Ireland's Michael D. Higgins arrived in London on Monday ahead of the first state visit by a president of the republic since it gained independence from neighboring Britain.

The visit comes three years after Queen Elizabeth II made a groundbreaking trip to the republic, which helped to heal deep-rooted unease and put British-Irish relations on a new footing.

A Sikh man was jailed for 10 years in Britain on Friday for slashing the neck of the Indian general who oversaw the 1984 Amritsar Golden Temple assault.

Retired lieutenant general Kuldip Singh Brar, 78, was attacked as he walked through the West End district of London with his wife Meena in September 2012.

Britain warned Tuesday that the West and Russia faced a changed relationship in the coming years, as London suspended all bilateral military cooperation and halted arms exports to Russia.

Foreign Secretary William Hague said President Vladimir Putin had chosen the "route of isolation" by signing a treaty annexing Crimea just two days after a hastily arranged referendum on the breakaway peninsula.

An alleged victim of a suspected British pedophile on trial in Morocco fainted in court Tuesday as the case was adjourned for a fifth time, a rights activist who attended the hearing told Agence France Presse.

The 6-year-old girl passed out at the courthouse in the northern town of Tetouan when she saw Robert Bill, who is accused of kidnapping and attempting to rape her, said Mohammed Benaissa, who heads the Northern Observatory for Human Rights.

British Prime Minister David Cameron will make the first visit of his premiership to Israel this week, officials said Monday.

Cameron will travel to Israel on Wednesday before holding talks with counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu and delivering a keynote speech to Israel's parliament.

Legoland in Britain will close its hotel this weekend after far-right extremists made threats against the theme park for agreeing to host a Muslim family fun day.

The resort and its hotel had been hired out by a group called the Muslim Research and Development Foundation, and 1,000 Muslim families were due to spend the weekend there.

Britain's opposition Labor party voted Saturday for major reforms that will dilute its historical links with the trade unions -- at the risk of losing millions of pounds in political donations.

Leader Ed Miliband hailed delegates at a special conference in London for having the "courage to change" with their vote, by 86 to 14 percent, to support his proposed reforms to leadership elections and union funding.

A British man on trial in Yemen for attempting to smuggle artefacts out of the southern Arabian country said Monday he had thought they were merely bedouin souvenirs.

The financial manager was arrested in January when the objects were found in his suitcase as he prepared to fly to Mexico on holiday, according to the charge sheet.

Germany is Britain's closest partner in reforming the European Union, Foreign Secretary William Hague said Sunday ahead of talks this week between the leaders of the two countries.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday is to visit British Prime Minister David Cameron, who will be pushing his agenda for changing the way the 28-member bloc works, and repatriating powers.

A group using the name of the IRA has claimed responsibility for a series of potentially viable explosive devices sent to British military recruitment centers, police said Monday.

Seven crude devices were mailed to armed forces careers offices in southeast England last week. None went off or caused any injuries.