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LONDON (Reuters) - Britain launched fighter jets on Friday to escort a Pakistan International Airlines plane carrying 297 passengers from Lahore after it was diverted from Manchester, a spokesman for the Defence Ministry said. Flight PK709 from the city of Lahore in Pakistan was due to land at Manchester Airport in north west England at 1230 GMT. The plane was diverted to Stansted airport, east of central London, according to a Manchester Airport spokesman. ...

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said on Friday he would introduce a bill for a direct tax code (DTC) during the monsoon session of parliament. The code, which will replace the existing Indian Income Tax Act 1961, is intended among other things to rationalise tax rates to bring more people and companies under the tax net. The month-long monsoon session of parliament is expected to start in late July. Chidambaram's comments came at an event in Mumbai commemorating the 25th anniversary of the capital market regulator. ...

LONDON (Reuters) - A British security source said early indications suggested that a Pakistan International Airlines plane diverted from Manchester to Stansted Airport on Friday was not the subject of a terror attack. The Defence Ministry said earlier on Friday that it had scrambled fighter jets to escort the plane to Stansted, to the north east of London. A spokesman for Stansted Airport said the plane was being held in an isolated area and that the rest of the airport was operating as normal. (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge and Brenda Goh, editing by Kate Holton)

By Sudipto Ganguly MUMBAI (Reuters) - The International Olympic Committee has set India a September 1 deadline for a new election to facilitate the country's return to the Olympic fold. The IOC banned the country in December after refusing to recognise the results of Indian Olympic Association (IOA) elections due to government interference, which led to a tainted official being named its secretary general. ...

By Erik Kirschbaum BERLIN (Reuters) - A new novel about a neo-Nazi plot to assassinate Germany's first Jewish candidate for Chancellor has shed a timely light on the right-wing extremist violence that has plagued the country since 1990 and was swept under the carpet for years. Political thriller "The Jewish Candidate" by British journalist David Crossland has been published just as Germany's September election campaign is heating up and at the start of a trial of a neo-Nazi cell blamed for a spate of racist murders that went undetected for more than a decade. ...

LONDON (Reuters) - British police said they were investigating an incident aboard a plane on Friday, after the Defence Ministry said it had scrambled fighter jets to escort a plane from Lahore. "Police and partners are responding," the spokeswoman for Essex police said. The plane is being diverted to Stansted Airport in Essex, to the east of London. (Reporting by Kate Holton; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)

By Terril Yue Jones and Sui-Lee Wee BEIJING (Reuters) - A North Korean envoy told China's president on Friday that his reclusive country was willing to take "positive actions" to ensure peace and stability on the Korean peninsula, as China steps up diplomatic efforts to bring Pyongyang back to talks. But Choe Ryong-hae, a special envoy of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, made no offer to abandon North Korea's nuclear programme. The United States insists North Korea takes meaningful steps on denuclearisation before there can be dialogue. ...

By Steve Slater and Matt Scuffham LONDON (Reuters) - HSBC's Chairman Douglas Flint called for an acceleration in the speed of reform within the industry as the bank was criticised by shareholders for compliance failings and accusations it aided tax avoidance. Flint told around 400 shareholders at the bank's annual meeting that the fallout from recent scandals had created a "once-in-a-generation" opportunity to reform banking and the broader financial industry. "As a first priority we need to speed up the reform process. ...

By Tomasz Janowski LAHORE, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistan's new leadership expects first results of its planned steps to shore up its finances and ease a power crisis in two or three months and only then should decide whether and on what terms to seek an IMF bailout, a senior policy adviser said on Friday. Most economists, lenders and rating agencies say that the nation's finances have reached such a critical stage that a deal with the International Monetary Fund will be necessary and the sooner it comes the better. ...

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The founder of real estate company Puravankara Projects Ltd got bids worth 1.7 billion rupees by selling shares to meet the market regulator's requirement of having at least 25 percent public shareholding. By 3.30 p.m. (1000 GMT), the single-day sale to investors had received bids for 20.6 million shares at an average price of 81.52 rupees each, provisional data from the Bombay Stock Exchange showed on Friday. Ravi Puravankara, the company's founder, was selling a 6.62 percent stake, or 14.1 million shares, in the company at a floor price of 81 rupees each. ...

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India has made "tremendous progress" in reducing oil imports from Iran, a senior U.S. government official said on Friday, in a sign the South Asian nation is likely to get a third waiver from sanctions imposed by Washington against Tehran's nuclear programme. "All of the data is certainly pointing in a positive direction," U.S. Under Secretary for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman told reporters when asked about a possible waiver to India. U.S. ...

KABUL (Reuters) - Several large explosions rocked a busy area in the centre of the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Friday with Reuters witnesses describing shooting in the area. There were at least four blasts interspersed by heavy shooting, a Reuters witness said. The first blast was a suicide car bomb and occurred at about 4 p.m. (1130 GMT) near an intersection in the district of Borj-e Sharahah, said Hashmatullah Stanikzai, a spokesman for the Kabul police chief. A Reuters witness described seeing two wounded policemen, though there was no official word on casualties. ...

By Rhys Jones and Kate Holton LONDON (Reuters) - A British Airways plane with 80 people on board made an emergency landing at London's Heathrow airport on Friday after the right engine burst into flames shortly after take-off and the casing ripped away from the left. The British carrier, part of IAG , said all 75 passengers and five crew members were safe after having been evacuated from the aircraft down emergency chutes on landing. Video footage taken on board the plane as it came into land revealed the silver internal components of the engine. ...

New Delhi, May 24 (IANS) The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Friday asked the suspended Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to amends its constitution by July 15 and hold fresh elections no later than Sep 1 for getting back to the Olympic fold.

Kabul, May 24 (IANS) Suicide bombers and gunmen launched attacks on several targets, including a police station, in Afghanistan capital Kabul Friday evening, leaving casualties, a police source said. The serial bombings were not near the Indian embassy.

New Delhi, May 24 (IANS) FICCI Friday called for regulating sports betting in India in the wake of the cricketing spot fixing scandal.

New Delhi, May 24 (IANS) Tainted cricketer S. Sreesanth's interrogation led Delhi Police to another mobile phone which he had gifted to a female friend from the money he earned from spot fixing in this season's Indian Premier League (IPL) matches, said a police official Friday.

Thiruvananthapuram, May 24 (IANS) Kerala Governor Nikhil Kumar turned a commoner after flying in from New Delhi when Air India failed to open the VIP exit door for him, airport sources said Friday.

Thrissur (Kerala), May 24 (IANS) Ace Malayalam comedian and character artiste Kalabhavan Mani surrendered to police Friday and was presented in a court which released him on bail.

New Delhi, May 24 (IANS) India does not depend on short-term borrowings from the US and if the US withdraws its stimulus packages, it will not impact capital inflows in India, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said here Friday.

London, May 24 (IANS) A British teacher who spent two years trying to seduce a male pupil less than half her age has been banned from every school in the country.

Mumbai, May 24 (IANS) Filmmaker Anil Sharma, whose "Singh Sahab The Great" is almost ready, says the Sunny Deol starrer is slated for Oct 11 release, two days before Dussehra.

New Delhi, May 24 (IANS) The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Friday sought a report from Uttar Pradesh Police over five women being assaulted in Lalitpur district.

Hyderabad/New Delhi, May 24 (IANS) Another bookie was arrested Friday in the Indian Premier League (IPL) spot fixing scandal from Hyderabad, Delhi Police sources said.

London, May 24 (IANS) Children accessing pornography are more likely to have sex at a younger age and engage in "risky behaviours", a British report has warned.

Mumbai, May 24 (IANS) For her role of a schoolgirl in "Raanjhanaa", Sonam Kapoor took inspiration from Jaya Bachchan's popular character in hit movie "Guddi", which too revolved around a schoolgoing teenager.