Massachusetts exhales as Bill passes, heads to Canada

Bill, a Category 1 hurricane, moved along the New England coast Sunday morning as authorities maintained tropical storm warnings for parts of eastern Canada. Though beaches along the Massachusetts coast remained closed, the National Weather Service lifted its tropical storm warnings there at 8 a.m. Stuart Smith, the harbormaster in Chatham, Massachusetts, said there were reports of “insignificant” storm-related damage, but Bill did not cause much concern.

Share

Strauss puts England in dominant position

England dominated the morning session on day three of the fifth and final Ashes Test match against Australia, making 157-4 to put the series’ hosts in the driving seat of the deciding clash with a lead of 329. Having ended the previous day at The Oval on 58-3 in their second innings, the home side continued the good work with captain Andrew Strauss making 75 before being caught off the bowling of Marcus North, with debutante Jonathan Trott adding a 50 on his debut

Share

Inspired Broad spell leaves Aussies reeling

An inspired five-wicket spell by Stuart Broad saw England dramatically turn the tables on Australia in the deciding Ashes Test at The Oval on Friday. The young paceman ripped through the Australian top order to leave them reeling on 133 for eight at tea on the second day. Replying to England’s 332, Australia reached 73 without loss until Broad trapped Shane Watson leg before wicket for 34.

Share

Murdoch closes paper as free news squeeze begins

Rupert Murdoch’s News International, which plans to begin charging for online content, said Thursday it was to close its free London newspaper as part of cost-cutting measures. The Londonpaper, which employs 60 editorial staff, will cease publication within a month, according to a statement. “The strategy at News International over the past 18 months has been to streamline our operations and focus investment on our core titles,” James Murdoch, who heads his father’s Europe and Asia operations said

Share

UFO ‘appeared above jazz stage at Glastonbury’

An alien with a lemon-shaped head and a jazz-themed encounter with a UFO at the Glastonbury Festival are among hundreds of UFO encounters detailed in the latest batch of documents released Monday by the UK’s Ministry of Defence. Fourteen files, containing over 4,000 pages of UFO sightings from 1981 to 1996, have now been placed on Britain’s National Archives database and are publicly available online

Share

The Fastnet tragedy 30 years on

It is still remembered as one of the worst days in the history of modern sailing. Yet the Fastnet tragedy of 1979 in which 15 people were killed and ex-British leader Edward Heath went missing helped to usher in a new era of improved safety in the sport. It was 30 years ago today that a freak storm struck over 300 vessels competing in the 600-mile yacht race between England and Ireland

Share

Former Samsung chief handed suspended jail term

A South Korean court on Friday found the former chairman of the Samsung Group guilty of a breach of trust in illicit bond transactions and sentenced him to a suspended 3-year jail term and a fine of 110 billion Korean won ($89 million), South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported.

Share

Chelsea win Community Shield on penalties

Chelsea have won the Community Shield — the traditional curtain-raiser to the start of the English Premier League season — beating Manchester United 4-1 on penalties at Wembley after the teams drew 2-2 after 90 minutes. The London side scored all four of their spot-kicks, while veteran midfielder Ryan Giggs and French left-back Patrice Evra both missed their penalties for United

Share