Britain

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'Brit Fritzl' Gets Life for Raping Daughters 30 Years

'Worst case' judge has ever seen

(Newser) - A British father has been sentenced to 25 life terms for raping his two daughters over nearly 30 years and impregnating them 19 times, reports the Guardian. Nine of the pregnancies resulted in children, all with genetic abnormalities, and two died at birth. Other pregnancies miscarried or were terminated. The...

Gleeful Brown Is Acting Like a Drunk Dowager

Brits' PM 'swanks' and 'preens,' but the economy is his fault

(Newser) - Gordon Brown, "known as a gloomy old nail-biting misery-guts," has turned into the life of the party ever since the economic downturn hit Britain, writes Boris Johnson in the Telegraph. Deeming that the swooning market and plummeting home prices demand action, he's gleefully launched measures that will incur...

British College Launches Astronaut Course

(Newser) - A British university is making a political stand as it teaches students how to survive in outer space, the Guardian reports. The University of Leicester has hired NASA shuttle veteran Jeff Hoffman to lead a new course on how to become an astronaut, despite the UK government's ban on manned...

UK Cops Helped Cover Up Sex Abuse at Orphanage

Briton who ran Albanian facility found guilty of sex with minors; two others on trial

(Newser) - UK police helped cover up sexual abuse at an orphanage in Albania run by a Briton, the Guardian reports after investigating the scandal. The shelter’s director, 57-year-old David Brown, was convicted yesterday and sentenced to 20 years in an Albanian jail. British police were tipped off in 2004, but...

UK to Slap Johns With Rape
 UK to Slap Johns With Rape 
Nov 19, 2008 11:18 AM CST

UK to Slap Johns With Rape

Crackdown targets those who deal with trafficked prostitutes

(Newser) - Lay a finger on a trafficked sex worker, and the Brits will slap you with rape and toss you in the clink, reports the BBC. New laws will make it a criminal offense in England and Wales to pay for sex with prostitutes controlled by pimps, as Britain's Home secretary...

'Grenade Cam' Gives 360&deg; View
 'Grenade Cam' Gives 360° View 
Nov 18, 2008 2:56 PM CST

'Grenade Cam' Gives 360° View

Technology hopes to protect soldiers in urban operations

(Newser) - The British military is developing a small, ball-shaped camera that soldiers can throw like a grenade to get visual information about dangerous surroundings, the BBC reports. The “I-Ball,” which will also be able to be fired from a grenade launcher, transmits a 360-degree image as soon as it’...

GOP Could Face a Decade of Oblivion
GOP Could
Face a Decade of Oblivion
OPINION
Nov 13, 2008 8:50 AM CST

GOP Could Face a Decade of Oblivion

Tory move to the right after Blair defeat was utter debacle

(Newser) - What happens when a party gets the thumping that the Republicans endured in 2006 and 2008? If their British cousins are anything to go by, says Jonathan Freeland, "the first response to electoral disaster is denial." Writing in the New York Times, the Guardian columnist analyzes the Tories'...

90 Years On, It's Still the War to End All Wars

Across Europe, World War I remains the defining conflict of modern times

(Newser) - Ninety years ago today the Allies and Germany signed the armistice that ended World War I, a conflict of unprecedented brutality and expense. But where today Americans celebrate Veterans Day, a commemoration of wars' survivors, in Europe the mood is "altogether more somber," historian Alexander Watson writes in...

Britain Will Resist US Calls for Afghan Buildup

Army stretched too thin, top commander says

(Newser) - Britain should oppose any calls from President Obama to shift troops to Afghanistan as they are pulled out of Iraq, the country's defense chief says, arguing that UK troops need a breather. “I have said for a very long time that the British armed forces are stretched,” Sir...

Blinded Pilot Lands After Mid-Flight Stroke

Pilot recovering sight, but still in serious condition

(Newser) - An amateur pilot who suffered a stroke and went blind as he flew over North England landed his plane without a scratch, the Independent reports. Jim O’Neill, 65, was initially unable to follow instructions from civilian traffic controllers, but was guided to safety by British military planes. He remains...

Charles, Near 60, May Yet Put Green Stamp on Monarchy

Heir apparent to Queen Elizabeth has built an empire of charity

(Newser) - Prince Charles, who turns 60 on Nov. 14, has used his position as heir apparent to advocate tirelessly for the environment and the disadvantaged, writes JM Ledgard on More Intelligent Life. There’s still time for him to ascend to the British throne, where (after taking the title of George...

Festive Brits Blow Up Palin Effigy
Festive Brits Blow Up
Palin Effigy
Nov 2, 2008 8:20 AM CST

Festive Brits Blow Up Palin Effigy

400-year-old tradition 'roasts' politicians

(Newser) - It was all in good fun, insisted a group of Brits yesterday after they exploded an effigy of Sarah Palin, which was packed with firecrackers. The spectacular send-off was the climax of an annual bonfire celebration in the southern town of Battle, which traditionally blows up an effigy of someone...

BBC Yanks Comics for Prank Call

Brand famous for racy, offensive jokes

(Newser) - The BBC suspended two leading comedians for a prank call that infuriated 18,000 viewers and that even the prime minister called “inappropriate and unacceptable,” the news service reports. Foul-mouthed Russell Brand—who, stateside, offended abstinent teens at MTV's Music Video Awards—and Jonathan Ross told a 78-year-old...

AC/DC Is No. 1? Must Be a Recession

When the band's record sales go up, the economy goes down

(Newser) - Forget complicated economic indicators—the surest sign that recession looms is that AC/DC is back on top of the charts after 28 years, writes Alexis Petridis in the Guardian. It seems that whenever the Aussie rockers have a best-selling album, at least in Britain, the economy's in the tank. See...

UK Bars Foreign 'Preachers of Hate'

Measure also targets animal-rights groups, anti-abortionists

(Newser) - Britain has new rules designed to keep “preachers of hate” off the island, the Telegraph reports. The measures shift the burden of proof from authorities to the foreign-born accused, who must retract controversial statements and sometimes make pro-democracy public statements to enter or remain in the UK. While terrorists...

Brit Marathoners Stranded in Mountain Storm

Several still missing

(Newser) - Dozens of British marathoners remained unaccounted for after they were hit by torrential rains and raging winds during a race in the rugged terrain of the Lake District yesterday, reports the Telegraph. Pockets of athletes sought shelter in a barn, community center and a school, while mountain rescue workers searched...

Vikings Recast as Cultured Fashionistas

(Newser) - Vikings were just as interested in preening and handicrafts as they were in war and pillaging, the Telegraph reports. In a bid to educate youngsters who could well have Viking ancestry, British researchers are trying to change the popular view of the Norse explorers. "It seems that the Vikings...

Pound Craters After Latest Grim Stats

British currency falls to $1.56 amid recession fears

(Newser) - The British economy shrank by 0.5% last quarter, all but confirming that the UK is in its first recession since 1991, reports the Times of London. The decline is greater than expected, and this week both the prime minister and the head of the Bank of England acknowledged that...

Life With Wolves Has Couple in Own Reality-TV Pack

Living With the Wolfman aims to integrate humans and animals ... to mixed reviews

(Newser) - A British authority on wolves is taking his fiancée into the wild, and bringing cameras along, Newsweek reports. Shaun Ellis, who has spent years living with wolf packs, coaxed Helen Jeffs from her job as a schoolteacher to live on a wildlife refuge where they eat raw meat and...

UK Group Raises $80K for Atheist Bus Ads

Fundraising target far surpassed, campaign may expand nationwide

(Newser) - A campaign to plaster London buses with agnostic advertising has far exceeded its fundraising goal, the Guardian reports. The ads, aimed to counter what one writer sees as overbearing Christian messages, will say, “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.” Organizers have raised...

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