Britain

Stories 1021 - 1040 | << Prev   Next >>

Prisoner Sues Over Smoking Ban

It's 'cruel and unusual' punishment, con claims

(Newser) - You can take his freedom but you can't take his cigarettes, a British inmate is arguing in court. Jack Richard Foster is suing prison authorities, claiming they violated his human rights and imposed cruel and unusual punishment when they took away his tobacco for a week as punishment for swearing...

British Fertility Clinic Raffles Off American Egg
British Fertility Clinic
Raffles Off American Egg
cue outrage
Mar 15, 2010 4:00 AM CDT

British Fertility Clinic Raffles Off American Egg

Promotion for transatlantic service sparks controversy

(Newser) - A London fertility clinic has sparked controversy with a raffle sidestepping British laws by offering women a chance to win an American egg of their choice. Paying egg donors more than expenses is illegal in Britain, but the clinic is offering to fly the winner—who will be allowed to...

Brits Uncover Mass Grave of Headless Vikings

Archaeologists thrilled by bones of 51 Scandinavians

(Newser) - Road builders in southern England uncovered the remains of what's proven to be 51 Vikings who came to a bad end sometime around 1000 AD. Archaeologists believe the men, mostly in their late teens and early 20s were beheaded in front of an audience. Analysis of their teeth found that...

UK Apologizes to 'Brit Fritzl' Daughters

Social workers knew of incest, but failed to act: Report

(Newser) - British authorities publicly apologized yesterday for failing to protect two women from the violent, domineering father who raped them repeatedly over 25 years and forced them to bear 9 children. An official review of the case found the family had been in contact with 28 different social services agencies and...

Anna Nicole Opera Will Premiere in 2011

Libretto is by 'Jerry Springer: The Opera' writer

(Newser) - Britain's Royal Opera House will stage the premiere of an opera about Anna Nicole Smith in 2011. The libretto of Anna Nicole is by Richard Thomas, a creator of the controversial Jerry Springer: The Opera. Covent Garden commissioned the opera about the former Playmate in 2008. It will focus on...

Hitler Youth Reached Out to Brit Boy Scouts

Young Nazis hosted cycling tours, camps

(Newser) - Hitler's Nazi Youth organization created cycling tours and other activities in a bid to win over British Boy Scouts, reveals just-released UK intelligence files. Boy Scouts participated in the tours and attended camps run by Nazi Youth on British soil in 1937, according to the documents. MI-5 agents alerted officials...

Muslim Women Barred From UK Flight for Refusing Scan

Pakistan-bound passengers cited religious, medical reasons

(Newser) - Two Muslim women were barred from boarding a flight to Pakistan after they refused to go through Manchester Airport's newly installed full-body scanners. One of the women cited religious reasons, while her traveling companion said it was for medical reasons. The pair are believed to be the first people Britain...

Clinton Seeks to Defuse Falklands Spat

Secretary of state offers to facilitate, but not mediate, UK-Argentina talks

(Newser) - Argentina and Britain need to do something to resolve rising tensions over the Falkland Islands but they shouldn't expect the US to mediate, Hillary Clinton said yesterday. "What we want to do is to facilitate them talking to each other,” she said at press conference in Uruguay. “...

UK Study Warns of 'Pornification'

Calls for crackdown on lads mags, sexist billboards

(Newser) - Britain must crack down on nudity and sex on television, in men's' mags, and on billboards to prevent the 'pornification' of society, a new study warns. The research, commissioned by the government, also rips digitally altered photographs, saying children are being pressured to conform to unrealistic images and gender stereotypes...

Mom Panicked Over Losing Baby Is Held in Her Murder

'She thought the world of her,' says neighbor

(Newser) - A young British mom terrified that she was about to lose her baby girl is being held in her daughter's murder. Police found Sonia Bellfield, 29, covered in blood and the corpse of her 2-year-old daughter, Jasmine, nearby. Neighbors believe the mom, who suffers from serious mental problems, "flipped"...

JK Rowling Sued for Plagiarism

Potter scribe named in suit brought by late author's estate

(Newser) - JK Rowling is being accused of copying material for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the fourth book in her record-breaking series. Her name was recently added to a multimillion-dollar suit against her publisher, Bloomsbury, brought by the estate of the author of another wizard-themed book. The suit alleges...

UK Cleric to Women: 'Submit to Your Husbands'

Church blames divorce on behavior of 'modern women'

(Newser) - Two clerics at a British church have shocked parishioners by urging wives to "submit to their husbands in everything." Angus MacLeay of St. Nicholas Church in Kent distributed a leaflet last week entitled "The Role of Women in the Church," which tells women to "remain...

Brit Soccer Stars Refuse to Be in Anti-Homophobia Ad

Campaign shelved after pros won't play ball

(Newser) - British soccer authorities were forced to shift gears on its plans for an anti-homophobia ad campaign starring top players after the athletes refused to take part. The players and their agents feared that their involvement in a video addressing gay prejudice would lead to ridicule from fans, sources tell the...

Facebook Deletes Pages of 30 British Prisoners

They were taunting families of victims

(Newser) - Facebook has pulled down 30 pages belonging to British convicts after the Justice Secretary complained they were using them to taunt their victims’ families. Jack Straw made the request after meeting with victims and said the profiles were down within 48 hours. One gangster said he could not wait to...

Brit Olympic Ski Team Bankrupt
 Brit Olympic Ski Team Bankrupt 
Feb 11, 2010 1:21 AM CST

Brit Olympic Ski Team Bankrupt

Athletes left to fund themselves on eve of Vancouver Games

(Newser) - The governing body for Britain's skiiers and snowboarders has gone bust just before the Vancouver Olympics. Athletes now in Vancouver have been forced to fund themselves as UK Olympic officials scramble to find cash from sponsors and private donors to cover the team's costs. Organizers complain that the London 2012...

Cougars Get Pregnancy Warning

Ad campaign warns women they can be fertile into their '50s

(Newser) - A stubbornly high rate of unplanned and unwanted pregnancies among women over 35 has forced British authorities to launch a campaign to remind women of a certain age that unprotected sex can cause pregnancy. Officials behind the "Conceivable?" campaign say that warnings on fertility waning with age have led...

UK-Style Question Time Isn't What US Needs
 UK-Style Question Time 
 Isn't What US Needs 
PEGGY NOONAN
Feb 5, 2010 8:34 AM CST

UK-Style Question Time Isn't What US Needs

Terror threat calls for unity, not more partisanship

(Newser) - Question Time—in which opposition British politicians grill the prime minister every week—is great political theater but probably wouldn't translate so well to the US, writes Peggy Noonan. The idea has its pluses, but American politicians don't seem able to insult each other with the skill and elegance of...

Yes, Yes, YES! There Is a G-Spot: French Docs

Don't listen to the Brits on sex, physicians warn

(Newser) - Yes, Virginia, there is a G-spot. That's what French docs want the world to know in a reminder that when it comes to sex, don't ask the British. UK scientists at Kings College recently declared that there was no proof that the female hyper-pleasure center exists. But French physicians declared...

Tony Blair Faces Grilling Over Iraq War

Ex-prime minister to be questioned on WMDs, promises to Bush

(Newser) - The decision to send British troops to join the US invasion of Iraq was by far the most controversial of Tony Blair's leadership, and his place in history may depend on how well he defends it today. The former prime minister will face 6 hours of grilling from inquisitors about...

Metalheads Declare Religious Status

Campaign for metal fans' souls launched

(Newser) - British heavy metal fans are being urged to put their faith in their music by listing their religion as "heavy metal" in the next census. A similar campaign in the last once-a-decade census led to 390,000 people listing their faith as "Jedi"—outnumbering believers in Judaism,...

Stories 1021 - 1040 | << Prev   Next >>