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DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has announced another death from the SARS-like novel coronavirus (nCoV) in its central al-Qassim region, bringing the total number of deaths in the kingdom to 17. A non-Saudi, whose nationality and age were not given, died on Tuesday, the Health Ministry said on its website late on Wednesday. It said he had been admitted to a hospital in al-Qassim several days ago with an "acute respiratory syndrome". "Most cases recorded so far are among elderly patients and people with multiple chronic diseases," it added. ...

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Reserve Bank of India Governor Duvvuri Subbarao went against the suggestion of a majority of external members of the central bank's monetary policy committee that recommended no change in repo rate at the annual monetary policy statement 2013/14 on May 3. The RBI cut the key policy repo rate for a third straight time in 2013 to 7.25 percent on May 3, pulling it to a two-year low, in a bid to revive slow growth and taking into account benign inflation reading. ...

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - A court will resume a hearing on Monday into complaints of emissions from India's biggest copper smelter plant, shut since end-March, but will take a decision before May 31, a judge said on Thursday. Imports have doubled and cable makers face a severe shortage of copper since authorities shut the plant, which meets half of India's demand and exports nearly 50 percent of its 30,000 tonnes of output to China, on complaints of emissions by local residents. ...

NIAMEY (Reuters) - At least 18 soldiers and four suspected Islamists were killed in a fierce gunbattle following a dawn car bomb attack at a barracks in the northern Niger town of Agadez, military sources and a local official said. "There are 18 soldiers and four attackers dead in Agadez," said one source. "One of the attackers has taken two or three soldiers hostage and is holed up in a house. We have him surrounded." (Reporting by Abdoulaye Massalatchi in Niamey and David Lewis in Bamako; Writing by Daniel Flynn; Editing by Andrew Roche)

By Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will seek to draw attention away from a series of domestic scandals with a speech on Thursday that defends the U.S. use of drones abroad and lays out a vision for closing the military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. ...

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Drug maker Wockhardt Ltd said up to $100 million in annualised revenue could be lost as a result of a U.S. Food and Drug Administration "import alert" on one of its plants, but said it should be able to restore most of that within 6 to 9 months by shifting production elsewhere. "That is a worst-case scenario," Wockhardt Chairman Habil Khorakiwala said, referring to the $100 million, in a conference call with reporters. Wockhardt shares fell 20 percent on Thursday to their lowest level in more than seven months after the U.S. ...

BEIJING (Reuters) - Liu Yunshan, the Chinese Communist Party's fifth-ranked leader, told a North Korean envoy on Thursday that China hopes all parties would work toward denuclearisation and called on all sides to restart talks on North Korea as soon as possible, state television reported. Liu, who is also the propaganda tsar, also told Choe Ryong-hae, a "special envoy" of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that China is committed to its relationship with North Korea and that peace and stability on the Korean peninsula is in the interests of all sides. ...

By Tony Jimenez VIRGINIA WATER, England (Reuters) - Former European Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal drew on the memory of his 2003 spat with Padraig Harrington as he urged fellow Spaniard Sergio Garcia and Tiger Woods to settle their differences. Garcia and 14-times major winner Woods have always had a frosty relationship and the Spaniard had to issue an apology on Wednesday after making a "fried chicken" jibe at the world number one at the European Tour's Player of the Year dinner the previous day. ...

By Peter Griffiths and Estelle Shirbon LONDON (Reuters) - A young man with bloodied hands holds a knife and a meat cleaver soaked in blood as he faces the camera to say he has just killed a soldier on a London street in retaliation for the deaths of Muslims killed by British troops in faraway lands. As the man speaks, a woman in a blue skirt pulls a shopping cart down the pavement towards him, glances briefly in the direction of a corpse lying in the road, and walks right past the man, apparently oblivious to the bloody weapons in his hand. ...

By Abhishek Vishnoi MUMBAI (Reuters) - The Nifty posted its biggest percentage fall in a year on Thursday, as the prospect of an end to the U.S. stimulus programme and a weak China manufacturing survey sparked concerns foreign investors would end their recent buying spree. The Sensex fell 388 points. The biggest concerns focused on Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke's comments suggesting bond purchases could be scaled back if the U.S. economy improves, with falls magnified after State Bank of India slumped after disappointing quarterly earnings. A potential early wind-down of the U.S. ...

LONDON (Reuters) - One of the attackers who hacked a soldier to death in London was British-born and of Nigerian descent, a source with knowledge of the investigation said. The other man may also be British with a Nigerian background, the source told Reuters. British media identified one of the men as Michael Adebolajo, citing police sources. (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge)

By Guy Faulconbridge and Michael Holden LONDON (Reuters) - British authorities have established that one and possibly both of the men who hacked a soldier to death on a London street was born in Britain of Nigerian descent, a source with knowledge of the investigation said on Thursday. Local media named the man who was definitely born in the country as 28-year-old Michael Adebolajo and said police raided the home of his Nigerian family in a village near the eastern English city of Lincoln. Both men appeared to have converted to Islam from Christian immigrant backgrounds, British media said. ...

REUTERS - State Bank of India, the country's largest lender, posted its first quarterly net profit drop in two years, missing market estimates after being dragged down by lower interest income and higher provisions for loan losses. The state-run bank posted net profit of 32.99 billion rupees in the January-March quarter, compared with 40.50 billion rupees in the same period a year ago. Net interest income, the difference between interest earned and interest expended, fell 4.4 percent to 110.8 billion rupees. Analysts, on average, had expected net profit of 37. ...

Amsterdam, May 23 (IANS) Indian golfer Sharmila Nicollet is raring to go at the Deloitte Ladies Open after her recent success at the Turkish Airlines Ladies Open at Antalya, where she finished tied 17th.

New Delhi, May 23 (IANS) Experts say summer is a good time for nail care, so how about adding some jazz to them with stylish tattoos, nail art or nail piercing this season?

New Delhi, May 23 (IANS) IPL chairman and union minister Rajeev Shukla Thursday came out in defence of BCCI president N. Srinivasan, saying there is no need for him to step down.

New Delhi, May 23 (IANS) Rajasthan Royals skipper Rahul Dravid hinted at retiring from the Indian Premier League (IPL) after this season.

Islamabad, May 23 (IANS) The Chinese government will unswervingly stick to its friendly policy toward Pakistan and support the South Asian nation in realising stability and better development, visiting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said here Thursday.

Singapore, May 23 (IANS) A former Malaysian Indian lawyer and three others were sentenced to death Thursday in the high profile murders of a Malaysian businesswoman and three others in 2010.

London, May 23 (IANS) British police confirmed Thursday the man killed in Southeast London was a "serving soldier".

New Delhi, May 23 (IANS) Sunrisers Hyderabad came up short against Rajasthan Royals in the Eliminator here but their inaugural Indian Premier League campaign was a successful one, their captain Cameron White has said.

London, May 23 (IANS) Michael Adebolajo, a 28-year-old Londoner of Nigerian descent, is one of the two suspects who hacked to death a British soldier in London, a media report said Thursday.

Singapore, May 23 (IANS) The death of a 32-year-old Indian-origin man while in police custody in Malaysia has now been classified as a murder.

New Delhi, May 23 (IANS) Rajasthan Royals skipper Rahul Dravid said that dealing with the spot-fixing allegations surrounding his team in the Indian Premier League (IPL) has been one of the toughest phases of his illustrious career.

New Delhi, May 23 (IANS) Health is wealth, and that doesn't change even when you're on a holiday. Experts suggest eating healthy and being conscious that about one hour of exercise a day can help you stay in shape even while you have fun.

Mumbai, May 23 (IANS) For Bollywood heartthrob Ranbir Kapoor, appreciation by his fans is like a barometer of his success.