London  - Works by contemporary British artist Damien Hirst sold directly at auction fetched a total of 70 million pounds (120 million dollars) at Sotheby's Monday in London, the auction house said.

Highlight among the works snapped up by bidders from around the world was The Golden Calf, a bullock preserved in formaldehyde with a golden disc on its head and hooves and horns cast in 18-carat solid gold, which fetched 10.3 million pounds.

London  - Staff emplo

London - Richard Wright, a founder member of Britain's legendary Pink Floyd rock group, has died at the age of 65 after battling cancer, his spokesman said Monday.

London, Sept 15 : Prince Harry has got down to the serious business of training the troops to be deployed in war zones in Afghanistan and Iraq, by playing the part of the Taliban.

The British royal, who saw action in Afghanistan earlier this year, will lead 12 men in light tanks to simulate a small enemy attack force.

Harry’s team has been chosen by the Ministry of Defence to prepare troops to be posted in Afghanistan and Iraq for how it feels to be under attack 24 hours a day.

London, Sept 14 : Beer lovers in the UK will soon have to pay a little more for the drink, as breweries have decided to hike the prices for the second time this year, bringing to the market (for the first time) to four pounds a pint (one-eighth of a gallon).

The companies blame the impending hike in beer process on an “unprecedented” rise in the price of materials such as gas, fuel, malt and sugar for the decision to push up the price tag of lager, bitter and ale.

Draught and bottled Stella Artois, Beck''s and Tennent''s lager, all owned by brewery InBev, will go up by about three founds a pint tomorrow, while in two weeks'' time Carling and Grolsch drinkers will also see three pounds added to a pint, reported the Guardian.

London, Sept 14 : Claims that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of Sherlock Holmes, helped murder a journalist have finally been laid to rest – by a church court.

The Exeter Diocese Consistory Court has blocked a bid to exhume the remains of Devon journalist and writer Bertram Fletcher-Robinson who died on January 21, 1907, reports the Scotsman.

At the time of his death, it was recorded that Fletcher-Robinson died at the age of 36 from typhoid fever and peritonitis following a visit to Paris.