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By Herbert Lash NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global equity markets drifted lower on Friday as investors were beset by worries that central bank stimulus may be curtailed, but the dollar recovered against the euro to trade almost flat after better-than-expected U.S. durable goods data for April. Wall Street opened lower, heading toward its first weekly decline since mid-April, and European stocks also fell after testimony by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke earlier this week sparked speculation the Fed will soon trim its bond buying. ...

By Patrick Johnston SINGAPORE (Reuters) - British boy band One Direction has swept the inaugural awards recognising the most popular people in social media globally, coming top in four out of 10 categories at a star-studded ceremony in Singapore. One Direction was named most popular music group, most popular UK musicians, most popular in the UK, and most popular in west Europe, at the Social Star Awards, but did not show up to collect their prizes, sending their thanks by videolink. ...

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 Belinda Goldsmith CANNES (Reuters) - Actors and directors gathered for the world's leading movie showcase in Cannes this week said television was increasingly luring top talent and should no longer be seen as artistically inferior to the big screen. TV series like "The Wire," "Homeland", "Mad Men," "The Sopranos" and "Game of Thrones", which have won critical and commercial success, were cited for breaking down the division between movies and TV, giving audiences innovative viewing. ...

By Estelle Shirbon LONDON (Reuters) - A tweet by a British parliamentarian's wife that pointed her 56,000 followers to online traffic wrongly naming a retired politician as a paedophile was defamatory, even though it did not spell out the false allegation. That was the judgment of the High Court in London on Friday in Britain's mostly closely watched Twitter libel case, brought by Alistair McAlpine, an elderly ally of late Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, against Sally Bercow, the flamboyant wife of the speaker of parliament. ...

LONDON (Reuters) - British police arrested two men on a Pakistan International Airlines flight on Friday on suspicion of "endangerment of an aircraft" after it was escorted to a different airport by fighter jets. The plane had been flying from Lahore in Pakistan to Manchester, before it was diverted to Stansted, in Essex, southern England. (Reporting by Kate Holton and Brenda Goh; Editing by Peter Griffiths)

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell at the open on Friday, putting Wall Street on track for its first weekly decline since mid April, amid concern the U.S. central bank may scale back its support to the economy. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 61.13 points, or 0.40 percent, to 15,233.37. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 8.19 points, or 0.50 percent, to 1,642.32. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 18.98 points, or 0.55 percent, to 3,440.44. (Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

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. ...

Mumbai, May 24 (IANS) Jet Airways Friday said its shareholders have approved the company's plans to offload 24 percent stake to Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways for around $379 million (Rs.2,058 crore).

Mumbai, May 24 (IANS) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday asked the capital market regulator SEBI to root out the "pernicious disease" of insider trading, saying the future effectiveness of the institution would depend on this.

Mumbai, May 24 (IANS) A court Friday granted police the custody of Bollywood actor Vindu Dara Singh Randhawa and two others, allegedly involved in the IPL spot-fixing scam, till May 28.

New Delhi, May 24 (IANS) In a report with recommendations for Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL) and the Indian government, Human Rights Watch said the Mozambique government and foreign companies' work in resettling communities displaced by coal mining has "serious shortcomings".

Kolkata, May 24 (IANS) CCTV cameras prying all-around, strict vigil on movement around players' dressing rooms and heightened security -- the Eden Gardens stood fortified as it hosted the playoff match of the IPL Friday amid the raging spot fixing scam.

Shimla, May 24 (IANS) Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh Friday submitted a memorandum to visiting President Pranab Mukherjee, seeking additional central financial assistance to overcome a shortfall of Rs.10,725 crore.

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

Mumbai, May 24 (IANS) Undeveloped corporate debt market is a weakness in India's financial system and high fiscal deficit is further complicating the problem, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Friday.

New York, May 24 (IANS) Actress Amanda Bynes was arrested at her apartment here for possession of marijuana. She even threw the evidence out of the window, reports tmz.com.

Mumbai, May 24 (IANS) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday called for increased efforts by the government and financial regulators to channelise domestic savings into financial assets.

Hull (England), May 24 (IANS) India's Dipika Pallikal fought hard before losing to local hope Laura Massaro in the pre-quarterfinals of the Allam British Open Squash Championships here.

New Delhi, May 24 (IANS) The first meeting of the BJP's reconstituted national executive next month will work out strategy for an effective campaign against the UPA government in its last year in office and discuss preparations for the forthcoming assembly polls, party vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said here Friday.

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.