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MUMBAI (Reuters) - Shares in Tech Mahindra Ltd rose as much as 6.8 percent on Wednesday after its January-March quarter net profit rose 24 percent, beating estimates. Tech Mahindra said its March-quarter consolidated net profit rose 24.4 percent to 3.77 billion rupees. The results came out after the close of markets on Tuesday. (Reporting by Abhishek Vishnoi; Editing by Rafael Nam)

REUTERS - Vivian Cheruiyot is not defending her world 5,000 and 10,000 metres gold medals in Moscow in August because she is expecting her first child, the Kenyan said in a statement. The 29-year-old, who won both races at the 2011 world athletics championships in Daegu, South Korea, took silver and bronze in the 5,000 and 10,000 at last year's London Olympics. In a statement released by her agent Ricky Simms on Wednesday, Cheruiyot said she would resume her career next year. She had first revealed her decision not to compete in Moscow on Tuesday but gave no reason for her absence. ...

By Andrea Burzynski NEW YORK (Reuters) - Country singer Kelly Pickler won the 16th season of ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" on Tuesday night, winning over judges and TV audiences with her graceful style and high-jumping jives with partner and professional dancer Derek Hough. Pickler, who first grabbed attention as a contestant on "American Idol" in 2006, screeched and jumped up and down when she learned she had won. Fellow finalist Jacoby Jones, an NFL player, hoisted her on his shoulders to celebrate. ...

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) aims to restart a 60,000 barrels-per-day fire-hit crude unit at its Visakhapatnam (Vizag) refinery by the end of June, a company source said. The crude unit was shut on May 16 following a fire that hit a pipeline attached to the unit. "The first assessment is scheduled for mid-June. After that, we will get a clear picture," said the source, adding that the aim is to restart the unit by the last week of June. (Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Writing by Seng Li Peng)

By Ian Chua and Vidya Ranganathan SYDNEY (Reuters) - Asian stocks rose on Wednesday following a positive lead from Wall Street with Japan's Nikkei reaching a 5-1/2 year high, while the yen took a defensive stance ahead of the outcome of the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) policy meeting. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.1 percent, reversing some of Tuesday's 0.4 percent decline. The South Korean market climbed 0.4 percent. Tokyo's Nikkei gained 1.1 percent, breaking above 15,500 for the first time in over five years. ...

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea sent one of its top military officials to Beijing on Wednesday as a "special envoy" of its leader Kim Jong-un, state news agency KCNA reported. There were few details of Choe Ryong-hae's visit, which came amid strained relations between China and North Korea after Beijing backed U.N. sanctions on Pyongyang for its February nuclear test. Choe is the most senior North Korean official to visit Beijing since Kim's uncle Jang Song-thaek made the trip in August 2012. ...

JAKARTA (Reuters) - The death toll from a tunnel collapse at a mine run by the Indonesian unit of Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc has been raised to 28, the company said in a statement on Wednesday, after giving up hope of finding any more survivors. The Arizona-based company closed the world's second-largest copper mine on Wednesday last week, a day after a training tunnel away from its main operations fell in on 38 workers. Ten workers were rescued. (Reporting by Randy Fabi and Michael Taylor; Editing by Richard Pullin)

By Mary Wisniewski and David Bailey REUTERS - The people of central Oklahoma know all too well the destructive power of a tornado, but when a big one rolled toward the town of Moore again on Monday, residents had few basements and storm shelters to run to when the alarm sounded, officials said. Two elementary schools that were hit by the EF-5 tornado - the most powerful category - did not have "safe rooms" where students could shelter from the storm, and no applications for safe rooms had been made, Oklahoma Emergency Management Director Albert Ashwood told reporters. ...

REUTERS - A unique first edition of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" annotated by author J.K. Rowling has sold for a record 150,000 pounds at a London charity auction, Sotheby's said on Tuesday. The 1997 book, featuring handwritten notes, 22 original illustrations and a 43-page "second thoughts" commentary by the author, fetched the highest price to date for a printed book by Rowling, Sotheby's said in a statement. ...

By Rachelle Younglai and Caren Bohan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Senate panel on Tuesday approved legislation to give millions of illegal immigrants a path to citizenship, setting up a spirited debate next month in the full Senate over the biggest changes in immigration policy in a generation. President Barack Obama, who has made enactment of an immigration bill one of his top priorities for this year, praised the Senate Judiciary Committee's action, saying the bill was consistent with the goals he has expressed. ...

By Tom Bergin LONDON (Reuters) - Apple's ability to shelter billions of dollars of income from tax has depended on an unusual loophole in the Irish tax code that helps the country compete with other countries for investment and jobs. A U.S. Senate investigation revealed Tuesday that Apple, maker of iPhones, iPads and Mac computers, channelled profits into Irish-incorporated subsidiaries that had "no declared tax residency anywhere in the world. ...

By David Henry TAMPA, Florida (Reuters) - Jamie Dimon, chairman and chief executive of JPMorgan Chase & Co took an unusual step to fight off investors seeking more oversight of his activities - he hinted he might quit. And it worked. At the bank's annual meeting on Tuesday, JPMorgan shareholders voted down a proposal to strip Dimon of his chairmanship, giving the measure even less support than last year. Investors showed some unhappiness with the bank's management by only barely re-electing three directors who oversaw a massive trading loss last year. ...

By Dominic Lau TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average climbed to a 5-1/2-year high on Wednesday, ahead of the outcome of the Bank of Japan meeting, with Sony Corp surging on reports it is considering evaluating a proposal to spin off entertainment assets. The Nikkei advanced 0.9 percent to 15,513.72 after trading as much as 15,527.35, its highest since December 2007. A senior trader at a foreign bank said buy orders outpaced sell orders by 1.5 to 1, with Japanese retail investors active in the market. ...

Moscow, May 22 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Russia is developing an advanced target simulation system for its air defence units based on the short-range Pantsyr system, the defence ministry has said.

Film: "Ramaiya Vasta Vaiya; Music Director: Sachin-Jigar; Singers: Atif Aslam, Shreya Ghoshal, Mika Singh, Monali Thakur, Mohit Chauhan, Neha Kakkar; Rating **1/2

Washington, May 22 (IANS) A bipartisan immigration reform bill cleared a key hurdle after its authors negotiated a compromise with a Republican senator to relax some restrictions on high-tech companies on hiring foreign techies, many of whom come from India.

Dubai, May 22 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Iraq's central criminal court has resumed an investigation into officials suspected of corruption in a $4.2 billion deal to purchase Russian weapons.

Washington, May 22 (IANS) India and the US have called upon all nations - without naming any country - to take effective steps to work toward eliminating sanctuaries and infrastructure that supports terrorism and to increase efforts to counter violent extremism.

Los Angeles, May 22 (IANS) Actress Jessica Alba has been honoured in recognition of her philanthropic efforts towards children-related issues.

Abu Dhabi, May 22 (IANS/WAM) The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Singapore have held talks over international development.

Mumbai, May 22 (IANS) In a surprise move, Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt was secretly shifted from a Mumbai prison to a Pune jail early Wednesday, official sources said.

Los Angeles, May 22 (IANS) For actress Kerry Washington, fashion is a "creative outlet" to express herself.

Abu Dhabi, May 22 (IANS/WAM) The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and China have held talks over their bilateral economic relations.

London, May 22 (IANS) Singer Tulisa Contostavlos and her beau Danny Simpson are reportedly facing a rough patch in their relationship.

Los Angeles, May 22 (IANS) Socialite Khloe Kardashian has broken her silence against those who have targeted her pregnant sister Kim Kardashian for gaining a lot of weight.

Moscow, May 22 (IANS/RIA Novosti) President Vladimir Putin has criticised the state-owned United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) for delay in delivery of warships to the Russian Navy and demanded the shipbuilders to improve efficiency.