Britain – News Stories About Britain - Page 78

Mar 4, 2008 5:00 PM CST

Top N. Ireland Minister Will Step Down

Paisley played key role in power-sharing, peace agreements

(Newser) - Northern Ireland’s influential first minister, Ian Paisley, will step down in May, Reuters reports. The Protestant evangelist, 81, helped soothe religious strife in the province when he agreed to share power with Catholics last year after decades of fueling the conflict, the AP reports. "I've achieved my aims,...

Reports of Horror at UK Orphanage Extend to 2007

Mar 3, 2008 11:15 AM CST

Reports of Horror at UK Orphanage Extend to 2007

Cops warn suspects not to threaten victims

(Newser) - British police are investigating charges that assaults at a notorious children's home occurred as recently as late last year, the Guardian reports. The revelation is the latest twist in an unraveling tale of sexual and physical abuse at the government-run home on the island of Jersey. Detectives said at least...

Scots Build Replica of Bach's Head

Mar 1, 2008 8:40 PM CST

Scots Build Replica of Bach's Head

Rendering is based on a cast, portrait, and papers from his time

(Newser) - Forensic artists have re-created Johann Sebastian Bach’s head based on a cast of his skull and documents from the composer’s time, the BBC reports. The model, built at Scotland’s Dundee University, is “the most complete face that can be built from the available reliable information,”...

UK Docs
Call for Smaller Wine Bottle

Feb 29, 2008 3:45 PM CST

UK Docs Call for Smaller Wine Bottle

Medical journal weighs in with plan to curb Brits' boozing

(Newser) - Britons are downing too much wine, the British Medical Journal concludes, and it has a solution: smaller bottles. “Once two of us have had a glass each, it’s all too tempting to finish the bottle then and there,” wrote one doctor of the standard 750-mililiter size. One...

UK Beaches Awash in Cocaine

Feb 28, 2008 11:28 AM CST

UK Beaches Awash in Cocaine

$1.2 million in cocaine appears to have drifted across the Atlantic

(Newser) - When a British beachcomber brought police a wheelbarrow full of 50 lbs. of pure Colombian cocaine the other day, Cornwall police weren’t stunned. In the last 3 weeks, five other such packages have washed up on Cornwall’s beaches, with a total street value of $1.2 million. “...

Viagra Linked to
Reduced Fertility

Feb 24, 2008 6:32 AM CST

Viagra Linked to Reduced Fertility

New concern for fertility clinics that provide drug to male partners

(Newser) - Popular sexual potency drug Viagra has been linked to sperm effects so dramatic that it could seriously affect male fertility, researchers have discovered. The findings are particularly troubling because in-vitro fertilization clinics often provide Viagra to men to increase sperm production. The new studies show that while Viagra increases sperm...

Royal Butler Recalled to Diana Inquest

Feb 22, 2008 5:15 PM CST

Royal Butler Recalled to Diana Inquest

Paul Burrell is asked to return after video suggests he lied

(Newser) - After a video showed the former royal butler saying he’d been untruthful during an appearance at the Princess Diana inquest, Paul Burrell is being asked to return and explain himself, reports the BBC. In the tape, Burrell allegedly claims to have dropped “red herrings” and kept secrets in...

CIA: Rendition Flights Landed in UK Territory

Feb 21, 2008 2:17 PM CST

CIA: Rendition Flights Landed in UK Territory

Brits apologize for earlier denials of ties to terror cases

(Newser) - Two US flights carrying terror suspects for interrogation abroad—a practice known as extraordinary rendition—landed on British territory in 2002, confirmed CIA Director Michael Hayden today. Though the UK previously denied such landings, Foreign Secretary David Miliband admitted planes refueled on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, reports...

Kosovo Independence Splits EU

Feb 18, 2008 6:11 AM CST

Kosovo Independence Splits EU

Some fear feisty new nation could inspire separatists elsewhere

(Newser) - A meeting of EU officials today to discuss Kosovo is likely to reveal deep-seated divisions within the European Union. While Britain, France and Germany are expected to recognize the newly independent Kosovo immediately, other states like Cyprus, Greece, Romania and Spain worry about the message such recognition will send to...

5 UK Students Freed on
Terror Appeal

Feb 13, 2008 5:50 PM CST

5 UK Students Freed on Terror Appeal

Judge overturns convictions for having extremist literature

(Newser) - The UK's top judge today quashed the convictions of five young Muslims on charges of downloading and sharing terrorist material, the Telegraph reports. Lord Chief Justice Phillips ruled that, under 2000's Terrorism Act, it is not illegal to possess and study terror literature unless there is obvious evidence of "...

Prince Andrew: Bush Botched Iraq War

Feb 5, 2008 1:05 PM CST

Prince Andrew: Bush Botched Iraq War

America should have left colonialism to the experts, royal says

(Newser) - The latest attack on the Iraq war comes from an unlikely source: Prince Andrew, fourth in line for the British throne, is lambasting the US for ignoring British advice and botching the Iraq war. “We've won some, lost some, drawn some," the Royal Navy veteran said. "The...

Prince William May Try Stint
as Journo

Feb 2, 2008 5:23 PM CST

Prince William May Try Stint as Journo

Reporting would show him media's point of view, handlers say

(Newser) - In an odd twist, Prince William may try a stint in journalism to train for public life, the Guardian reports. Officials say he would benefit from reporting on others, as journos will one day report on him as heir to England's throne. His handlers are also considering spells for William...

Beatles Hotel Opens in Liverpool

Feb 2, 2008 3:59 PM CST

Beatles Hotel Opens in Liverpool

'Interest has been unbelievable,' says manager

(Newser) - Move over, Penny Lane: Liverpool’s latest draw is the Hard Day's Night, a Fab Four-styled hotel that boasts 110 rooms and two swanky penthouses near the fabled Cavern Club, the BBC reports. The hotel also displays rare band photos and art by Beatles painter Shannon. “The bookings are...

Citizenship Test Just Too Tough for Most Brits

Feb 1, 2008 7:40 PM CST

Citizenship Test Just Too Tough for Most Brits

High standards, or a scheme to foil would-be immigrants?

(Newser) - Should would-be immigrants to the United Kingdom be required to know the population of Wales when a majority of Britons don't? Only one in seven natives would pass the test required to get a passport, the Christian Science Monitor reports. The government says the bar should be set high even...

Britain's Official Tax Site Falters at Deadline

Jan 31, 2008 3:08 PM CST

Britain's Official Tax Site Falters at Deadline

Citizens get extra day after web volume proves too, er, taxing

(Newser) - British taxpayers hoping to file their returns by tonight's UK deadline have been thrown for a loop by crashes of the government’s tax website, the Guardian reports. Midnight tonight is the usual deadline, but it has been extended by 24 hours. Tardy taxpayers in the UK usually face an...

Britain to Offer McQualifications

Jan 28, 2008 8:11 AM CST

Britain to Offer McQualifications

McDonald's training program will result in nationally-recognized credit

(Newser) - Gordon Brown parried criticism today for his government's decision to give students school credit for completing a McDonald's "basic shift manager" course, and other entry-level corporate training programs. "It's not that standards are going to fall. It's going to be a tough course," Brown said of the...

UK Tories Give Hillary a Hand

Jan 27, 2008 10:32 AM CST

UK Tories Give Hillary a Hand

Britain's right aligns itself with America's left

(Newser) - Since David Cameron became leader in 2005, Britain's Conservative Party has moved steadily to the political center on issues from climate change to gay rights. That shift has alienated the Tories from their American cousins, the Republicans, and in an election year the division has become especially acute. As the...

Britain to Pay Citizens to
Lose Flab

Jan 24, 2008 10:31 AM CST

Britain to Pay Citizens to Lose Flab

Experts say if trends continue, most Brits will be obese by 2050

(Newser) - With British waistlines bulging and no end in sight for the obesity crisis, the government has come up with a plan: offer cash incentives to workers who slim down. Employers will host competitions, with prizes going to those who shed the most, the Daily Telegraph reports. The Well@Work plan includes...

Boeing 777 in Spotlight After London Crash

Jan 23, 2008 10:38 AM CST

Boeing 777 in Spotlight After London Crash

Popular passenger jets had piled up 3.5M hours without such an incident

(Newser) - British and American investigators are still piecing together flight data to determine why a Boeing 777's engines suddenly refused to increase power just short of landing, causing the plane to crash-land at London's Heathrow airport on Thursday. The unexplained crash has drawn worldwide puzzlement, as the popular passenger plane previously...

Witness Says 'Creepy Man' Kidnapped Maddy

Jan 20, 2008 9:19 PM CST

Witness Says 'Creepy Man' Kidnapped Maddy

New sketch sparks worldwide manhunt

(Newser) - A second sketch of Madeline McCann's alleged kidnapper sparked a worldwide manhunt yesterday, the Daily Mail reports. Maddy's parents revealed the drawing, based on a UK witness' account of a "creepy man" she saw after Maddy vanished in Portugal last May. She reported him to Portuguese police, but the...