Britain

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Virginia Woolf Gets Silly in 'New' Play

Off-Broadway troupe revives author's one satirical work

(Newser) - A satirical play by Virginia Woolf received its professional premiere today in New York, NPR reports. Featuring figures like poet Alfred Lord Tennyson and painter George Frederic Watts, Freshwater lampoons "high-falutin', oldish, long-bearded Victorians," the play's producer said. Woolf wrote the hour-long farce as a fun project for...

Desperate Times: UK Mulls 3-Day Week
Desperate Times: UK Mulls 3-Day Week
Jan 25, 2009 10:39 AM CST

Desperate Times: UK Mulls 3-Day Week

Gov't may compensate workers to avoid higher cost of mass layoffs

(Newser) - Now officially in recession amid the global downturn, the specter of a three-day work week has emerged in Britain, the Independent reports. Though officials say it’s "not imminent," the government has discussed paying firms to cut hours with public cash going toward compensating employees for the lost...

BBC Refusal to Air Gaza Appeal Sparks Uproar

Network fears appearance of bias in charged issue

(Newser) - The BBC has been lambasted by politicians, religious leaders and its own staff for the network's refusal to broadcast an appeal for Gaza aid, the Guardian reports. Executives of the publicly funded network say they must adhere to a strict code of impartiality, and that airing the appeal could be...

Worldwide Downturn Speeds Up Alarmingly

Analysts don't expect recovery in 2009

(Newser) - The global economy is in a faster decline than economists predicted only weeks ago, as the bursting of the biggest-ever real-estate bubble hits real economies in Europe and Asia, killing millions of jobs and shutting businesses, the Washington Post reports. Britain just posted its biggest quarterly slump since 1980, while...

Dow Tumbles 332, Below 8,000
 Dow Tumbles 332, Below 8,000 
MARKETS
Jan 20, 2009 3:21 PM CST

Dow Tumbles 332, Below 8,000

Obama inauguration can't break Street's gloom

(Newser) - A spirit of optimism swept through America today as Barack Obama was sworn in—except on Wall Street, where financial trouble at home and in the UK sent the Dow below 8,000 for the first time since November, the Journal reports. The Dow fell 332.13 to close at...

Nationalization Looms for Royal Bank of Scotland

Lack of faith in government's bank bailout plans sparks investor stampede

(Newser) - One of Britain's biggest banks is on the verge of nationalization, reports the Daily Telegraph. The Royal Bank of Scotland's shares plummeted more than 65% yesterday after it revealed massive losses of $56 billion for 2008—the highest in British history. The government has upped its stake in the bank...

UK Squatters Wait Out Recession in Mansions

(Newser) - In the middle of one of London’s ritziest neighborhoods, a dozen young artists are lounging in the scantly lit living room of a $33 million mansion, eating curry made from ingredients found in the trash. The current recession has reignited England’s passion for squatting, the Washington Post reports....

Knox Murder Trial Begins Tomorrow
Knox Murder Trial Begins Tomorrow
Jan 15, 2009 12:03 PM CST

Knox Murder Trial Begins Tomorrow

Italian police still have little evidence in death of British roomie

(Newser) - The murder trial of 21-year-old American Amanda Knox begins in Italy tomorrow, though police have gathered little more than her roommate Meredith Kercher’s dead body as evidence since the 2007 murder, Der Spiegel reports. The sexual crime involving two promising college students and several shady Italian men has the...

Psychologists: Victorian Novels Helped Us Evolve

Victorian literature upheld cooperation, personal sacrifice

(Newser) - Victorian novels didn't just tout moralistic values of 19th-century British society, they helped altruistic genes flourish, a study claims. Evolutionary psychologists say classic characters such as Mr. Darcy and Count Dracula helped instill and promote a sense of right and wrong in society, the Guardian reports, specifically the notion that...

Emma Thompson, Others Try to Foil Heathrow Plans

Group opposed to plan aims to drag project into legal quicksand

(Newser) - A high-profile coalition led by Greenpeace has purchased a soccer field-sized piece of land intended to become part of a new runway for London’s Heathrow airport, the Times reports. The group intends to parcel out the land to thousands of individual owners, dragging out any attempt to buy it...

Gordon Brown: Harry's Sorry, Now Move On

But victim's dad slams prince

(Newser) - Britain’s PM defended Prince Harry today amid an uproar over an army training-camp home video in which Harry calls a colleague “our little Paki friend,” the Daily Mail reports. “I think Prince Harry knows that these comments aren't acceptable,” Gordon Brown said, in calling for...

Furor Follows Harry's 'Paki' Vid

Prince's taped words 'not acceptable in a modern army': official

(Newser) - Britain's defense ministry has launched a formal inquiry following widespread outcry over a videotape showing Prince Harry calling a fellow military trainee “our little Paki friend” and another cadet “a raghead,” reports the Telegraph. “This sort of language is not acceptable in a modern army,”...

Atheist Bus Ads Draw Fire from UK Christians

Complaints say campaign breaks requirements of 'truthfulness and substantiation'

(Newser) - A series of pro-atheism ads on London buses have prompted nearly 150 complaints to Britain’s advertising regulator, the Guardian reports. The complaints largely claim that the ads, which declare, “There is probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life,” are offensive to monotheists and break...

Keys in Ignition, Princess Bea's Beamer Goes Missing

Security detail follows Sarah Ferguson's daughter, 20, into store; thieves take advantage

(Newser) - The prized BMW belonging to Princess Beatrice—daughter of Sarah Ferguson and granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth—was stolen yesterday, the Sun reports. The daylight theft occurred while Bea and her bodyguard shopped in downtown London; she left the car unlocked and the keys in the ignition. “She is naturally...

UK Slashes Interest Rates to All-Time Low of 1.5%

50-point cut less than business groups had hoped for

(Newser) - The venerable Bank of England cut interest rates today by 50 basis points, trimming them to 1.5%—their lowest since the bank's founding in the 17th century. Investors had expected the move, although business organizations had pressed for a 100-point cut. Yesterday, Britain's finance minister admitted that the recession...

Britons Eat Gray Squirrels to Save Beloved Reds

Curiosity, drive to save indigenous species creates thriving market for critter's meat

(Newser) - Squirrel is quickly becoming a part of the British palate, as curiosity—and devotion to a native icon—drives Britons to try something new, the New York Times reports. The trend can be traced in part to the surging population of gray squirrels, a North American import. The grays have...

Waterford Enters Bankruptcy
 Waterford  Enters Bankruptcy 
Jan 5, 2009 11:00 AM CST

Waterford Enters Bankruptcy

Struggling icon of British Isles couldn't find a buyer

(Newser) - After failing to find a buyer, five years of losses have driven Waterford Wedgwood into receivership, Bloomberg reports. Deloitte Ireland has been named receiver for the iconic  crystal- and china-maker that built Times Square’s New Year’s Eve ball. If no new financing emerges, 1,900 Irish and British...

How Much Should Your Kindergartner Be Swilling?

UK debates boozing guides for 5-year-olds

(Newser) - While most countries worry about the nutrition and development of their kids, the British government wants to make sure its wee ones aren't falling down drunk, the Independent reports. Officials in Britain, where it’s legal to drink at home from age 5, are debating whether to issue guidelines on...

Brit, Aussie Actors Find US Success

(Newser) - British and Australian actors are flocking to the US in search of work and finding great success in roles that challenge their mimicry skills, the Chicago Tribune reports. Whether it’s Hugh Laurie on House, Anna Friel on Pushing Daisies, or Simon Baker on The Mentalist, the thespians have found...

Ahmadinejad: Jesus Is On Our Side
Ahmadinejad:
Jesus Is On
Our Side
Dec 24, 2008 12:30 PM CST

Ahmadinejad: Jesus Is On Our Side

British TV will air Christmas address from Iran's leader

(Newser) - Iran's ever-controversial president will deliver a Christmas address on British television tomorrow in which he will argue that if Jesus were alive today, he would "fight against the tyrannical policies of prevailing global economic and political systems, as he did in his lifetime." Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's address is billed...

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