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By Reed Stevenson AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - "The Da Vinci Code" is a goldmine not only for its creators but for a host of others producing spinoff merchandise like video games and guided tours that narrowly avoid using the novel's full title. A new addition to the lengthening list is a CD called "Music Inspired by Da Vinci" -- after all, you can't copyright the Renaissance master's name. Dutch songwriter and producer Jan Kisjes said he composed the collection of 14 songs with religiously slanted  ...

Two teenagers hoping to become the youngest Britons to climb Everest have begun their final hike to the summit. School friends Rob Gauntlett, of Petworth, Sussex, and James Hooper, of Wellington, Somerset, both 19, spent two years planning their epic trek. They celebrated Rob's birthday at Everest Base Camp on Wednesday, and on Saturday struck out on the last section of their journey to the top. Weather permitting, they hope to reach the 29,035ft (8850m) peak on Wednesday. Earlier this year  ...

By Tim Castle LONDON (Reuters) - Britain is considering introducing legislation to prevent the country's human rights laws endangering public safety, the country's highest-ranking judicial official said on Saturday. Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer told BBC Radio that recent cases of murders committed by dangerous prisoners released early from jail had raised concerns about how the act was working in practice. "There needs to be public clarity that the Human Rights Act should have no effect on t ...

A drama about the devastating effect of the secret Stasi police force on ordinary citizens has won seven prizes at Germany's leading film awards. Among the honours earned by Das Leben der Anderen - The Lives of Others - at the Lolas were best film, director, actor and supporting actor. Set five years before the Berlin Wall fell, it portrays security officers and their networks of informants. The movie has sparked a nationwide discussion about Stasi crimes. The debut of Florian von Donnersmar ...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Not a single state will have a highly qualified teacher in every core class this school year as promised by President Bush's education law. Nine states along with the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico face penalties. The Department of Education on Friday ordered every state to explain how it will have 100 percent of its core teachers qualified -- belatedly -- in the 2006-07 school year. In the meantime, some states face the loss of federal aid because they didn't make en ...

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- Indonesia on Saturday raised the alert at Mount Merapi volcano to the highest level, warning of an imminent eruption. The measure forced the immediate evacuation of thousands of people. The 9,700-foot peak in densely populated Central Java province has been rumbling ominously in recent weeks and spewing clouds of black ash. Bambang Dwiyanto, head of the region's vulcan ...

LONDON (Reuters) - A group of leading investors pledged on Saturday to stand by firms that test drug on animals, after a campaign by activists urging shareholders in drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline to sell their shares. "As major institutional investors in companies legitimately engaged in lawful research to the benefit of society, we intend to stand firm alongside the small shareholders in GlaxoSmithKline who have been targeted for bullying in the current campaign," the group said in a letter publis ...

Four people have been charged with murder after a man's body was pulled from the River Thames. A passer-by discovered Sean Miles, 37, from Hershel Crescent, Oxford, in the river near Sandford Lock on Wednesday. Mr Miles had been missing from his home for more than a week. A post-mortem examination has been held but the cause of his death is not yet known. Two men aged 34 and 23 and two women aged 33 and 34 - all from the Littlemore area - have been charged.

An inquiry into the deaths of two girls on a level crossing last December has ordered a safety review at locations where pedestrians cross the tracks. Olivia Bazlinton, 14, and Charlotte Thompson, 13, died when they were hit by a train at Elsenham station, Essex. The Rail Safety and Standards Board report said the girls ignored crossing warnings and ran onto the tracks. But it said if they had not had to go to another platform to buy their tickets the risk would have been less. The report di ...

Police investigating the murder of an off-duty special police constable are focusing on a man spotted running from the scene by neighbours. Detectives say the sighting remains their strongest lead in the murder of Nisha Patel-Nasri, 29, stabbed in the leg outside her north-west London home. The man, wearing a hooded top, ran from Sudbury Avenue, Wembley, towards Harrow Road following Thursday night's attack. Police said the suspect was likely to have been heavily blood-stained. Det Supt Juli ...