Britain

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Great Train Robber Dead at 84
 Great Train 
 Robber 
 Dead at 84 

obituary

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

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...

Monty Python Plans Stage Reunion

Will be surviving members' first performance together since 1998

(Newser) - For the first time in more than a decade, all surviving members of Monty Python will be performing together. Member Terry Jones confirmed the event to the BBC following a Sun report. "We're getting together and putting on a show—it's real," he says. "I'...

We're Running Out of Corgis

Low registration may put them on Kennel Club's 'vulnerable' list

(Newser) - In a serious threat to adorable viral videos, it appears corgis are facing the dog-breed equivalent of endangerment. With just 241 Pembroke Welsh Corgis registered this year, the breed is currently on Britain's Kennel Club's "at watch list": if 300 aren't registered by January, they'll...

Trapped in UK Sea Cave, Swimmer Dies

Rescuers fail to reach her through tiny 'blowhole'

(Newser) - A woman was swimming off the south coast of England when she got trapped in a sea cave; amid "horrendous" weather conditions, the 30-year-old died before rescuers could reach her, the BBC reports. She and her brother, 31, had apparently been "coasteering"—climbing on rocks, then jumping...

Europe Storm Leaves 11 Dead
 Europe Storm 
 Leaves 11 Dead 

Europe Storm Leaves 11 Dead

Britain, Denmark, Germany take the brunt of it

(Newser) - A nasty storm killed at least 11 people in northern Europe today while snarling transportation and leaving half a million people without power, AFP reports. The storm's high winds and heavy rains claimed four lives in Britain and three in Germany, mostly from falling trees. On a French island,...

Murdoch Honchos' Trial Begins in Britain

Rebekah Brooks, Andy Coulson face phone hacking charges

(Newser) - Today marks the beginning of a phone-hacking trial centered on two former bosses at Rupert Murdoch's News Corp: Rebekah Brooks, once head of News International, and Andy Coulson, former editor of the now-shuttered News of the World. Brooks is accused of hacking mobile phone messages, paying off public officials,...

Armed Man Busted at Buckingham Palace

Tried to get inside carrying knife

(Newser) - A man carrying a knife tried to muscle his way into Buckingham Palace today but was stopped by police and arrested. He tried to get in through the everyday entrance to the right of the ceremonial central gates, the Daily Beast reports. The 44-year-old is now being held at a...

Pilot Gets Sick, Passenger Gets Landing Lesson
 Pilot Gets Sick, Passenger
 Gets Landing Lesson 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Pilot Gets Sick, Passenger Gets Landing Lesson

He landed safely despite lack of flying experience

(Newser) - After the pilot of a small plane fell ill at the controls, two flight instructors were called in to the airport to give his only passenger a crash course in not crashing. The passenger—who had no flying experience—managed to bring the plane in for a safe, though somewhat...

Taliban: We're Still After Malala

Teen education advocate invited to Buckingham Palace

(Newser) - It's been a year since Malala Yousufzai was shot by Pakistani Taliban —and new threats aren't stopping the 16-year-old in her fight for girls' education. Traveling to her native Swat Valley, the BBC offers a new window into Malala's background and life story. The region launched...

'Missing Piece' Emerges in Stonehenge Mystery

Landmark's location tied to solstices, not sun-worship

(Newser) - New digging at Stonehenge sheds some light on the ancient site's mysterious ties with the summer and winter solstices. Contrary to what some have speculated, the landmark wasn't built for some sort of sun-worshipping ritual, says a researcher, nor was it "some kind of calendar or astronomical...

300K Porn Site Visits Made From UK Parliament

And 52K hits on adultery matchmaking service

(Newser) - Perhaps the UK's new Internet porn block is actually an act of self-restriction? People working in Parliament tried to access porn sites some 300,000 times in the past year alone, the Huffington Post has uncovered via an FOI request. It's not clear, however, which of the 5,...

EU Looks to Make Drivers Stop Speeding

Britain opposes 'Big Brother' proposal

(Newser) - The European Union is pushing a high-tech plan to prevent speeding: Cars could be equipped with devices to reduce their speed when it breaks the limit, the Daily Mail reports. Some 30,000 people in the EU die in road accidents each year; officials are hoping to slash that figure...

Lawmakers Unswayed by White House Syria Case
Lawmakers Unswayed by White House Syria Case 
UPDATED

Lawmakers Unswayed by White House Syria Case

When strike would occur remains unclear

(Newser) - The specifics of President Obama's plans for Syria don't seem much clearer after a conference call with Congressional leaders. The call didn't include information on when a strike would occur, Politico notes, nor did it appear to sway lawmakers who had doubts about military action. During the...

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