Top executives of leading international banks were meeting the British prime minister and treasury chief Tuesday to discuss kick-starting the global financial system ahead of next month's G-20 summit. About a dozen representatives of U.S., Japanese, German and South African banks were at Downing Street to meet with Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Chancellor Alistair Darling, a spokesman for the Treasury said. They planned to discuss getting banks to lend again, what to do with toxic assets and regulatory reform, ...

Singer Amy Winehouse appeared in court Tuesday, charged with common assault over an incident late last year. Winehouse arrived at London's City of Westminster Magistrates Court wearing her signature black beehive hairdo and a low-cut multicolored tank top. Accompanied by her father, Mitch Winehouse, she made brief comments to a throng of photographers before disappearing inside the building. Tuesday's court appearance is just an initial hearing in the case, said her spokesman, Chris Goodman, and a verdict is not ...

Singer Chris Brown, facing charges of domestic violence against his girlfriend, singer Rihanna, has withdrawn his nominations for two Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, a spokesman said. Brown, 19, had been nominated for "Favorite Song" and "Favorite Male Singer." "Unfortunately, the controversy surrounding the incident last month has shifted the focus from the music to whether he should be allowed to be among those nominated," the spokesman said in a written statement. The Los Angeles County District Attorney filed two felony ...

Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's wife, Susan, was killed Friday in a car wreck that left him with serious injuries, according to senior officials with his party. Tsvangirai's aide and driver also were injured in the head-on collision with a large truck, according to Tsvangirai's spokesman, James Maridadi. The extent of their injuries was not clear. All four were taken to an undisclosed hospital in Harare, Maridadi said. The collision happened on the Harare-Masvingo Road ...

Chelsea and England footballer Ashley Cole has been arrested on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, according to UK media reports. Cole, 28, who plays leftback for club and country, was arrested in London's upscale south Kensington district, London, shortly after 2am GMT Thursday morning, the UK's Press Association reported. He was then taken to a police station in Central London, where he was given a fixed penalty notice -- a one-off fine -- for being drunk and disorderly, according ...

Rescuers in Germany reduced the number of people they were searching for in a building collapse from nine to two, a fire department spokesman said late Tuesday. Seven people who earlier had been reported missing contacted authorities to say they were safe, the spokesman explained. The two remaining victims are men missing from a residential building heavily damaged when another building collapsed, said the spokesman. The spokesman said it was too dangerous to enter the residential building and that the ...

President Obama has told Russia that the United States might not proceed with a missile defense system in eastern Europe if Iran drops plans for producing nuclear weapons, senior administration officials said Tuesday. Obama raised the possibility in a letter to Russia seeking help in trying to end Iran's nuclear program, a senior administration official said. Contrary to news reports, it was not a secret letter, the official said. Obama told Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in the letter that the ...

The Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday that it has stopped reviewing drug applications from an India-based pharmaceutical plant, alleging that officials there falsified data and test results in applications, some of which the agency has already approved. Ivan Cameron, six, passed away early Wednesday, the UK's Press Association reported a Conservative Party spokesman as saying. "It is with great sadness that David and Samantha Cameron must confirm the death of their six-year-old son Ivan," the spokesman said according ...

Singer Chris Brown broke his silence Sunday, a week after allegedly attacking his girlfriend, fellow performer Rihanna, on a street in Los Angeles, California. "Words cannot begin to express how sorry and saddened I am over what transpired," the 19-year-old said in a statement released by his spokesman. "I am seeking the counseling of my pastor, my mother and other loved ones and I am committed, with God's help, to emerging a better person." He added, "Much of what has ...

The investigation into what happened between singers Chris Brown and Rihanna on a Hollywood street early Sunday remained in the hands of police Wednesday, a day after the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office said it needed more information before deciding on formal charges. A spokeswoman for the prosecutor said Brown, 19, was arrested and booked on suspicion of making criminal threats. He was released from jail on $50,000 bail Sunday night and given a March 5 court date. Brown's lawyer ...