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London Mayor Boris Johnson, is a great believer in the idea of cycling to work, and since taking office, he's done a lot to encourage Londoners to take their commute on two wheels. NPR's new London correspondent, Philip Reeves, also likes the idea of riding his bicycle to work -- but is finds his fellow cyclists seem to take the whole thing far too seriously.

A little-known poem has been retrieved from the Oxford University archives, which appears to reveal a 17th century attempt to besmirch the reputation of John Milton, the author of Paradise Lost. The poem is a bawdy ditty laden with sexual innuendo, and is labeled "by Milton." However, since Milton is best-known as a great religious and political polemicist, it hardly fits with the rest of his work -- and some academics believe the poem was actually the work of a jealous political rival.

The British government is cutting nearly half a million public sector jobs over the next four years as part of a $130 billion cut in spending. Finance Minister George Osborne confirmed the cuts Wednesday in a widely anticipated announcement, saying the drastic budget cuts were the best way to reduce Britain's burgeoning debt.

Financial officials will be taking a close look at Ireland's broken banking system. A big part of their mission is to restore confidence in the bond market and stop Ireland's malaise from spreading to other eurozone nations.

One of the traditions of soccer, or football, as they call it in the UK, is that of the "giant-killer," the small team that defeats much more powerful rivals to reach the later stages of the competition for the Football Association Cup. All the big clubs you might have heard of, like Liverpool and Arsenal, play in their own league competitions with other major rivals, but they also play in the FA Cup, in which all the members of the Football Association, big and small, compete. Saturday, one of the smallest members, Crawley Town, is set to play the biggest and most famous sporting club in the world, Manchester United.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India has decreed that the Indian Premier League tournament be played overseas because the authorities can't supply adequate security. The decision, which follows terrorist attack in Mumbai, India, and Lahore, Pakistan, has put Indian fans of the game in mourning.

In less than a week, the votes will be counted in India's general election. No one is expecting an outright winner — that means leaders of smaller regional parties could become kingmakers. One of those aspiring kingmakers is a rich and powerful woman.

The party that will lead Pakistan's new government will announce its nominee for prime minister later on Saturday. Whoever is named will be confirmed by a vote in the National Assembly scheduled for Monday.

Nepal is a tiny country, tucked between the two most populous countries of the world, China and India. It's a country in a sort of time warp, with music that was popular in the 1970s. This audio postcard comes from Nepal's capital, Katmandu.

As Pakistan's new parliament held its first session Monday, many saw the ceremony as highly symbolic. For now, power seems to be shifting from embattled President Pervez Musharraf to opposition lawmakers.