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LONDON (Reuters) - One of the attackers who hacked a soldier to death in London was British-born and of Nigerian descent, a source with knowledge of the investigation said. The other man may also be British with a Nigerian background, the source told Reuters. British media identified one of the men as Michael Adebolajo, citing police sources. (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge)

By Guy Faulconbridge and Michael Holden LONDON (Reuters) - British authorities have established that one and possibly both of the men who hacked a soldier to death on a London street was born in Britain of Nigerian descent, a source with knowledge of the investigation said on Thursday. Local media named the man who was definitely born in the country as 28-year-old Michael Adebolajo and said police raided the home of his Nigerian family in a village near the eastern English city of Lincoln. Both men appeared to have converted to Islam from Christian immigrant backgrounds, British media said. ...

REUTERS - State Bank of India, the country's largest lender, posted its first quarterly net profit drop in two years, missing market estimates after being dragged down by lower interest income and higher provisions for loan losses. The state-run bank posted net profit of 32.99 billion rupees in the January-March quarter, compared with 40.50 billion rupees in the same period a year ago. Net interest income, the difference between interest earned and interest expended, fell 4.4 percent to 110.8 billion rupees. Analysts, on average, had expected net profit of 37. ...

REUTERS - AC Milan's influential ultras want Massimiliano Allegri to remain as coach amid widespread speculation that club president Silvio Berlusconi plans to fire him. The Curva Sud (South Curve) fan group issued a statement praising Allegri for his handling of a young squad last season, when Milan recovered from a poor start to finish third in Serie A and qualify for next season's Champions League playoff. "Today, we find ourselves with a project which has only just started and which will soon be dismantled by presidential choice," said the statement on the group's website ...

By Alan Baldwin MONACO (Reuters) - Nico Rosberg gave Mercedes a quick start to their Monaco Grand Prix weekend with the fastest time in first practice on Thursday. The German, a local resident who has been at home on the twisty streets ever since he was a boy growing up in the principality, lapped with a best time of one minute 16.195 seconds. While Rosberg will be chasing his third successive pole position in Saturday's qualifying, hat-trick chasing Spaniard Fernando Alonso was second fastest for Ferrari a mere 0.087 seconds slower. ...

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility on Thursday for a bomb that killed 11 security personnel and two civilians in the southwestern city of Quetta. Sixteen people were wounded in the attack in the capital of Baluchistan province, and the death toll could rise, police said. The bomb was planted in a three-wheeled auto-rickshaw and blew up as a truck carrying the security men passed by. "We proudly claim responsibility for Thursday's blast in Quetta and the target was local police. ...

By Martyn Herman (Reuters) - Whether ripping shirts or forehand winners, or thumping down serves with frightening velocity, Jerzy Janowicz is making a big impression at the top of men's tennis and is ready to take Paris by storm again. The 22-year-old Pole, whose fiery on-court demeanour revives memories of a young Marat Safin, livened up proceedings in Rome last week with victories over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Richard Gasquet before losing a tight tussle with Roger Federer. ...

TOKYO (Reuters) - Thursday's plunge in Tokyo stock prices represents a short-term pullback from recent gains, not a sign of doubt in Japan's economic policies, a senior government official said. "It's a temporary adjustment after the rapid gains seen recently," Yasutoshi Nishimura, senior vice-minister of the Cabinet Office, told Reuters. The benchmark Nikkei stock average fell 7.3 percent on Thursday, its biggest percentage fall in two years, after Chinese factory-output data disappointed investors. ...

By Masayuki Kitano and Hideyuki Sano SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Hawkish comments by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and weakness in China's factory activity rocked Asian markets on Thursday, took the dollar to three-year highs, sent share markets lower, and hit the Japanese government bond market as yields rose to their highest in a year. Stock and bond markets took their cue from the drop in U.S. equities and Treasuries after Bernanke's remarks at a Congressional hearing sparked worries of an earlier than expected reduction in U.S. monetary stimulus. ...

By Iain Rogers MADRID (Reuters) - Milos Raonic would probably not feature on most people's list of potential French Open champions but the two-metre Canadian with the booming serve has been working hard on his clay game in Spain and has the potential to cause an upset. The Montenegro-born 22-year-old, who will make his third appearance at Roland Garros next week, joined up with Spanish coach Galo Blanco at his 4Slam Tennis academy in Barcelona in November 2010 and believes Blanco's influence has helped him to improve on the red dust. ...

REUTERS - State Bank Of India, the country's largest lender, restructured 80.9 billion rupees in loans in the January-March quarter, far higher than its earlier guidance of 37 billion rupees, a senior executive told Reuters on Thursday. The bank's total restructured book now stands at 431 billion rupees, Soundara Kumar, deputy managing director, told Reuters by telephone from Kolkata. Earlier, SBI posted its first quarterly net profit drop in two years, missing market estimates after being dragged down by lower interest income and higher provisions for loan losses. ...

By Gregory Blachier and Chrystel Boulet-Euchin PARIS (Reuters) - After 30 years without a male grand-slam winner, France's tennis establishment is beginning to question whether the absence of success is purely down to a lack of natural-born winners. Since Yannick Noah's triumph at the French Open in 1983, France has endured a barren spell at the majors with a shallow talent pool and a lack of mettle in their top players cited as possible reasons. ...

KOLKATA (Reuters) - State Bank Of India Chairman said on Thursday it continued to face challenges in the mid and small-sized companies segment. The lender is reeling under bad debt of 4.75 percent, the highest among Indian banks, and restructured nearly $1.5 billion loans in January-March quarter. Earlier, SBI posted its first quarterly net profit drop in two years, missing market estimates after being dragged down by lower interest income and higher provisions for loan losses. (Reporting by Sujoy Dhar; Editing by Anand Basu)

Mumbai, May 23 (IANS) For Bollywood heartthrob Ranbir Kapoor, appreciation by his fans is like a barometer of his success.

Patna, May 23 (IANS) Bihar has decided to buy 200 canines of various breeds at an estimated cost of Rs.17 crore in order to raise 50 more dog squad units to help police in their investigations, officials said Thursday.

Los Angeles, May 23 (IANS) Hollywood actor Jesse Eisenberg says he got confidence to perform the tricks of an illusionist in his forthcoming film "Now You See Me" by watching his mother.

Kolkata, May 23 (IANS) Ranbir Kapoor has cleared the air about his forthcoming release "Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani" (YJHD), being preceived as "unethical", and said films are made to entertain people, not to spoil the society.

Mumbai, May 23 (IANS) If international dancer-actress Lauren Gottlieb hopes to be seen in an action film soon a la Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie, she also wants to team up with Bollywood superstar Salman Khan.

New Delhi, May 23 (IANS) The right hair cut, hair accessories and hair-styling products can enhance how your tresses look, and make it easy for you to maintain them.

Kolkata, May 23 (IANS) In the wake of the shutting down of media houses owned by the scam-tainted Saradha Group and leaving hundreds of employees jobless, the West Bengal government Thursday announced it would acquire two of the closed TV channels.

Chennai, May 23 (IANS) A Mumbai police team here Thursday served summons on Gurunath Meiyappan, chief executive of Chennai Super Kings team of the IPL who is son-in-law of Indian cricket board president N. Srinivasan, in connection with the spot fixing controversy.

Mumbai, May 23 (IANS) Actress Soha Ali Khan, who will be seen in the role of a journalist in upcoming film "War Chod Naa Yaar", shot a scene at her ancestral home in Pataudi.

New Delhi, May 23 (IANS) The expenditure on minorities' welfare has seen a ten-fold increase during the United Progressive Alliance's (UPA) tenure, says a handbook highlighting the achievements of the government.

London, May 23 (IANS) British Prime Minister David Cameron Thursday chaired crisis talks following a terror attack here that left a soldier dead.

Los Angeles, May 23 (IANS) Singer Madonna remembers meeting her fan Kim Kardashian when the reality TV star was a kid.

Beijing, May 23 (IANS) The People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank, swung back to liquidity injection this week with 128 billion yuan ($20.9 billion) being pumped into the banking system through its regular open market operations.