UNITED KINGDOM

Growth in the service sectors in the United States and Europe hit its highest in five years in February, suggesting economic growth is accelerating though inflationary pressures are building.

The DreamWorks studio has optioned movie rights to a pair of books about WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and his controversial Website that is bent on revealing government secrets, company officials said on Thursday.

A 350-year-old notebook which documents the trials of women convicted of witchcraft in England during the 17th century has been published online.

Muammar Gaddafi struck at rebel control of a key Libyan coastal road for a second day on Thursday but received a warning he would be held to account at The Hague for suspected crimes by his security forces.

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has reportedly accepted an offer of mediation from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez while an opposition group has rejected it, according to a report.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has launched an appeal against a ruling that he should be extradited from Britain to Sweden over alleged sex crimes, his lawyer said on Thursday.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp took a huge step toward securing its prized $14 billion buyout of satellite broadcaster BSkyB when Britain accepted its proposals to ease competition concerns.

Gold and Silver Bullion prices fell sharply London lunchtime on Thursday, bouncing 1.5% and 2.3% below this week's record Dollar highs after European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet said a Eurozone rate rise is possible next month.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp took a huge step toward securing its prized $14 billion buyout of BSkyB when Britain accepted its proposals to alleviate competition concerns.

The irony can't be missed when the scion of a tiny sub-Saharan country, which has the dubious distinction for having the highest child mortality rate in the world and abysmal public health and education systems, splurges ill-gotten money on a multi-million dollar super-luxury yacht.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Thursday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.7 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.6 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.7 percent at 5.23 a.m. EST.

The Ministry of Defense United Kingdom has released thousands of files with details of UFO sightings and an alien abduction previously classified files documenting sightings of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) by the military and members of the public dating back to the 1950s.

Britain may approve News Corp's $12.5 billion buy-out of BSkyB this week, two sources familiar with the situation said on Wednesday, forcing Rupert Murdoch's group to spin off TV news channel Sky News.

Britain, France and Tunisia have started airlift thousands of Egyptians stuck at the Libya-Tunisia border to safety in Cairo, in response to pleas from the United Nations (UN) to prevent a humanitarian crisis.

A Northern Ireland software company that supplies services to major financial institutions said on Wednesday it was creating 360 new jobs, a rare piece of good news in an economy squeezed by public services cuts. First Derivatives, based in the border city of Newry and currently employing 550 people, is to expand using 4.3 million

Ghana will receive its first payment for oil flows later this month, the country's finance minister said on Wednesday after parliament passed a long-delayed oil revenue management bill in a unanimous vote.

U.K. Telecommunications Regulator Ofcom has found that broadband speeds are often half of what is advertised.

Profit at Standard Chartered <2888.HK> jumped 19 percent in 2010 and the Asia-focused bank said it was off to a record start this year as China, India and other Asian markets boomed.

Scientists have created the world’s most powerful optical microscope that may provide new opportunities to see live viruses.

Stock index futures were slightly higher on Wednesday, stabilizing a day after a surge in oil prices led to a heavy sell-off.

Stock index futures were slightly higher on Wednesday, stabilizing a day after a surge in oil prices led to a heavy sell-off.