England, Britain | featured news

One of Britain's most celebrated crossword setters, Araucaria, uses one of his own puzzles to announce he is dying of cancer.

The first official portrait of Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, has been unveiled at London's National Portrait Gallery -- but has met with a mixed reaction from art critics and the public. Award-winning artist Paul Emsley, who spent three-and-a-half months painting the Duchess's likeness, said he had tried to portray her warmth and personality in the picture.

The shooting deaths of 16 children and their teacher in the Scottish town of Dunblane in 1996 stunned the country. What did Britain do to try to prevent such a tragedy happening again?

Anger continued to swirl around a hoax call made to a London hospital by two Australian radio hosts who talked their way past a nurse to get a medical update on Kate Middleton. Three days later, the nurse was found dead in an apparent suicide. But some Australians are also defending the hosts, who are said to be "shattered" by the uproar.

The British hospital that fell victim to a prank call from two Australian DJs asking questions about the pregnant Duchess of Cambridge condemned the hoax on Saturday, as the radio station behind the prank tried to defend itself against rising anger a day after the nurse who took the call was found dead.

Britain's Prince William and his wife Catherine are expecting a baby, destined to be the country's future monarch, the prince's office said on Monday.

Britain named Canadian central bank chief Mark Carney on Monday as the next governor of the Bank of England, springing the surprise choice of a foreigner to help steer the world's sixth-largest economy out of stagnation.

The Rolling Stones made a triumphant return to the London stage on Sunday night in the first of five concerts to mark the 50th anniversary of their debut as an American-oriented blues band....

Rupert Murdoch protégé Rebekah Brooks was charged Tuesday with conspiracy over alleged illegal payments to a Ministry of Defence employee, London's Metropolitan Police said Tuesday.

Goodbye Britain? For the European Union, a once-unthinkable question is looking more like a real possibility with each new grinding week of economic crisis. The reason is that bad times are forcing the 17 EU nations that use the euro currency to move ever closer toward some kind of United States of Europe - one that could make decisions about how much member countries spend and how much tax they collect.