By Alissa de Carbonnel MOSCOW (Reuters) – The right-hand man of Russia’s most wanted insurgent was killed by security forces on Tuesday, officials said, as Moscow tries to contain militancy in its Caucasus region before it hosts the Winter Olympics near there next February. Dzhamaleil Mutaliyev, a senior figure in a group fighting to establish an Islamist state, was killed along with another militant in a shootout in the town of Nazran in Ingushetia, a spokesman for local investigators said. …

Read more here: Russia says kills senior Islamist insurgent

By Steve Gutterman MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia's leading polling group said on Tuesday it would fight to keep operating despite pressure to register as a “foreign agent” under what it calls a campaign by President Vladimir Putin to silence independent voices. Levada Center, Russia's only independent pollster, fears closure if it does not comply with a law obliging non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that are involved in political work and funded from abroad to assume a label many Russians see as pejorative. …

Read more here: Russia's Putin out to silence independent voices: pollster

(Reuters) – Sony Corp is considering evaluating a proposal from top shareholder Third Point LLC to spin off part of its movie and music business, Japanese daily Nikkei reported. Sony's U.S. listed shares rose 9 percent on Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange. Billionaire hedge fund investor Daniel Loeb last week called on the company to spin off its lucrative entertainment arm, setting the stage for a clash between his activist Wall Street fund and management at the Japanese electronics maker. Sony declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. …

Read more here: Sony to assess spin-off proposal for entertainment business: Nikkei

It’s taken a while, but Microsoft’s big plan for conquering consumers’ living rooms is now finally coming together. For years, major tech companies have been obsessed with getting their software and applications onto television screens and have mostly employed a series of set-top boxes that have done little to spark consumer interest. But unlike Apple and Google, Microsoft has always had a secret weapon that it’s been waiting to deploy to make sure that its software becomes entrenched on users’ television sets: Namely, the Xbox. For years now the Xbox has been the MVP of Microsoft’s consumer electronics division. While the company has badly lagged behind in both the smartphone and tablet realms, it has stayed strong in the gaming

Read more here: With the Xbox One, Microsoft’s vision for conquering the living room takes shape

MILAN (Reuters) – Telecom Italia denied on Tuesday that a company break-up was under consideration. “Telecom Italia points out that speculations about a possible break-up are groundless,” a spokesman for the company said in an emailed statement. Earlier on Tuesday three sources told Reuters the Italian phone company was mulling a spinoff of its mobile unit along with its fixed-line network from the rest of the company to bring new investors on board. (Reporting by Francesca Landini; Editing by Gary Hill)

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The only person responsible is the gunman, a union president says.

Read more here: Police defend officer who shot N.Y. college student

WASHINGTON (AP) — Far-reaching immigration legislation neared a final committee vote on Tuesday as the White House and Democratic supporters pressed the panel's chairman to delay a showdown over the rights of gay spouses until a debate in the full Senate.

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By Paul Carrel and Jonathan Spicer FRANKFURT/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Two senior Federal Reserve officials on Tuesday played down chances that the U.S. central bank would signal a readiness to taper bond buying at its meeting next month, dampening speculation the Fed might soon dial back its ultra-easy policy. New York Federal Reserve Bank President William Dudley and St. Louis Fed chief James Bullard, both of whom will vote at the June 18-19 meeting, made clear further economic progress was needed before they would support curtailing bond purchases. “Inflation is pretty low in the U.S. …

Read more here: Fed officials dampen speculation of imminent bond tapering

President Barack Obama on Tuesday filled out his Presidential Commission on Election Administration and kicked off its activity to improve election systems in the United States. “…As I said in my State of the Union Address, when any American, no matter where they live or what their party, is denied that right simply because too [...]

Read more here: President appoints commission to improve election systems

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says President Barack Obama opposes a House bill that would speed approval of the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada to Texas.

Read more here: Obama opposes GOP bill on Keystone XL oil pipeline