Britain

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Scientists Find 2,000-Year-Old Brain in Britain

Experts ask if head was severed by sacrifice or ritual burial

(Newser) - British archaeologists have unearthed an ancient skull carrying a startling surprise—an unusually well-preserved brain. Scientists said today that the mass of gray matter was more than 2,000 years old, making it the oldest ever discovered in Britain, the AP reports. One expert unconnected with the find called it...

UK TV Broadcasts an Assisted Suicide

UK debates right to die after terminally ill patient euthanized

(Newser) - A documentary that aired on Sky TV last night showed an assisted suicide, stirring up a major debate in Britain about the right to die and the responsibility of television programmers, the Independent reports. Craig Ewert, 59, who suffered from motor neuron disease, traveled to a Swiss clinic, drank a...

Hang 10, Blokes: UK Beach to Make Waves

Artificial reef expected to generate 13-footers, draw surfers

(Newser) - A British beach town hopes to become the UK’s Surf City after the completion of an artificial reef that will boost local waves, Der Spiegel reports. Bournemouth has long attracted vacationers to its shore, but the gently lapping waves haven’t been enough of a draw for surfers. Projected...

Britain to Withdraw Troops From Iraq by June

(Newser) - British troops will begin withdrawing their 4,000 troops from Iraq in March and will have all but a few hundred out by the end of June, the Guardian reports. They will be replaced at their base in Basra not by Iraqis but by Americans, who are worried about keeping...

Spanish King's Rare Blue Diamond Could Go for $13.4M

35.56-carat jewel likely to defy market slump

(Newser) - A rare blue diamond with a rich history could sell for $13.4 million at auction in London tomorrow, despite the international economic slump, Bloomberg reports. The 35.56-carat Wittelsbach Diamond, the highest-valued stone offered by Christie’s International this year, belonged to Spain’s King Philip IV. He gave...

Madonna Wants $7.5M From UK Paper Over Wedding Pics

Mail on Sunday admits it broke privacy, copyright law, but calls sum 'fantasy'

(Newser) - Madonna wants $7.5 million in damages from a British newspaper that admitted to violating copyright and privacy laws in publishing photos from her wedding to Guy Ritchie, the Guardian reports today. Her lawyer says the photos were stolen, and the damages reflect their worth. “Their true commercial value...

Ireland Recalls Tainted Pork, Warns 25 Countries

Contaminated meat may have been exported to 25 countries

(Newser) - Ireland has issued a massive pork recall after sending contaminated meat to about two dozen countries, Reuters reports. France, the Netherlands, and Belgium have all complained of dioxin-contaminated products, and Britain has told people to lay off pork for now. However, a British government body said it did "not...

British Satellites May Provide Cell Phone Service on Moon

Program would give lunar residents cell phone service

(Newser) - The UK’s space agency is reviewing the feasibility of a mission to put satellites in orbit around the moon, CNET reports. The MoonLITE study plans to send four “penetrator darts” containing geophysical instruments into the moon’s crust, monitoring their findings with four accompanying satellites. The resulting data...

Boy George Guilty of Imprisoning Escort

Jury convicts pop star of false imprisonment

(Newser) - A jury has convicted pop singer Boy George of falsely imprisoning a male escort. Jurors sided with Norwegian Audun Carlsen, who accused the pop star of handcuffing him to a wall at the singer's London apartment and roughing him up. Boy George admitted handcuffing him but said he did so...

Court: UK's DNA Database Violates Privacy Rights

(Newser) - A European human-rights court has ruled that Britain has gotten a little too Big Brotherish in its effort to build a DNA database of its citizens. The court ruled that the UK has no right to keep DNA evidence from criminal suspects who are later cleared, the Guardian reports. The...

Veg Group to Ikea: Keep Rudolph Off Menu

(Newser) - A British vegetarian group is calling on Ikea to stop selling reindeer salami in its in-store cafes, citing cruel hunting practices, the Independent reports. In Sweden, reindeer are herded by snowmobile and helicopter then shipped hundreds of miles to slaughterhouses, which the group says causes “considerable physical and mental...

Money or Your Life? Brits Weigh Drug Cost Vs. Benefit

With its restrictions forcing companies to lower prices, some see 'workable paradigm' for US

(Newser) - A British government institute that approves drugs based on cost-benefit analysis is coming under fire at home even as other countries are seeing it as a model for bringing down costs, the New York Times reports. Though the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence often balks at expensive life-prolonging...

British Airways in Merger Talks with Qantas

Shares soar 12% on news

(Newser) - British Airways is in talks with Australia's Qantas Airways about a potential merger, the firm said today, sending its shares soaring as it fueled expectations of consolidation in the hard-hit aviation industry. Already pursuing a revenue-sharing deal with American Airlines and Spain's Iberia SA, BA said it’s exploring a...

Dow Off 679 on Dour Data
 Dow Off 679 on Dour Data 
MARKETS

Dow Off 679 on Dour Data

Global manufacturing indexes report contraction

(Newser) - The stock market tumbled today amid dismal global economic data, MarketWatch reports, including a report by a group of economists that, by their measure, the US economy has been in recession since December 2007. The Dow fell 679.95 to close at 8,149.09. The Nasdaq dropped 137.50,...

UK Deporting HIV Patients to 'Death Sentence'

Critics say British policy hypocritical

(Newser) - An African policy group is accusing the UK of deporting immigrants who were being treated for HIV to almost certain death in places where they will be unable to acquire drugs needed to survive. Advocates call the move hypocritical since Britain is a vocal backer of an international declaration calling...

Surgery Looms for Teen Mom's Conjoined Newborns

Brit parents refused to abort Faith and Hope

(Newser) - A medical decision will be made this week on when and how to separate the conjoined newborns of an 18-year-old London mom. The baby girls are joined from chest to navel and share a liver, but have two hearts, reports the Daily Mail. "They're little fighters," said the...

Britain Now Owns Majority Share of RBS

Failed rights issue leaves banking giant in taxpayer hands

(Newser) - The Royal Bank of Scotland, one of the giants of British banking, confirmed today that taxpayers now own a majority share following a $30 billion government bailout, reports the Guardian. The country's No. 2 bank failed to raise sufficient cash via a $22.5 billion rights issue, with only 1...

'Brit Fritzl' Impregnated Daughters for Child Benefits

Rapist father lived off pay for incest babies

(Newser) - A British man sentenced to life for raping his daughters over a 30-year period wanted them pregnant so he could collect child benefits from the government, his sister-in-law told the Daily Telegraph. The man, 56, impregnated his two daughters a total of 19 times, resulting in nine children, two of...

Queen Takes Lead in Royal Belt-Tightening

Royal Family curbs lavish lifestyle to commiserate with strapped Brits

(Newser) - The British, from PM Gordon Brown on down, are turning to the queen for leadership during tough economic times, the Telegraph reports. The monarch has been curbing indulgences and meeting with Britons feeling the impact of the slowdown. Princes Harry and William are falling in line, beefing up their public...

Let's Go Back to Beijing in 2012
 Let's Go Back to 
 Beijing in 2012 

OPINION

Let's Go Back to Beijing in 2012

Economic crisis makes spending billions on 2012 London Games unjustifiable

(Newser) - With the economic crisis taking billions out of Britain’s coffers, spending billions more to get ready for the 2012 Olympics makes no sense, writes Alice Miles in the Times of London, who foresees a day when “the unemployed, the homeless, and the destitute will join the athletes parading...

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