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By Guy Faulconbridge and Michael Holden LONDON (Reuters) - Two British men of Nigerian descent accused of hacking a soldier to death on a London street in revenge for wars in Muslim countries were known to security services, a source close to the investigation said Thursday. One man, filmed calmly justifying the killing as he stood by the body holding a knife and meat cleaver in bloodied hands, was named by acquaintances as 28-year-old Londoner Michael Adebolajo - a British-born convert to radical Islam. ...

By Belinda Goldsmith CANNES (Reuters) - Veteran comedian-actor Jerry Lewis plays a dramatic role in his first movie in 18 years, "Max Rose", which is premiering at the Cannes film festival, but showed on Thursday he had lost none of his talent for playing the clown. Lewis, 87, laughed his way through a news conference at the world's top cinema showcase with non-stop one-liners about how much he was paid for "Max Rose", his career's ups and downs and his former partner Dean Martin, who died in 1995. ...

By Tony Munroe MUMBAI (Reuters) - Shares in Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd fell as much as 10.7 percent on Thursday after majority shareholder Daiichi Sankyo Co said it believed former shareholders of the company hid information regarding U.S. regulatory probes. Last week, Ranbaxy pleaded guilty to felony charges related to drug safety and agreed to pay $500 million in civil and criminal fines under a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice. Daiichi Sankyo did not name the shareholders in its statement late on Wednesday. In 2008, Japan's No. 3 drugmaker bought 63.9 percent of Ranbaxy for $4. ...

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry stepped off the diplomatic track on Thursday and onto a West Bank street where he sampled a shawarma sandwich and a pistachio-sprinkled Palestinian sweet. In a rare gesture for a U.S. secretary of state - but a staple of U.S. political campaigns - Kerry dropped by the Samer Restaurant in the Palestinian city of Ramallah to enjoy typical Middle Eastern fare. ...

By Poornima Gupta and Padraic Halpin SAN FRANCISCO/DUBLIN (Reuters) - Apple has operated almost tax-free in Ireland since 1980, welcomed by a government keen to bring jobs to what was then one of Europe's poorest countries, former company executives and Irish officials have said. Chief Executive Tim Cook faced criticism from a Senate subcommittee in Washington on Tuesday over the iPad and iPhone maker's tax practices, which had been shrouded from full view behind secretive tax-exempt Irish-based corporate entities. ...

By Claudia Parsons NEW YORK (Reuters) - "Quomodo dicis latine life-jacket?" quipped one of the Latin-speaking passengers on a tour boat circumnavigating Manhattan on a rainy Sunday morning in May, just after the captain's safety announcement. "How do you say life-jacket in Latin?" Luckily, one of the greatest living experts in spoken Latin was on hand with the answer, instantly recalling the word used by the Roman poet Horace in his "Satires" about 2,000 years ago. ...

By Tony Jimenez VIRGINIA WATER, England (Reuters) - European Tour chief executive George O'Grady has apologised for giving an inappropriate reaction to this week's Tiger Woods-Sergio Garcia racism row. "I deeply regret using an inappropriate word in a live interview for Sky Sports for which I unreservedly apologise," O'Grady said in a statement at the PGA Championship on Thursday. The tour chief gave a television interview to Sky earlier in the day during which he said: "We accept all races on the European Tour, we take it very strongly. ...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - "Inferno," Dan Brown's latest book, shot to the top of the U.S. best-sellers list on Thursday. The list is compiled using data from independent and chain bookstores, book wholesalers and independent distributors nationwide. Hardcover Fiction Last Week 1. "Inferno" by Dan Brown (Doubleday, $29.95) - 2. "The 12th of Never" by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro (Little, Brown, $27.99) 2 3. "Dead Ever After" by Charlaine Harris (Ace, $27.95) 1 4. "Silken Prey" by John Sandford (Putnam, $27.95) 3 5. "The Hit" by David Baldacci (Grand Central, $27.99) 4 6. ...

By Lauren Tara LaCapra SALT LAKE City (Reuters) - After dozens of meetings with executives and regulators, 100,000 hours of employee training and an immeasurable amount of public grief, Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein is claiming a victory in getting his bank, and his legacy, back on track. At Goldman Sachs Group Inc' annual meeting on Thursday, Blankfein announced the culmination of a three-year review and overhaul of the bank's practices following high-profile missteps that tarnished its reputation in the aftermath of the financial crisis. ...

By Tony Jimenez VIRGINIA WATER, England (Reuters) - World number two Rory McIlroy was blown off course by unseasonally cold weather at Wentworth on Thursday, bogeying five of the last six holes to sink to a two-over 74 in the PGA Championship first round. The 24-year-old Northern Irishman made an encouraging start to the European Tour's flagship event and was three-under after 12 holes but a series of late blunders meant he walked off the 18th green a frustrated youngster. ...

LONDON (Reuters) - The Tate Britain museum bought 19th century English painter John Constable's masterpiece "Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows" for 23.1 million pounds, making it one of the most expensive British paintings ever sold. The painting, dated 1831, of the towering cathedral in the middle distance under an overcast sky shot through with a rainbow had been at risk of being sold abroad and its sale sets a record for Constable, the Tate said on Thursday. Its price is still dwarfed by Constable's contemporary rival J.M.W. Turner, whose "Modern Rome - Campo Vaccino" sold for $44. ...

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI (Reuters) - Tata Steel Ltd said it expected to take no further charges in Europe and has put no European assets up for sale, following a $1.6 billion writedown for the region in the past financial year due to weak demand. The company reported its third straight quarterly loss on Thursday, which could lead to pressure for further cost cuts and closures, especially in its older plants in Britain. Two-thirds of Tata Steel's 27 million tonne annual capacity is in Europe, where demand has fallen by almost a third since 2007. ...

By Ryan Vlastelica NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock markets worldwide fell sharply on Thursday as surprisingly weak data from China and Europe raised worries about slow growth a day after U.S. Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke broached the possibility of reducing stimulus that has buoyed investor confidence. Japanese shares were hit hardest in overnight action, with the Nikkei losing 7.3 percent, its biggest one-day fall in two years. Investors retreated to safe-haven currencies. ...

Guwahati, May 23 (IANS) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and two others are in the contest for two Rajya Sabha seats from Assam, officials said here Thursday. The poll is slated for May 30.

Kolkata, May 23 (IANS) State run Hindustan Copper Ltd Thursday announced a 36.86 percent jump in its net profit to Rs.188.09 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2013 as compared to Rs. 137.43 crore for the same period last year.

Gurgaon, May 23 (IANS) A woman employee in a private company here Thursday jumped to her death from a multi-storey building, police said, adding she left a suicide note saying she was "fed up" with her life.

Kolkata, May 23 (IANS) Mumbai Indians are hopeful of having a fit Sachin Tendulkar for their playoff against Rajasthan Royals at the Eden Gardens here Friday. The batting legend has missed his team's last three matches due to a wrist and hand injury.

New Delhi, May 23 (IANS) Leaders of the faction-ridden Delhi Congress Thursday said they will drop their differences and fight the coming assembly elections unitedly following a stern talking to by party vice president Rahul Gandhi.

Kolkata, May 23 (IANS) Riding on their Nigerian firepower, East Bengal made a hattrick of Kolkata premier division soccer league titles with a 3-2 win over arch-rivals Mohun Bagan here Thursday.

New Delhi, May 23 (IANS) The cabinet Thursday approved classical language status for Malayalam, subject to the outcome of a case in the Madras High Court, an official statement said.

Ghaziabad, May 23 (IANS) Cracking the gruesome killings of seven members of a businessman's family in Ghaziabad two days ago, Uttar Pradesh Police Thursday arrested the family's former driver who confessed to the murders, police said.

New Delhi, May 23 (IANS) The government's decision to allow quadricycles, a category of four-wheelers on Indian roads, is fraught with the danger of further deteriorating road safety and pollution, a global not-for-profit organisation said Thursday.

Mumbai, May 23 (IANS) Wholesalers, retailers and manufacturers across Maharashtra called off their month-long agitation against the local body tax (LBT) imposed by civic agencies following talks with Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan here Thursday.

New Delhi, May 23 (IANS) The Cabinet Thursday approved creation of 20,751 additional posts in the Income Tax department, at a cost of Rs.449.71 crore, to help it collect increased revenue and provide better services to tax payers, an official statement said.

New Delhi, May 23 (IANS) Delhi Police Thursday contacted their counterparts in Mumbai seeking details about the articles seized from the hotel where tainted cricketer S. Sreesanth stayed, said a police official.

Mumbai/Chennai/New Delhi, May 23 (IANS) The mess in the Indian Premier League (IPL) just got bigger as Mumbai police Thursday ordered Gurunath Meiyappan, son-in-law of Indian cricket board chief N. Srinivasan, to get in touch with them by Friday evening, while top Pakistani umpire Asad Rauf, who has been officiating in IPL matches, was removed from next month's ICC Champions Trophy.