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By Belinda Goldsmith CANNES (Reuters) - The relationship between the flamboyant pianist Liberace and his young lover dazzled at the Cannes film festival on Tuesday and threw the spotlight on gay rights at the movie industry's largest annual gathering. Director Steven Soderbergh said he struggled five years ago to secure funding for "Behind the Candelabra" because some financiers thought the film would only appeal to a gay audience and, at a cost of $25 million, would be a financial risk. ...

By Patrick Temple-West WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Apple Inc came under fire on Tuesday at a Senate hearing over an investigation that alleged the U.S. high technology icon has kept billions of dollars in profits in Irish subsidiaries and paid little or no taxes to any government. "Apple effectively shifts billions of dollars in profits offshore, profits that under one section of the tax code should nonetheless be subject to U.S. taxes, but through a complex process avoids those taxes," said Senator Carl Levin. ...

By Dominic Evans BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria said its troops destroyed an Israeli vehicle that crossed into its territory from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Tuesday and warned that any attempt to violate its sovereignty would meet "immediate and firm retaliation". Israel said the incident took place on its side of Golan ceasefire line and the vehicle was damaged but not destroyed, and none of its soldiers was hurt. It said its troops returned fire. ...

By Fredrik Dahl VIENNA (Reuters) - A U.N. nuclear agency report due this week is expected to show Iran further increasing its capacity to produce material that its adversaries fear could eventually be put to developing atomic bombs, Western diplomats said on Tuesday. But they said it is also likely to indicate that growth in Iran's most sensitive nuclear stockpile has been held back because some of it has been used for reactor fuel, potentially providing more time for diplomacy between Iran and major powers. ...

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - A roadside bomb exploded near the seafront in Karachi on Tuesday likely targeting a van full of Chinese port workers, police said, a day before Chinese Premier Li Keqiang arrives in the capital, Islamabad. No one was hurt. Karachi, the nuclear-armed country's key port, is home to 18 million people. It typically sees about a dozen murders a day, a combination of political killings, attacks by the Pakistan Taliban and sectarian militant groups, and street crime. ...

DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia executed five Yemenis on Tuesday for robbery and murder, then put their bodies on public display as a further punishment, state news agency SPA said. A sixth man, a Saudi national, was separately executed for murder, the agency said. It was the second time in less than three months that Saudi Arabia executed several convicted criminals at the same time. In February, the United Nations criticised Saudi Arabia after it executed seven Saudis in one go. Both cases were in Jizan Province in southern Saudi Arabia. ...

By Suleiman Al-Khalidi AMMAN (Reuters) - Jordan has turned away thousands of Syrian refugees in the past week in the first such clampdown since the crisis in Syria began more than two years ago, diplomats, activists and aid workers said on Tuesday. Jordan, due to host an international conference on Syria on Wednesday, has already taken in 473,587 Syrians out of a total of 1.5 million who have fled the conflict in an exodus that has accelerated in the past four months, U.N. figures show. ...

By Tom Bergin LONDON (Reuters) - Apple's ability to shelter billions of dollars of income from tax has hinged on an unusual loophole in the Irish tax code that helps the country compete with other countries for investment and jobs. A U.S. Senate investigation revealed on Monday that Apple, maker of iPhones, iPads and Mac computers, had channelled profits into Irish-incorporated subsidiaries that had "no declared tax residency anywhere in the world". Over the past three years, the American company paid a tax rate of 2 percent on $74 billion in overseas income, its annual reports show. ...

By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Forty-one years ago, a crazed Hungarian named Laszlo Toth jumped an altar railing in St. Peter's Basilica and dealt 12 hammer blows to Michelangelo's Pieta, severely damaging the Renaissance masterpiece. To mark the attack on May 21, 1972, the Vatican Museums held a day-long seminar on Tuesday on the statue, the incident, and what subsequently became one of the most delicate and controversial art restorations in history. ...

By Dorene Internicola NEW YORK (Reuters) - Celebrity chef, author, entrepreneur and television personality Curtis Stone said fatherhood provided some of the inspiration for his fifth cookbook, "What's for Dinner? Delicious Recipes for a Busy Life." "I'm a new Dad," said Stone who has appeared on TV shows including "The Biggest Loser" and "Celebrity Apprentice," among others, and who is the host of cable TV's Top Chef Masters. "You quickly realize how busy you are when you have a little one. ...

By Carey Gillam and Ian Simpson MOORE, Oklahoma (Reuters) - Emergency workers pulled more than 100 survivors from the rubble of homes, schools and a hospital in an Oklahoma town hit by a powerful tornado, and officials on Tuesday sharply lowered the number of deaths caused by the storm. The 2-mile (3-km) wide tornado tore through Moore outside Oklahoma City on Monday afternoon, trapping victims beneath the rubble. Seven children died at Plaza Towers Elementary School, which took a direct hit, but many more survived unhurt. ...

By Conor Humphries and Padraic Halpin CORK/DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland said on Tuesday it was not to blame for Apple Inc's low global tax payments and had no special rate deal with the company after the U.S. Senate said it paid little or no tax 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. ...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday that the U.S. government had properly classified more than 50 images of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden taken after his death, and that the government did not need to release them. The unanimous ruling by three judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected a request for the images by a conservative nonprofit watchdog group. (Reporting by David Ingram; Editing by Doina Chiacu)

New Delhi, May 21 (IANS) Former Ranji player Baburao Yadav, arrested in the Indian Premier League (IPL) spot fixing scandal, was in constant touch with a bookie for two years and had introduced one of the accused Rajasthan Royals players to him, said police here Tuesday.

Bhopal, May 21 (IANS) Defending champions Madhya Pradesh girls defeated Chandigarh 2-1 in their opening match of Pool A of the Hockey India Sub-Junior Men's and Women's National Championship (Final) on Day 1 at the Aish Bagh Hockey Stadium here Tuesday.

New Delhi, May 21 (IANS) Tainted cricketer S. Sreesanth went on a shopping spree with the money he earned from spot-fixing, buying apparel worth Rs.1.95 lakh for himself and a mobile phone costing over Rs.40,000 for his girlfriend, Delhi Police said Tuesday.

Gurgaon, May 21 (IANS) Two women employees of a private school here were arrested for sexually molesting a six-year-old Class 3 student for the last few months, police said Tuesday.

New Delhi, May 21 (IANS) Pune Warriors India, owned by Sahara India Pariwar, pulled out of the already scandal-hit Indian Premier League (IPL) Tuesday and announced that they will not renew their sponsorship of the Indian cricket team after the present contract expires in December 2013.

Kolkata, May 21 (IANS) Supporting West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's decision to withdraw from the UPA last September on the issue of FDI in retail, eminent writer Mahasweta Devi Tuesday exhorted people from all walks of life to protest against the measure.

New Delhi, May 21 (IANS) Chennai won the toss and opted to bat against Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 1 of the Indian Premier League at the Ferozeshah Kotla here Tuesday.

Shimla, May 21 (IANS) The by-election to the Lok Sabha from Himachal Pradesh's Mandi constituency will be held June 23, election officials said here.

Jamshedpur, May 21 (IANS) In a stellar show of indomitable spirit, Arunima Sinha became the first woman in the world to conquer Mt. Everest with prosthetic legs, when she successfully climbed the world's highest peak Tuesday.

New Delhi, May 21 (IANS) An ongoing food festival offering true Mughlai flavours -- spicy aromatic biryanis with vegetables, fish, chicken and mutton accompaniments -- will leave you craving for more.

Bangalore, May 21 (IANS) Top-ranked Siddant Jagdish Banthia led the bunch of seeded players into the quarter-finals of the Karle Infra ATF Under-14 Asian ranking junior tennis tournament here Tuesday that saw all fancied players making smooth progress.

Ghaziabad, May 21 (IANS) Two police constables were arrested in Ghaziabad for harassing a newly-married couple and extorting Rs.8,000 from them, police said Tuesday.

New Delhi, May 21 (IANS) A Delhi court Tuesday extended by five days the police custody of cricketer S. Sreesanth, his Rajasthan Royals teammates Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila and eight bookies for alleged spot-fixing in the ongoing IPL.