London

With the school year winding down, Tufts University administrators met recently with students planning to study abroad, outlining what they should do before they leave and what to expect when they arrive. Above all, they stressed the risks - and ways to minimize them. But with an audience of young adults eager to see the world and seize adventure, it was hard to know whether the warnings truly hit home. "I think the message gets through," said Sheila Bayne, who directs the university's study-abroad program.

Portland, Maine's Anna Kendrick was in London on Tuesday to promote her comedy "What to Expect When You're Expecting," in which she plays a pregnant food truck chef opposite "Gossip Girl" star Chace Crawford . In a case of life imitating art, Portland officials have spent the last few weeks talking about how to bring food trucks to the city.

Leading politicians and journalists gathered in London on Wednesday to pay tribute to slain war correspondent Marie Colvin, a woman they remembered as fearless, dedicated and kind. Colvin, 56, was killed on Feb. 22 when army shelling struck the building that served as a makeshift media center in the Syrian city of Homs. She worked for the Sunday Times of London. Her editor John Witherow told a packed memorial service at St. Martin-in-the-Fields church that the world had lost someone "unbelievably special" and praised the American reporter's bravery and dedication.

London's Metropolitan Police say they are investigating allegations that police officers accepted illegal payments from a private investigation agency in exchange for information. The police statement Tuesday came as a parliamentary inquiry examined allegations that payments were made in return for information in the case of James Ibori, the former Nigerian delta governor recently sentenced to 13 years in prison for fraud and money laundering, capping a spectacular fall from flashy political kingmaker to convict.

Plan B is going to start his own charity, to stop kids from experiencing the bleak London life portrayed in his directorial debut. The musician and rapper launched "Ill Manors" in Cannes, a story about how easily teens can get trapped in a world of crime and drugs. He wants to show them the way out. Many of the cast were non-actors who he threw a lifeline to — two members of his band were also taken off the street. Plan B, or Ben Drew, is now in the process of setting up an organization.

Casey Guerin is a Boston College senior who spent last semester at the University of Westminster in London (www.wmin.ac.uk). A communications and English major, Guerin chose London because she thought it would be a great metropolitan hub and a good base for travel in Europe. UNDERGROUND ETIQUETTE: “It’s not too common to just smile or make conversation with people on the Tube, London’s version of the T. Instead of getting smiles back, most people look at me strangely.

LONDON - Getting where you want to go in this city can be daunting for foreigners. You have to look the opposite way to cross the street, drive on the other side of the road, and ride the labyrinth-like tube subway system. But it turns out finding the end zone is just as easy for the Patriots on this side of the Atlantic Ocean. A week after topping Tennessee, 59-0, the Patriots turned the NFL’s third annual London showcase into their own British invasion with a 35-7 romp over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who surrendered a real home game to play foil to the Patriots on foreign soil.

LONDON - Racing through the streets of London left me short of breath - not merely from physical exhaustion, but from the unfolding urban mosaic that kept pace with my every stride. My companions on this morning jaunt were from the running club of All Hallows by the Tower, a venerable house of worship in central London that traces its roots to the seventh century. Our short, often serpentine, route granted me some of my first glimpses of the City of London. Also known as the "Square Mile," a moniker derived from its relatively small size, the district forms...

LONDON -- Queen Elizabeth II joined a group of Connecticut Indians yesterday to pay tribute to a Mohegan chief who traveled to England more than two centuries ago to complain directly to the king about British settlers encroaching on tribal lands. Three tribesmen in turkey-feather headdresses lit a pipe filled with sweet grass and sage in a traditional burial ceremony for Mahomet Weyonomon, a sachem or leader, who died of smallpox in 1736 while waiting to see King George II. The tribal chief was buried in an unmarked grave in a south London churchyard.

TAMPA - With the game on the line, Carolina’s Jake Delhomme found a way to make up for costly mistakes the Panthers made to help the Tampa Bay Buccaneers pull even. The struggling quarterback handed the ball to DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. Over and over. “I’m sure everybody in the stadium knew what we were going to do,’’ Williams said after the defending NFC South champions drove 80 yards in the closing minutes to beat the winless Bucs, 28-21, yesterday.

The stars of the romantic comedy "What to Expect When You're Expecting" had plenty of praise for each other — and a warning about making out on the hood of a car — during the film's British premiere in London on Tuesday. Cameron Diaz, Chace Crawford and Matthew Morrison, Anna Kendrick and Rodrigo Santoro were among the actors who walked the red carpet at the British Film Institute's IMAX theater. The film — inspired by the bestselling book by Heidi Murkoff, and also featuring Jennifer Lopez, Dennis Quaid, Cheryl Cole and Chris Rock — looks at love through the eyes of...

Plan B is going to start his own charity, to stop kids from experiencing the bleak London life portrayed in his directorial debut. The musician and rapper launched "Ill Manors" in Cannes, a story about how easily teens can get trapped in a world of crime and drugs. He wants to show them the way out. Many of the cast were non-actors who he threw a lifeline to — two members of his band were also taken off the street. Plan B, or Ben Drew, is now in the process of setting up an organization.

Leading politicians and journalists gathered in London on Wednesday to pay tribute to slain war correspondent Marie Colvin, a woman they remembered as fearless, dedicated and kind. Colvin, 56, was killed on Feb. 22 when army shelling struck the building that served as a makeshift media center in the Syrian city of Homs. She worked for the Sunday Times of London. Her editor John Witherow told a packed memorial service at St. Martin-in-the-Fields church that the world had lost someone "unbelievably special" and praised the American reporter's bravery and dedication.

A London man convicted of murder as a teenager has had his conviction overturned by judges after more than seven years in jail. Sam Hallam, 24, was released on bail Wednesday after prosecutors said they wouldn't contest his appeal. Hallam had been found guilty of being part of the gang that murdered 21-year-old Essayas Kassahun in north London in 2005. But no forensic evidence linked him to the scene and a hearing was told new evidence supported his alibi and cast doubt on his identification as among those involved.

From cycling to shooting, several New Englanders have a chance to participate in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London. Meet some of the athletes with local connections who hope to bid for medals in London: Elizabeth Beisel New England connection: Grew up in Saunderstown, R.I. Team: Swimming Age: 19 Notes: Beisel will have a final chance to qualify for the Olympics in June. She captured the gold in the 400 IM at the 2011 FINA World Championships for her first world title.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Thursday that he is eager to attend the Olympic Games in London to support Iranian athletes but that Britain doesn't want to host him. Ahmadinejad was quoted by the official IRNA news agency as saying he would like to be "beside Iranian athletes" during the Games but the British are reluctant to have him. "I would like to be next to our young athletes at the 2012 Olympics but the host has a problem with...

Lord Sassoon, commercial secretary to the British Treasury, recently toured three financial centers in the United States: Boston, Chicago, and New York. Sassoon, who spent most of his career working for financial companies in London before joining the British government, spoke with Globe reporter Todd Wallack about his visit. What's been your strongest impression from the trip? People are pleased to see a UK minister going to three financial centers, rather than just Washington.

LONDON - This city is not known for its pleasant smells. English taxi cabs often leave trails of diesel exhaust; the red phone booths in Soho smell of urine; and sewage odors occasionally rise from antique grates. And then there is the Tube - the Circle and District lines spring to mind - where select carriages exude an aroma resembling hot rubber mixed with overtaxed truck brakes. Despite this miasma, or maybe because of it, London abounds in emporiums of scent, perfumeries where you can try something new, or indulge in a fragrance that has been around for more than a hundred years.

Flyweight Marlen Esparza has become the first American female boxer to qualify for the London Olympics. Esparza secured her birth by beating Luu Thi Duyen of Vietnam in the second round of the Women's World Championships in Qinhuangdao, China, on Tuesday. The boxer from Houston took a 28-13 decision in the three-round bout. U.S. lightweight Quanitta Underwood's hopes of qualifying for the Olympics at the tournament ended when she lost 26-25 to Norway's Ingrid Egner in a third-round bout Tuesday.

The Van Gogh Museum has unveiled its latest addition by the tormented artist — an 1882 water color of a pollard willow under a cloudy gray sky from his early Dutch period. The museum bought the painting at auction in London earlier this year for (EURO)1.58 million ($2.05 million). Museum director Axel Rueger on Thursday called the painting "one of the most representative water colors from Van Gogh's Hague period. " As one of the painter's first dabblings with color, the landscape is a far cry from the exuberant and colorful postimpressionist oil paintings that...