Incoming EU president Herman Van Rompuy kept a low profile as the 27-nation bloc's leaders faced flak for picking him and a little-known British peer to lead a revamped Europe on the world stage.

More than 100 people, mostly British tourists, have been trapped in the ice off Antarctica aboard a Russian ice-breaker cruise ship but are in no danger, a Russian shipping official said on Monday.

Scotland Yard makes arrest after its longest serial rapist investigation. In one of Britain's longest running hunts for a serial rapist, Scotland Yard detectives charged a 52-year-old man Monday with a string of nearly a dozen assaults and burglaries.

Popular children's author Enid Blyton was banned from the BBC for nearly 30 years because officials thought her work "lacked literary value", letters from the broadcaster's archives showed Monday.

LONDON (Reuters) - British actor Edward Woodward, best known for roles in 1973 cult classic "The Wicker Man" and U.S. television series "The Equalizer," died Monday aged 79.

"Ross Brawn is the boss of the team and it would not be smart for us to dictate to him anything like a driver decision," Dieter Zetsche, chairman of Mercedes' parent Daimler, told reporters Monday.

SARAROGHA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani forces have captured most main Taliban bases in their offensive in South Waziristan and will soon fan out into the rugged countryside to hunt for militants there, commanders said on Tuesday.

Russian icebreaker carrying over 100 tourists stuck in the ice around Antarctica. A Russian icebreaker carrying more than 100 tourists, scientists and journalists on a cruise around Antarctica was struggling to free itself from sea ice about 5 miles (8 kilometers) from clear water on Tuesday, a shipping company said.

The owners of Lord's denied Wednesday that they were considering selling the naming rights to the famous cricket ground.

The owners of Lord's denied Wednesday that they were considering selling the naming rights to the famous cricket ground.

The owners of Lord's denied Wednesday that they were considering selling the naming rights to the famous cricket ground.

LONDON (Reuters Life!) - Three child actors from the British television series "Outnumbered," whose performances are partly improvised, have been nominated for the British Comedy Awards.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown unveiled a crackdown on the banking industry Wednesday as part of a voter-friendly agenda designed to boost his party's chances at elections barely six months away.

LONDON (Reuters) - British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber has been re-admitted to hospital after developing a chronic infection following surgery for prostate cancer.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown unveiled a crackdown on the banking industry on Wednesday as part of a voter-friendly agenda designed to boost his party's chances at elections barely six months away.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown unveiled a crackdown on the banking industry on Wednesday as part of a voter-friendly agenda designed to boost his party's chances at elections barely six months away.

Bahrain's Rashid Ramzi has been stripped of his Beijing Games 1,500 metres gold medal for doping, Bahrain's Olympic Committee said Wednesday.

The referee who mistakenly allowed the goal that sent France to the World Cup succumbed to pressure created by FIFA, Ireland's assistant manager Liam Brady claimed on Thursday.

British supermodel Kate Moss was accused Thursday of giving the wrong message to anorexics and teenage girls when she gave her backing for a slogan encouraging them not to eat.

Supermodel Kate Moss was accused Thursday of giving the wrong message to anorexics and teenage girls when she gave her backing for a slogan encouraging them not to eat.