World - Britain

LOCH LOMOND, Scotland (AFP) - Martin Kaymer will tee off at this week's British Open as one of the hottest players in world golf.

LONDON (AFP) - Prime Minister Gordon Brown has come under renewed pressure over Britain's military involvement in Afghanistan after a surge in troop fatalities which overtook the death toll in Iraq.

LONDON (AFP) - A key adviser to Prime Minister Gordon Brown has contracted swine flu and was banned from attending the G8 summit in Italy, reports said late Sunday.

BIRMINGHAM (AFP) - Controversial British sprinter Dwain Chambers withdrew from the 200m at Sunday's British trials for the World Athletics Championships.

LONDON - President Barack Obama waded into Britain's debate over the war in Afghanistan, calling Britain's contribution critically important in the struggle to prevent terrorists from establishing a stronghold in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

LONDON - Two British tabloids quote LaToya Jackson as saying she believes her brother Michael Jackson was murdered as part of a conspiracy to steal his fortune.

KABUL (AFP) - Mainly British and Afghan troops have killed up to 200 insurgents in a major assault on Taliban strongholds in southern Afghanistan launched three weeks ago, the Afghan interior ministry said Sunday.

LONDON (AFP) - Former Prime Minister Tony Blair insisted Sunday that preparations for the 2012 Olympics in London are ahead of schedule.

PHOENIX - British Airways is flying a team of engineers from London to Phoenix to inspect a Boeing 747 that filled with smoke before takeoff, forcing hundreds of passengers to escape on the plane's emergency slides.

VANCOUVER, Canada (AFP) - Japan's Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko were Saturday touring Canada's vast western province of British Columbia after receiving a warm welcome from Japanese-Canadian residents.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Lawmakers loyal to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr held up a vote on Saturday to approve a deal allowing British troops to remain in Iraq longer than previously agreed to help the local navy protect oil platforms.

LONDON - Britain's Big Ben is marking its 150th birthday with a celebration in London on Saturday.

LONDON (AFP) - Stocks in London ended the week lower on Friday as investor confidence was shaken by an IEA report which predicted little recovery this year from the financial crisis.

LONDON (AFP) - London's Big Ben celebrates the 150th anniversary of its first chiming on Saturday.

LONDON (AFP) - Energy firm Centrica said it had tabled a 1.3 billion pound bid for North Sea gas company Venture Production.

LONDON (AFP) - Jacqui Smith, who quit as home secretary last month amid a scandal over MPs' expenses, said in an interview she might never live down having claimed for porn.

LONDON/L'AQUILA, Italy (Reuters) - Britain said on Friday eight soldiers had been killed in Afghanistan, its worst death toll in a 24-hour period, and Prime Minister Gordon Brown said troops faced a "very hard summer" battling insurgents.

L'AQUILA, Italy (Reuters) - Britain said on Friday it had lost eight soldiers in Afghanistan in the space of 24 hours, and Prime Minister Gordon Brown said troops faced a "very hard summer," suggesting it should brace itself for more losses.