Yahoo! News India

By Anna Hiatt NEW YORK (Reuters) - Greenwich Village, the birthplace of the U.S. gay rights movement, remained in shock on Sunday over the shooting death of a gay man by a gunman who police said uttered anti-gay slurs before targeting the victim. Mark Carson, 32, was shot dead in Greenwich Village around midnight on Friday in what police are calling a hate crime. Others say it could be a backlash against the recent advance of gay marriage laws across the United States. ...

By Khaled Yacoub Oweis AMMAN (Reuters) - Lebanese Hezbollah militants attacked a Syrian rebel-held town alongside Syrian troops on Sunday and Israel threatened more attacks on Syria to rein the militia in, highlighting the risks of a wider regional conflict if planned peace talks fail. Activists said it was the fiercest fighting in Syria's two year-old civil war involving Hezbollah, a Shi'ite group backed by Iran which they said appeared to be helping President Bashar al-Assad secure a vital corridor in case Syria fragments. ...

RAMADI, Iraq (Reuters) - - Militants killed at least 10 Iraqi policemen in a series of attacks on checkpoints in the West of the country on Sunday, police and local officials said. Sectarian tensions in Iraq have been amplified by the conflict in neighbouring Syria, where mostly Sunni rebels are fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad who is backed by Shi'ite Iran. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the Iraqi attacks, but Sunni militant groups have previously targeted security forces in a campaign to destabilize the Baghdad government, which they reject as illegitimate. ...

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 when the president of Myanmar becomes the first head of his country to visit the White House in 47 years on Monday. 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. ...

By Khaled Yacoub Oweis and Peter Graff AMMAN/LONDON (Reuters) - The world's diplomats will make a major new push in the coming days for negotiations to end Syria's civil war, but their chances of achieving a peace deal look as remote as ever. President Bashar al-Assad poured scorn on new plans for peace talks announced unexpectedly by the United States and Russia two weeks ago and planned for Geneva in early June. ...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Justice Department's seizure of phone records for journalists at the Associated Press is hurting the agency's ability to gather news, the wire service's Chief Executive and President Gary Pruitt said on Sunday. "Officials that would normally talk to us and people we talk to in the normal course of news gathering are already saying to us that they're a little reluctant to talk to us," Pruitt said on CBS's "Face The Nation" program. "They fear that they will be monitored by the government. ...

LONDON (Reuters) - Veteran rocker Rod Stewart scored his first British album chart number one in more than 30 years on Sunday with "Time", while the French electro outfit Daft Punk clung to the top of the singles chart, the Official Charts Company said. Stewart, sporting his trademark spiky blonde hairdo, told Reuters that the process of putting together his new autobiography had freed up what is normally a slow song writing process. "I've written some decent songs, but I've never considered myself a songwriter because it doesn't come naturally," he said. ...

By Praveen Menon DUBAI (Reuters) - Thousands of workers employed by Dubai's largest construction firm, Arabtec, stayed away from work on Sunday to back wage demands, a rare labour protest in the Gulf emirate, where trade unions are banned, staff said. Most blue collar workers in the Gulf Arab states are migrant labourers hired on a contract basis from South Asian countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal, and strikes are uncommon. ...

By Sonia Oxley REUTERS - Arsenal claimed the final Champions League spot at the expense of their arch rivals Tottenham Hotspur on the last day of the Premier League season on Sunday with a 1-0 win at Newcastle United. Defender Laurent Koscielny put visitors Arsenal ahead in the 52nd minute to secure fourth place with 73 points, one point ahead of fifth-placed Spurs who mustered a late goal from Gareth Bale to beat Sunderland 1-0 at White Hart Lane. Chelsea sealed third place on 75 points with a 2-1 win at home to Everton. ...

TUNIS (Reuters) - A Tunisian man taking part in a pro-Islamist protest in Tunisia on Sunday died after clashing with police, the state news agency said. The agency identified the man as 27-year-old Moez Dahmani. A Reuters witness saw several people injured in scuffles with police at the protest in the Ettadamen district of the capital Tunis. (Reporting By Tarek Amara; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

REUTERS - Sci-fi movie "Star Trek Into Darkness" journeyed to the top of weekend box office charts as the latest voyage of the Starship Enterprise pulled in $70.6 million at U.S. and Canadian theaters. The new 3D installment in the "Star Trek" franchise knocked the mighty "Iron Man 3" to second place. The superhero sequel from Walt Disney Co's Marvel Studios grossed $35.2 million over the weekend. "Into Darkness" stars Chris Pine as Captain James T. Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Spock, the pointy-eared, human-Vulcan first officer. The film added $13. ...

By Belinda Goldsmith CANNES (Reuters) - Indian movie actors and a new wave of directors are on a mission at the Cannes film festival - to show that their industry, which turns 100 this year, is more than just Bollywood. The largest Indian contingent to date is on the French Riviera at the world's leading cinema showcase to promote their country, which has the world's biggest film industry, making over 1,000 films a year compared to about 600 in Hollywood. ...

By Eric Salliot ROME (Reuters) - Rafa Nadal made short work of his great rival Roger Federer to win the Italian Open, his sixth trophy of the year, 6-1 6-3 on Sunday. The crowd sitting in the sunshine at Rome's Foro Italico watched Nadal race to victory in 69 minutes on the red clay. The Spaniard, back in his best form after last year's long injury layoff, spent less time on court than Serena Williams who won her fourth consecutive tour title when she thrashed former world number one Victoria Azarenka 6-1 6-3 to take the women's title earlier on Sunday. ...

Moscow, May 20 (IANS/RIA Novosti) The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said that a conference on the Syrian settlement will take place "very soon", possibly at the beginning of June, after consulting UN Security Council permanent members.

Taipei, May 20 (IANS) About 10,000 Taiwanese took to the streets here Sunday to protest against further development of nuclear power on the island.

Los Angeles, May 20 (IANS) Australian director Baz Luhrmann regrets leaving the opportunity to direct the first edition of "Harry Potter" franchise because he was busy with something else.

Sydney, May 20 (IANS) Musician Elliot Gleave aka Example got married to fiancee Erin McNaugh here this weekend after six months of engagement.

London, May 20 (IANS) Celebrity footballer David Beckham reportedly loves to style daughter Harper and has taken over the duty of styling her.

Los Angeles, May 20 (IANS) Singer Chris Brown reportedly has a soft corner for ex-girlfriend Karrueche Tran.

Jerusalem, May 20 (IANS) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his government remains committed to prevent transfer of the advanced weaponry to Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

Moscow, May 20 (IANS/RIA Novosti) As many as 50 people were injured after a car ploughed into a crowd of people participating in a parade in the US state of Virginia.

Los Angeles, May 20 (IANS) Actress Gwyneth Paltrow loves food and says she has inherited it from her late father.

Moscow, May 20 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Ryan Fogle, the man Russia's security services claimed to have captured last week as he tried to recruit a Russian to spy for the US, left Moscow Sunday, a media report said.

Hyderabad, May 19 (IANS) Scoreboard of the Indian Premier League (IPL) match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here Sunday.

New Delhi, May 19 (IANS) The BJP Sunday appointed party general secretary Amit Shah, considered close to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, as incharge of electorally crucuial Uttar Pradesh.

Hyderabad, May 19 (IANS) Frenzied fans of Sunrisers Hyderabad filled the Rajiv Gandhi international stadium here Sunday night to support the home team, which stormed into the play-offs of the sixth Pepsi Indian Premier League (IPL).