UNITED KINGDOM

Britain's Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L), 43 percent owned by the UK government, will cut 200 jobs in its general insurance division by the end of January in a shake-up of back office functions, the bank said on Tuesday.

Actor Robin Williams may portray singer Susan Boyle from Britain's Got Talent in a film about her life and how she became famous around the world.

Retailers who sell children violent or pornographic videos will be immune from prosecution for the next three months after the discovery of a government blunder 25 years ago.

Toyota Motor Corp , the world's biggest automaker, will cut its global production capacity by 10 percent, or 1 million vehicles, the Nikkei business daily reported.

Royal Bank of Scotland's talks to sell some of its Asian assets to Standard Chartered remain in full swing, sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday after a report they were on the rocks.

General Motors' chief negotiator in the sale of Opel will on Tuesday meet a task force created by the German government to discuss the U.S. carmaker's plans for the European unit, a German politician said.

An Iranian prosecutor called on Tuesday for maximum punishment of a senior reformer for acting against national security, a crime punishable by death, in the fourth mass trial of moderates after the disputed election.

A widening price gap, fuelled by a weak pound, is behind the current shortage of some medicines in Britain as more drugs are exported by middlemen for profit, the pharmaceutical industry said on Tuesday.

General Motors may make clear within the next 24 hours whether it wants to keep its European carmaker Opel rather than sell it, a German labor representative said on Tuesday.

General Motors may make clear, within the next 24 hours, whether it wants to keep its European carmaker Opel rather than sell it, a German labor representative said on Tuesday.

The Aussie dollar followed the local equity market higher during yesterdays early morning session peaking above the 84 cent mark heading into the release of July New Motor Vehicle Sales which was expected to be a non event.

When I'm backpacking I always meet people who are travelling to London, but there is so much more to England than the nation's capital. We may be a tiny and rather compact country but often travellers seem to think that England is London.

General Motors Co is considering keeping its Opel business in Europe instead of selling it by winning billions of dollars in aid from the U.S. and European governments, the Financial Times reported on Monday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expects no breakthroughs at a meeting this week with a U.S. peace envoy, but hopes talks with the Palestinians can resume within two months, a spokesman said on Monday.

After experiencing some strong selling pressure in Asia on Friday the Aussie dollar held onto support below 0.8220 to bounce back in aggressive fashion.

Nazis and Quentin Tarantino proved a lethal combination at the worldwide box office as the bad-boy director topped the weekend charts with his violent World War Two movie

New York's heat and humidity are going through the roof as singer/guitarist Alex Turner and drummer Matt Helders hunker down to face the media at an Italian eatery in the heart of the Meatpacking District, but that's not about to stop them from ordering hot tea. No wonder Arctic Monkeys' label boss calls them

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi hugged the convicted Lockerbie bomber and promised more cooperation with Britain in gratitude for his release, while London and Washington condemned his hero's welcome home.

A girl has been sent to jail for cyberbullying in an effort to warn others there will be a price to pay if this behavior online persists.

General Motors Co said on Friday its board had not picked a winning bidder for Opel after convening to discuss the automaker's options, leaving the fate of its German unit still uncertain after months of high-stakes negotiations.

British utility Centrica won EU regulatory approval on Friday for its acquisition of North Sea gas company Venture Production, removing a barrier to some shareholders accepting the deal.