Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi denied Thursday that payments to the Taliban in Afghanistan were authorized to protect Italian soldiers deployed there. The accusation, published by the London Times, is "baseless," his office said in a written statement. "Berlusconi's government has never authorized nor allowed any form of money payment in favor of members of the Taliban insurgency, nor does it have any knowledge of these types of initiatives enacted by the previous government. "As a way of proving this, ...

British singer Leona Lewis was "understandably shaken" after a man attacked her during a book signing in central London Wednesday afternoon, a spokeswoman for her record label said. A 29-year-old man was arrested after he punched Lewis at the Waterstones bookstore in Piccadilly Circus at 4:36 p.m. (10:36 a.m. ET), according to a Scotland Yard statement. She was signing copies of her new autobiography "Dreams" when the "unprovoked attack" happened, said Sarah Weinstein Dennison of the RCA Music Group. "The ...

"I love the pre-Raphaelites!" gushes Jenny , with the unself-conscious exuberance of a bright 16-year-old. The star pupil at an lite London girls' school, Jenny has her eyes on Oxford, but can't help giving a longing glance at the world of luxe, of fine art and good restaurants, that she is mad to enter. Admission to the dolce vita is the apple held out by her new friend David , a suave businessman twice her age. He, in turn, ...

Like those of its competitors in New York or London, the sleek glass and steel offices of media company Rotana are filled with preening attitude and fashion-conscious staffers: assistants teeter in shoes that might have absorbed much of their monthly paycheck; executives parade the halls in power suits and pencil skirts. But Rotana isn't in New York or London; it's in Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia, a country in which women normally adhere to a strict dress code in ...

New research suggests penicillin is becoming obsolete, and antibiotic resistance could lead to a "major health crisis" unless governments act to promote research into new drugs. Antibiotics such as penicillin have been key to the decline of infectious diseases over the last 60 years, but bacteria are becoming increasingly resistant to existing drugs. That means many antibiotics are no longer effective at combating common diseases, and a lack of research into new drugs means there is a dire ...

In a sign of the growing importance of the Asian economies, HSBC announced that Michael Geoghegan, the group chief executive, will move from London to Hong Kong next year.

Over the past 20 years, robotics have revolutionized surgery, and new innovations are continuing to push the boundaries of medicine. Mike Rustic, senior lecturer at the mechanical engineering department at Imperial College, London, says machines such as the "da Vinci" system have had a huge impact on surgery. The "da Vinci" first appeared in 1991 and lets surgeons carry out keyhole surgery remotely, allowing them to control robot arms from a console that also provides a three-dimensional image of the ...

A worldwide network of fraudsters conned thousands of people into buying fake golf clubs on eBay, a London court has heard. In allegedly the largest fraud uncovered by the online auction site, the counterfeit clubs, as well as clothing and other golf accessories, were sold "on a scale, it is believed, has never been seen before," prosecutors told Snaresbrook Crown Court. The mastermind behind the million dollar operation, Greg Bellchambers, from east London, has already admitted fraud and conspiracy. His ...

Manganese Bronze, the maker of the classic London taxi and a former niche player in Coventry's once booming car-making arena, is now the last car company in the city and enjoys the curious status of being the biggest London-listed car maker by volume. However, it is struggling with the recession. Production is down to 12 vehicles a day during a four-day week in the UK and is barely at break even. Priced between 30,000 and 34,000, they are not cheap. ...

The worst snowstorm to hit Britain in 18 years forced the cancellation of more than 650 flights at London's Heathrow airport Monday and shut down the city's bus network, partially paralyzing the British capital. Heathrow, one of the busiest transport hubs in the world, closed both its runways for more than two hours Monday morning and operated with just one for the rest of the morning, according to BAA, the company which runs it. London City airport is ...