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MOSCOW (Reuters) - A member of the band Pussy Riot who was jailed over a protest against President Vladimir Putin in a Russian cathedral said on Wednesday she was starting a hunger strike after she was barred from a parole hearing. Maria Alyokhina also told her lawyers to quit the proceedings. ...

By Kate Kelland, Health and Science Correspondent LONDON (Reuters) - For a pathogen with such a short history, the mysterious new virus killing people in the Middle East and Europe has already had an amazing array of names. It first surfaced last year as "human betacoronavirus 2c EMC", but the suffixes "2c England-Qatar, "2C Jordan-N3", "England 1" have also appeared and many scientists have resorted to "novel coronavirus" - new crown-shaped virus - instead. ...

By Carmel Crimmins and Conor Humphries DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland called on Wednesday for an international clampdown on multinationals shifting profits around the world to avoid tax, after criticism that Irish loopholes helped technology giant Apple to shrink its tax bill. A U.S. Senate investigation into the tax affairs of the maker of iPhones, iPads and Mac computers has shone an uncomfortable spotlight on Ireland's tax regime and forced the government to defend itself against accusations of being Europe's onshore tax haven. ...

By Mariya Gordeyeva, Raushan Nurshayeva and Vladimir Soldatkin ASTANA/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Kazakhstan will decide by early July whether to exercise an option to buy the ConocoPhillips 8.4 percent stake in the Kashagan oil field, which has attracted interest from companies in China and India. "(The state commission's) decision will be made by July 2," Kazakh Oil & Gas Minister Sauat Mynbayev said on Wednesday. Kashagan, the world's biggest oilfield discovery in more than 40 years, holds an estimated 30 billion barrels of oil in place, of which 8 billion to 12 billion are potentially recoverable. ...

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka left-arm fast bowler Chanaka Welegedara has been ruled out of the Champions Trophy starting in England and Wales next month with an ankle injury. Welegedara will be replaced by all-rounder Dilhara Lokuhettige who has been recalled to the national team after five years. The 32-year-old Lokuhettige, a hard-hitting, fast-bowling all-rounder, last played for Sri Lanka in a Twenty20 international against Canada in 2008 but he has been a consistent performer in domestic cricket. ...

By Andrew Osborn LONDON (Reuters) - Google Inc's tax affairs came under renewed scrutiny in Britain on Wednesday when the leader of the opposition Labour party accused the Internet company of wrongly going to "extraordinary lengths" to avoid paying tax. In comments designed to politically outflank Prime Minister David Cameron ahead of next month's G8 summit on what has become a high-profile issue, Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, said he was disappointed that Google paid so little tax. "I can't be the only person here who feels disappointed that such a great company as Google ... ...

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI (Reuters) - Larsen and Toubro Ltd, India's largest engineering and construction group, will look overseas to offset a weak economy and project bottlenecks at home that led to a bigger-than-expected profit drop. Shares in L&T closed down nearly 6 percent after the Mumbai-based company's profit fell 6.9 percent for the fiscal fourth-quarter ending March, as its margins narrowed and existing infrastructure projects struggled to get off the ground. ...

By Subhadip Sircar MUMBAI (Reuters) - The rupee fell for a fourth successive session on Wednesday to mark its longest losing streak in over three months, hurt by dollar demand from oil refiners and a late fall in equities. The rupee's fall comes despite strong foreign flows into stocks and debt markets this year, as concerns about the current account deficit have revived after data earlier this month showed a spike in the April trade deficit. Global dollar strength has also hit the rupee. ...

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia's AirAsia Bhd , Southeast Asia's biggest budget airline by passenger traffic, posted a 39.23 percent fall in first-quarter profits on Wednesday, hurt mainly by higher finance costs and a foreign exchange loss on borrowings. AirAsia earned 104.79 million ringgit in the three months ended March, down from 172.44 million ringgit in the same period last year, although the operating profit was up 6 percent, according to a stock exchange filing. Earlier this month AirAsia said its passenger numbers were up 19 percent in the quarter at some 9.8 million. ...

By Abhishek Vishnoi MUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex fell for a third consecutive session on Wednesday, to mark its lowest close in almost two weeks after Larsen & Toubro slumped nearly 6 percent as its orderbook guidance sparked worries about the health of the domestic economy. Larsen & Toubro Ltd's (L&T) guidance has sparked concerns about corporate profits after a mixed set of company results in the January-March quarter and a generally cautious tone about the outlook for Indian companies. ...

By Ross Colvin NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Wednesday he had given a "wish list" of military equipment to India during a visit this week, presenting a conundrum for New Delhi as it weighs whether arming the Afghan army is in its interests. India wants to stabilise Afghanistan and is concerned about the resurgence of militant groups after foreign combat troops leave in 2014. But arming Afghanistan would alarm Pakistan. It takes issue with the influence of its old rival in Afghanistan. ...

By Michael Roddy BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Opera companies throughout the world are staging Richard Wagner's "Ring" cycle this year to fete his 200th birthday on May 22, but Hungarian conductor Adam Fischer is having no part of it during his "Wagner Days" festival in June. Fischer, who launched his festival in 2006 in the Bela Bartok concert hall at the Palace of Arts in Budapest, will have a new "Meistersinger von Nurnberg", rounding out productions of pretty much all the major operas in the Wagner canon. ...

AMMAN (Reuters) - British Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Wednesday Iran and its militant Shi'ite Lebanese ally Hezbollah were "propping up" Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and giving him increasing support. "It is very clear that Syrian regime is receiving a great deal of support, increasing support in recent months from outside Syria from Hezbollah and Iran. This is a regime that is increasingly dependent on external support," Hague said in a news conference with his Jordanian counterpart Nasser Judeh. ...

Hyderabad, May 22 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Wednesday urged Andhra Pradesh Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan to sack six allegedly tainted state ministers.

Mumbai, May 22 (IANS) Actress Shruti Haasan, daughter of veteran actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan, says her father has been very inspiring for her. She marvels at her father's dedication and says he has the same enthusiasm that a newcomer has for his work.

Patna, May 22 (IANS) A day after a 22-year-old woman was gang-raped and her friend was beaten up by three men in Bihar, two of the accused were arrested Wednesday, police said.

New Delhi, May 22 (IANS) The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Wednesday blamed Sahara Adventure Sports Limited for the failure of the arbitration and said the body "cannot be held responsible" for the breakdown of the process.

New Delhi, May 22 (IANS) India needs to take sector-specific action and develop a mechanism to track the achievements in each area to achieve the goal of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, says a study conducted by WWF-India.

Mumbai, May 22 (IANS) Actress Preity Zinta, who is gearing up for the release of her debut production venture "Ishkq in Paris", finds production work difficult. She says it's more like crisis-management and is a thankless job.

Patna, May 22 (IANS) Taking cognizance of prolonged harassment faced by a journalist and his family by their landlord for not paying an exorbitant rent here, Bihar's rights panel Wednesday sought a report from the city police chief on the issue.

Sukma (Chhattisgarh), May 22 (IANS) The Maoists early Wednesday attacked two police camps in Chhattisgarh but there were no reports of casualty in the firing, police said.

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.

Chennai, May 22 (IANS) Tamil Nadu's Crime Branch-Crime Investigation Department (CBCID) Wednesday said a lookout notice has been issued to all airports for Kitty alias Uttam alleged to be a bookie with links in spot fixing in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

New Delhi, May 22 (IANS) Ajit Chandila of Rajasthan Royals was about to spot-fix in another Indian Premiere League (IPL) match too for which he had taken Rs.15 lakh from a Punjab-based bookie, police claimed here Wednesday.

Washington, May 22 (IANS) India has sought from the US access to Pakistani-American 26/11 Mumbai terror attack convict David Headley and his accomplice Pakistani-Canadian Tahawwur Hussain Rana, both found guilty of supporting Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

Ramallah, May 22 (IANS) It will be a do-or-die match for Indian women's football team when they face Chinese Taipei in their next group D match of the AFC Women's Asian Cup (qualifiers) here Wednesday.