Ministry of Defence

Drummer Lee Rigby was identified Thursday as the soldier killed in London in a suspected terror attack on Wednesday.

The British soldier brutally killed in London in a suspected terror attack was a drummer in a military band who had served in Afghanistan, officials said on Thursday.

Lee Rigby, 25, known as “Riggers” to his friends, was killed in broad daylight on Wednesday as he walked in Woolwich, South London, near an army barracks.

In a statement, the U.K. Ministry of Defence said Rigby, who served with the 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, was “a loving father” to his two-year-old son Jack.

“An extremely popular and witty soldier, Drummer Rigby was a larger than life personality within the Corps of Drums and was well known, liked and respected across the Second Fusiliers,” the statement said.

“He will be sorely missed by all who knew him. The Regiment’s thoughts and prayers are with his family during this extremely difficult time,” it added. “Once a Fusilier, always a Fusilier.”

The statement said Rigby was born in Manchester, England and had joined the army in 2006.

It said he had been deployed on operation in Helmand province, Afghanistan, in April 2009, “where he served as a member of the Fire Support Group in Patrol Base Woqab.”

Rigby had previously helped guard the U.K.’s royal palaces. “He was an integral member of the Corps of Drums throughout the Battalion’s time on public duties, the highlight of which was being a part of the Household Division’s Beating the Retreat - a real honour for a line infantry Corps of Drums,” the statement said.

He had also served with his unit in Cyprus and Germany. In 2011, Rigby began a recruiting post in London and assisted with duties at the Tower of London.

The commanding officer of the Second Fusiliers, Lieutenant Colonel Jim Taylor, said Rigby was “a dedicated and professional soldier.”

“Larger than life, he was at the heart of our Corps of Drums. An experienced and talented side drummer and machine gunner, he was a true warrior and served with distinction in Afghanistan, Germany and Cyprus,” he said.

His platoon commander from 2010 to 2011, Captain Alan Williamson said “Riggers” was a “cheeky and humorous man, always there with a joke to brighten the mood.”

Related:

• UK mom calms man with blood-soaked knife after suspected deadly terror attack
• PhotoBlog: Britons react with horror and anger to London attack
• 'Leave our lands': Man knifed to death in suspected London terror attack

SWNS.com

Former Somali pirate hostage Colin Darch poses for a photograph with members of the Women's Institute in Parkham, England. The WI members had dressed as pirates for the evening not realizing their guest speaker's connection with the evening theme.

A women's group in southwest England had an embarrassing encounter at a recent meeting when members misinterpreted the idea behind a visiting speaker's talk about pirates.

The Parkham Women's Institute, a venerable institution traditionally devoted to home-spun handicrafts and good works, decided to get into the spirit of Captain Colin Darch's talk by dressing in pirate garb. Neckerchiefs, eye patches and pirate hats were widely sported, with a toy parrot thrown in for good measure.

Unfortunately, Captain Darch's topic focused on his 2008 ordeal at the hands of Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean, when he was held hostage for more than six weeks.

According to The North Devon Journal newspaper, a report from the Women's Institute meeting said that after some initial embarrassment: "Everyone sat down to listen to Darch's story and what a story it was. Absolutely fascinating and gripping. If you ever get a chance to hear Colin speak grab the opportunity because he is a great raconteur and very humorous."

The Women's Institute could not be reached for comment.

The 75-year-old retired sea captain said he was initially not sure what was going on: "It felt strange to be talking to a group of ladies with blue rinses and rubber daggers," he said.

"Then when it became clear that my talk on piracy was about my experiences, and not about piracy in general, they were obviously rather embarrassed."

The sea dog's sense of humor clearly came to the rescue when he was asked to judge the best-dressed-pirate competition.

"They asked me to judge them all on a scale of 0 to 10. However, I though it better to simply choose a winner. I chose the lady with the toy parrot – although, to be honest, it looked more like a fluffy chick."

Darch was speaking to the Women's Institute to promote his book about his life and times on the high seas, including the 47 days he was held by pirates. He and his shipmates were eventually released after a ransom was paid.

Despite the mix-up, Darch harbors no hard feelings and does not expect anyone to walk the plank.

"They gave me such an enthusiastic welcome, it almost made cry," Darch said. "And I managed to sell a few books too, which was nice."

Political leaders and admirers around the world took to social media channels to mourn and celebrate former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who died Monday at 87 following a stroke.

President Obama released a statement in which he called Thatcher "one of the great champions of freedom and liberty." 

"Here in America, many of us will never forget her standing shoulder to shoulder with President Reagan, reminding the world that we are not simply carried along by the currents of history—we can shape them with moral conviction, unyielding courage and iron will," Obama said.

We've created a capsule of global reactions from a range of voices, some official and some not:

Clive Brunskill / Getty Images, file

Gary Jones, left, and James "Big Jim" Hanson of Bradford City FC celebrate following their team's victory over English Premier League club Arsenal on Dec. 11, 2012. Only three years ago, Hanson was stacking shelves at a local supermarket. On Sunday, he'll play in front of 90,000 people at London's iconic Wembley Stadium.

Updated at 3:05 p.m. ET on Feb. 24: Bradford City FC lost 5-0 to Swansea.

BRADFORD, England -- It is the sort of "fairy tale" story that sounds made for Hollywood. 

Led by the unlikeliest of heroes, a passionate team of underdogs emerges from the shadow of near-bankruptcy to go an improbable winning streak, eliminating a series of big-name (and huge-budgeted) rivals and bringing hope to their poverty-stricken hometown.

But the real-life story of Bradford City Football Club might be too unbelievable for even the most cliche-loving studio exec who's watched "Hoosiers" and  "The Bad News Bears" one too many times.

Assembled for just $10,000, the team's extraordinary exploits have spirits soaring in the Yorkshire city and far beyond.

Currently lying in 79th place out of the 92 top clubs in England, Bradford City will on Sunday contest a national cup final after a succession of thrilling, giant-killing triumphs over teams including Arsenal, the London-based club valued at $1.5 billion last year.

One of Bradford's biggest stars was stacking shelves in a local supermarket not long ago. Now James "Big Jim" Hanson will find himself playing in front of 90,000 fans at London's iconic Wembley Stadium and a television audience of millions.

A representative of the Dalai Lama even wrote a letter to say the exiled Tibetan religious leader wished Bradford City's fans "every success in the big match." 

Courtesy Friends of Bradford City / Yorkshire International Business Center

The Dalai Lama was presented with a Bradford City FC jersey during a recent visit to Yorkshire.

Lying in wait for "The Bantams" will be Swansea City, currently eighth in the top English league, and its star striker, Miguel Michu.

Michu is third in the Premier League in goals this season and Swansea's manager has warned rivals it would take $47 million in compensation for the club to let him leave. By contrast, Bradford are currently 11th in the fourth level of English professional soccer.

Mark Lawn, Bradford City's co-chairman, can hardly believe the transformation in fortunes that has seen Bradford reach the Capital One Cup final -- a competition traditionally known as the League Cup.

The self-made businessman put money into the 110-year-old club to help it survive after debts of about $55 million saw it threatened with bankruptcy at least twice. It has been "a labor of love" that at times prompted him to question his own sanity.

'We've created history'
Lawn, 52, recalled vomiting on the team bus on the way back from a defeat at Morecambe amid fears the club was on the verge of financial collapse. After another loss, his car was attacked by angry Bradford City fans.

"It's not really sunk in," Lawn said. "We are the only fourth-tier team to get to Wembley ever. We've created history. The town is buzzing. It's amazing … it's just lifting the town."

"It's nearly got me believing in God again. I lost faith in God or religion in general when I lost my mother and father," he added. "I thought if we win then there's got to be summat ('something' in the Yorkshire dialect). I've said if we did do it, I will look at finding religion again."

Sitting in the club's 1911 room -- named for the year the club last won a major trophy -- Lawn played down his team's chances.

"I just hope Swansea are easy with us … They are a great side," he said. "I think they'll beat us, being realistic. But it's not about that for Bradford fans and Bradford City."

Once a thriving industrial city, Bradford is now one of the most deprived places in the U.K. Nearly a quarter of all households are jobless, long-term youth unemployment rates are soaring, local government spending is being cut dramatically.

Lawn grew up in Bradford's rundown Thorpe Edge area, where many houses are owned by the local government and rented out cheaply, and recalled as a child sneaking in to watch the team play without paying.

Thorpe Edge is a place with few reasons to celebrate. Annice Brearley, an outreach worker at Thorpe Edge Community Project, runs a program for children in which they wash cars and pack bags in local stores to raise money for trips to parts of England they would otherwise be unable to visit.

The neighborhood, she said, was "not a wealthy place … there's a lot of people who don't have much."

But Brearley, 46, said that the team's soccer success has "nobody thinking about stuff like that." She spent 11-and-a-half hours in line to buy a ticket for the final. 

"It's something like 102 years since anything good like this [the 1911 cup win] happened in Bradford," she said. "Nobody thinks Bradford City is going to lose. We're all really positive. It will be a brilliant day."

Not far from Thorpe Edge is the small Co-operative supermarket where hometown hero Hanson stacked shelves for two years before joining the club in 2009. 

"He used to work at the Co-op" has become a chant among supporters.

Ian Johnston / NBC News

Staff at the Co-op supermarket in Idle Village, Bradford -- Elisa Taylor, 24, her mother Ruth Taylor, and Jeanette McDonald -- will be cheering for former colleague James Hanson in Sunday's Capital One Cup final.

Former colleague Ruth Taylor said Hanson was "really lovely, a really gentle, nice lad."

"He always talked about his football," she recalled. "He loved it. We knew he were going to make it."

She insisted the 25-year-old striker would not choke after stepping into the national spotlight. "He takes it all in his stride, he's quite a laidback chap is James."

"I think he'll be really excited. It's like a big dream come true for him. He deserves it so much." she added. "They haven't had a lot to celebrate recently have Bradford. This would be a great morale booster, especially for this area. It would just go crazy."

Hannah Postles, 27, a journalist with Bradford's Telegraph & Argus newspaper, has been covering the growing excitement in the city in articles and a live blog.

'Big, burly men crying'
She recounted going to a bar to report on people watching the second of two semi-final games against top-tier Aston Villa on television.

"In the last four minutes, I swear I didn't breathe. It was so close, and you could see Villa firing on all cylinders," Postles said. After the final whistle, the emotion came. "Big, burly Bradford men crying is not something you see very often."

"It's hard not to find yourself getting swept up in it," she said. "It's been a massive inspiration to everyone in Bradford."

Her blog for the paper has been filled with reports of fans traveling from all over the world to attend Sunday's game. 

One, Mike Hitch, a ship's captain originally from Bradford, said he was planning to spend more than 21 hours in the air to fly halfway around the world from Tahiti to watch the game. 

"This will never happen again in my lifetime," the 46-year-old said Thursday by phone from the Pacific island. "If anything goes wrong, then I'll be looking for a sports bar in an airport."

Jon Super / AP, file

Bradford City supporters take to the stands before their fourth-tier team's win against English giants Arsenal on Dec. 11.

Bradford City beat six teams to get to the final, reaching the quarter-finals by triumphing over Premier League team Wigan on penalties after a 0-0 draw. They then drew 1-1 against Arsenal but were victorious in the penalty shootout.

The semi-final against Aston Villa consisted of two games, ending in a 4-3 aggregate victory for Bradford.

Bradford City FC manager Phil Parkinson said that although his players earned "peanuts" compared to counterparts on the Premier League teams they had knocked out of the competition, they possessed "incredible desire."

"Bradford has had some tough times over the last few years -- and not just the football club but the city," he added. "People are now walking around with a spring in their step."

The unlikely success has left many Bradford fans confident of another victory on Sunday.

"We haven’t come this far not to win it,"  said Mark Neale, a member of fundraising group Friends of Bradford City who has supported the team for 50 years. 

But he said that "the mere fact they've got to Wembley means this team of players will always be legends in Bradford."

"There's not a lot of pride in Bradford, but the pride in Bradford City (soccer club) is immense and it's rubbing off on people who are not normally interested in football," said Neale, 59.

Alan Carling, of Bradford City Supporters' Trust, said they had beaten three Premier League clubs "so we are not phased by a fourth. Bring it on."

"Everyone has been going round Bradford with a big grin on their face. City's achievements have caught the imagination of the world, and lifted the image of Bradford, which is often subject to condescension from southern England," he added.

But people with little connection to the area have also been attracted by success of a true underdog. 

Carling said he was interviewed by a Japanese television crew on Wednesday, while Neale received the letter from the Dalai Lama ahead of the game. 

Neale's supporters' group had previously presented the Buddhist spiritual leader with a Bradford jersey while he was in the area, after noticing the similarity between the team's colors and his robes.

In a telephone interview, Tenzin Taklha, one of the Dalai Lama’s secretaries in Dharamsala, India, said while His Holiness was "not really" a soccer fan, Bradford's success was "a fairy tale." 

"Everyone likes these stories and likes to follow that,” he said. "May the best team win … we’ll keep our fingers crossed."

Health Protection Agency via AP

A British Health Protection Agency photo shows an electron microscope image of a coronavirus, part of a family of viruses that cause ailments including the common cold and SARS. This one was first identified last year in the Middle East. A patient in Britain has died after being treated for the virus. So far 12 people have been diagnosed and six have perished.

LONDON -- A patient being treated for a mysterious SARS-like virus has died, a British hospital said Tuesday.

Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, central England, said the coronavirus victim was also being treated for "a long-term, complex unrelated health problem" and already had a compromised immune system.

A total of 12 people worldwide have been diagnosed with the disease, six of whom have died.

The virus was first identified last year in the Middle East. Most of those infected had traveled to Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan or Pakistan, but the person who just died is believed to have caught it from a relative in Britain, where there have been four confirmed cases.

The new coronavirus is part of a family of viruses that cause ailments including the common cold and SARS. In 2003, a global outbreak of SARS killed about 800 people worldwide.

Health experts still aren't sure exactly how humans are being infected. The new coronavirus is most closely related to a bat virus and scientists are considering whether bats or other animals like goats or camels are a possible source of infection.

Britain's Health Protection Agency has said while it appears the virus can spread from person to person, "the risk of infection in contacts in most circumstances is still considered to be low."

Officials at the World Health Organization said the new virus has probably already spread between humans in some instances. In Saudi Arabia last year, four members of the same family fell ill and two died. And in a cluster of about a dozen people in Jordan, the virus may have spread at a hospital's intensive care unit.

Related: 

New virus passed person-to-person in Britain, officials say

Paul Hackett / Reuters, file

Britain's Jemima Khan, supporter of WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange, arrives at Belmarsh Magistrates' Court in London Feb. 24, 2011. A court is expected to rule on Thursday whether Assange should be extradited to Sweden where he is accused of sex crimes.

Published at 4:20 p.m. ET: LONDON - Jemima Khan, a celebrity backer of Julian Assange who put up bail money for him, has gone public with her frustrations about the WikiLeaks founder, saying he demands "blinkered, cultish devotion" and should face justice in Sweden.

An article by Khan published on Wednesday on the website of British magazine The New Statesman gives an insight into how Assange, whose whistleblowing website angered Washington by releasing thousands of U.S. diplomatic cables in 2010, has alienated some of his staunchest allies.

Assange was arrested in Britain in December 2010 on an extradition warrant from Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning over allegations of rape and sexual abuse made by two women.

After losing a protracted legal battle to avoid extradition, which went all the way to Britain's Supreme Court, Assange jumped bail and sought refuge in the Ecuadorean embassy in London last June. He has been inside the building ever since.

Khan, who first rose to prominence as an heiress but is now a campaigner and an associate editor of The New Statesman, described in her article how she had gone from "admiration to demoralization" on the subject of WikiLeaks.

"The problem is that WikiLeaks - whose mission statement was 'to produce ... a more just society ... based upon truth' - has been guilty of the same obfuscation and misinformation as those it sought to expose, while its supporters are expected to follow, unquestioningly, in blinkered, cultish devotion," she wrote.

'We Steal Secrets'
Khan was executive producer of a documentary film about WikiLeaks entitled "We Steal Secrets" which recently premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in the United States.

Philip Toscano / AP

Julian Assange addresses the Oxford Union via video-link from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, Wednesday Jan. 23, 2013. WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, currently living as a fugitive in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London where he has been granted political asylum in reaction to an alleged 2010 sexual assault in Sweden, and will addresses the 189-year-old Oxford Union debating society, delivering his address via video-link.

Khan said the film, directed by Oscar-winning documentary maker Alex Gibney, sought to present a balanced view of the WikiLeaks story but Assange had denounced it before seeing it.

"When I told Assange I was part of the We Steal Secrets team, I suggested that he view it not in terms of being pro- or anti-him, but rather as a film that would be fair and would represent the truth," she wrote. "He replied: 'If it's a fair film, it will be pro-Julian Assange.'"

Khan's article praised WikiLeaks for exposing corruption, torture, war crimes and cover-ups but criticized it for a "with us or against us" mentality that was detrimental to its cause.

She wrote that she was among those who had found the timing of the sexual abuse allegations against Assange suspicious, as they came at the height of the furor over the revelations on WikiLeaks, but had come to the conclusion that the allegations had to be dealt with through Swedish due process.

"The women in question have human rights, too, and need resolution. Assange's noble cause and his wish to avoid a U.S. court does not trump their right to be heard in a Swedish court," she wrote, referring to Assange's fears that Sweden could be a first stop on the way to an espionage trial in the United States.

"I don't regret putting up bail money for Assange but I did it so that he would be released while awaiting trial, not so that he could avoid answering to the allegations," Khan wrote.

Khan has not disclosed how much money she put up and whether she has had to surrender it since Assange skipped bail.

Khan wrote that it was hardly surprising that a man who had spent his life "committed to this type of work, wedded to a laptop, undercover, always on the move", would have an unusual personality.

"I have seen flashes of Assange's charm, brilliance and insightfulness - but I have also seen how instantaneous rock-star status has the power to make even the most clear-headed idealist feel that they are above the law and exempt from criticism."

Related:

Supporters of WikiLeaks' Assange lose $320,000 in bail money

UK refuses WikiLeaks' Assange safe passage to Ecuador

US documents reportedly refer to Assange, WikiLeaks as 'enemy'

A gunman who tried to rob a bookmaker in England has died after he was tackled by unarmed customers, police said.

Broadcaster ITV News reported that the man, in his 50s, went into a branch of bookmaker Ladbrokes just before 7 p.m. local time (2 p.m. ET) in Plymouth, England.

Customers disarmed him and held him on the floor, police told the station, and he was unconscious when officers arrived. He was declared dead shortly after.

In a statement, a spokesman for Devon and Cornwall Police told ITV News that “it quickly became clear the man was unresponsive and an ambulance was immediately requested by police who carried out CPR until they arrived.”

“A few minutes later, three paramedics arrived at the scene and continued to carry out further CPR. Around 20 minutes later the man was declared dead at the scene by the paramedics,” the statement added.

Ladbrokes declined to comment, ITV News said.

ITV News is the U.K. partner of NBC News.

Paul Ellis / AFP - Getty Images, file

British broadcaster Stuart Hall arrives at Preston Magistrates Court in northwest England on Jan. 7.

LONDON -- A BBC sports commentator and entertainer -- so popular that members of Britain's royal family once took part in his game show -- has been charged with raping a woman and indecently assaulting girls as young as nine, according to police.

Stuart Hall, 83, who was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth in 2012 for services to broadcasting and charity, was arrested Tuesday morning after going to a police station voluntarily. He had covered soccer for BBC Radio 5 Live until recently.

The Associated Press noted the allegations had deepened "concerns about sex abuse by top BBC personalities decades ago."

In 1999, more than 50 British lawmakers signed a motion in parliament to congratulate Hall for 40 years in television with one, Tom Pendry, describing him as an “icon with the youth of today.”

Hall, famed for laughing hysterically, has commentated on soccer matches since the 1950s. He is known for his off-the-wall approach to covering the sport.

He also hosted the comedy game show “It’s a Knockout” in the 1970s and 1980s.

In 1987, four members of the U.K. royal family – Prince Andrew, Princess Anne, Prince Edward and Sarah, Duchess of York -- took part in a one-off version of the show for charity, which was hosted by Hall. Stars such as Meatloaf, John Travolta and John Cleese also participated.

In a statement Tuesday, Lancashire Constabulary said Hall, of Wilmslow in Cheshire, England, was alleged to have raped a 22-year-old woman in 1976.

“The indecent assault offences are alleged to have been committed between 1967 and 1986 and to involve 10 girls aged between 9 and 16 years,” the statement said.

Hall was given bail Tuesday and is due to appear before a court in Preston on Feb. 7.

In December, police said Hall had been charged with three counts of indecent assault.

The charges against Hall come amid a string of claims that famous Britons committed sexual offenses, mostly during the 1960s and 1970s.

These came to light after it emerged that the late Jimmy Savile, who was one of Britain’s top entertainers for decades, was a prolific sex offender.

Earlier this month, police released a report cataloging more than 50 years of rapes and indecent assaults, saying he had committed at least 214 sex crimes against victims as young as 8.

Like Hall, Savile was also honored by the British queen, receiving a knighthood.

A number of other high-profile figures have been questioned by police, including former glam rock singer Gary Glitter and comedian Freddie Starr, who both deny any wrongdoing.

Related:

BBC legend Jimmy Savile committed at least 214 sex crimes, police say

'A steep fall' for BBC as child sex abuse scandal rocks the UK