YouTube on Friday began letting people in Britain rent movies for viewing online at the Google-owned video-sharing website.

"We've got some cracking films to keep everyone entertained through the upcoming winter months and beyond," YouTube business product manager Matteo Vallone said in a blog post announcing the launch in Britain.

Engelbert Humperdink has one. Clint Eastwood does not. John, George and Ringo — yes. Paul McCartney? Not yet. And George Clooney would be in the club if only someone could convince him to show up for the ceremony.

When it comes to receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the sidewalk tourist attraction that encompasses 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of intersecting Vine Street, it's not so much who you know, but whether you're willing to play by the rules.

Male crickets prioritize the life of their female partners ahead of their own, even though it means a dramatic rise for the former in the risk of being eaten, research published Thursday said.

In perhaps the insect equivalent of holding the door open, infrared video pictures of a wild population of field crickets (Gryllus campestris) in Spain showed males giving females priority access to the safety of a burrow.

The French Foreign Minister voiced on Friday its “deep concern” over the safety of Syrians in Lebanon in light of reports that the Syrian army had infiltrated Lebanese territory on Thursday where it killed a Syrian national living near the border.

French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero stressed during a press conference that France is committed to an independent, sovereign, and secure Lebanon.

A number of Lebanese citizens living in the North demanded the Lebanese and Arab governments Friday to withdraw their ambassadors from Damascus in a protest against the repression of demonstrations which had started in the Middle of last March.

According to National News Agency, a number of people from the North took part in a march in Tripoli “in solidarity with the Syrian people at an invitation from the Secular Gathering in Lebanon amidst strict security measures taken by the army and internal security forces.”

Controversial Lithuanian mayor Arturas Zuokas on Friday said his nation should buy an island from debt-ravaged Greece and convert it into a holiday resort for tourists from the Baltic state.

Zuokas, who is mayor of the capital Vilnius, urged Lithuanian businesses to come up with some seven million euros ($9.3 million), saying it would be enough to acquire the rights to an island.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday honored all those killed since U.S. warplanes launched a campaign to oust the Taliban in Afghanistan 10 years ago, and saluted those who have served in the U.S. military.

Obama said in a statement the United States was "responsibly ending" the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq "from a position of strength" and promised to provide veterans with healthcare and job opportunities.

A top Kurdish activist and nine other people were killed Friday as thousands rallied in support of a new opposition front, activists said, as Washington accused Syria of escalating attacks on dissidents.

The latest violence came as Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said President Bashar al-Assad will have to leave power if he fails to implement reforms acceptable to the opposition, and Damascus again blamed "terrorists" for the unrest.

Record-breaking autumn temperatures attracted hundreds of rare moths to Britain in what experts have called the best migration of the insects in years.

A wide variety of species, usually found in the Mediterranean, flocked to Britain to bask in temperatures of almost 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) and southerly winds.

Dutch National Railways said Friday it planned to introduce so-called "pee-bags" as an emergency alternative to non-existing toilets on its short-hop trains.

"Yes, we are planning to introduce the bags on our short-hop Sprinter trains," NS spokeswoman Nienke Kooistra told Agence France Presse, but stressed "it's to be used in extreme emergencies only, for instance when a train is stranded."