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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. ...

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. ...

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. ...

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. ...

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. ...

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. ...

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. ...

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. ...

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. ...

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. ...

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)

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. ...

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)

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.