Britain

Stories 621 - 640 | << Prev   Next >>

UK to Queen: Get a 'Grip' on Your Budget

She's down to $1.7M, officials say

(Newser) - It's time for Queen Elizabeth to "get a much firmer grip" on her dwindling supply of cash, members of Britain's Parliament say: The royal cash reserve is down to 1 million pounds, or about $1.7 million, according to their report. That's a "historic low,...

Meet the Purple Tomato
 Meet the Purple Tomato 
Jan 27, 2014 11:13 AM CST

Meet the Purple Tomato

It's got blueberry-like health benefits: researchers

(Newser) - Finally: the health benefits of a blueberry in the shape of a tomato. That's how researchers are billing a genetically-modified purple tomato that may soon be available to shoppers. "With these purple tomatoes you can get the same compounds that are present in blueberries and cranberries that give...

Wanted at Buckingham Palace: Royal Bath-Runner

Housekeeping assistant will serve tea, assist guests

(Newser) - Help is wanted at Buckingham Palace, and keeping quiet is among the job requirements. The palace is looking for a housekeeping assistant, it says in a job ad —someone who will be in charge of "high-quality cleaning" and maintenance of bedrooms and bathrooms. The job holder will also...

Babylonian Tablet 'Confirms' Noah's Ark, With a Twist

The boat was round, says expert at the British Museum

(Newser) - Anyone seeking alternate versions of the Noah's Ark tale need look no further than Babylonian cuneiform tablets. One, discovered in 1872, pre-dated the Bible and told its own Ark story. Now a tablet has arrived at the British Museum that actually describes how to build the ark, according to...

Pol: Gay Marriage Will Bring 'Biblical Disasters' to UK

David Silvester suspended for writing anti-gay letter

(Newser) - A British far-right party has suspended a local councilman who blamed recent severe flooding on the government's legalization of gay marriage. David Silvester of the United Kingdom Independence Party had written a letter to the Henley Standard claiming he'd warned Prime Minister David Cameron the legislation would result...

Search Begins for Battlefield Lost for Centuries

Battle of Brunanburh helped define English, Scottish identities

(Newser) - Scotland is poised to vote on independence this year—and before it does, researchers are hoping they'll be able to track down the site of a battle at the root of the English-Scottish divide. There are more than 40 sites across Britain where experts have suggested the vicious Battle...

Monopoly: The Game That Helped WWII POWs Escape

Eccentric British officer Clayton Hutton made it happen

(Newser) - Monopoly was more than a game for many World War II POWs, who used tools hidden in the boxed sets to help them escape. The story's been told before, but Christian Donland at Eurogamer looks deeply into the life of a high-strung, eccentric British intelligence officer named Clayton Hutton,...

UK Accused of War Crimes in Iraq

250-page report cites sex assaults, beatings, electrocution

(Newser) - UK lawyers and European human rights activists are calling on the International Criminal Court to prosecute British leaders over war crimes allegedly committed in Iraq. Public Interest Lawyers and the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights have compiled a 250-page report, submitted to the ICC Saturday, on "systematic...

Woman Sues Lawyers for Letting Her Divorce Hubby

Solicitors should have respected her Catholic faith, she says

(Newser) - A divorce means the end of marriage, right? Well, a British woman was apparently shocked to hear about this, the Independent reports. Jane Mulcahy even filed suit against her former lawyers for failing to explain the whole divorce thing. Mulcahy said they should have respected her Catholic faith and advised...

England Will Register All Breast Implants

Officials look to fix 'cowboy industry'

(Newser) - Following a scandal over potentially dangerous breast implants last year, England is cracking down on what officials call a "cowboy industry." The country plans to begin registering every breast augmentation that occurs; Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are considering following suit, the BBC reports. "The PIP implant...

10 Wacky, Cool Ways the World Celebrates Christmas

From a straw goat in Sweden to hiding brooms in Norway

(Newser) - Your Christmas may include fruitcake, gifts, and a tree strung with lights, but the holiday season is celebrated a little differently in other parts of the world. In an article picked up from AccuWeather.com, LiveScience rounds up 10 wacky Christmas traditions you may want to adopt—and some you...

UK Convicts 2 in Soldier's Gruesome Murder

'Soldiers of Allah' found guilty in attack on Lee Rigby

(Newser) - A jury today convicted two British men who considered themselves "soldiers of Allah" of murdering serviceman Lee Rigby , who was run down with a car, stabbed to death, and nearly decapitated in a frenzied attack on a London street. The jury of eight women and four men deliberated for...

Great Train Robber Dead at 84
 Great Train 
 Robber 
 Dead at 84 
obituary
Dec 18, 2013 6:35 AM CST

Great Train Robber Dead at 84

Ronnie Biggs evaded authorities for decades

(Newser) - A British criminal who soared to fame after helping to rob a train of more than $7 million has died at 84 of unspecified causes. Ronnie Biggs made his name with the Great Train Robbery of 1963, though he actually spent most of the heist in a nearby car. After...

Guardian Has Published Just 1% of Snowden Materials: Editor

Alan Rusbridger faces questions over national security

(Newser) - The Guardian has only published about 1% of some 58,000 files leaked by Edward Snowden—and it's unlikely to "publish a huge amount more," says editor Alan Rusbridger. He spoke to a British parliamentary committee as he faces scrutiny over whether the paper had weakened national...

Social Services Forced C-Section, Took Baby: UK Case

15 months later, child still not with mother

(Newser) - The Telegraph reported yesterday on a crazy court case in the UK: After a pregnant Italian woman, in town for business, had a panic attack, social service workers in Essex got a court order allowing the woman to be forcibly sedated and undergo a C-section so they could take her...

Scots Debut Independence 'Blueprint,' Vow 'Revolution'

Country would keep queen, pound

(Newser) - Ahead of its Sept. 18 independence referendum , Scotland has unveiled a 670-page document (available here ) laying out the foundations for the proposed country. "This is the most comprehensive blueprint for an independent country ever published," says Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond. "We do not seek independence...

Monty Python Reunion Sold Out in 45 Seconds

Troupe plans 4 more shows

(Newser) - Monty Python's reunion gig sold out in less than a minute—and so did each of four added performances, according to Eric Idle, who's directing the shows at London's O2 Arena. "This pretty much took us by surprise," Idle tweeted . Performances will run from July...

Man Saved Own Heart—Using Gardening Trick

Now more than 40 have undergone procedure

(Newser) - A heart problem put a British engineer's life at risk for decades—but presented with surgery options, he was "unimpressed." So Tal Golesworthy, now 57, decided to take matters into his own hands, and the successful procedure he came up with has now helped more than 40...

Cops: 3 Rescued Women in London Lived in 'Collective'

They were apparently brainwashed and beaten by captor couple, say police

(Newser) - This much is clear about the case of three women alleged to have been kept against their will in a London home for more than 30 years: It's going to take a while to fully unwind what happened. But the picture emerging suggests that the women were controlled by...

UK Let NSA &#39;Unmask&#39; Its Citizens

 UK Let NSA 
 'Unmask' Its 
 Citizens 
New Snowden Leak
Nov 20, 2013 3:43 PM CST

UK Let NSA 'Unmask' Its Citizens

Latest Snowden leak reveals US had access to Brits' personal data

(Newser) - The NSA has been collecting phone, internet, and email records on UK citizens who are not suspected of any wrongdoing, and storing them in databases that the rest of America's intelligence and military services can access—and British intelligence officials signed off on all of it, a newly leaked...

Stories 621 - 640 | << Prev   Next >>