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ROME (Reuters) - At least nine people were dead and 55 injured after protesters tried to storm the Italian consulate in Benghazi on Friday, a consulate employee told Sky Italian television. The protests were over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad.

By Alan Baldwin SESTRIERE, Italy (Reuters) - Had Chemmy Alcott been an Austrian, 11th place in the Olympic Alpine skiing downhill might have come as something of a disappointment. For the 23-year-old Briton it has been a revelation, however. Alcott's result in Wednesday's race, the best finish in an Olympic Games by a British woman skier for 40 years, triggered a reaction back home that the Londoner said had taken her by surprise. "It was crazy. I got back and I had 60 text messages, I had 2 ...

By Dominique Searle GIBRALTAR (Reuters) - Gibraltar's chief minister said on Friday he hoped talks next week would lead to agreement "in weeks rather than months" on measures to improve strained relations between the British colony and Spain. Chief Minister Peter Caruana will meet British and Spanish diplomats in England on Monday and Tuesday in a new round of talks aimed at resolving technical disagreements, but not Gibraltar's sovereignty, still contested three centuries after Britain seized ...

LONDON (Reuters) - Royal Mail was fined for the second time in a week on Friday after regulator Postcomm fined it 2.16 million pounds for failing to ensure it did not gain a commercial advantage from its dominant market position. Postcomm said Royal Mail may have benefited by sharing with its commercial division information about new mail operators, which are charged a fee by Royal Mail for its postmen and postwomen to deliver their mail. "Many companies working for different clients have ‘Chi ...

By David Cullen LONDON (Reuters) - British Gas owner Centrica said on Friday it was hiking energy bills by a record 22 percent, a move that will push average household energy bills over 1,000 pounds for the first time ever. The company, which supplies 11 million households in Britain and raised gas and electricity prices by 14.2 percent just last September, said the latest increase takes effect on March 1 and that a fresh surge in wholesale costs was to blame. The decision comes a day after a ...

By Jeremy Butler MANCHESTER (Reuters) - Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has backed his captain Gary Neville to come through if he gets a barrage of abuse at Liverpool on Saturday. Neville was criticised for his exuberant goal celebrations right in front of Liverpool fans when United beat their rivals in the Premier League last month thanks to Rio Ferdinand's last-minute goal. "With the two games being so near there is a big focus on his celebrations of that goal," Ferguson told a news ...

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - An expected decision by the European Union executive arm to block Britain's revised emissions allocation plan has been delayed and will likely take place next week, a European Commission official said on Friday. "It's been delayed. It is likely to be adopted the middle of next week," the official said. EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said on Wednesday he intended to reject the plan, which would ease pollution requirements for the country's industry.

BAY ST. LOUIS, Mississippi (CNN) -- Growing up on the Gulf Coast in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, I always knew that a hurricane could devastate our town. Hurricane Camille had done just that in 1969, right before my family moved here. And as a CNN correspondent, part of my job is bringing the nation the story of those who do what my family did many hurricane seasons: board up their windows, pack up their most precious belongings and head inland -- all the while hoping their homes would still be ...

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) -- The corpses of at least 20 newborn babies and fetuses are found each week in the sewers of Zimbabwe's capital, some having been flushed down toilets, Harare city authorities said, according to state media Friday. Town Clerk Nomutsa Chideya said the babies' remains were found among a wide variety of waste and garbage cleared by city council workers unblocking sewers and drains in Harare. "Apart from upsetting the normal flow of waste, it is not right from a moral standp ...

By David Cullen LONDON (Reuters) - British Gas owner Centrica said on Friday it was hiking energy bills by a record 22 percent, a move that will push average household energy bills over 1,000 pounds ($1,736) for the first time ever. The company, which supplies 11 million households in Britain and raised gas and electricity prices by 14.2 percent just last September, said the latest increase takes effect on March 1 and that a fresh surge in wholesale costs was to blame. The decision comes a da ...