BRIGHTON, England, Dec. 2 -- An English teenager's 16th birthday party turned into a disaster when 400 gatecrashers who had learned of the party on Facebook showed up.

Georgina Hobday had invited 100 people to her parents' townhouse in Brighton for a party modeled on those in the TV show "My Big Sweet 16." Michael and Sylvia Hobday had drafted four adults to keep out unwanted guests Saturday night, but they were unable to cope with the crowd that appeared, the Daily Mail reported.

Eventually, 20 police officers got the gatecrashers under control. But in half an hour the uninvited guests trampled the garden, broke mirrors with their heads and scorched curtains and rugs with cigarette ends.

RINGWOOD, England, Dec. 2 - Some parents have found the "Winter Wonderland" at an expensive English theme park so disappointing they have physically assaulted Santa and his elves.

While a spokesman for the Lapland New Forest Park said 95 percent of the visitors had a good time, Dorset officials said they had received 1,300 complaints, the Daily Mail reported. One security guard, Adrian Wood, said he quit and agreed with the disgruntled visitors.

"Santa was punched by a furious father who had been waiting in line for 4 hours," Wood said. "He had got to the front only to be told he couldn't take a picture of his children and that they weren't allowed to sit on Santa's lap."

London  - Sometimes a team's greatest strength can be its greatest weakness.

Nicolas Anelka has scored 12 Premier League goals for Chelsea this season, making him the top-scorer in the division by four.

But a curious fact about the distribution of those goals perhaps reveals a greater truth about Chelsea's true strength this season, and explains their comparatively disappointing home form.

Sydney  - Qantas Airways Ltd confirmed Wednesday that it was in talks with British Airways plc (BA) on a possible merger that would see both iconic brands surviving and dual stock exchange listings.

The negotiations come four years after BA sold a 25-per-cent stake in Qantas that it picked up when the carrier was privatized in 1995.

Treasurer Wayne Swan said that a merger would need the blessing of the Australian government, because current regulations restrict foreign ownership to 49 per cent and individual shareholdings to 25 per cent.

Norwich, England  - The British sports car manufacturer, Lotus, has pepped-up the predecessor S with the new Lotus Europa SE model and improved performance, modified the chassis and the AP four-piston, racing-brake system.

The turbocharged, two-litre engine has increased performance by 12 per cent at 225 hp. Acceleration from zero to 100 km/h is listed at 4.9 seconds with a top speed of 235 km/h. But it is a bit of a petrol-guzzler at 11.8 litres per 100 kilometres.

London - A senior al-Qaeda official was returned to prison in London on Tuesday after a court ruled that he had violated his probation and posed a flight risk.

Abu Qatada, 47, is widely considered to be al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe.

He was released from prison in June after he successfully fought off an attempt to extradite him to Jordan.

Qatada was found guilty in absentia by a Jordanian court of participating in terrorist activities in the 1990s.