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LONDON (Reuters) - David Beckham's eldest son Brooklyn has trained at the junior academy of London club Queens Park Rangers and bookmakers are already offering short odds that the 14-year-old will emulate his father by playing for England. QPR said on Twitter that he was training with them but had not officially joined their academy. Beckham senior, who began his career by joining Manchester United's academy also at the age of 14, retired from the game last week after helping Paris St Germain to the French league title but now has a home in London. ...

LONDON (Reuters) - West Ham United have signed Romania captain Razvan Rat on a free transfer, the Premier League club said on Tuesday. The left back joins on an extendable one-year deal after his contract at Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk came to an end. The 31-year-old has 88 caps for Romania and won seven Ukrainian titles as well as the UEFA Cup during his time in Donetsk. "I'm hugely happy that we've got a player of his experience and his character," West Ham manager Sam Allardyce said on the club website (www.whufc.com). ...

By Tony Jimenez VIRGINIA WATER, England (Reuters) - The golfing world must unite behind the new ban on the anchoring of putters from 2016 and avoid any unseemly legal disputes, according to Royal & Ancient (R&A) chief executive Peter Dawson. The ban was announced by the game's rule makers, the R&A and the United States Golf Association, on Tuesday, and Dawson has implored the rest of the sport to fall in line behind the regulation. The U.S. PGA Tour and the PGA of America, who both emphatically oppose the rule, said they were against the ban and are planning to evaluate their positions. ...

By Alexandria Sage CANNES (Reuters) - Paolo Sorrentino's "The Great Beauty," a nostalgic, melancholic ode to the eternal city Rome, is one of several films that touch on the unraveling of contemporary Italy in official selection at the Cannes film festival this year. Also competing for the prestigious Palme d'Or award to be handed out on May 26 is "Un Chateau en Italie" ("A Castle in Italy") by Franco-Italian director Valeria Bruni Tedeschi about the demise of an aristocratic family. ...

By Chrispin Mvano GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Two days of clashes between Congo's army and rebel fighters near the eastern city of Goma have killed at least 19 people, threatening an uneasy six-month peace just days before a scheduled visit by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Government forces and the M23 insurgents began exchanging heavy weapons fire for a second day early on Tuesday, with explosions still being heard late into the afternoon. ...

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South African prosecutors dropped charges on Tuesday against one of the two men charged with raping, mutilating and killing a teenage girl in a crime that outraged a country hardened by some of the world's highest rates of sexual violence. Prosecution spokesman Eric Ntabazalila said the man had been released from custody because there was not enough evidence to take him to trial. ...

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 lowered the death toll from the storm to 24, including nine children. The 2-mile (3-km) wide tornado tore through Moore outside Oklahoma City on Monday afternoon, trapping victims beneath the rubble, wiping out entire neighborhoods and tossing vehicles about as if they were toys. ...

Tunis (Reuters) - A 66-year-old Tunisian man has died from new coronavirus, a strain of a virus that emerged in the Middle East last year, after a visit to Saudi Arabia, the health ministry said on Tuesday. The man, a diabetic, died in hospital in the city of Monastir, ministry spokesman Ibrahim Labassi said. It was the first death in Tunisia from the virus. "Tests showed that his two sons were infected by the same virus and they are under medical observation," Labassi said. ...

By Noel Randewich SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Intel Corp's new chief executive, Brian Krzanich, has reorganized key business groups and created a "new devices" unit, according to a source who has seen an internal email, shaking up the world's top chipmaker days after formally assuming control. The chipmaker's main product groups - including the PC client group, mobile communications and data center unit that previously reported to Intel Architecture group chief Dadi Perlmutter - now report directly to Krzanich, the source said, citing the email sent to employees. ...

PARIS (Reuters) - Police evacuated Paris' Notre Dame cathedral on Tuesday after a well-known far-right former activist committed suicide by shooting himself in the mouth in front of its main altar, a police source said. The man, 78-year-old Dominique Venner, is a historian known in France for his far-right political essays. He carried a letter on his person but made no declaration before shooting himself dead in the mid-afternoon, the source said. A note posted on his blog dated May 21 slammed a law passed by the Socialist government last week allowing same-sex marriage. ...

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. ...

By Subhadip Sircar MUMBAI (Reuters) - The rupee dropped to its lowest in nearly six months on Tuesday, dragged by late falls in local shares and import-related demand from a large private company. The rupee has fallen 2.9 percent so far this month against the dollar, despite strong foreign inflows into debt and stock markets as the dollar gains against global currencies on worries about whether the U.S. monetary stimulus will continue. Lingering domestic concerns such as the wide current account deficit have added to the rupee's weakness. "There was intermittent selling from custodian banks. ...

By Nita Bhalla NEW DELHI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The government and the United Nations on Tuesday unveiled new guidelines on how to deal with the reproductive and sexual healthcare needs of girls and women when a disaster strikes. The guidelines spelled out in a 223-page manual are designed to help humanitarian workers reduce sexual violence, HIV transmission and maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality. "When a disaster strikes, although the first concern is survival, other essential needs do not disappear. ...

New Delhi, May 21 (IANS) On the eve of the fourth anniversary of UPA-II, opinion polls have not brought any cheer to the government, predicting slide in the ruling alliance's tally amid rising dissatisfaction among large sections of urban voters over its performance.

Mumbai, May 21 (IANS) Actor Ranbir Kapoor Tuesday said he was not aware of any plans for his father Rishi Kapoor and him to reprise his great-grandfather Prithviraj Kapoor and grandfather Raj Kapoor's roles in "Awara", saying one will have to get them and Nargis back to this world to make the film again.

New Delhi, May 21 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Wednesday is likely to pronounce its verdict whether to prosecute Bollywood actor Shyan Munshi and 18 others on charges of perjury for turning hostile during their deposition in model Jessica Lall's murder trial.

New Delhi, May 21 (IANS) A 40-year-old Delhi Traffic Police constable was killed by a speeding truck here Tuesday morning, police said. The errant truck driver was arrested.

Kolkata, May 21 (IANS) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced Tuesday that the government would ban online lottery "Online lotto".

Srinagar, May 21 (IANS) A self-styled "religious preacher" was arrested from Jammu and Kashmir's Badgam district for repeated sexual exploitation of four minor girls at an institute he ran, police said Tuesday.

New Delhi, May 21 (IANS) On the eve of the fourth anniversary of UPA-II, opinion polls have not brought any cheer to the government, predicting slide in the ruling alliance's tally amid dissatisfaction among large sections of urban voters over its performance.

Chennai, May 21 (IANS) India's atomic regulator and city based Anna University Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding to promote research in academic institutions in the areas of atomic energy regulation and safety.

Kolkata, May 21 (IANS) The West Bengal government is conducting a survey for gauging the extent of tribal land encroached upon in the state's northern part, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said here Tuesday.

Panaji, May 21 (IANS) A land record portal developed by the Goa government has won an international award for making e-governance concepts people-friendly and accessible, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar 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 Indian Premier League.

Chandigarh, May 21 (IANS) Punjab's ruling Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party combine Tuesday claimed a "clean sweep" in the zila parishad and block samiti elections.

New Delhi, May 21 (IANS) Former Ranji cricket player Baburao Yadav, arrested in the IPL spot fixing scandal, was in constant touch with a bookie for two years and introduced him to an accused Rajasthan Royals player, Delhi Police said Tuesday.