Britain

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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...

UK Begins Massive HPV Vaccine Campaign

12- and 13-year-old girls first targeted by program that could reach 2M by 2011

(Newser) - The UK kicked off a campaign to give 12- and 13-year-old girls the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, the Times of London reports. Schools will begin offering the shot, which is not mandatory, this week. The government estimates that it will vaccinate over 2 million girls by 2011. Beside official programs,...

UK Millionaire Set Fire After Killing Family

Footage shows Foster blocking exits before murder/suicide

(Newser) - Police have found the body of a UK millionaire inside the charred remains of his mansion, the Guardian reports. Authorities now believe Christopher Foster fatally shot his wife and teenage daughter, along with three family horses and four dogs, early on Aug. 26 before setting the house ablaze and turning...

London's Stodgy Cabs Get Overhaul

Classic black taxis could be phased out for minivans

(Newser) - London's black cabs, with their jump seats and garrulous drivers, are one of the emblems of the city. But they're also gas-guzzling polluters, reports the New York Times, so this month the eco-conscious British capital is introducing a new taxi to its streets: a minivan designed by Mercedes that bears...

Gadhafi Son: Lockerbie Kin 'Greedy'
Gadhafi Son: Lockerbie Kin 'Greedy'
Aug 29, 2008 10:16 AM CDT

Gadhafi Son: Lockerbie Kin 'Greedy'

Likely Libya successor rips families of victims of 1988 attack

(Newser) - Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi’s son called the families of Lockerbie victims “very greedy” in their negotiations for compensation, the Independent reports. They leveraged “the blood of their sons and daughters” for “more money and more money" after the 1988 airline attack, said Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, seen...

BBC Denies Spouting Government's Qaeda Line

(Newser) - Similarities between a leaked British government document and a recent BBC report on al-Qaeda’s waning support are just that, the broadcaster said today in denying its editorial independence had been dented. A report leaked to the Guardian talked of pushing material through UK media channels to suggest al-Qaeda is...

Queen's Guards Fired for Drugs
 Queen's Guards Fired for Drugs
Aug 26, 2008 12:57 PM CDT

Queen's Guards Fired for Drugs

Five members of a ceremonial unit test positive

(Newser) - Five soldiers from the Queen of England's ceremonial guard unit have been fired after testing positive for Class A drugs, reports the Times of London. A failed test is virtually a guaranteed career-ender in the British Army, and only a slim 0.8% of personnel have tested positive in the...

Water-Neutral Campaign Is Nothing but Eco-Guilt
Water-Neutral Campaign
Is Nothing but Eco-Guilt
OPINION
Aug 24, 2008 3:07 PM CDT

Water-Neutral Campaign Is Nothing but Eco-Guilt

If rich countries were really water-neutral, we'd all be dead

(Newser) - A new UK campaign urging people to be more “water wise” lays bare a flaw in the environmental movement, Brendan O’Neill writes in Spiked. The campaign urges people to be conscious of the “virtual water” used on their behalf to carry out tasks like growing coffee beans...

UK Banks 'Milk Borrowers' to Pay for Credit Crunch

Banks hike mortgage payments despite interest rate cuts

(Newser) - Britain's big banks are being accused of hoisting nearly £3 billion in interest payments on customers to make up for bad bank investments, the Daily Mail reports. Seeking to recoup huge losses from assets linked to subprime US mortgages, the banks have hiked mortgage rates and fees despite interest...

Caroline: UK Ambassador?
 Caroline: UK Ambassador?
Aug 22, 2008 12:20 PM CDT

Caroline: UK Ambassador?

If Obama wins, Kennedy gets Ambassadorship in London

(Newser) - Should Barack Obama win the presidency, he will reward Caroline Kennedy’s efforts by appointing her ambassador to Great Britain, predicts the Mandrake gossip column in London's Daily Telegraph. The payback would place JFK’s only surviving child in the position once held by her grandfather, patriarch Joe. He shot...

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