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Kedarnath: Before and after the flood

Monsoon fury: Death toll reaches 130

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday spoke to Union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, Himachal Pradesh chief minister …

  • Nikkei closes at one-week high Reuters
    Nikkei closes at one-week high

    TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei hit a one-week high on Wednesday, with traders citing the launch of a near $780 million investment trust as a driver, while SoftBank Corp rose as it looked likely to win the battle for Sprint Nextel. SoftBank , which is trying to buy Sprint , was the top-weighted gainer in the Nikkei, up 4.2 percent after Dish said it would not make a new offer for Sprint. The Nikkei ended 1.8 percent higher at 13,245.22, reaching its highest since June 12 and closing above the bottom of the Ichimoku cloud in a bullish sign. The broader Topix index climbed 1.9 percent to 1,106. ...

  • NBA - Heat rally from brink to set up Game Seven decider Reuters
    NBA - Heat rally from brink to set up Game Seven decider

    By Simon Evans MIAMI (Reuters) - The Miami Heat forced an already absorbing NBA Finals to a deciding Game Seven after a thrilling 103-100 overtime victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday tied the series at 3-3. Miami trailed by 13 points in the third quarter but LeBron James, ditching his trademark headband, turned on the afterburners to spark a Heat fightback. San Antonio were not about to roll over under the weight of the onslaught, however, rallying to eke out a five-point lead with 28.2 seconds remaining as the championship ribbons were being prepared for them courtside. ...

  • India to sell $7.15 billion in debt quotas to foreign investors on Thursday Reuters

    MUMBAI (Reuters) - India will auction 420.22 billion rupees in unused government debt limits to foreign investors on June 20, a source with direct knowledge of the plans said on Wednesday. Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had earlier announced it would auction unused debt limits on Thursday, but had not disclosed the exact amount. These debt quotas give foreign investors the right to invest in debt up to the limit bought. Foreign investors have sold $4. ...

  • Corrected - Brent holds above $106, all eyes on Fed Reuters

    (Corrects U.S. crude price in paragraph 3 to $98.38) By Florence Tan SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Brent crude futures held above $106 a barrel on Wednesday as investors looked to a Federal Reserve meeting for clues on the outlook for a U.S. stimulus programme that has underpinned commodity prices. Global investors have been on edge since Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke suggested the central bank could be looking to roll back monetary stimulus, and a statement at the end of the policy meeting on Wednesday may provide a timeline. Brent futures for August delivery had edged down 1 cent to $106. ...

  • Sensex falls awaiting Fed; bank licence hopefuls surge Reuters
    Sensex falls awaiting Fed; bank licence hopefuls surge

    Reuters Market Eye - The BSE Sensex falls 0.5 percent, while the broader Nifty is 0.4 percent lower, heading towards their second consecutive day of declines. The U.S. Federal Reserve is due to end a pivotal two-day meeting on Wednesday. Markets are keenly waiting for Chairman Ben Bernanke's comments on when and how the Fed will start reducing the third round of its bond-buying programme known as "quantitative easing". Banks fall on fears that an end to the Fed monetary stimulus could push the rupee lower, delaying any rate cuts from the Reserve Bank of India. Axis Bank is down 0. ...

  • Accused Colorado theater gunman's lawyers seek psychiatric hospital video Reuters
    Accused Colorado theater gunman's lawyers seek psychiatric hospital video

    By Keith Coffman DENVER (Reuters) - Attorneys for the former graduate student charged with shooting 12 moviegoers to death in a Denver-area theater last summer have renewed their bid for access to a videotape of their client at the hospital where he was undergoing psychiatric treatment. In a motion filed on Tuesday in Arapahoe County District Court, lawyers for James Holmes asked to be permitted to view footage of their client inside the facility where he was taken last November after jail officials deemed him a danger to himself. ...

  • Gold slips for third day on rally in stocks, Fed caution Reuters
    Gold slips for third day on rally in stocks, Fed caution

    By A. Ananthalakshmi SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Gold fell for a third straight session on Wednesday, hovering near the lowest level in four weeks, as a rally in stocks and investor caution over the Federal Reserve curbing its stimulus programme sapped support for bullion. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said last month the bank could scale back its $85 billion monthly bond purchases if the U.S. economy strengthens, but a lack of clarity on the timing has unsettled markets. A policy statement from the central bank will be released on Wednesday after its meeting. ...

  • Rohani once spoke approvingly of hiding Iran atomic work Reuters
    Rohani once spoke approvingly of hiding Iran atomic work

    By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Years before he became Iran's president-elect, Hassan Rohani spoke approvingly about concealing his nation's nuclear program and said that when Pakistan got atomic bombs and Brazil began enriching uranium, "the world started to work with them. ...

  • Fed seen keeping options open on pace of bond buying Reuters
    Fed seen keeping options open on pace of bond buying

    By Alister Bull WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve policymakers will likely announce on Wednesday that they will keep buying bonds at a monthly pace of $85 billion, while keeping their options open to scale back the program later this year if the U.S. labor market continues to improve. Economic data since the 19 officials met in May has been mixed. Employment growth was steady and consumers kept spending despite the drag of tax hikes and government spending cuts. But inflation slowed further beneath the Fed's 2 percent target. ...

  • Rupee approaches record low ahead of Fed meeting Reuters
    Rupee approaches record low ahead of Fed meeting

    MUMBAI (Reuters) - The rupee fell to 58.87 versus the dollar on Wednesday, close to its record low ahead of the outcome of the Federal Reserve meeting that may signal a tapering down of the U.S. stimulus programme. The rupee opened at 58.82 and closed at 58.77/78 on Tuesday, an all-time closing high. The Indian unit remains within touch of an all-time low of 58.98 last week.

  • Journalist who brought down U.S. general is killed in Los Angeles car crash Reuters
    Journalist who brought down U.S. general is killed in Los Angeles car crash

    LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Journalist Michael Hastings, whose 2010 Rolling Stone magazine profile of the U.S. military chief in Afghanistan, Stanley McChrystal, led to the general being relieved of command, died on Tuesday in a car wreck in Los Angeles, his employer said. A statement from the editor-in-chief of online news outlet BuzzFeed reporting that Hastings, 33, had been killed, gave no details of the accident, and neither Los Angeles police nor the county coroner's office would confirm his death. ...

  • Korea coach Choi stands down, search for successor begins Reuters
    Korea coach Choi stands down, search for successor begins

    SEOUL (Reuters) - The Korea Football Association has confirmed Choi Kang-hee's exit as coach of the national team and begun the search for a replacement to lead the side at the 2014 World Cup. South Korea reached their eighth consecutive World Cup finals by finishing runners-up in Group A of Asian qualifying but only secured their place on goal difference after losing 1-0 at home to Iran on Tuesday. Choi took over in December 2011 and said at the time his only mission was to get the team to Brazil and that he would step aside after qualification. ...

  • Japan finds highly toxic strontium in Fukushima groundwater Reuters
    Japan finds highly toxic strontium in Fukushima groundwater

    By Osamu Tsukimori and Yuka Obayashi TOKYO (Reuters) - High levels of a toxic substance called strontium-90 have been found in groundwater at the devastated Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan, the utility that operates the facility said on Wednesday. Strontium-90 is a by-product of the fission of uranium and plutonium in nuclear reactors as well as nuclear weapons, according to the website of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. ...

  • Adobe expects Q3 Creative Cloud subscriber adds to exceed Q2 Reuters

    By Sruthi Ramakrishnan REUTERS - Adobe Systems Inc, known for its Photoshop and Acrobat software, reported a higher-than-expected adjusted second-quarter profit and said demand rose for Creative Cloud, the subscription-based version of its flagship software package. The company said it expects the number of paid subscribers for Creative Cloud in the current quarter to top the 221,000 subscribers who signed up in the second quarter, increasing the total to 700,000. The company added 153,000 subscribers in the first quarter. ...

  • WikiLeaks' Assange fears U.S., says will stay in London embassy Reuters
    WikiLeaks' Assange fears U.S., says will stay in London embassy

    By Andrew Osborn LONDON (Reuters) - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says he will not leave the sanctuary of the Ecuadorean Embassy in London even if Sweden stops pursuing sexual assault claims against him because he fears arrest on the order of the United States. In an interview with Reuters and others to mark the one-year anniversary of taking refuge in the cramped diplomatic building, Assange said he remained hopeful he might be able to leave but offered little evidence to suggest he would be finding new living quarters anytime soon. "I wouldn't say I wouldn't leave," he said. ...

  • My moustache will become popular after 'Issaq': Ravi Kishan IANS

    Mumbai, June 19 (IANS) Bhojpuri superstar Ravi Kishan, who plays a negative role in forthcoming movie "Issaq", sports a thick and long handlebar moustache in the movie. He says whether his role becomes popular or not, his moustache will have its own fan following post the movie's release.

  • India delivers indelible ink for Cambodian polls IANS

    Phnom Penh, June 19 (IANS) Some 40,000 bottles of indelible ink, donated by the Indian government, were delivered to Cambodia's National Election Committee (NEC) Wednesday for use in general elections July 28.

  • US first lady, daughters tour Irish park IANS

    Dublin, June 19 (IANS/EFE) US first lady Michelle Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha Tuesday wrapped up their brief visit to Ireland with a private guided tour of Wicklow Mountains National Park.

  • Rousseff proposes new regulatory framework for Brazil mining IANS

    Brasilia, June 19 (IANS/EFE) President Dilma Rousseff has proposed a new regulatory framework for mining in Brazil, one of the world's biggest producers of iron, bauxite, gold, nickel, manganese and other minerals.

  • Dali fruit watercolours fetch over $1 mn at auction IANS

    London, June 19 (IANS/EFE) Fourteen watercolour fruit studies by Salvador Dali were sold for the first time Tuesday at an auction in London, fetching a total of 726,000 pounds ($1.13 million).

  • Sensex trades flat in pre-noon session IANS

    Mumbai, June 19 (IANS) A benchmark index of Indian equities markets was trading flat at 0.46 percent down during the pre-noon session Wednesday.

  • Beckham travels to China IANS

    Beijing, June 19 (IANS/EFE) Retired soccer champ David Beckham is in China to build enthusiasm for the game in the world's most populous country, where fans are pretty discouraged at the moment over the poor performance of their national team.

  • Now talcum powder linked to ovarian cancer! IANS

    London, June 19 (IANS) A new research has suggested women regularly using talcum powder to keep fresh actually increase their risk of developing ovarian cancer by almost a quarter.

  • Karnataka MLAs were frugal in their poll spending! IANS

    Bangalore, June 19 (IANS) Fighting and winning Karnataka assembly poll on an average costs just about Rs.700,000, less than half of the Election Commission-imposed upper limit of Rs.16 lakh (Rs.1.6 million), says an NGO after analyzing the expense statements of recently elected state law makers.

  • Mexican telecom firm in talks to restructure debt IANS

    Mexico City, June 19 (IANS/EFE) Mexico's Maxcom Telecomunicaciones said Tuesday it was looking to raise new capital and restructure debt after failing to make an interest payment.

  • Japanese firm to mass-produce synthetic spider silk IANS

    Tokyo, June 19 (IANS/EFE) A Japanese company has developed a synthetic protein based on spider silk and plans to use it to mass-produce a highly resistant and flexible fiber in the near future.

  • RSS chief to meet Advani IANS

    New Delhi, June 19 (IANS) Days after he played a key role in stopping a sulking L.K. Advani from quitting key BJP posts, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat is to meet the senior leader here Wednesday.

  • BJP to sit in Bihar opposition IANS

    Patna, June 19 (IANS) Ahead of the trust vote Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has sught in the assembly Wednesday, friend-turned-foe BJP has said it is prepared to sit in the opposition.

  • Scientists identify 280 craters on moon IANS

    Sydney, June 19 (IANS/EFE) A team of Australian scientists has identified 280 craters on the moon's surface using a combination of gravitational data and topographical images from satellites, media reports said.

  • Samantha keen on doing small-budget films IANS

    Chennai, June 19 (IANS) She has her hands full for this year, but southern actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu, who has worked with big stars and banners in the past, is now keen to explore small-budget films with exciting scripts in the next year.