UK News: NI police warn of 'severe' terror threat

Police in Northern Ireland have warned the public to be vigilant over the Easter weekend because of the "severe threat posed by terrorists". On Friday, detectives investigating dissident republican activity in south Armagh arrested three men they stopped in a car near the Irish border.

Schools facing walkouts

Schools could face a series of walkouts over cuts to teachers' pensions packages. Delegates at the National Union of Teachers conference are to vote on whether to ballot for a strike. If it is passed, they are likely to co-ordinate with the Association of Teachers and Lecturers who voted to ballot on the issue last week.

5500 streets to party in honour of royal wedding

Government officials say that more than 5500 street parties are being planned in honour of Prince William and his bride on April 29.

Figures collated by the Local Government Association show that in London alone there are some 800 applications for road closures for the day of the royal wedding.

Local councils say they are aware of thousands of other parties being held that do not require official permission, making the total number much higher.

Being drunk 'is Brit trait'

More than a quarter of people in the UK think that getting drunk abroad is a British characteristic, a new behaviour survey has revealed.

Twenty-eight per cent of people think getting drunk abroad is a British attribute, while fewer than one in three people think working hard makes people British. The study also found that 60 per cent of them thought drinking tea was a British trait.

Sheen to suffer for his art

Hollywood actor Michael Sheen will eat his "last supper" tonight before being locked in a police cell as he plays his latest role in a 72-hour live performance of The Passion. The Welsh actor has returned to his home town of Port Talbot to star in the National Theatre Wales production.

London: A teenager has died after falling from the sixth floor of a tower block in south-east London. Jovanni Peddie, 14, opened his bedroom window to look out but plunged on to a second-floor balcony on the Aylesbury Estate in Walworth, his family said.

Cumbria: The gardens of the run-down gothic-style Lowther Castle, near Penrith, have opened to the public for the first time in 70 years. More than 9 million is being spent transforming the castle, built in 1805, into a tourist attraction, and its 20 overgrown gardens have now been cut back.