Britain

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Europe Agrees to Take It One Financial Crisis at a Time

Sarkozy's hopes dashed amid other leaders' opposition

(Newser) - Leaders of Europe’s four biggest economies did not settle on a unified plan for tackling the financial crisis, the Washington Post reports. Instead, each country will deal with banking problems as they crop up. While France’s Nicolas Sarkozy hoped for a Europe-wide plan, British and German leaders were...

'That Is the End of This Broadcast'

UK declassifies BBC's Cold War script for nuclear attack

(Newser) - A radio script that the British government planned to broadcast to survivors of a nuclear attack has been made public for the first time, the BBC reports. The script, written in the 1970s and released by the National Archives, warns listeners to stay in hiding for 14 days and to...

Brown Appoints Archrival to Rejoin Cabinet

Blair ally returns to British government in surprise move

(Newser) - Gordon Brown shocked the British political establishment by reappointing one of his long-time enemies to his Cabinet. Peter Mandelson, who with Brown and Tony Blair was an architect of New Labour, will be made a lord and become the new business secretary. The return of Mandelson, currently serving in Brussels...

US Doomed in Afghanistan: British Envoy

Leaked French cable quotes diplomat opposing surge

(Newser) - The British ambassador to Afghanistan believes “the American strategy is destined to fail,” the Telegraph reports, based on a leaked memo written by a French diplomat. In the memo, the French diplomat records statements by Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles at a Sept. 1 meeting in which the British envoy...

Bad News for Banks Is Great News for Brown

British PM gets poll boost in crisis, silencing critics

(Newser) - In America the financial crisis has dealt yet another blow to an already unpopular President Bush. But in Britain, collapsing banks and volatile markets are the best thing to happen to Gordon Brown in recent months. In reasserting his global economic know-how, the prime minister, who is reportedly preparing an...

Brits Want Diplomats' Kids Out of Volatile Pakistan

Spouses offered return to UK, too, after hotel bombing

(Newser) - Children of British diplomats stationed in Pakistan are returning home amid security concerns following the Marriott Hotel terrorist bombing in Islamabad last month. Britain will also allow spouses and other dependents to join the 60 kids as instability grows in the volatile nation, the Daily Telegraph reports. The departures are...

Euros Eat Their Words as Own Bailouts Loom

A week after ripping US for crisis, dismissing need for own plan, Brown et al. retool

(Newser) - European leaders are eating their words a week after criticizing the US for allowing its banks to run dry and engineering a system-wide bailout for financial firms, Bloomberg reports. Governments across Europe, including Germany, the UK, Belgium and France bailed out banks across the continent and pledged support for others...

UK Cook Eats Own Hot Sauce, Dies

Contest with girlfriend's brother ends in tragedy

(Newser) - A budding British cook died last week after eating his own spicy tomato sauce, the London Times reports. Andrew Lee, 33, challenged his girlfriend’s brother to a contest, arriving with a jar of the sauce, made with chilies his father had grown. After eating it, he felt itchy and...

Royals Party Like It's 1899
 Royals Party Like It's 1899 
Sep 29, 2008 12:55 PM CDT

Royals Party Like It's 1899

Prince Charles will have two lavish 60th birthday bashes

(Newser) - Seemingly impervious—or oblivious—to the international economic meltdown, the royal family will throw not one but two lavish celebrations for Prince Charles’ 60th birthday in November, the Daily Mail reports. The Queen will host a state banquet at Buckingham Palace for 170 guests, and Charles' wife, Camilla, will host...

Brits Recruit Spies on Facebook
 Brits Recruit Spies on Facebook 
Sep 29, 2008 10:55 AM CDT

Brits Recruit Spies on Facebook

Get ready to rock and roll

(Newser) - Single, love rock 'n roll and lip piercings, and seeking employment as 007. That could be exactly the kind of Facebook profile Britain's spy agency is seeking as it tries to recruit a more "diverse" type of spook with a new ad campaign on the social networking site. Three...

Hotel Bristols Abound World Over, but Nobody's Sure Why

Scores of hotels worldwide have adopted name of British port city

(Newser) - From Panama to Paris to Poland, there are more than 200 hotels in the world called Bristol, and nobody's quite sure why, the Wall Street Journal reports. Some trace the name back to the traveling 17th-century Earl of Bristol, but a native of Bristol, England—itself bereft of a Hotel...

Brits Bust Busta Before London Charity Concert

Rapper detained at airport because of US assault conviction

(Newser) - Rapper Busta Rhymes was detained at a London airport for 11 hours last night after authorities refused to let him enter the country, reports the Guardian. He was allowed to leave for a London hotel after a judge ruled that holding him up because of a US assault conviction may...

Britain to Ax Ban on Catholic Monarchs

Female heirs will also have the same rights as male counterparts

(Newser) - The British government is planning a royal shake-up of the laws governing who can become king or queen, the Guardian reports. The 300-year-old law currently in place bars Catholics or their spouses from taking the throne, and gives male heirs priority over women; both are targeted for change. Critics say...

British PM Adds Obama Clip in Bid to Boost Popularity

Brown faces revolt from within his ruling Labour party

(Newser) - Gordon Brown sought to capture some of Barack Obama’s political celebrity today, the AP reports, with the embattled British prime minister showing a gathering of his Labour Party old footage of the Illinois senator praising him. Brown faces a slumping economy, and elements within Labour would like to see...

Rowling Gives $1.8M to Beleaguered Labour Party

Admires Brown's efforts to fight child poverty

(Newser) - Beleaguered British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has at least one big fan: JK Rowling gave a whopping $1.8 million to the Labour party at its annual meeting today, the Guardian reports. The Harry Potter author, who is estimated to be worth a little over $1 billion, said she gave...

Prince William Will Fly to the Rescue

Royal plans to be search and rescue pilot

(Newser) - Prince William’s next military stint  will be as a search-and-rescue pilot for the Royal Air Force, the BBC reports. Having served with the army and navy, the prince learned to fly with the RAP this year and said today, "I now want to build on the experience and...

Rowling Wins Copyright Case
 Rowling Wins Copyright Case 
Sep 8, 2008 3:03 PM CDT

Rowling Wins Copyright Case

Judge rules publishing Potter encyclopedia would cause creator 'irreparable harm'

(Newser) - A fan-written "Harry Potter lexicon" will not be published, a federal judge in New York ruled today, finding for author JK Rowling that the reference guide was an infringement of copyright. The ruling held that the book would cause Rowling irreparable harm as a writer, the BBC reports. The...

Prof Argues for Looser Spelling

English-speaking pupils hamstrung by non-phonetic words, apostrophes

(Newser) - A British academic argues that English-speaking schoolchildren waste time learning the peculiarities of spelling, and should be given more freedom to spell phonetically, the Times of London reports. Children studying in languages with more phonetic writing systems, like Finnish or Italian, don’t need to waste classroom time on spelling,...

UK Bans Jolie 'Wanted' Posters
 UK Bans Jolie 'Wanted' Posters 
Sep 4, 2008 11:41 AM CDT

UK Bans Jolie 'Wanted' Posters

Gun-toting ads too violent, promote guns

(Newser) - The UK has banned racy ads featuring a gun-toting Angelina Jolie promoting her action flick Wanted, claiming that they glorify the use of firearms and violence, Reuters reports. Britain's media watchdog said it received complaints that the ads weren't suitable for children, especially during a time in which public opinion...

Brits Working Longer Days
Brits Working Longer Days
Sep 3, 2008 7:07 PM CDT

Brits Working Longer Days

UK employees put in 41.4 hours a week, up from 40.7 in 2006

(Newser) - Britons are among the hardest working Europeans, with only Romanians and Bulgarians working longer than the 41.4 hours our former colonizers put in at the office weekly. That's 2 more hours than the average European, the Telegraph reports, and it's up from 40.7 hours in 2006. Workers in...

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