Tags: Britain

Britain's Co-operative Bank said it would not need to raise capital after failing a Bank of England stress test. Co-op Bank, which nearly collapsed last year and fell under the control of bondholders, said its core capital fell to -2.6 percent in the test, compared to a 4.5 percent pass mark.

When word of an EU ban on high-power vacuum cleaners hit Eurosceptic British tabloids in August, "Hoovergate" brought home a dilemma for the bloc that goes well beyond house-proud devotees of deep-pile English carpet.

Russia has opposed requests by the United States, Britain and France for the firing of a key Russian official from a troubled peacekeeping mission in Sudan's conflict-torn Darfur region, U.N. diplomatic sources said.