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2 more arrested in London attacks

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:38:00 +0000

LONDON (AP) — British police say two more people have been arrested by officers investigating the hacking death of a U.K. soldier in London.

Scotland Yard said counterterrorism officers arrested a man and a woman — both 29 — on Thursday on suspicion of conspiracy to murder. Both suspects are in custody at a south London police station.

Two suspects shot and arrested by police at the scene Wednesday — a 22-year-old man and a 28-year-old man — remain hospitalized in stable condition with injuries that are not life-threatening, police added.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

Two Muslim hardliners say the man seen wielding a bloody butcher's knife after the killing of a British soldier is a Muslim convert who took part in demonstrations with the banned radical group al-Muhajiroun.

Former al-Muhajiroun head Anjem Choudary identified the man as Michael Adebolajo, a Christian who converted to Islam around 2003 and took part in several of the group's demonstrations in London.

Omar Bakri Muhammad — who now lives in Lebanon but had been a radical Muslim preacher in London — also said he recognized the man seen on television as Adebolajo and said he attended his London lectures in the early 2000s. Police have not named Adebolajo.

British police to review London Marathon security in wake of attacks

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 21:29:00 +0000

LONDON (AP) — British police are reviewing security plans for Sunday's London Marathon, the next major international marathon, because of the bombs that killed two people at the race in Boston. But there is no known specific or credible threat against the British race as of yet, a security official said.

The London Marathon is a hugely popular race. Last year, some 37,500 athletes competed, with many more watching the springtime event.

London has long been considered a top target for international terrorists, with the government saying the threat level is "substantial." In 2005, a series of suicide attacks on the public transport system in the British capital killed 52 people.

London and mainland Britain also face a moderate threat from Northern Ireland-related terrorism, according to the government.

Two bombs exploded near the finish of the Boston Marathon on Monday, killing two people, and injuring at least 22 others, race organizers and police said.

Chief Superintendent Julia Pendry, event commander for the London race, said Monday that "a security plan is in place for the London Marathon. We will be reviewing security arrangements in partnership with (the) London Marathon."

The car that cost $1.4 million to repair

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 17:30:00 +0000

LONDON (AP) — Everyone who's had a fender bender knows the cost of repairs is going up. But few cars can be as costly to fix as "Mr. Bean" actor Rowan Atkinson's rare McLaren F1.

It took more than a year — and more than 900,000 pounds ($1.4 million) — to get his supercar up and running after a 2011 crash that left Atkinson with a badly damaged shoulder.

The high-performance car makes extensive use of carbon fiber and needed specialist care — it took weeks just to get a proper insurance estimate.

Ben Stagg, specialty insurer with RK Harrison, said the quality components used to make an F1 are one reason the repair costs were so high.

"All modern supercars are predominantly carbon fiber — most Lamborghinis, most Ferraris — and the smallest ding in carbon fiber is a big repair job," he said. "And part of the engine bay is gold, that's the best heat conductor. It's the materials they used compared to everyday cars that make it so expensive."

He said many owners baby their expensive cars, driving them only a few times a year in perfect weather conditions, but Atkinson actually drives his McLaren extensively.

Top BBC editor steps aside during Savile probe

Mon, 22 Oct 2012 13:25:00 +0000

LONDON (AP) -- A top BBC editor stepped aside Monday while the broadcaster reviews a decision to pull the plug on a segment about sexual abuse allegations against a beloved U.K. children's television star.

The editor, Peter Rippon of the prominent "Newsnight" program, had not been forthcoming in his explanation about why the segment on Jimmy Savile did not run, the BBC said in a statement. The broadcaster said he is stepping down immediately while the matter is investigated.

The respected British broadcaster's decision has damaged its reputation and led to accusations it was covering up the crimes of one of its biggest stars, who died last year at the age of 84 after a long career in children's television.

Savile's actions are also being investigated by police and other agencies. Police say there may be more than 200 potential victims of the entertainer, the longtime host of "Top of the Pops" and "Jim'll Fix It," recognized for his garish track suits and platinum hair.

Rippon is the first BBC figure directly blamed for the broadcaster's failure to properly report on abuse claims.

The BBC says Rippon's explanation of his decision in a blog post earlier was "inaccurate or incomplete in some respects."

British Royal Collection buys Warhol portraits

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 12:33:00 +0000

LONDON (AP) -- Britain's Royal Collection Trust has gone Pop Art with the purchase of four famous Andy Warhol portraits of Queen Elizabeth II.

The colorful screenprints are based on a formal photograph of the queen wearing a tiara and necklace that was used during her Silver Jubilee celebrations in 1977.

They will form part of the Portraits of a Monarch exhibit starting in November at Windsor Castle. The purchase was announced Monday, but royal officials refused to say how much was paid for the portraits.

The purchase brings the distinctive style of the American artist to a collection of portraits of British rulers that dates back to the 15th Century.

"They are in a very interesting and contemporary technique that Andy Warhol really popularized, screen printing with wonderfully vibrant colors, in multiples," said Royal Librarian Jane Roberts. "They join a collection dating back 4, 5, 600 years. The fact that they are in a completely new technique is not surprising; things change."

Roberts said the queen had approved the purchase.

Back to reality: Britain bounces back after games

Mon, 13 Aug 2012 09:10:14 +0000

LONDON (AP) — Basking in post-Olympic glory, Britain succumbed to reality Monday with commuters venturing to work and Heathrow Airport bracing for one of its busiest day as some 116,000 people are expected to leave the country now that the games are over.

Heathrow opened a special Olympic terminal with 31 check-in desks to deal with the crush of departures. Some 6,000 athletes started trickling into the terminal just after dawn, many of them greeted by volunteers wearing bearskin hats.

The terminal will be decommissioned after three days and will go back to being a staff car park. On a normal day, Heathrow deals with some 95,000 passengers.

Some of the athletes sported their medals as they checked in, including 27-year-old Esther Lofgren, who won gold for the United States rowing team.

"I have so many memories of these games besides getting this," she said, proudly holding her medal. "Getting to see the other athletes competing was just amazing. I got to see Usain Bolt run. And some of the random stuff, like hanging out in the dining hall meeting people from other countries, has just been amazing," Lofgren said.

Robin Gibb of Bee Gees dies at 62

Mon, 21 May 2012 13:45:00 +0000

LONDON (AP) — With his carefully tended hair, tight trousers and perfect harmonies, Robin Gibb, along with his brothers Maurice and Barry, defined the disco era. As part of the Bee Gees — short for the Brothers Gibb — they created dance floor classics like "Stayin Alive," ''Jive Talkin'," and "Night Fever" that can still get crowds onto a dance floor.

The catchy songs, with their falsetto vocals and relentless beat, are familiar pop culture mainstays. There are more than 6,000 cover versions of the Bee Gees hits, and they are still heard on dance floors and at wedding receptions, birthday parties, and other festive occasions.

Robin Gibb, 62, died Sunday "following his long battle with cancer and intestinal surgery," his family announced in a statement released by Gibb's representative Doug Wright.

Gibb was the second disco-era star to die this week. Donna Summer — who earned the Queen of Disco title by singing "Last Dance" and "I Feel Love" — died of cancer in Florida on Thursday.

The Bee Gees, born in England but raised in Australia, began their career in the musically rich 1960s but it was their soundtrack for the 1977 movie "Saturday Night Fever" that sealed their success. The album's signature sound — some called it "blue-eyed soul" — remains instantly recognizable more than 40 years after its release.

Bomb scare precedes queen’s arrival in Ireland

Tue, 17 May 2011 12:43:00 +0000

Authorities defused a bomb Tuesday hours before Queen Elizabeth II was to begin the first visit by a British monarch to the south of Ireland in a century, a trip designed to celebrate the healing of ancient wounds and the triumph of peacemaking in neighboring Northern Ireland.

Police said they found a small, viable bomb hidden in the luggage compartment of a bus in Maynooth, a university town 15 miles (25 kilometers) west of Dublin, early Tuesday. A second hoax device was discovered near Dublin's light-rail line in the western district of Inchicore. Irish Army experts dismantled the bomb, while detectives took away the fake bomb to check for fingerprint or DNA traces of the hoaxer.

No group claimed responsibility for either threat. But several small IRA splinter groups concentrated along the Irish border continue to plot gun and bomb attacks in the British territory of Northern Ireland next door in hopes of undermining the success of its 1998 peace accord, particularly its stable Catholic-Protestant government.

Irish and British officials were keen to stress that the queen's four-day visit to Dublin, Kildare, Tipperary and Cork would proceed as planned -- accompanied by the biggest security operation in the Republic of Ireland's history.

U.K. court charges nine in London terror plot

Mon, 27 Dec 2010 19:48:00 +0000

Nine men suspected of plotting attacks on the U.S. Embassy and the London Stock Exchange were charged with terrorism-related crimes Monday and jailed until their next court appearance.

A dozen men were arrested last week in London, Cardiff and Stoke-on-Trent in central England in the largest British anti-terror raid in two years. Three were released without charge. The arrests came at a time of heightened anxiety about terror plots in Europe.

British officials have released few details, but U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the American Embassy in London was among the alleged plot's possible targets.

"(We) are obviously taking suitable security precautions," Toner told reporters in Washington.

U.K. officials have previously said that possible targets included the Houses of Parliament in London and shopping areas elsewhere in the U.K. Others on the potential target list included the London Stock Exchange as well as political and religious figures, the BBC reported, citing court proceedings.

A spokeswoman for Britain's Crown Prosecution Service said she could provide no comment or confirmation of what was said in court Monday, a national holiday in Britain.

British Anti-Islam group seeks U.S. Tea Party ties

Thu, 14 Oct 2010 21:39:00 +0000

Tentative links are developing between supporters of the Tea Party movement in the United States and right-wing fringe groups in Britain that are opposed to what they call the "Islamification" of Europe.

The movements are not formally aligned, but the relatively new English Defense League -- which warns that Islamic fundamentalism will soon engulf Britain -- is seeking guidance and inspiration from some U.S. figures taking a similar stance.

The British activists are less drawn to the anti-tax, anti-big-government Tea Party message and more attracted to elements taking an active stance against the spread of Islam, like Rabbi Nachum Shifren, a long-shot Republican candidate for the California state legislature who plans to visit England next week in a trip sponsored in part by the English Defense League.

The trip was organized by Roberta Moore, an English Defense League activist who has formed a "Jewish division" of the group. She said the rabbi will speak at an Oct. 24 rally in London.

"He plans to speak about the dangers of Islamification both in this country and in America," Moore told The Associated Press. "He will talk about the issues we have with immigration and the danger of Sharia law coming to the UK. We have the same objectives as the groups in the USA, and we want to exchange information and work with them."

Segway company owner drives Segway off cliff

Mon, 27 Sep 2010 17:32:00 +0000

A wealthy British businessman who owns the company that makes the two-wheeled Segway has been found dead in a river in northern England after apparently falling off a cliff on one of the vehicles, police said Monday.

The body of 62-year-old Jimi Heselden and a Segway personal transporter were found in the River Wharfe and he was pronounced dead at the scene, West Yorkshire Police said.

A witness had reported seeing a man fall Sunday over a 30-foot (9-meter) drop into the river near the village of Boston Spa, 140 miles (225 kilometers) north of London.

"The incident is not believed to be suspicious," police said, indicating that they do not believe anyone else was involved.

Heselden, who bought control of the Bedford, New Hampshire-based Segway company in December, made his fortune through his firm Hesco Bastion Ltd., which developed a successful blast wall system that replaced the sand bags once used to protect troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Hesco Bastion confirmed that Heselden "died in a tragic accident near his home in West Yorkshire."

Police have not revealed further details about the incident. A dozen members of Heselden's family asked for privacy Monday after placing flowers at the heavily wooded accident site, which is popular with hikers and nature lovers.

Goldman Sachs faces questions in Europe

Sun, 18 Apr 2010 20:07:00 +0000

Goldman Sachs is facing a potential backlash in Europe over the fraud case brought against it in the United States, with Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown calling for authorities there to investigate and accusing the investment bank of "moral bankruptcy."

Germany also said it would ask for detailed information about the case.

Both governments had to bail out banks that lost hundreds of millions of dollars on investments marketed by Goldman, according to the fraud suit brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in Britain's case Royal Bank of Scotland through its acquisition of parts of ABN Amro.

The SEC said the Royal Bank of Scotland paid Goldman $841 million to unwind ABN Amro transactions. Royal Bank of Scotland is now 84 percent owned by British taxpayers after being partly nationalized by the government.

Germany's IKB Deutsche Industriebank AG, an early victim of the credit crunch, lost nearly all its $150 million investment, the SEC said.

Brown on Sunday called for a full inquiry by Britain's Financial Services Authority in conjunction with the SEC. Britain would join Germany, where government officials said they would seek information about the bank's activities.