A new lawsuit alleges that convicted swindler Bernie Madoff financed a cocaine-fueled work environment and a "culture of sexual deviance," and he diverted money to his London, England, office when he believed federal authorities were closing in at home. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in New York's State Supreme Court, was brought on behalf of former investors and seeks unspecified punitive damages and compensation. Beyond that, it offers a look at what the plaintiffs' attorneys say was once Madoff's multimillion-dollar empire ...

Bank of England Governor Mervyn King this week launched a scathing attack on Britain's banking sector, calling for a break-up of behemoth financial institutions that have taken billions of public money to stay afloat. King says Britain's Main Street banks should be separated from their risky investment arms to dissolve a culture in which some banks can fall back on the knowledge that they are "too important to fail" and thus can keep gambling with vast amounts of public cash. ...

The Vatican said Tuesday it has worked out a way for groups of Anglicans who are dissatisfied with their faith to join the Catholic Church. The process will allow groups of Anglicans, including bishops and married priests, to join the Catholic Church some 450 years after King Henry VIII broke from Rome and created the Church of England. The number of Anglicans wishing to join the Catholic Church has increased in recent years as the Anglican church has welcomed the ...

Ukraine secured a place in the European qualifying playoffs for the World Cup with a 6-0 rout of minnows Andorra on Wednesday. The victory left them a point clear of Croatia in the battle for second spot in Group Six behind already-qualified England. Croatia beat Kazakhstan 2-1 in their final qualifier with Tottenham's Nico Kranjcar scoring a 90th minute winner, but it proved to no avail. Ukraine defeated England 1-0 in Dnipro on Saturday to leave themselves in prime position ...

The beginning of the World Cup in South Africa next June kicks-off a festival of football on the pitch, but there are a wealth of issues for the host country to tackle off the field too. Up to half-a-million fans are expected to visit for the tournament and a string of sparkling new stadiums and hotels have sprung up to accommodate them. But that influx of supporters also brings with it a danger of an explosion in the sex trade ...

The man jailed for trying to kill British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in a hotel bombing in 1984 appeared in Parliament Tuesday with the daughter of one of his victims. Patrick Magee, a former Irish Republican Army activist, held a public discussion with Jo Berry, whose father died in the bombing in Brighton, southern England 25 years ago Monday. Magee told members of Parliament it is "always a challenge to share a platform with Jo. ... The challenge is, I'm ...

England soccer fans will only be able to watch Saturday's World Cup qualifier in Ukraine on the Internet after negotiations to broadcast it on television collapsed. Failed sports channel Setanta had been due to televise the game, but following its demise other channels such as Sky, the BBC and ITV, do not want to pay the rights fee, particularly as England have already sealed their place in the finals in South Africa. International sports rights agency Kentaro, who hold ...

Like most 14-year-old girls, Natalie Morton probably didn't spend too much time worrying about cervical cancer. But along with all of her female classmates at the Blue Coat Church of England school in Coventry, she received a vaccine on Sept. 28 designed to protect her from the disease. Within a few hours, she was dead. Amid the ensuing media bonanza, local health officials immediately announced a "full and urgent" investigation into Morton's death and ordered a batch of the vaccine to be withheld as ...

A man using a metal detector in a rural English field has uncovered the largest Anglo-Saxon gold hoard ever found -- an "unprecedented" treasure that sheds new light on history, archaeologists said Thursday. The hoard includes 5 kilograms (11 pounds) of gold and 2.5 kilograms (5.5 pounds) of silver. That is more than three times the amount of gold found at Sutton Hoo, one of Britain's most important Anglo-Saxon sites, Staffordshire County Council said. It's an "incredible collection of material ...

It's a crisp New England day and Paul Monti is sitting in the backyard garden he built to honor the memory of his son, sipping coffee from his favorite Boston Red Sox mug, and nursing what he calls a "morning cigar". These are daily rituals that help him deal with his son's death three years ago, while serving the U.S. Army in Afghanistan. "I come out here and sit on the bench and sit in the flowers," says Monti, a ...