Britain

Stories 921 - 940 | << Prev   Next >>

Assange's Prison Reality: Limited Internet Access, Bad TV

He can't stand daytime TV at prison

(Newser) - WikiLeaks boss Julian Assange has been transferred to a segregation unit at Britain's Victorian Wandsworth prison, where his Internet access will be restricted, reports the Guardian . He's "quite chipper" and seems to be "bearing up," said attorney Mark Stephens. Assange, who's wearing standard-issue gray track-suit prison duds,...

Student Protesters Attack Prince Charles' Car

'Their royal highnesses are unharmed'

(Newser) - Even Prince Charles got a taste of how angry British students are over a big hike in university fees. Protesters smashed a window of the prince's Rolls Royce and splashed paint on the car as he and Camilla were being driven through London. The prince's office confirms, in style: "...

UK Protesters Clash With Cops Over Tuition Hike

Costs have tripled and students are outraged

(Newser) - British lawmakers narrowly passed a law that will triple university tuition today—and students let them have it. Thousands gathered to protest outside Parliament, in demonstrations that occasionally became violent, the AP reports. Crowds had gathered even before the vote, throwing flares, billiard balls, and paint bombs, while officers, some...

Straight Couples Want Same Rights as Gays in Britain

...their campaign is aimed at helping same-sex couples, too

(Newser) - In Britain, couples are fighting for “heterosexual equality”—and though that may sound homophobic, it’s not. Stephanie Munro and Andrew O'Neill plan to apply for a civil partnership this week and expect to be turned down—in Britain, such partnerships are for same-sex couples only—after which...

Newsman Calls Politician the C-Word ... Accidentally

BBC presenter struggles to continue after notable mistake

(Newser) - A BBC radio presenter put his foot in his mouth after stumbling over an MP’s last name, replacing the “H” in “Hunt” with a “C,” the Independent reports. Presenter Jim Naughtie coughed and struggled to resume after making the mistake. “I’m afraid many...

Reindeer Attacks Hiker, Nearly Impales Her

Bull was possibly sex-obsessed

(Newser) - A possibly sex-obsessed male reindeer repeatedly attacked a lone female hiker on an trail in Scotland and came close to impaling her on one of his antlers. The young bull knocked Pat Cook, 57, to the ground and tried to stab her. "I began bashing it over the head...

Snow Strands 7 People in British Pub for 8 Days

There are worse ways to wait out a blizzard

(Newser) - If you have to be stuck in a blizzard for eight days, you may as well be stuck in a pub. That's where seven people rode out a recent snowstorm in Britain, the BBC reports. A couple and five staff members wiled away the hours at the Lion Inn predictably...

UK Cabbie Moonlights as ... Taliban Fighter

British citizens with Afghan roots head over for months at a time

(Newser) - Talk about deflating the mystique of the Taliban: "I work as a minicab driver," one fighter in northern Afghanistan tells the Guardian . He spends most of the year in East London but travels to Afghanistan for a few months to join the fight—and he's apparently not alone....

British Brought in Taliban Impostor: Karzai Aide

UK intelligence paid fake senior insurgent

(Newser) - British officials are at fault for bringing a Taliban impostor to Afghanistan’s presidential palace to meet Hamid Karzai, the president’s chief of staff tells the Washington Post . An Afghan at the meeting knew the man wasn’t top Taliban figure Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour; foreigners shouldn’t be...

Royal Wedding to Cost UK Economy $7.9 Billion

Employers fear workers will take entire week off

(Newser) - Good news for the British: They'll be getting an extra day off to celebrate the royal wedding next year. The bad news: That extra day off will cost the country $7.9 billion, according to calculations by the Telegraph . Business groups expect the day off to result in $9.48...

Islamic Schools Teach UK Kids to Chop Thieves' Hands

Texts back stoning, say Jews made into pigs

(Newser) - At a network of 40 Islamic weekend schools in the UK, some 5,000 students are exposed to textbooks that teach the following lessons: Some Jews were transformed into pigs and apes; thieves should have their hands cut off; and some crimes deserve stoning as punishment, the Telegraph reports. One...

UK Paying Millions in Compensation to Gitmo Brits

Men alleged that UK intelligence agencies colluded in torture

(Newser) - The British government plans to pay compensation amounting to millions of dollars to a dozen former Guantanamo Bay inmates. The men, all British citizens or residents, had launched court proceedings against the government and claimed that British intelligence services had colluded in their torture in secret prisons abroad, the Guardian...

Helen Mirren Slams UK's 'Savage' Americanization

Britain's becoming too cruel, expat Oscar-winner says

(Newser) - Britain is becoming far too much like the US, complains Oscar-winning British actress—and Los Angeles resident—Helen Mirren. The 65-year-old told a French magazine that she feels her native culture is changing for the worse, and becoming too Americanized, the Telegraph reports. "England is constantly threatened by a...

Judge: Tweeting Joke About Blowing Up Airport Not OK

Paul Chambers' joke was 'definitely menacing'

(Newser) - A British man who joked on Twitter about blowing up an airport after his flight was canceled has lost his appeal challenging his conviction in the case. Paul Chambers—who lost his job after being arrested earlier this year—will now have to pay a $1,600 fine and double...

London's Student Protest Turns Violent

52K take to streets to protest university fees

(Newser) - Chaos erupted in London today during a student demonstration over an increase in university tuition fees, the Guardian reports. Though most of the 52,000 protesters conducted themselves peacefully, a small group threw rocks at police and forcibly entered the headquarters of the Tory Party. Once inside, they made their...

Teacher Wins $225K After Losing Voice

Vocal chords damaged after working in noisy classroom

(Newser) - A British teacher ruined her voice while struggling to make herself heard in a noisy classroom—and has been awarded $225,000 in compensation. Joyce Walters developed nodules on her vocal chords and had to give up teaching after working in an adult education center that placed her in a...

Brits Slam Bush's Claim That Waterboarding Saved Lives

But US officials back Bush

(Newser) - British officials are deriding George W. Bush’s claim that waterboarding terror suspects “helped break up plots.” In his memoir, Bush asserts that such “interrogations” of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two others stopped attacks at Heathrow Airport and other locations. British officials counter that Mohammed’s information...

Need an STD Test? There's an App for That

Coming soon, an STD test you can do on your phone

(Newser) - Just pee or spit on a USB-like chip and plug it into your phone or computer: In a few minutes, you'll get a diagnosis on whether you have chlamydia, gonorrhea, or a range of other STDs, according to the Guardian . British health officials are working with seven organizations that have...

Muslim Website Publishes Kill List

Postings urges attacks on British politicians who backed war in Iraq

(Newser) - An extremist Muslim website has published a "kill list" of hundreds of British members of parliament who voted for the war in Iraq. The site, Revolutionmuslim.com, urges readers to follow the example of a young "holy warrior" Muslim woman who stabbed former British Labor Minister Stephen Timms...

Secret UFO Military Tape Released

'It's coming this way!' shouts airman

(Newser) - Audiotape of a baffling UFO sighting has been released, featuring excited American military investigators discussing what they see. Airmen from Bentwaters US Air Force base in Britain talk breathlessly of a "strange red light" that vanishes then reappears, "some form of energy," and barnyard animals going crazy...

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