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By Mike Davidson CANNES (Reuters) - He's played a science-fiction hero, policeman and even Hamlet. But now actor Keanu Reeves is taking on a new role - as director of a contemporary martial arts movie aimed at both Chinese and Western audiences. Reeves has stepped behind the camera to make his directorial debut with "Man of Tai Chi", a trilingual film loosely based on the life of a stuntman, Tiger Chen, whom he befriended while working on the sci-fi "The Matrix" trilogy. ...

By Khaled Yacoub Oweis and Dominic Evans AMMAN/BEIRUT (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama voiced concern at Hezbollah's growing role in the Syrian civil war on Monday after men from the Lebanese militia fought their biggest battle yet alongside President Bashar al-Assad's army. About 30 Hezbollah fighters were killed on Sunday, Syrian activists said, along with 20 Syrian soldiers and militiamen loyal to Assad during the fiercest fighting this year in the rebel stronghold of Qusair, close to the Lebanese border. ...

By Justin Palmer LONDON (Reuters) - Intensely irritating to some, hugely entertaining to others, the outspoken and colourful Jose Mourinho has proven time and again that success is never far from his golden touch. From a modest playing career and humble beginnings in management, Mourinho, 50, has become one of the most sought-after signings by club presidents eager for the Portuguese to wave his magic wand and conjure a succession of silverware. His managerial record stands the closest scrutiny - a Champions League winner with two clubs and league titles in Portugal, England, Italy and Spain. ...

By Iain Rogers MADRID (Reuters) - Jose Mourinho will quit Real Madrid at the end of the season after coming to a mutual accord with the Spanish club that brings to an end a disappointing three-year stint by his high standards. The Portuguese's imminent departure, three years before his contract expires, will add fuel to widespread expectations he is poised to return to former club Chelsea. While Real have yet to name a successor, president Florentino Perez confirmed the club had approached Paris St Germain to ask about the availability of Carlo Ancelotti. ...

By Alexei Oreskovic and Jennifer Saba SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc will buy blogging service Tumblr for $1.1 billion cash, giving the Internet pioneer a much-needed social media platform to reach a younger generation of users and breathe new life into its ailing brand. The deal, announced on Monday, is a bold bet by Yahoo Chief Executive Marissa Mayer to revitalize the company by co-opting a Web property with strong visitor traffic but little revenue. ...

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc will argue for comprehensive corporate tax reform when it goes before a Senate subcommittee on Tuesday, becoming the latest technology company to face questions over its offshore tax practices. In prepared testimony released ahead of Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook's hearing on Tuesday before the permanent subcommittee on investigations, Apple said it does not use "tax gimmicks" like moving intellectual property into offshore tax havens or using Cayman Islands bank accounts. ...

REUTERS - Here is a look at the life and career of Jose Mourinho, the charismatic Portuguese manager, who will leave Real Madrid at the end of the season after reaching an agreement with the club on Monday to leave three years before the end of his contract: * EARLY DAYS: - Jose Mourinho was born in January 1963 in Setubal, Portugal. - Following a modest playing career, he accepted a job in 1992 as an interpreter for former England manager Bobby Robson at Sporting Lisbon, taking over as assistant coach from 1994 to 1996. ...

By Iain Rogers MADRID (Reuters) - Florentino Perez's decision to hire Jose Mourinho to coach his beloved Real Madrid in 2010 was the fruit of the construction magnate's obsession with winning the 10th European crown that has eluded the club since 2002. The bespectacled 66-year-old, who has splurged more than 400 million euros of the club's money on players since returning to the presidency in 2009, was also desperate to end the domestic and European domination of Real's bitter rivals Barcelona. ...

TRIPOLI, Lebanon (Reuters) - Five people have been killed and about 50 wounded in two days of fighting in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, security sources said on Monday, a spillover of violence from the civil war in Syria. Rocket-propelled grenades and heavy gunfire shook the city on Sunday night but exchanges tapered off into sporadic sniper fire by daytime. ...

MAKHACHKALA, Russia (Reuters) - Two car bombs killed at least four people and wounded dozens of others on Monday in one of the bloodiest attacks this year in Dagestan, a turbulent province in Russia's North Caucasus region where armed groups are waging an Islamist insurgency. Car bombs, suicide bombings and firefights are common in Dagestan, at the centre of an insurgency rooted in two post-Soviet wars against separatist rebels in neighbouring Chechnya. ...

By Paul Eckert WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will walk a fine line between fostering a U.S. ally in China's backyard and trying to defend human rights on Monday when the president of Myanmar becomes the first head of his country to visit the White House in 47 years. Rights groups and some U.S. lawmakers fear Obama has moved too quickly since forging a dramatic breakthrough in relations in 2011 after half a century of military rule in Myanmar, also known as Burma. U.S. ...

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya's oil terminals at Tobruk and Zueitina re-opened over the weekend after protests forced both ports to shut, Libya's deputy oil minister Omar Shakmak said. However, fresh trouble arose at Libya's gas-exporting Mellitah complex, he added, where guards were again attacked overnight after clashes in March forced a halt in flows. This time operations had not been affected, Shakmak said, in the brief assault in which the attackers seized vehicles and weapons from the guards. ...

By Regan Doherty DOHA (Reuters) - Qatar's emir, who has thrown his state's riches behind Arab uprisings, said on Monday that the emergence of 'people power' had put Arabs in direct confrontation with Israel and made a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict more pressing. "We heard in the past that reform (in the Arab world) must wait until a peaceful settlement with Israel is achieved, but everybody should realise that such belief is now unfounded after the Arab Spring revolts," Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani told a conference in the Qatari capital. ...

London, May 21 (IANS) Singer Leona Lewis says she would prefer to adopt a child in future rather than having any of her own.

New Delhi, May 20 (IANS) The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) Monday said that cell phone towers in the city were not illegal and that radiation from them doesn't affect health adversely.

New Delhi, May 20 (IANS) Miffed over the performance of its eight zonal in charges, including two central ministers, in politically crucial Uttar Pradesh, the Congress appointed a new team Monday.

Jammu, May 20 (IANS) Jammu and Kashmir's ruling coalition partners National Conference (NC) and Congress sparred over relief to earthquake victims in Doda and Kishtwar districts of the Chenab valley, with leaders of both parties making charges and counter charges against each other.

New Delhi, May 20 (IANS) A 17-year-old girl was kidnapped and gang-raped here by three people, including two neighbours, after giving her sedatives, police said Monday.

Lucknow, May 20 (IANS) An FIR was Monday registered here against social networking site Facebook on a complaint that claimed a group on the site exhorts people to slaughter cows, police said.

New Delhi, May 20 (IANS) A cash van guard suffered a bullet injury in an accidental fire from his single barrel gun here Monday evening, police said.

New Delhi, May 20 (IANS) A fast track Delhi court hearing the Dec 16, 2012, gang-rape case Monday dismissed the pleas of two accused seeking permission to undergo lie detector tests and also to subject the victim's male friend to a similar test.

Hyderabad, May 20 (IANS) An all-party meeting here Monday decided that Andhra Pradesh government will seek review/clarification from the Supreme Court on its orders about the Babli project neighbouring Maharashtra is building across the Godavari river.

New Delhi, May 20 (IANS) A day before CAG Vinod Rai demits office, Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari Monday accused him of "fiction writing" on some figures of alleged corruption, saying that the country's top auditor had done the greatest disservice to the nation by tossing "mystical numbers".

Moscow, May 20 (IANS/RIA Novosti) A retired US diplomat and expert on the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act has been banned from entering Russia.

Baghdad, May 20 (IANS) A series of car bombings and shootings, mainly targeting Shia Muslim areas across Iraq, Monday killed at least 61 people, including Iranian pilgrims, and wounded around 200 others, officials said.

Islamabad, May 20 (IANS) The Taliban's offer for peace talks should be taken seriously as every issue cannot be solved through use of power and bullet, Pakistan's prime minister-designate Nawaz Sharif said Monday.