UNITED KINGDOM

U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil Corp is mulling a 7 billion pound ($10.9 billion) takeover of Kurdistan-focused explorer Gulf Keystone Petroleum, the Independent on Sunday reported.

Bradley Manning, the suspected source of the largest leak of classified U.S. documents in history, spent his 24th birthday in military court on Saturday listening to investigators detail how they pieced together the case against him.

Christmas just came early for Justin Bieber fans -- or at least, the Justin Bieber fans who watch TLC.

Britney Spears is engaged to be married, but little is known about her fiance and onetime agent. As the couple celebrate in Las Vegas and Spears shows off her engagement ring, here are five things to know about Jason Trawick, from his influence on Spears' personal life and why he quit as her agent to Kevin Federline's reaction to the upcoming wedding.

United are lacking steel in the midfield.

Ian Meldrum, Australia's top music journalist and a friend of singer Elton John is in critical condition after falling from a ladder while hanging Christmas decorations, doctors said on Friday.

When Roman calls, Kate goes to work. Holidays can wait.

Credit rating agency Fitch told the Eurozone on Friday it thinks a comprehensive solution to the bloc's debt crisis is beyond reach, as it put an number of the bloc's economies including Italy on watch for potential downgrades.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, one of the “Big Four” accounting firms, is being investigated by a U.K. regulator over possible accounting scheme in the firm’s auditing of investment bank Barclays Capital Securities Ltd. In January, the FSA fined Barclays Capital £1.1 million ($1.7 million) for putting client money at risk over an eight year period.

The ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime has finally opened pre-orders for its Tegra 3 tablet in the U.K, signaling to a U.S. release date in the coming week.

Baroin told the French parliament that Britain is becoming “marginalized” in Europe.

Simon Cowell, who has served as the acrid judge on the popular television shows American Idol and The X Factor, will have a biography of himself published in spring of 2012.

Apple Inc is famous for relying on low-cost Asian manufacturers to both source and assemble its popular gadgets, but the consumer device giant recently started receiving a critical component in its iPad and iPhones from closer to home - Texas.

With the January transfer window ever so closer, reports have picked up regarding Arsenal's potential purchases.

European shares were slightly higher on Friday at mid-day amid thin trading as miners tracked rising metal prices, offset by lingering concerns over the Eurozone debt crisis and reservations ahead of U.S. inflation data.

Christopher Hitchens, a British-born journalist and cultural critic, died on Thursday at the age of 62 from complications of cancer of the esophagus.

Policy paralysis, corruption scandals and a government fearful of political backlash to any bold moves have worsening domestic finances, and Incredible India is no longer incredible.

American firebrand columnist, author and activist, Christopher Hitchens, is dead. However, his fans and admirers are keeping his memory alive by mourning his loss on online networking Web sites, like Facebook and Twitter.

South Korea has imposed fresh sanctions involving limiting of financial transactions on Iran to force it to scrap its suspected nuclear weapons programme.

Global stocks and commodities, including much-battered gold prices, rose Friday on fresh evidence that neither Eurozone troubles nor Asian weakness are deterring U.S. economic growth.

The A5 processor used in Apple’s iPhone 4S and iPad 2 is reportedly manufactured by rival Korean electronics giant Samsung from its factory in Austin.