most prominent faces, Wednesday encouraged the children at the Smile Foundation saying that if they work together, they can achieve their dreams one day "like I did".

New Delhi, June 19 (IANS) United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi will lay the foundation of a Rs.2,938 crore water supply project at Jayal in Nagaur district of Rajasthan Thursday.

Mumbai, June 19 (IANS) Moved by the plight of the people from Maharashtra stranded in flood-hit Uttarakhand, the state government Wednesday announced allocation of Rs.10 crore for their relief.

Washington, June 19 (IANS) A former college professor in the US who was on the FBI's "10 most wanted" list over allegations of child sex abuse has been arrested in Mexico, officials said.

Singapore, June 19 (IANS) After sending Taufik Hidayat into retirement, India's B. Sai Praneeth caused another big upset by defeating second seed Yun Hu of Hong Kong in the men's singles first round of the Singapore Open Super Series here Wednesday.

New Delhi, June 19 (IANS) As the Nitish Kumar-led JD-U government in Bihar sailed smoothly through a trust vote Wednesday, the BJP accused its just-parted ex-ally of becoming part of a Congress conspiracy.

Chennai, June 19 (IANS) Superstar Rajinikanth, who is yet to watch his son-in-law Dhanush's Hindi debut "Raanjhanaa", is likely to see the film when it hits the cinemas on Friday, the actor says.

Islamabad, June 19 (IANS) Pakistan's Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan has said that people like former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) director-general Ahmed Shuja Pasha should be kept out of the country's army.

New Delhi, June 19 (IANS) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Wednesday granted Rs.1,000 crore for disaster relief in Uttarakhand and said the death toll in the state due to heavy rains and floods could be higher than the current estimate of 102.

London, June 19 (IANS) Indian tennis pair Purav Raja and Divij Sharan qualified for the men's doubles main draw of Wimbledon here Wednesday.