Yahoo! News India

By Amie Ferris-Rotman HERAT, Afghanistan (Reuters) - The European Union threw its weight behind developing Afghanistan's small but promising private sector this week, in the hope that business can usher in stability and peace once foreign troops leave by the end of next year. In the largest ever EU visit outside the capital Kabul in 12 years of war, a 21-country delegation of envoys jetted to the western city of Herat on Sunday, whose flurry of business activity is largely seen as a rare success story in desperately poor, insurgency-plagued Afghanistan. ...

By Kareem Raheem BAGHDAD (Reuters) - At least 43 people were killed in car bomb explosions targeting Shi'ite Muslims in the Iraqi capital and the southern oil hub of Basra on Monday, police and medics said. The attacks brought the number of people killed in sectarian violence in the past week to almost 200. Tensions between Shi'ites, who now lead Iraq, and minority Sunni Muslims have reached their highest level since U.S. troops pulled out in December 2011. No group claimed responsibility for the bombings. ...

REUTERS - Yahoo Inc said it is acquiring blogging service Tumblr for $1.1 billion cash, a bold bet by Chief Executive Marissa Mayer to revitalize the struggling Internet pioneer by co-opting a Web property with strong visitor traffic but little revenue. The deal, which will use about a fifth of Yahoo's $5.4 billion in cash and marketable securities, is the largest by far since Mayer took the reins in July seeking to reverse a multi-year decline in Yahoo's business and Web traffic. ...

By Archana Narayanan MUMBAI (Reuters) - Foreign investors bid heavily in an auction for quotas to buy government bonds on Monday, even after Standard & Poor's reiterated its "negative" outlook for the country, as a cut in a key debt investment tax has contributed to a rally in markets. India attracted 101.46 billion rupees worth of orders for quotas to buy government debt from foreign institutional investors (FIIs), far more than the 55.33 billion rupees on offer, according to two dealers who participated in the auction but who declined to be identified. ...

By Swati Bhat MUMBAI (Reuters) - The rupee weakened to its lowest level in 2-1/2 months on Monday, weighed down by heavy demand for the greenback from gold and oil importers along with choppy domestic shares. Sentiment remained weak after Standard & Poor's reiterated its negative outlook on India's credit rating on Friday, which is one notch above "junk", warning of the need to follow through on reforms and dealing a blow to a government that had recently pitched for an upgrade. ...

(Corrects milestone for BSE to highest close since January 2011 from November 2010, paragraph 8) By Himank Sharma MUMBAI (Reuters) - The Sensex edged higher on Friday to new 2-1/2-year highs as continued hopes for rate cuts bolstered sentiment for blue chips such as ICICI Bank and Larsen & Toubro, although some analysts warned the recent rally could be running out of steam. ...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Reliance Industries, the world's largest refiner, has restarted a 330,000 barrels per day crude distillation unit (CDU) on Monday following a shutdown last week for maintenance, traders said. The privately-run refiner operates two refineries in Jamnagar on the Arabian Sea with a total capacity of 1.24 million barrels per day (bpd). The CDU which was shut last week was located in the older, 660,000 bpd refinery. "The shutdown should have taken place before it sold a June naphtha cargo last week," said a trader. ...

By Clara Denina and Jan Harvey LONDON (Reuters) - Silver hit a 2-1/2 year low on Monday, prompted by heavy fund liquidation in Asian trade, while gold was on track for its longest run of losses since March 2009 weighed by speculation that the U.S. Federal Reserve might rein in its economic stimulus programme. Investors have been dumping gold and silver, which are down 20 percent and 30 percent respectively this year, while stocks and the dollar have risen on an improving global economic outlook. ...

By Abhishek Vishnoi MUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex snapped a four-day winning streak on Monday, retreating from near 2-1/2-year highs as investors booked profits in rate-sensitive stocks such as ICICI Bank, while drugmakers were hit by worries about the country's new drug pricing policy. Caution also prevailed after Standard & Poor's statement reiterating its "negative" outlook on India's sovereign ratings, which came out shortly before the close of markets on Friday. ...

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan has told civil servants not to wear socks as the country turns off air-conditioners amid a chronic power crisis and soaring temperatures. The government has turned off all air-conditioning in its offices as the country endures blackouts of up to 20 hours a day in some places. "There shall be no more use of air-conditioners in public offices till such time that substantial improvement in the energy situation takes place," a cabinet directive said. As part of a new dress code, moccasins or sandals must be worn without socks. ...

By Fiona Lau and Elzio Barreto HONG KONG (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs launched on Monday the sale of about $1.1 billion worth of Hong Kong-traded shares in Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, offering to sell its entire remaining stake in the world's biggest bank by market value. The sale by Goldman would be the final chapter in the Wall Street bank's investment into China's ICBC. Prior to its 2006 IPO, ICBC was a technically insolvent state institution, reeling from the bad loans that saddled China's financial industry. ...

By Frank Jack Daniel and Rajesh Kumar Singh NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India and China will study new ways to ease tensions along their ill-defined border, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Monday in his first foreign trip since taking office, which comes just weeks after a military stand-off between the Asian giants in the Himalayas. The number two in the Chinese leadership offered New Delhi a "handshake across the Himalayas" and said the world's most populous nations could become a new engine for the global economy if they could avoid such irritants. ...

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - A Pakistani court on Monday granted bail to former army chief and president Pervez Musharraf who has been under house arrest on charges of failing to provide adequate security for former prime minister Benazir Bhutto before her 2007 assassination. Musharraf, who took power in a 1999 coup, returned to Pakistan in March after nearly four years of self-imposed exile to contest a May 11 general election, but he was disqualified from standing because of pending court cases. ...

Khabarovsk (Russia), May 20 (IANS) The Indian boxers' campaign came to an end at the Khabarovsk International Competition here with two silver and three bronze medals.

Thiruvananthapuram, May 20 (IANS) The BJP Monday said Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the Sivagiri Mutt here last month should not be seen as a move to forge an alliance with Hindu groups in the state.

Mumbai, May 20 (IANS) "Splitsvilla" returns with its sixth season and the romance reality show promises to get raunchier with new twists and turns and Sherlyn Chopra hosting it with VJ Nikhil Chinapa.

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

New Delhi, May 20 (IANS) India Monday signed four agreements with China that will boost Indian shipments of buffalo meat, fisheries and pharmaceuticals, and help reduce the trade deficit that rose to $40.77 billion in the financial year ended March 31, 2013.

Limassol (Cyprus), May 20 (IANS) Indian boxers scaled new frontiers as they powered through to claim the top rank and bag the 2013 Invitational FXTM International Limassol Boxing Cup.

New Delhi, May 20 (IANS) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Rajnath Singh Monday defended the decision to hand over charge of party affairs in Uttar Pradesh to Narendra Modi's close aide Amit Shah but stressed that Modi did not seek the appointment.

Mumbai, May 20 (IANS) TV actor Rohit Khurana, who is currently seen as ugly-looking Madhav in TV show "Dil Ki Nazar Se... Khoobsurat", says he had struggled a lot to come this far in his career.

Mumbai, May 20 (IANS) Deepika Padukone has rubbished rumours that her "Chennai Express" co-star Shah Rukh Khan has asked her not to go for the promotional tour of her film "Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani", and says he will never do such a thing.

Dubai, May 20 (IANS) Many Indians are among 170 expatriates rounded up by police in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for breaking residency laws.

Mumbai, May 20 (IANS) Huma Qureshi, who made an impressive debut with Anurag Kashyap's crime thriller "Gangs Of Wasseypur" last year, will now be seen doing action in Nikhil Advani's "D-Day" and she is all excited about it.

Mumbai, May 20 (IANS) Veteran actor-producer Anupam Kher, whose play "Kuch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai", is based upon the ups and downs in his life, says it will inspire people and change their viewpoint about failures in life.

Washington, May 20 (IANS) A tech delegation of top women executives in the information and communication technology sector is visiting India this week to explore ideas to increase the number of women in ICT professions and academia.