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LONDON (Reuters) - American Venus Williams has pulled out of this year's Wimbledon because of a back injury, the five-times singles champion said on Tuesday. The 33-year-old has not played since pulling out of the doubles at this year's French Open. "I will not be able to participate in Wimbledon," Williams wrote on her Facebook page. "I am extremely disappointed as I have always loved The Championships." Williams won her last Wimbledon title in 2008. Her sister Serena is the defending champion in this year's tournament which starts on Monday. ...

By Daren Butler and Parisa Hafezi ISTANBUL/ANKARA (Reuters) - A lone, silent vigil by a man in Istanbul inspired copycat protests on Tuesday, as police detained dozens of people across Turkey in an operation linked to three weeks of often violent demonstrations against Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan. Overnight in Ankara, riot police used teargas and water cannon to disperse hundreds of people who had gathered in and around the government quarter of Kizilay. ...

REUTERS - Billionaire investor Carl Icahn on Tuesday laid out a new proposal for Dell Inc , calling on the No. 3 PC maker to buy back 1.1 billion shares and allowing the activist to become a larger stakeholder. Icahn said in an open letter to Dell shareholders that he and Southeastern Asset Management would still seek to stop founder Michael Dell's buyout offer for the company, and if successful, elect new directors to the board at a shareholder meeting scheduled for July 18. Those directors in turn would implement a $14 per share tender offer, he said in the letter. ...

By Patricia Zengerle and Tabassum Zakaria WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the National Security Agency on Tuesday said U.S. surveillance programs had helped disrupt more than 50 possible attacks since September 11, 2001, as sympathetic members of Congress also defended the use of the top-secret spying operations. In the first hearing dedicated to the surveillance programs since former NSA contactor Edward Snowden revealed them earlier this month, members of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee showed little will for significant reforms. Instead, both U.S. ...

By Patrick Johnston REUTERS - Australia and Iran booked their fourth World Cup finals appearances with nervous 1-0 victories in a dramatic finale to Asian qualifying on Tuesday. South Korea joined them and Japan in qualifying for the finals after sneaking through on goal difference and Uzbekistan and Jordan retained hope of making it five Asian sides in Brazil after taking the third spots in the groups to set up a playoff. The teams will meet over two legs in September with the winners taking on the fifth-placed side in South America in a similar playoff in November for a place at the finals. ...

By Zorianna Kit LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - One-eyed green monster Mike Wazowski and his giant blue, furry friend James P. "Sully" Sullivan go back in time as "scaring" students in "Monsters University," as Walt Disney Co.'s Pixar Animation Studios pins its hopes for a blockbuster on the coming-of-age story. "Monsters University," a prequel to 2001 animated film "Monsters, Inc.," will be released on Friday in U.S. theaters, and director Dan Scanlon told Reuters one of the main challenges was to keep the film fresh and surprising for audiences. ...

By Fredrik Dahl VIENNA (Reuters) - The outside world may never find out what type of fissile material North Korea used in its nuclear test four months ago, leaving a key question about the explosion unanswered, officials and experts said on Tuesday. The isolated northeast Asian state is believed to have tested plutonium bombs in two previous such blasts, in 2006 and 2009. Any switch to uranium would increase international alarm as it could enable Pyongyang to greatly expand its arsenal. ...

REUTERS - General Electric Co joined forces with Amazon Web Services on Tuesday to make a wide range of data on products, including jet engines and gas turbines, available online so they can be analyzed. GE said Amazon Inc is the first online "cloud" service on which it will start creating an "Industrial Internet" to tap a market that analysts say could be worth hundreds of billions of dollars by the end of the decade. ...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Teen pop star Justin Bieber struck a photographer with his Ferrari sports car while driving away from a comedy club in Los Angeles on Monday night, but the accident was not considered a hit-and-run, police said. Video taken outside the Laugh Factory comedy club showed Bieber behind the wheel of his white Ferrari, surrounded by photographers as he was pulling away. Celebrity website TMZ said Bieber motioned the photographers to clear out of the way but apparently pinned one between his Ferrari and a parked car as he pulled out. He then drove away. ...

By Paul Sandle and Sophie Sassard LONDON (Reuters) - Vodafone faces a battle for Germany's largest cable company, Kabel Deutschland , although rival bidder Liberty Global of the United States has bigger regulatory and funding hurdles to overcome. Liberty Global, which owns Unity Media, Germany's second biggest cable operator, joined the race on Tuesday. It tabled an 85 euro a share offer, according to a person familiar with the matter, days after the British mobile company said it was in talks about a deal. ...

By Angus McDowall RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's former intelligence chief, Prince Muqrin, once told American diplomats the Middle East's so-called Shi'ite Crescent where the Muslim sect holds sway was "becoming a full moon" as Iranian influence spread. For the kingdom's Sunni ruling princes, that fear, revealed in a 2009 U.S. embassy cable released by WikiLeaks, now focuses on Syria. Iran-backed President Bashar al-Assad's forces are advancing with the aid of Lebanese Hezbollah Shi'ite fighters, while Riyadh supports the Sunni rebels fighting against him. ...

By Alexei Anishchuk and Andrew Osborn ENNISKILLEN, Northern Ireland (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin derailed Western efforts to remove Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad from power at the G8 summit on Tuesday and, hours after meeting U.S. President Barack Obama, said the Kremlin might sell more arms to Syria. In a final communique after two days of intense talks, global leaders called for peace talks to be held as soon as possible to resolve the Syrian civil war. But it did not even mention Assad's name. ...

MADRID (Reuters) - Barcelona defender Carles Puyol is to have surgery on his right knee to remove a cyst which will keep him sidelined for three to four weeks, the Spanish champions said in a statement on Tuesday. The 35-year-old Spain international, who will undergo the procedure on Wednesday, has suffered a string of injuries over the last year, including two operations on the same knee, a fractured cheekbone and a dislocated elbow. ...

Los Angeles, June 19 (IANS) Singer Will.i.am doesn't have a home despite purchasing properties for several close family members and paying off their mortgages.

New Delhi, June 18 (IANS) A sex racket was busted here after two Uzbek women who were held hostage for five months in a house and were repeatedly sexually abused by customers, escaped, police Tuesday said. A woman pimp has been arrested.

New Delhi, June 18 (IANS) Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday met L.K. Advani to get the BJP patriarch's backing for his new role as head of the BJP's campaign committee, an elevation that has split the NDA.

London, June 18 (IANS) G8 leaders Tuesday condemned any use of chemical weapons in Syria, and that they were deeply concerned by the growing threat from terrorism and extremism in the Middle East country.

Mumbai, June 18 (IANS) Bollywood actor Prateik Babbar, who will be seen in "Issaq" soon, said that he is lucky to have landed his role in the film as it had everything in it.

New Delhi, June 18 (IANS) A 21-year-old class 12 student, who had been missing for five days, was found dead in the Yamuna river here, police said Tuesday. Victim's family alleged murder while police contended it was suicide.

Islamabad, June 18 (IANS) A member of the provincial assembly of Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was among 29 people killed in a suicide bombing Tuesday, media reports said. Over 50 people were injured.

Thiruvananthapuram, June 18 (IANS) Kerala's business capital, Kochi will host the prestigious the World Economic Forum's India meet Nov 8-9, said Chief Minister Oommen Chandy Tuesday.

New Delhi, June 18 (IANS) A total of 163 people were rescued Tuesday from flood-affected areas caused by torrential rains in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, disaster management officials said.

Kolkata, June 18 (IANS) People protested on the streets of Kolkata, women government staff took out a march at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's seat of power, while the web users poured scorn on her Tuesday, a day after she shouted back at demonstrators in a village while on a visit to the house of a gangrape-murder victim.

New Delhi, June 18 (IANS) After being made head of BJP's poll campaign panel, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi discussed with senior leaders the strategy for the five assembly elections scheduled this year-end as well as the 2014 Lok Sabha battle, party sources said Tuesday.

Kolkata, June 18 (IANS) The BJP Tuesday accused the West Bengal State Election Commission of playing its role "half-heartedly" in the upcoming panchayat elections, and demanded that the commission call for an all-party meeting within two days to announce the roadmap for the polls.

Washington, June 18 (IANS) The US will meet the Taliban in Qatari capital Doha for talks on the peace process in Afghanistan, US officials said Tuesday.