Yahoo! News India

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe signed a new constitution into law on Wednesday, replacing a 33-year-old document forged in the dying days of British colonial rule and paving the way for elections later this year. The constitution, approved overwhelmingly in a referendum in March, clips the powers of the president and imposes a two-term limit. However, it does not apply retroactively so the 89-year-old Mugabe could extend his 33 years in power by another decade. ...

By Megan Davies MOSCOW (Reuters) - Foreign banks that once treated Russia as virgin land where easy money could be made are now finding it a cut-throat market tougher than some bargained for. While players such as Citi and Austria's Raiffeisen thrive, many have found post-Soviet Russia too hard to crack: rife with credit, legal and corruption risks, and dominated by state giants Sberbank and VTB . The latest to hit trouble has been France's Societe Generale . ...

By Ju-min Park SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea has reappointed a hardline and loyal general as military chief in a move experts said was part of young leader Kim Jong-un's attempt to tighten his grip on the armed forces. Kim Kyok-sik, widely believed to have been behind the shelling of a South Korean island in 2010 that killed four people, was named "chief of the KPA (Korean People's Army) General Staff" by state news agency KCNA in a report on Wednesday. The four-star general, in his 70s, held that position for two years until 2009. ...

By Tim Kelly TOKYO (Reuters) - Few foreign activist investors have made much headway in forcing change in Japan, where a conservative corporate culture favours long-standing ties with banks, business partners and workers rather than shareholders seeking value. Struggling electronics giant Sony Corp , though, with more foreign and fewer bank shareholders, may prove something of an exception. That's the hope, at least, of Californian billionaire Daniel Loeb, whose Third Point hedge fund has built up a more than 6 percent stake in Sony, making it the group's biggest stockholder. ...

By Johan Sennero and Johan Ahlander STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Hundreds of youths have set fire to cars and attacked police and rescue services in poor immigrant suburbs in three nights of rioting in Stockholm, Sweden's worst disorder in years. On Tuesday night, a police station in the Jakobsberg area in the northwest of the city was attacked, two schools were damaged and an arts and crafts centre was set ablaze, despite a call for calm from Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt. ...

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - A court will continue hearing into complaints of emissions from the country's largest copper smelter, shut since March 30, on a daily basis from Thursday, a judge said. "We will continue hearing on a day-to-day basis," Justice Swatanter Kumar of the National Green Tribunal, a fast-track environmental court, said on Wednesday. The Sterlite Industries plant has been shut since nearly eight weeks after residents complained of emissions that led to breathing problems. The case was transferred to Delhi from a southern India branch of the court on April 29. ...

REUTERS - Malaga will be free to compete in the Europa League next season after UEFA announced on Wednesday that the European ban imposed on the Spanish club had been lifted. The Costa del Sol club, who reached the quarter-finals of this season's Champions League, had been given a one-year ban by UEFA due to financial irregularities but had appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). UEFA's decision came after a meeting of the Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) in Nyon to discuss sanctions handed out to eight clubs because of overdue payments. ...

Reuters Market Eye - The Sensex falls 0.05 percent, while the broader NSE index is down 0.1 percent. Larsen and Toubro Ltd falls 5 percent after reporting a worse-than-expected 6.9 percent drop in quarterly profit to 17.88 billion rupees. Zee Entertainment Ltd is also down 1.1 percent after its January-March profit rose 12.5 percent to 1.80 billion rupees. Lenders such as HDFC Bank Ltd fall on caution ahead of Wednesday's release of minutes of the Federal Reserve's last meeting and Chairman Ben Bernanke's testimony in Congress the same day. HDFC Bank Ltd is down 0. ...

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Indian Oil Corp (IOC) and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) are looking to buy up to 41,000 tonnes of gasoline, after a long absence, to plug a supply gap caused by a plant outage and maintenance that coincides with summer demand, traders said. IOC is seeking 7,000 to 8,000 tonnes of gasoline for June 12 to 14 arrival at Kochi and similar volumes for June 14 to 16 arrival at Kandla through a tender which closes on May 28, with offers to stay valid until May 29. BPCL is seeking 25,000 tonnes of 91-octane gasoline for delivery into Kochi over the first-half of June. ...

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Larsen & Toubro Ltd expects sales to rise 15-17 percent for the fiscal year to March 2014, Executive Chairman A.M. Naik said on Wednesday. Larsen, India's biggest engineering company, expects order inflows to be up about 20 percent this fiscal year, Naik said at a news conference. The company reported a worse-than-expected 6.9 percent fall in quarterly profit. (Reporting by Swati Pandey; Editing by Prateek Chatterjee)

BERLIN (Reuters) - Bayern Munich defender Holger Badstuber faces up to 10 months on the sidelines but should play again after undergoing surgery on a serious knee injury for the second time in six months, the Champions League finalists said on Wednesday. The Germany international tore the cruciate ligament in his right knee last week as he was rehabilitating from an identical injury he suffered in early December. The latest setback means the 24-year-old faces a race against time to be fit for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil with Germany well on course to qualify. ...

By Nick Macfie ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - China and Pakistan should make cooperation on power generation a priority, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said, as Islamabad seeks to end an energy crisis that triggers power cuts of up to 20 hours a day, bringing the economy to a near standstill. Li arrived in the Pakistan capital under extra-tight security on Wednesday on the second leg of his first official trip since taking office in March after a visit to Pakistan's and China's arch rival, India. Li's plane was escorted by six air force fighter jets as it entered Pakistan air space. ...

LONDON (Reuters) - Spaniard Sergio Garcia has apologised after a "fried chicken" jibe aimed at world number one Tiger Woods during a European Tour awards dinner on Tuesday. Garcia, who has a frosty relationship with Woods, was on stage with his Ryder Cup team mates when he was asked in jest whether he would be inviting Woods for dinner during next month's U.S. Open in Merion. "We will have him round every night. We will serve fried chicken." Garcia was heard to say. ...

New Delhi, May 22 (IANS) As the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) got down to celebrating its fourth anniversary, the BJP Wednesday trained its guns on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and said he was leader neither of his party nor the country.

Port of Spain, May 22 (IANS/CMC) The Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (TTFF) has hinted that an investigation could be launched into unaccounted revenues generated by the federation from World Cup 2006.

Patna, May 22 (IANS) A 22-year-old woman was gang-raped while her boyfriend was beaten up by three men in Bihar's Banka district, police Wednesday said.

Rio de Janeiro, May 22 (IANS) Dutch veteran footballer Clarence Seedorf says he has no plans to leave Botafogo before his contract expires in July next year.

Sydney, May 22 (IANS) An Australian man will face attempted murder charges after a horrific hit-and-run incident in Melbourne that left a 27-year-old Indian-origin man hospitalised in a serious condition.

New Delhi, May 22 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Wednesday ordered that a perjury case be registered against Bollywood actor Shayan Munshi and ballistic expert Prem Sagar Minocha for turning hostile during their deposition in the murder trial of model Jessica Lall.

London, May 22 (IANS) Stoke City coach Tony Pulis parted ways with the English Premier League football club after seven years in charge.

Thiruvananthapuram, May 22 (IANS) Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has won the prestigious United Nations Public Service Award for his mass contact programme initiative, an official release said Wednesday.

Washington, May 22 (IANS) Scientists have engineered nanoparticles derived from grapefruit lipids that could be used to deliver anti-cancer and other drugs to tumour cells, says a study.

New Delhi, May 22 (IANS) The Congress Wednesday hit out at the BJP for its comments on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and said it was "not concerned" with what the opposition party was saying.

Beijing, May 22 (IANS) With the absence of Chinese star Liu Xiang, American David Oliver topped the men's 110-metre hurdles at the 2013 IAAF World Challenge Beijing here, while China's Li Jinzhe continued his good form and grabbed a second win in the men's long jump.

Islamabad, May 22 (IANS) Chinese Premier Li Keqiang arrived here Wednesday for an official visit to Pakistan, aiming to deepen friendship between the two neighbouring countries.

Bangkok, May 22 (IANS) Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will pay an official visit to Thailand from May 30 to 31, the Thai foreign ministry announced here Wednesday.