Europe, England | featured news

Ecuador has granted political asylum to WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange, Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said on Thursday, a day after the British government threatened to storm the Ecuadorean embassy in London to arrest the former hacker.

New York’s top banking regulator had charged the British bank with laundering $250 billion in tainted money for Iranian clients.

Britain is determined to extradite Julian Assange to Sweden and has made that clear to Ecuador, which is sheltering the founder of WikiLeaks inside its London embassy while it considers his asylum request, British authorities said on Tuesday.

More than 200 firefighters have tackled a blaze described by London Fire Brigade as the biggest seen in the capital for several years. The brigade was called at about 13:15 BST when flames took hold at a recycling centre in Dagenham, east London.

Standard Chartered won some help from Britain's central bank governor on Wednesday in its fightback against the New York banking regulator's allegations that it had hidden $250 billion of transactions with Iran.

Lizzie Armitstead wins Britain's first medal of the 2012 Olympics as Netherlands' Marianne Vos claims cycling gold.

Bibles in nightstands are a familiar amenity for hotel guests, but travelers seeking to read their favorite verse at one establishment will be in for a big surprise. The Damson Dene Hotel, which touts itself as the perfect destination for a “peaceful break away from it all” in England’s picturesque Lake District, is making quite a noise for replacing the Bible with “Fifty Shades of Grey” in its 40 guest rooms.

Britain's government opted Tuesday to deploy 1,200 more troops to protect Olympic venues -- a move that reflects a lack of confidence that private security contractor G4S can deliver all it promised for the games.

Neglect by medical staff contributed to the death of a hospital patient who died from dehydration after calling 999 because he was so thirsty.

There are nearly 12,000 centenarians in Britain today, but with more people reaching 100 how do scientific theories about life expectancy compare with the experience of those who have received a telegram from the Queen?