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By Lavinia Mo HONG KONG (Reuters) - The new H7N9 bird flu virus can be transmitted between mammals not only via direct contact but also in airborne droplets, and may be capable of spreading from person to person, Chinese and American researchers have found. A study published in the journal Science and presented at a briefing in Hong Kong on Friday found that three ferrets - an animal often used for research on flu - that were in the same cage as ferrets infected with H7N9 had contracted the disease. ...

By Peter Griffiths LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's security services faced questions on Friday over whether they could have done more to prevent the murder of a soldier hacked to death in a busy London street after it emerged that his suspected killers were known to intelligence officers. Suspects Michael Adebolajo, 28 and Michael Adebowale, 22, are under guard in hospital after being shot and arrested by police after the murder of 25-year-old Afghan war veteran Lee Rigby on Wednesday. They have not yet been charged. ...

By Silvia Antonioli LONDON (Reuters) - Mid-sized producer Jindal Steel and Power hopes to quadruple steel output by 2016 to cash in on an infrastructure boom in the world's second most populous country and is also in talks to buy mining assets in West Africa. V. R. Sharma, head of steel operations at one of India's largest producers, told Reuters he was targeting a rise in output to 16 million tonnes per year by 2016 from 4 million now thanks to new steelmaking plants in India and Oman. ...

By Sarah Marsh BERLIN (Reuters) - Blood-red bricks of wax are shifted by conveyor belts up metal chutes towards the centre of an atrium before thudding down and splattering like entrails, in a monumental new installation created by artist Anish Kapoor for his new show in Berlin. A giant, dark sun-like red disk hovers above the ever-growing heaps of wax splodges in "Symphony for a Beloved Sun", which opens Kapoor's first major exhibit in Berlin, running until November 24 in the Martin Gropius Bau exhibition hall. ...

By Alexandria Sage CANNES (Reuters) - America's immigration debate finds echos in a period drama that premiered at the Cannes film festival on Friday about a Polish woman who arrives at Ellis Island and fights to survive in 1920s New York. "The Immigrant" features French Oscar winner Marion Cotillard as the immigrant Ewa, speaking English and Polish in the film, with Joaquin Phoenix and Jeremy Renner as the two men with whom she becomes entangled as she is forced into prostitution. ...

By Mike Davidson CANNES (Reuters) - An Iranian director who was jailed for anti-government propaganda in 2010 emerged at the Cannes film festival on Friday to premiere a new film about state oppression that he shot in secret in his home country. Mohammad Rasoulof was found guilty of "actions and propaganda against the system" after trying to make a documentary about the unrest that followed the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009. He was jailed for six years and banned from making films and leaving Iran for 20 years. ...

By Leah Schnurr NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell for a third day on Friday, putting indexes on track for their first negative week since mid-April, on lingering concern the U.S. central bank may scale back its stimulus measures to support the economy. Still, losses were mild by midday, with a 4 percent gain in Procter & Gamble helping both the Dow and the S&P 500. A jump in April orders for long-lasting manufactured goods, such as refrigerators and toasters, painted an encouraging economic picture. ...

LONDON (Reuters) - British broadcaster ITV on Friday became the latest media outlet to have one of its Twitter feeds hacked by anonymous supporters of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, just days after Twitter beefed up security to prevent such attacks. Twitter Inc said on Wednesday that it had started rolling out an optional two-step authentication regime for its users to thwart hackers. The Associated Press, Britain's Financial Times and Daily Telegraph newspapers have all previously succumbed to attacks from the self-styled Syrian Electronic Army. ...

By Gregory Blachier PARIS (Reuters) - Making his comeback after missing the last two grand slams, Rafa Nadal probably expects a warm reception next week when he returns to Roland Garros - an event which is supposed to be one of the summer highlights of the French sporting calendar. Yet the Spaniard, in pursuit of a record-extending eighth title, is likely to be greeted by cold, grey and damp weather and few would blame him if he turned up at the French Open with thermals covering his bulging muscles. ...

By Victoria Bryan and Keith Weir FRANKFURT/LONDON (Reuters) - German sportswear makers Adidas and Puma renew their own decades-old rivalry when soccer teams Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund meet in Europe's Champions League Final at Wembley on Saturday. Adidas is the long-standing kit supplier to Bayern and owns a stake of around nine percent in the Bavarian club, while Puma became the sportswear partner of Dortmund a year ago. ...

By Mike Collett LONDON (Reuters) - The Europa League, long regarded as the impoverished relation of the glitzy Champions League, was boosted on Friday by UEFA's announcement that the winners would qualify for the elite competition from 2015. In an attempt to increase the prestige of its secondary competition, UEFA also said 16 teams rather than the current six would qualify directly for the group stages. ...

By Alan Baldwin MONACO, May 24 (Reuters) - Tailenders Caterham could have been one of Formula One's midfield teams by now had they not tried to be too clever last season, owner Tony Fernandes said on Friday. Speaking to reporters at the Monaco Grand Prix, social highlight of the calendar and sixth race of the year, the Malaysian described 2012 as "a blip, a disappointment' for a team still seeking their first point in more than three seasons. ...

By Steve Slater and Matt Scuffham LONDON (Reuters) - HSBC called on regulators to speed up industry reform as its shareholders urged Europe's biggest bank to take a lead in cutting pay and criticised it for compliance failings and aiding tax avoidance. HSBC Chairman Douglas 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. ...

Kolkata, May 24 (IANS) Keeper-willower Dishant Yagnik played a cameo as Rajasthan Royals rode on a late batting surge to post a decent 165/6 in their Indian Premier League playoff at the Eden Gardens here Friday.

New Delhi, May 24 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Friday quashed an FIR and summoning order against three Delhi Jal Board employees, accused of gangraping an executive working in a private company.

Mumbai, May 24 (IANS) Filmmaker Nikhil Adwani, who is gearing up for his film "D-Day" says Mumbai bomb blast "affected" his life and that inspired him to make this film.

Kolkata, May 24 (IANS) Rajasthan Royals scored 165 for six against Mumbai Indiansin the Indian Premier League's (IPL) second qualifier at the Eden Gardens here Friday.

London, May 24 (IANS) Britain had to scramble fighter jets Friday to escort a Pakistani International Airlines (PIA) plane down to land after it was diverted from Manchester. Later, two people were arrested from aboard the aircraft on suspicion of endangering the flight.

London, May 24 (IANS) Britain had to scramble fighter jets Friday for escorting a Pakistani International Airlines (PIA) plane after it was diverted from Manchester. Later, two people were arrested on suspicion of endangering the aircraft's flight.

Chandigarh, May 24 (IANS) A court in Harayana's Sonipat town Friday sentenced a man to 10 years rigorous imprisonment for the rape of a first-year law student of Haryana's all-women university, Bhagat Phool Singh Women's University.

New Delhi, May 24 (IANS) Hours after its spokesperson demanded resignation of Indian cricket board chief N. Srinivasan over his son-in-law's name figuring in the investigations into the IPL spot fixing scandal, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Friday sought to distance itself from the demand.

Darjeeling, May 24 (IANS) The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) Friday called an indefinite shutdown in north Bengal's Darjeeling hills from Sunday to protest the arrest of an elected member of the hill development body for alleged involvement in arson and violence.

Washington, May 24 (IANS) Indian Ambassador Nirupama Rao has hailed Indian-American Srikanth 'Sri' Srinivasan's Senate confirmation as a top US judge as yet another proof of the Indian community's "sterling contributions to the US society and India-US relations".

Moscow, May 24 (IANS/RIA Novosti) A male polar bear in Russia's Siberia region is to be transferred from one zoo to another in a bid to produce offspring, a zoo official said.

Kolkata, May 24 (IANS) Actor Deepika Padukone finds 'Dil Jumping Zapak' - the peppy theme song of the sixth season of Indian Premier League - "most catchy" of all the IPL tunes.

New Delhi, May 24 (IANS) A Delhi court sent five spot fixing scam accused, including two former cricketers, to judicial custody till June 4.