Spokeswoman Neelam Kapur told Reuters she was trying to verify the media reports. The prime minister's office declined to comment, while Bansal could not be contacted.

Bansal was widely expected to step down after police arrested his nephew last week for accepting a bribe in a case that was seen as embarrassing to the Congress party-led government which has been battered by a series of corruption scandals.

Opposition demands for the resignation of Bansal and another minister caught up in a separate scandal had paralyzed parliament and forced the government this week to shelve, for now, planned economic reforms as well as a flagship program to give cheap food to 70 percent of the population.

(Reporting by Anurag Kotoky; Editing by Ross Colvin and Jon Hemming)

May 10 (Sports Direct) - Highlights of Friday's MLB games

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Nationals 7, Cubs 3

Ian Desmond went 3-for-4 and drove in three runs and Ross Detwiler pitched effectively into the seventh as host Washington claimed the opener of a three-game set.

Desmond's two-run blast in the fourth snapped a 2-2 tie and he added an RBI double in the three-run fifth for the Nationals, who have won five straight and seven of eight.

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Tigers 10, Indians 4

Miguel Cabrera hit a three-run homer, Prince Fielder added a solo shot and Max Scherzer improved to 5-0 as host Detroit cooled off Cleveland.

Alex Avila had three RBIs, including a two-run double, and Andy Dirks also homered for the Tigers, who snapped a two-game losing streak on the strength of 15 hits. Scherzer allowed four runs and struck out seven in eight innings.

- - - -

Red Sox 5, Blue Jays 0

Jon Lester went the distance on a one-hitter and Daniel Nava had the pivotal double during a four-run seventh as host Boston defeated Toronto.

Lester (5-0) was sensational from start to finish, retiring the first 17 batters he faced before surrendering a double to Maicer Izturis. He struck out five and did not walk a batter, throwing 79 of his 118 pitches for strikes in his third career shutout.

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Pirates 7, Mets 3

Garrett Jones hit a three-run homer and Wandy Rodriguez tossed six solid innings as visiting Pittsburgh downed New York.

Jones added two doubles and scored twice while Starling Marte and Pedro Alvarez each scored and drove home a run for the Pirates. Rodriguez (3-2) allowed one run on six hits to earn his first road victory in four tries.

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Rays 6, Padres 3

Ryan Roberts and Ben Zobrist each delivered two-run singles as Tampa Bay scored four times in the seventh inning to take the lead and held on to beat visiting San Diego.

Evan Longoria added two hits and an RBI while Matt Joyce had a pair of singles and scored twice for the Rays, who won their third straight. Jake McGee (1-2) pitched a perfect seventh to earn the victory.

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Cardinals 3, Rockies 0

Shelby Miller racked up a career-high 13 strikeouts in a one-hitter as host St. Louis claimed the opener of a three-game series with slumping Colorado.

Eric Young Jr. led off the game with a bloop single before Miller (5-2) sat down 27 straight for the Cardinals, who have won eight of their last nine. The Rockies have lost 12 of their last 18 games after a franchise-best 13-4 start.

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Reds 4, Brewers 3

Brandon Phillips homered and turned a spectacular double play to lift host Cincinnati in the series opener.

Jay Bruce had a run-scoring double and Zack Cozart added an RBI single for the Reds, who got five innings of one-run ball from their bullpen to win for the fifth time in seven games.

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Rangers 4, Astros 2

Jeff Baker led off the seventh inning with a tiebreaking opposite-field homer over the right-field fence as visiting Texas defeated Houston in the opener of a three-game series.

Nelson Cruz and David Murphy also homered as the Rangers beat the Astros for the 17th time in the last 21 meetings. Joe Nathan worked the ninth for his 10th save in 10 opportunities.

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Yankees 11, Royals 6

Lyle Overbay went 4-for-5 with a homer, two doubles and five RBIs to power visiting New York to its third consecutive victory.

Ichiro Suzuki swatted a two-run homer among his three hits and Chris Nelson had a two-run single during a five-run sixth inning to make a winner of Phil Hughes (2-2), who was knocked around for six runs and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings.

- - - -

Orioles 9, Twins 6 (10)

Manny Machado and Adam Jones each had RBI singles in the top of the 10th inning as visiting Baltimore came from six runs down to defeat Minnesota.

Machado and Jones each finished with three hits and Nick Markakis added a sacrifice fly in the 10th to give Tommy Hunter (3-1) the win before Jim Johnson earned his 14th save. Chris Davis registered three doubles.

- - - -

Angels 7, White Sox 5

Mike Trout had a pair of hits, including the go-ahead RBI single in the seventh inning, and visiting Los Angeles received an outstanding effort from its bullpen to win the series opener.

Brendan Harris went 3-for-4 with a homer and Albert Pujols and Mark Trumbo both had run-scoring hits in a four-run third for the Angels, who gave reliever Barry Enright the start when Tommy Hanson was placed on the restricted list hours before first pitch.

- - - -

Diamondbacks 3, Phillies 2

Miguel Montero broke a tie with a home run leading off the bottom of the eighth inning as Arizona won its fifth straight game. Montero crushed the first pitch from Mike Adams (1-3) off the right-field foul pole.

Tony Sipp (2-1) set down both batters he faced in the eighth inning and David Hernandez retired pinch hitter Laynce Nix and Jimmy Rollins with runners on second and third and one out in the ninth to earn his first save in four tries.

- - - -

Mariners 6, Athletics 3

Raul Ibanez hit a three-run homer and Hisashi Iwakuma struck out nine in seven innings as host Seattle handed Oakland its fifth straight loss.

Iwakuma (4-1) gave up a leadoff single to John Jaso to start the game and retired the next 16 hitters until Eric Sogard reached on an infield hit in the sixth. He gave up two runs, four hits and walked none to help the Mariners to their eighth win in 11 games.

- - - -

Giants 8, Braves 2

Angel Pagan belted a two-run homer and Matt Cain allowed three hits over eight innings as San Francisco routed visiting Atlanta.

The Giants sent 11 batters to the plate and scored six runs on seven hits in the fourth against Tim Hudson (4-2), who lost for the first time in his last 11 starts against the Giants.

- - - -

Marlins 5, Dodgers 4

Derek Dietrich hit a three-run homer in his second major league game and visiting Miami handed Los Angeles its eighth straight loss.

Juan Pierre added two hits and an RBI for the Marlins and rookie right-hander Jose Fernandez (2-2) threw six innings, allowing three runs and eight hits to win his second straight start.

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(Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes)

The American Heart Association (AHA) has declared that pets, especially dogs, are good for a person's heart. Further proof that dogs are among the best friends a person could have.

Dr. Glenn N. Levine, director of Baylor University's cardiac care unit, was quoted in asaying, "Pet ownership, particularly dog ownership, is probably associated with a decreased risk of heart disease."

The AHA writes that owning a dog "may help reduce cardiovascular risk," perhaps due to dogs bugging their owners into taking them for walks on a regular basis. Dog owners were, according to the AHA's studies, 54 percent more likely than non-dog owners to get the suggested amount of exercise.

Anddon't stop there. The AHA writes that owning a pet in general "may be associated with lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels" as well as a lower rate of obesity. Pets can also help a person cope with stressful situations. Last month, a team oftraveled to Boston to help the victims of the bombings.

Via heart.org:

"In essence, data suggest that there probably is an association between pet ownership and decreased cardiovascular risk, Levine said. Whats less clear is whether the act of adopting or acquiring a pet could lead to a reduction in cardiovascular risk in those with pre-existing disease. Further research, including better quality studies, is needed to more definitively answer this question."

In an interview with , Levine said, "We didnt want to make this too strong of a statement. But there are plausible psychological, sociological and physiological reasons to believe that pet ownership might actually have a causal role in decreasing cardiovascular risk."

Good news, no doubt. But one shouldn't expect a dog to offset unhealthy lifestyle choices. "If someone adopts a pet, but still sits on the couch and smokes and eats whatever they want and doesnt control their blood pressure, thats not a prudent strategy to decrease their cardiovascular risk," Levine told the Times.

The Times reports that 70 million dogs and 74 million cats are kept as pets in the U.S.

The Delphi Academy of Los Angeles, a nondenominational school that offers preschool through high school, lives up to the standards the President calls for.

Academically, the school excels, with SAT scores 320 points above the national average, an average senior class GPA of 3.87 and an average schoolwide exam score of 94.8 percent.

The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF)—the largest high school sports league in California—awarded Delphi Los Angeles their “CIF Academic Challenge Award” for the school’s varsity soccer team, which had the highest Grade Point Average of any CIF school in California.

Providing a drug-free environment is another area where the school excels. The 2012 back-to-school teen survey by the Columbia University Center on Addiction and Drug Abuse revealed that 86 percent of American high school students say that some classmates are taking drugs, drinking and smoking during the school day and almost half know a student who sells drugs at their school. In sharp contrast to that national norm, for this year’s National Red Ribbon Week, the high school student government challenged middle and Delphi L.A. high school students to participate in voluntary drug testing. All high school students and 93 percent of the middle school students participated. (The only middle school students who did not were simply not able to obtain parental permission.) Every one of them tested drug free.

One family, worried because their seven-year-old had not yet started to read in public school, enrolled their son at Delphi L.A. After just one month, the child had read 19 books. In the video “A Day in the Delphi Academy Lower School,” which appears on the school’s website, another seven-year-old proudly displays the 700 books she has read since starting at Delphi in preschool.

The Delphi Academy of Los Angeles is licensed to use the educational services and materials of , a fully independent, nondenominational organization supported by the Church of Scientology and by Scientologists who are dedicated to raising educational standards throughout the world. Applied Scholastics works with hundreds of affiliated schools and educational programs, providing the effective learning tools developed by L. Ron Hubbard.

The Church of Scientology has published a new brochure, , one of a series of publications presented to meet requests for more information about the Scientology religion and its support of global humanitarian initiatives and social betterment programs. For more information, visit the Scientology website at .

Applied Scholastics International is a secular nonprofit public benefit corporation that addresses head-on the problem of illiteracy by making L. Ron Hubbard’s discoveries in the field of education and literacy broadly available. It has trained nearly 140,000 educators and has helped millions with Study Technology. The organization works with hundreds of affiliated schools and educational programs throughout the world, providing the effective learning tools developed by .

Press Contact: Karin Pouw

Tel: (323) 960-3500

eMail: MediaRelations(at)ChurchofScientology(dot)net

Karin PouwChurch of Scientology International(323) 960-3500

OMAHA, Nebraska (Reuters) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc invests in dozens of businesses, and a new book tries to explain it all to young readers, from A to Z.

Two Omaha residents, author Nancy Rips and illustrator Tom Kerr, have teamed up on "My First Berkshire ABC" to teach children about one of the world's best-known companies, and a little about the local billionaire behind it.

More than 1,000 copies were sold at Berkshire's annual meeting on Saturday, which draws thousands of people to Omaha, and where Buffett has a say on what gets sold.

"You need something to bring home to your kids and grandkids to explain Berkshire," Rips, who has also written three books about Jewish holidays, said in a joint interview with Kerr.

Most pages show companies that Berkshire owns or invests in.

G, for example, is for "Geico," and features the car insurer's talking gecko. And W is for "Wells Fargo", and features the bank's familiar stagecoach.

The book's theme changed at Buffett's suggestion.

"Our first effort was things like, S is for sharing. Mr. Buffett believes in sharing. K is for being kind,'" Rips said.

"I got an email back from Warren saying, it's too laudatory, they will lampoon him in the news," she continued. "And I wrote a whole new proposal: A is for Acme (Brick), B is for Borsheim's (jewelry), C is for Clayton Homes, D is for Dairy Queen. I got an email back: You're in the show.'"

Kerr has worked at many newspapers and drew McGruff, the Crime Dog for the National Crime Prevention Council.

"Part of what Warren talks about is investing in things that you know," he said. "Virtually everything in here is something that somebody can relate to and touch and understand."

Berkshire Vice Chairman Charlie Munger is shown under "Q," stamping boxes of "quality" merchandise.

Rips and Kerr have not heard from Buffett on whether he likes the book. Buffett's assistant Carrie Sova had no comment on that question.

Kerr depicted Buffett just four times, including on the cover holding his usual Cherry Coke.

"This book is not all about Warren Buffett," Kerr said. "I picked my spots. He's so synonymous with Dairy Queen that I wanted him there, and obviously on the cover with Coca-Cola."

"Cherry Coke," Rips interjected.

"Yep," Kerr said. "She had me change that."

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel; Editing by Patricia Reaney and Vicki Allen)

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Participants:

Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) is a FORTUNE 500 scientific, engineering, and technology applications company that uses its domain knowledge to solve problems of importance to the nation and the world, in national security, energy and the environment, critical infrastructure, and health.

SKYDEX Technologies, Inc., a privately held technology company with headquarters in Denver, develops protective materials that mitigate shock, vibration and energy forces for military and commercial uses.

Sciolex Corporation is a small business based in Chantilly, Virginia offering systems engineering, integration, and operations support services to the intelligence community.

This National Press Club Newsmakers news conference is scheduled for 10:00AM, Thursday, May 16, 2013 in the Club's Bloomberg Room on the 13th Floor of the National Press Building, 529 14th St, NW, Washington, DC, 20045.

Contact:Patti Giglio, NPC Newsmaker Event Host202-903-7869,or

SOURCE National Press Club

TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares rose to their highest in nearly two years on Wednesday, as strong Chinese trade data added to positive sentiment already fed by record highs in global equities overnight.

European stock markets were seen firmer, with financial spreadbetters predicting London's FTSE 100, Paris's CAC-40 and Frankfurt's DAX would open up as much as 0.2 percent. Germany's benchmark DAX equity index ended at a record high on Tuesday.

U.S. stock futures were steady to suggest a calm Wall Street open after the Standard & Poor's 500 Index hit an intraday record high and the Dow Jones industrial average closed above 15,000 for the first time the day before.

Investors are seeing better returns from equities than bonds, which have been hit by interest rate cuts by major central banks, with the Reserve Bank of Australia becoming the latest to do so on Tuesday.

"The RBA is just playing catch-up," said Evan Lucas, a market strategist at IG in Melbourne, noting central banks' moves around the globe. "The major benefactors of this cut will be risk stocks as income-plays flopped on the move."

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.8 percent to its highest since August 2011, driven by a 1 percent gain in Australian shares to a new peak since July 2008. Hong Kong shares rose 0.6 percent.

"The global monetary easing is in full flight, and this will continue to push money managers into the most compelling asset out there - equities," Chris Weston, chief market strategist at IG markets, said in a note to clients.

After last Friday's upbeat U.S. monthly nonfarm payrolls and this week's German industrial orders showing unexpected strength, China followed suit on Wednesday with better-than-expected trade numbers for April, further cementing the positive mood.

China's exports and imports grew more than expected in April from a year earlier, possibly easing some of the concerns about weakness in the recovery of the world's second-largest economy and top consumer of many commodities following a run of below-par data in recent weeks.

However, doubts remained over the strength of real demand in China and the accuracy of the figures, with some analysts suspecting exporters may have overstated their business to sneak funds into the country and avoid capital restrictions.

Separately, as the country struggles to keep rising capital inflows at bay, dealers said China's central bank may be preparing to change the way it manages monetary policy by reintroducing bills as a liquidity management tool for the first time since 2011.

The Australian dollar reached its intraday high of $1.0193 after the data from China, its biggest export market.

Japanese stocks again outperformed their regional peers, scaling a fresh five-year high. The Nikkei stock average climbed as much as 1.7 percent to its highest since June 2008.

Nikkei has surged more than 65 percent since mid-November, when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe began promising expansionary monetary and fiscal policies to revive the economy during his election campaign. As part of the policy mix known as the "Abenomics," the Bank of Japan last month pledged to double monetary base to achieve a 2 percent inflation in two years.

"Economic indicators have yet to show clear impact from Abenomics. That said, investors appear ready to give new policies the benefit of the doubt for a few more months," Morgan Stanley said in a research.

TOUGH TIMES FOR GOLD

Global equities, particularly in the United States, have remained robust despite the recent signs of a patchy recovery in world growth, mainly helped by major central banks pursuing accommodative monetary policy.

A successful bond sale in Portugal also supported the upbeat mood as it indicated the country is on track to exit its bailout, bolstering views that the euro zone crisis is abating even as debt problems in the region remain far from resolved.

Gold has taken a beating in this environment. Spot gold was up 0.1 percent at $1,453.89 an ounce, after losing over 1 percent on Tuesday as holdings on gold-backed exchange-traded funds fell to their weakest since early 2009.

"The continuing outflow of gold ETFs is symbolic. Money is returning to 'normal' financial assets such as stocks, suggesting the super-cycle of a commodities boom is over and tough times lie ahead, especially for metals," said Bob Takai, general manager of Sumitomo Corp's energy division in Tokyo.

"Commodities prices will be determined more by normal supply and demand balances than speculative money flows," he said, adding that a downtrend in commodities prices will hurt resources-reliant economies.

The euro rose 0.1 percent to $1.3093 against the dollar. The U.S. currency eased 0.1 percent to 98.95 yen.

U.S. crude futures inched up 0.1 percent to $95.72 a barrel but Brent inched down 0.1 percent to $104.28.

"We commend Representatives Tom Latham (R-IA) and Mike McIntyre (D-NC) for reintroducing the School Food Modernization Act, a bipartisan bill to help replace outdated equipment and provide training to food service staff on the preparation of safe, healthful meals.

"Many school kitchens were built decades ago to simply reheat and hold foods. As a result, many food service workers don't have the training or tools required to bake, grill, and roast healthier foods. The need to upgrade school kitchen infrastructure and improve staff training is now more critical than ever.

"Schools' needs vary tremendously. Some need funding for lower-cost items, while others might require a total kitchen overhaul. With more than 31 million children eating at least one meal provided by their school each day, this bill is the right step to ensure schools provide safer, healthier, and more appealing meals for millions of schoolchildren."

BACKGROUND The School Food Modernization Act would establish a loan and grant assistance program within the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help schools upgrade their kitchens and dining areas and acquire new equipment. It would also authorize funding for training of and technical assistance to school food service personnel throughout the country.

The Pew Charitable Trusts () is driven by the power of knowledge to solve today's most challenging problems. Pew applies a rigorous, analytical approach to improve public policy, inform the public and stimulate civic life. We partner with a diverse range of donors, public and private organizations and concerned citizens who share our commitment to fact-based solutions and goal-driven investments to improve society.

SOURCE The Pew Charitable Trusts

Merck was slammed by two factors plaguing most of its rivals: growing competition from generic drugs and unfavorable exchange rates.

Major drugmakers in recent years have been hurt by an unprecedented wave of patent expirations on brand-name drugs that had brought in billions each year. This has enabled makers of generic drugs to grab customers with cheaper, copycat versions.

Additionally, pharmaceutical companies are being pinched by the dollar gaining ground overseas. Since drugs and other products are bought in local currencies, when the dollar's value rises, revenue from those countries falls.

Merck, which is based in Whitehouse Station, N.J., said its revenue was reduced by 2 percent because the dollar rose sharply against the yen in Japan a key market and against some other currencies.

That and all the generic competition combined to reduce Merck's revenue by 9 percent. Net income fell 8.3 percent.

CEO Kenneth Frazier said he expects better results in the second half of the year. And he noted that Merck has five drugs under review by regulators, including a promising insomnia medicine called suvorexant.

"We fell short of our expectations for the top line," Frazier told analysts on a conference call. "We knew that 2013 would be challenging, but we are confident in Merck's future."

This isn't the first time generic rivals have cut Merck's revenue, but it might be the worst.

In the first quarter, recent generic competition slashed sales of baldness treatment Propecia, allergy pill Clarinex,migraine drug Maxalt and, worst of all, Singulair. The asthma and allergy pill had been Merck's top seller for several years, but its U.S. patent expired last August. Most patients quickly defected to the slew of much-cheaper generic versions.

As a result, Singulair plunged 75 percent in the first quarter, down by $1 billion to $337 million.

"We haven't seen such rapid loss (in sales as) we've seen with Singulair," said Adam Schechter, Merck's head of prescription drug marketing.

Still, analysts seemed more concerned that sales of Type 2 diabetes pill Januvia declined by 4 percent to $884 million.

Januvia is now Merck's biggest seller and a crucial driver of growth. Revenue from Januvia had been growing rapidly, fed by the worsening global epidemic of obesity-related diabetes, but the company said wholesalers reduced inventory in the first quarter.

"The market is very competitive," Schechter added. "We are seeing rebate and pricing pressures as newer competitors seek to increase their market share" by offering health plans bigger discounts and rebates.

Merck said Wednesday that many sales representatives who promote multiple drugs to doctors now will focus solely on the Januvia franchise. Executives predicted mid-single-digit revenue growth in the U.S. and higher growth elsewhere for the rest of the year.

Merck on Monday announced a partnership with Pfizer Inc. to develop a diabetes drug that works differently than Januvia, as a solo treatment and in combination with other drugs. Management said Wednesday that the drug could complement Januvia, as most diabetes patients must add additional drugs over time to control blood sugar, before having to start insulin shots.

Overall, revenue in the first quarter was $10.67 billion, down from $11.73 billion. That's well below the $11.11 billion analysts anticipated.

Total prescription drug sales fell 12 percent to $8.89 billion. Sales of veterinary medicines rose 2 percent to $840 million and sales of consumer health products such as the Coppertone sun care line increased 3 percent to $571 million.

Despite the revenue declines, Merck noted strength in revenue from some of its drugs: Simponi and Remicade for immune disorders, HIV drug Isentress and vaccines, particularly Gardasil for preventing sexually transmitted diseases. Revenue from emerging markets such as China also was strong.

Merck earned $1.59 billion, or 52 cents per share, down from $1.74 billion, or 56 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding $992 million in one-time items, mostly acquisition and restructuring charges, profit was down 15 percent to $3.59 billion, or 85 cents per share. That was a nickel better than analysts expected.

Frazier said the company's stepped-up cost cutting kept the bottom line from sagging even more during the quarter.

Meanwhile, Merck said it now expects 2013 earnings per share of $3.45 to $3.55, excluding one-time items. In February, it forecast $3.60 to $3.70 per share.

Merck also announced plans to buy back up to $15 billion in shares, half in the next 12 months. That's on top of $772 million in share repurchases from January through April under a prior buyback that has another $1.1 billion to spend.

Frazier said the timing of the buyback was coincidental. Other drugmakers likewise have been buying back shares, although drug stocks have had a significant run-up in the last year or so after languishing for several years. Merck shares climbed from just under $30 in August 2011 to a high of $48.79 last month barely half the October 2000 all-time high of nearly $94.

A huge sell off cut Merck's stock price by 5.1 percent in premarket trading before bargain seekers pushed it back up somewhat. Shares closed down $1.32, or 2.8 percent, at $45.68. More than 37 billion shares changed hands, more than double the average daily volume.

___

Linda A. Johnson can be followed at http://twitter.com/LindaJ_onPharma

The elephant bird (Aepyornis maximus) egg was sold as part of Christies collection. . It grew to 10 feet tall and could weigh up to 1,000 pounds.

The elephant bird was thought to be the giant flying beast known as the Roc (or Rukh) in the tales of Sinbad and accounts of Marco Polo's voyages," says a description on Christies website. "The bird grew to around 10 or 11 feet in height and whilst probably unable to devour an elephant, as the Roc was reputed to do, it certainly was the largest bird ever to have lived.

Though the exact reason for the birds demise is not known, its assumed that human activity played a major role. More specifically, the .

Interestingly, the egg was only valued at between $30,500 and $45,700 by Christies but a flurry of bids on the last day of the auction pushed it up to more than double that.

The elephant bird egg was eventually . It is believed that the egg dates back to the 17th century, placing it at a time close to the extinction of the species.

A chart comparing the size of a fully grown elephant bird (purple) to other creatures, including humans (Wikic …