North Sea

(Newser) - The Dutch are seriously considering building a tulip-shaped island in the North Sea to expand the severely crowded nation and shield the coast from the rising ocean, Reuters reports.  "People live on top of each other in the Netherlands," said a politician.  "We are hungry...

(Newser) - Britain and the Netherlands are bracing  for massive flooding tomorrow as a huge storm in the North Sea churns its way to the coast, BBC reports. The entire coast is under alert for the first time in three decades, says the Dutch Transport Ministry. The storm surge is expected to...

(Newser) - Oil prices continue to break records, busting beyond $98 a barrel before settling at $97.98 in Singapore today, reports AP. Short-term effects like Monday’s attack on a Yemen pipeline contributed to the hike. Last week’s storms reduced Mexican exports to the US, and traders expected this winter’...

(Newser) - The August lull in British politics has given way to a national debate on an unexpected topic: Scottish independence. The separatist leader of Scotland's regional parliament has published a white paper outlining plans for a referendum and suggesting features of an independent Scotland: its own army, its own EU membership,...