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MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's oldest human rights group went to court on Friday to try to stop state prosecutors forcing it to register as a "foreign agent" under a law it says is intended by President Vladimir Putin to silence dissent. Memorial, which has fought political repression since Soviet times, refuses to comply with the law which critics describe as a crude attempt to reassert Putin's authority after tens of thousands called for him to quit during protests last year. ...

By Ian Chua SYDNEY (Reuters) - Asian stocks fell to one-month lows on Friday and the yen rebounded broadly as extreme volatility in the Nikkei kept investors on edge. The Nikkei has soared nearly 70 percent since November, off the back of aggressive fiscal and monetary policies to revive the economy, leaving the market susceptible to profit taking. It fell more than 7 percent on Thursday after Chinese data raised doubts about the health of the global economy, but it found support on Friday from investors looking for bargains. ...

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Shares in Wockhardt Ltd plummeted as much as 19.3 percent on Friday to their lowest since August 2012, continuing to reel for the second day, after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration imposed an "import alert" on a plant operated by the generic drugmaker. Wockhardt shares had already slumped by their daily limit of 20 percent on Thursday on the U.S. FDA action. An "import alert", effectively a ban, results in detention without physical examination of drugs from firms that have not met so-called good manufacturing practices, according to the FDA website. ...

Reuters Market Eye - The BSE Sensex gains 0.19 percent and the broader Nifty is up 0.27 percent, in a volatile session after four days of declines. Tata Steel Ltd shares rise 4 percent after its January-March quarterly operating profit beat analysts' estimates. Larsen & Toubro Ltd climbs 3 percent as sell-off in the previous two sessions were seen as overdone. L&T shares slipped 12 percent in the last two sessions on lingering disappointment over its January-March profit and outlook. ...

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Shareholders in Jet Airways approved an agreed sale of a 24 percent stake in the airline to Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways, a senior executive at the Indian carrier said on Friday. Jet Airways, however, deferred seeking shareholder approval for a new set of "Articles of Association" as it awaits regulatory clarity, Company Secretary Arun Kanakal told Reuters after a shareholders' meeting. Etihad, in April, agreed to acquire a 24 percent stake in Jet for $370 million, giving it a bigger foothold in the fast-growing Indian market. ...

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A magnitude 8.2 earthquake struck off Russia's eastern coast on Friday, briefly prompting a tsunami scare but causing no casualties or substantial damage, Russian emergency authorities said. The epicentre of the quake was located at a depth of 385 miles (620 km) in the Sea of Okhotsk, 244 miles (390 km) west of the nearest city, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the U.S. Geological Survey said. ...

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Tata Steel Ltd shares rose as much as 6.65 percent on Friday after its January-March quarterly operating profit beat analyst estimates. Brokerage IDFC estimated Tata Steel posted an adjusted standalone operating profit of 33 billion rupees in the previous quarter, compared to its forecast of 27.6 billion rupees. Tata Steel shares gained even as it posted a bigger-than-expected net loss, following a writedown. Shares at the steel maker were up 4.14 percent as of 12:23 p.m. (Reporting by Abhishek Vishnoi; Editing by Rafael Nam)

Reuters Market Eye - Dollar sales from foreign banks in the morning are sparking talk of inflows related to Unilever's open offer for its India unit. Unilever Plc plans to pay up to $5.4 billion to raise its stake in its Indian subsidiary Hindustan Unilever Ltd . The open offer opens June 21 and closes July 4. HSBC is the manager to the open offer. The rupee is currently trading at 55.65/66 from its Thursday close of 55.57/58 as the USD/INR pair was supported by dollar buying by a private refiner. (Reporting by Subhadip Sircar)

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's leading online social network, VKontakte, was blacklisted in error and a ban on distributing content inside the country imposed earlier on Friday has already been lifted, according to the communications regulator. "This was a mistake that resulted from human error," a spokesman for the regulator Roskomnadzor was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying. (Reporting by Douglas Busvine; editing by Elizabeth Piper)

TOKYO (Reuters) - The Nikkei share average rose on Friday in turbulent trade, stablising somewhat after a 7.3 percent dive in the previous session, but the extreme volatility and worries the bull-run may be running out of steam sidelined most buyers. The Nikkei rose 0.9 percent to 14,612.45 after dropping as much as 3.5 percent to 13,981.52 in the afternoon. In morning trade, it rose as high as 15,007.50, as investors picked up some of the beaten-down stocks after the market's largest one-day drop in two years on Thursday. The broader Topix gained 0.5 percent to 1,194.08. ...

Reuters Market Eye - Shares in Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd fall 3 percent after its unit Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd posted a lower-than-expected January-March net profit, dealers say. New York-listed Taro said quarterly net profit rose to $49.2 million from $47.3 million a year earlier. Earnings were impacted by settlements and loss contingencies of $22 million, which the company said was "related to certain price reporting litigation". Taro did not provide more specifics about the litigation in a statement that came overnight India time. (Reporting by Abhishek Vishnoi)

By Chris Francescani NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. actress Amanda Bynes was arrested in New York City on Thursday after she allegedly threw a bong out the window of a midtown Manhattan apartment building, a police official said. New York police received a call on Thursday night from an employee at the 47th Street high-rise building where Bynes lives, said NYPD spokesman Detective Brian Sessa. The employee reported that someone was smoking marijuana in the lobby. When police arrived, they were directed to Bynes' apartment, where the actress invited police in, Sessa said. ...

By Matt Spetalnick and Warren Strobel WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Twelve years after the "war on terror" began, President Barack Obama wants to pull the United States back from some of the most controversial aspects of its global fight against Islamist militants. In a major policy speech on Thursday, Obama narrowed the scope of the targeted-killing drone campaign against al Qaeda and its allies and took steps toward closing the Guantanamo Bay military prison in Cuba. He acknowledged the past use of "torture" in U.S. ...

London, May 24 (IANS) Actress Alice Eve says she believes aliens are real and astronauts have seen them.

New Delhi, May 24 (IANS) Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, co-owner of Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), will appear on "Extraaa Innings T20" during the cricket extravaganza's final face-off to promote his forthcoming film "Chennai Express".

Los Angeles, May 24 (IANS) Pop star Justin Bieber distrusts people so much that he reportedly wants guests to sign a confidentiality agreement before attending his parties.

Mumbai, May 24 (IANS) If some are "heartbroken", others are disappointed with the sport getting tainted -- Bollywood celebrities are candidly expressing their discontent over spot-fixing that has cast a shadow over the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).

Mumbai, May 24 (IANS) The hoopla over Indian celebrities and films at Cannes overshadows the harsh reality that it has been 19 years since any Indian film has made it to the Palme d'Or or the Golden Palm section of the prestigious film fest.

Bangalore, May 24 (IANS) Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah seems to have raised hopes of better times for this capital as he has kept with himself the Bangalore and IT departments, apart from his pet subject - finance.

Washington, May 24 (IANS) Scientists have come up with a non-invasive and more effective way to detect oral cancer, says a study.

Mumbai, May 24 (IANS) A benchmark index of Indian equities markets was trading flat in pre-afternoon trade Friday -- marginally up 0.16 percent.

Agra, May 24 (IANS) Industrial growth in the 10,000 sq. km. eco-sensitive Taj Trapezium Zone has come to a halt, forcing large-scale migration of rural labour to urban hubs.

Chandigarh, May 24 (IANS) Death, funeral pyre, blood-laced, cheap entertainers, breast-beating, power-drunken mind and obituary - these are the words top politicians in Punjab are using to hurl invectives at each other in a virtual free for all.

New Delhi, May 24 (IANS) Director Ritesh Batra's debut film "Dabba" (Lunchbox) has won the critics week viewers choice award at the 66th Cannes International Film Festival.

New Delhi, May 24 (IANS) Minister of State for Home Affairs R.P.N. Singh Friday said it would not be right to ban the Indian Premier League (IPL) in view of fresh revelations in the spot fixing scandal, and promised to act tough against guilty.

New Delhi, May 24 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Friday staged a demonstration near Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit's residence here demanding her resignation over alleged misuse of public money ahead of the 2008 assembly polls.