United Kingdom

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UK to Get Tough on Pot
UK to Get
Tough on Pot
Apr 4, 2008 9:14 AM CDT

UK to Get Tough on Pot

Brown will reclassify marijuana, stiffen penalties just 3 years after Blair relaxed them

(Newser) - The British government is set to tighten the law on marijuana, reclassifying it as a more dangerous drug and imposing a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison for possession. Prime Minister Gordon Brown is determined to designate pot as a class B drug, only three years after Tony Blair...

Facebook App 'Nose' Where U R
 Facebook App 'Nose' Where U R 
Apr 3, 2008 12:02 PM CDT

Facebook App 'Nose' Where U R

SNIFF allows users to pinpoint cell phone locations

(Newser) - A Facebook application launching in the UK will put people’s friends on the map—in real time, reports the Times. The Social Network Integrated Friend Finder or ‘Sniff’ app lets users pinpoint a friend’s cell phone down to the nearest 650 feet. Privacy is a priority: users...

'Buffoon' Leads Incumbent in Race for London Mayor

Boris Johnson holds slight lead for most important elected office in UK

(Newser) - The two leading candidates for mayor of London, Britain's most important elected office, are locked in a neck-and-neck race, according to a new Guardian poll. Ken Livingstone, the fiery Labour incumbent and sworn enemy of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, is now running just behind the Conservative challenger: MP Boris...

UK Politician Ridiculed for Flak Jacket

Brown No. 2 wears stab-proof vest to tour her own London nabe

(Newser) - Gordon Brown's deputy has sparked a media frenzy after she was photographed wearing a stab-proof vest around her own neighborhood in southeast London. Harriet Harman, the Labour Party's No. 2, has insisted the photograph of her touring the tough neighborhood in a kevlar-reinforced jacket with three police officers was taken...

Heathrow Fiasco a 'National Embarrassment'

British Airways reeling as terminal chaos continues

(Newser) - The chaos is continuing at Heathrow's brand-new Terminal 5, with one British politician slamming the fiasco as a "national embarrassment," the Daily Telegraph reports. More than 50 flights were canceled yesterday and British Airways admitted that the mountain of stranded baggage contained as many as 28,000 bags,...

Naked Chef Wants UK Cooking Like It's 1939

Inspired by war food rations, Oliver launches effort against takeout

(Newser) - Inspired by WWII food rationing, a British celebrity chef has declared war on the UK’s poor eating habits. Jamie Oliver is encouraging families in one South Yorkshire town to shun takeout and ready-made meals in favor of home-grown food and other healthier alternatives. “People are really busy, they’...

Litvinenko Wife Defies Brits, Demands Inquiry

Poisoned spy's widow wants to expose Putin's role in his murder

(Newser) - Alexander Litvinenko's widow calls for a public inquiry into the poisoning of the Russian spy in an op-ed for today's Times of London. Both the British foreign secretary and Scotland Yard have sought to dissuade her from petitioning for an inquest, saying it would prejudge a criminal trial against chief...

Record Few Say 'I Do' in UK
 Record Few Say 'I Do' in UK 
Mar 27, 2008 3:40 AM CDT

Record Few Say 'I Do' in UK

Weddings at 144 year low

(Newser) - The number of marriages is plummeting in the UK, where newly released government figures have revealed the fewest weddings since the middle of the 19th century. Fewer than 23 men in every 1000 said "I do" in 2006 as more couples opt for cohabitation without a marriage license. The...

Sarkomania Hits Britain
 Sarkomania Hits Britain 
Mar 26, 2008 11:32 AM CDT

Sarkomania Hits Britain

Queen welcomes French president, ex-model wife for state visit

(Newser) - The British press is in the full throes of Sarkomania as the French prez and wife Carla Bruni arrived today. The Sarkozys were met by Prince Charles, who accompanied them to Windsor Palace—where Queen Elizabeth obliged with a full royal welcome, followed by a state banquet. Nicolas Sarkozy said...

McCain Cozies Up to UK's Brown
McCain Cozies Up
to UK's Brown 
Mar 20, 2008 10:00 AM CDT

McCain Cozies Up to UK's Brown

GOP candidate talks Iraq, global warming, with British PM

(Newser) - John McCain began his visit to Europe in London today, where he met with PM Gordon Brown and praised him as a "very strong leader," the Guardian reports. McCain and Brown discussed Iraq, the global economy, and climate change, but when asked about British plans to withdraw troops...

Blair Offered to Meet Hooded IRA Militants

And Bill Clinton advised him to do it, new book reveals

(Newser) - A new tell-all book by Tony Blair's chief of staff reveals that the former British prime minister offered to meet with eight leaders of the Irish Republican Army during a critical moment in Northern Irish peace talks. Jonathan Powell, one of Blair's longest-serving allies, admits in a memoir being serialized...

Brit Furor Over Asylum for Gay Iranian

Teen says boyfriend was killed; calls gay treatment 'genocide'

(Newser) - A gay teenager who fears the death penalty at home in Iran, after his boyfriend was hanged for sodomy, is fighting for the right to stay in  the UK permanently, the Independent reports. Mehdi Kazemi, 19, lost his asylum claim in Britain and is now in a detention center in...

Former Blair Aide Pushes Qaeda Dialogue

Secret British talks with IRA could serve as example

(Newser) - One of Tony Blair's former top aides has called for Western governments to talk to al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups, the Guardian reports. Jonathan Powell, the former British prime minister's chief of staff for 12 years, is thought to have played a key role in negotiating a settlement in Northern...

Teachers Rip UK Iraq Lessons as 'Propaganda'

School proposal ignores casualties, 'rewrites history'

(Newser) - On the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, a row has erupted in Britain over a controversial school lesson plan about the conflict drawn up by the country's defense ministry. The National Union of Teachers is up in arms over the proposal and is threatening a boycott over what...

Brown Upbraids UK Public for Taunting Troops

PM irked that some personnel advised not to wear uniform off base

(Newser) - After reports that officers in Britain's Royal Air Force advised members against wearing uniforms in public, Prime Minister Gordon Brown urged troops to show their colors, the Telegraph reports—and chastised citizens for the verbal abuse that prompted the guidelines. Brown said troops should “have the respect and gratitude...

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,...

UK-Russia Relations Remain Frosty
UK-Russia Relations Remain Frosty
Mar 4, 2008 10:20 AM CST

UK-Russia Relations Remain Frosty

Brown writes to congratulate Medvedev but offers no invite

(Newser) - As Gordon Brown extended only the most cursory congratulations to Dmitry Medvedev yesterday, the frozen diplomatic relations between Russia and Britain seem unlikely to thaw, reports the Times of London. The UK prime minister sent a letter rather than making the usual phone call to a president-elect, and he pointedly...

Scots Build Replica of Bach's Head
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,”...

Britons Quaking After Midnight Tremors

Moderate earthquake felt from London to Manchester

(Newser) - Britons are calming down with a cuppa this morning after an earthquake rattled much of the island at 12:56am. The biggest quake here since 1984, the tremor was reported to be between 4.7 and 5.3 on the Richter scale and centered 127 miles north of London. Bricks...

Police Seek Broader DNA Database
Police Seek Broader DNA Database
Feb 23, 2008 3:02 PM CST

Police Seek Broader DNA Database

US wants to follow UK's lead and track down suspects' relatives

(Newser) - US law enforcement currently catalogs 5.6 million DNA profiles, about 2% of Americans, but hopes to expand that and the scope of their searches, the Wall Street Journal reports. A bigger database would allow "familial searches"—looking for near matches of a suspect's brother or sister, for...

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