British

Soviet and British officials Thursday signed an agreement for the first Soviet-British space mission and announced a search for the man or woman who will become the first Briton in space. The Briton will accompany two cosmonauts to the Soviet orbiting station Mir in 1991. Two British candidates will be selected by November. Only one will fly aboard Mir. The other will be an understudy. British Air Vice Marshal Peter Howard, in charge of astronaut selection, said candidates should be 21 to 40 years old, physically fit, have a degree in science and an aptitude for handling delicate scientific equipment.

British officials say five soldiers were killed on patrol in Afghanistan. The new casualties bring the British death toll to 15 in the last 10 days as fighting in Helmand province intensifies. Three other combat deaths in separate attacks were announced earlier, making it one of the worst days for British forces since the war began seven years ago. Officials say families of the dead soldiers have been notified. Their names have not been released.

From Bridget Jones to Harry Potter, "The Lord of the Rings" to "Gosford Park," 2001 in movies was an exceptional year for Anglophiles. And it wasn't bad for British actors either. "It's funny, isn't it? We're having one of our times," says Julian Fellowes, the screenwriter of "Gosford Park," director Robert Altman's 1930s mystery satire set at an English manor. The ensemble cast includes nearly 20 British stars, including Helen Mirren, Kristin Scott Thomas, Emily Watson and Clive Owen.

"Drowning in dignity," is how Jackie Mason described this city in an article he wrote last week outlining the differences between London and New York. "I'll bet they don't sell half as many upset stomach pills in London as they do in New York." Having just completed a three-month London run of his "World According to Me," Mason should know. There are few things the English do better than maintain dignity, serve tea, write glorious literature and perfect their theater. A recent week in this town only reinforced these impressions.

Peacekeepers will be dispatched to Kabul this weekend under a U.N. Security Council resolution approved Thursday that authorizes an international force to safeguard the area around the Afghan capital over the next six months. The resolution, passed unanimously after two weeks of closed-door debate, formally endorses Britain's offer "to take the lead in organizing and commanding" the force.

Just as such acclaimed directors as Steven Spielberg, Sidney Lumet, George Roy Hill, Michael Mann and John Frankenheimer cut their directing teeth in television, so too did many of England's best-known filmmakers. A new series at the Museum of Television & Radio, "Disruptive Directors of British Television," shines the spotlight on the breakthrough TV movies of Ken Russell, Ken Loach, Mike Leigh, Stephen Frears and the late Alan Clarke.

When "Last Orders" opens Friday, it's the casting that will command attention. Australian writer-director Fred Schepisi drew from the cream of the British acting crop for his adaptation of Graham Swift's Booker Prize-winning novel: Michael Caine, Tom Courtenay, David Hemmings, Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren. Ray Winstone, familiar to American audiences from this summer's art-house hit "Sexy Beast," is also in the cast.

If it weren't for the alcohol-free drinks, the scene could have been straight out of an English pub. Young men sat in animated groups, sipping milkshakes and mugs of milky tea in a cozy, wood-paneled room. Others tucked into heaping plates of fish and chips. The TV was tuned to a soccer match, a game of pool was underway, and pop music pulsed in the background. Until a crashing explosion sent everyone diving to the floor.