Moammar Gadhafi's regime warned of "dire consequences" for relations between Libya and Britain if the convicted Lockerbie bomber died in a Scottish jail, secret files released Sunday showed.

In the latest revelations from intelligence documents obtained by media and rights groups in Tripoli, senior British officials feared Gadhafi "might seek to extract vengeance" if the cancer-stricken Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi was not released.

In the fantasy world created by Philippine publishing giant Precious Hearts Romances, the men are rich, sexual promiscuity and homosexuals are taboo, and the story always ends happily after 128 pages.

The ultra-cheap local versions of Britain's Mills and Boon novels are the country's most popular books, making their authors champions of conservative Christian values and unlikely heroes in the battle to improve literacy among the poor.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must step down because he is as "irrelevant" to the future of his country as Moammar Gadhafi is in Libya, Britain's deputy prime minister said Monday.

With Gadhafi's regime apparently in its final throes as rebel fighters move into Tripoli, Nick Clegg said the situation in Syria was "less encouraging".

In a typically English setting, the grounds of a mock-Tudor country mansion, thousands of pilgrims are celebrating what organizers claim is the biggest Hindu festival outside India.

More than 60,000 people were expected to attend the two-day Janmashtami festival on Sunday and Monday, celebrating the god Lord Krishna's birth, at the Bhaktivedanta Manor temple outside suburban Watford, northwest of London.

Animals across the world are fleeing global warming by heading north much faster than they were less than a decade ago, a new study says.

About 2,000 species examined are moving away from the equator at an average rate of more than 15 feet (5 meters) per day, about a mile per year, according to new research published Thursday in the journal Science which analyzed previous studies. Species are also moving up mountains to escape the heat, but more slowly, averaging about 4 feet a year.

World stocks swung between gains and losses Monday, as hopes the Federal Reserve might take action to keep the U.S. from slipping back into recession offset fears of a global slowdown.

Brent crude fell to near $106 a barrel as Libyan rebels captured most of Tripoli, boosting hopes the OPEC nation's oil exports could resume soon. The dollar was stronger against the yen but weaker against the euro.

Researchers in Britain revealed Friday they are exploring whether the nightclubbers' drug ecstasy could be effective in treating blood cancers.

Scientists at the University of Birmingham in central England said modified forms of the drug boosted its ability to destroy cancerous cells by 100 times.

President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron on Thursday jointly urged Syria's embattled leader Bashar al-Assad to step down.

"We call on him to face the reality of the complete rejection of his regime by the Syrian people and to step aside in the best interests of Syria and the unity of its people," they said in a joint statement.

London police are on the hunt for a new chief after a nightmare summer during which its boss quit over the phone-hacking scandal and the force was widely criticized for its failure to prevent riots.

A month after Metropolitan Police commissioner Paul Stephenson and one of his deputies resigned in 24 hours, the deadline closed Wednesday for applications to become Britain's top police officer leading the country's biggest force.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is "fast losing the last shreds of his legitimacy," British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Tuesday as the regime escalated its crackdown on pro-democracy protests.

As Syrian forces raked the revolt-hit Mediterranean port city of Latakia with machine-gun fire that has already killed dozens, Hague said he was "appalled by the ongoing repression of civilians by the Syrian government".