United Kingdom

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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...

Baby Born in UK Screened To Be Cancer-Free

Scientists implanted in womb only cells without genes that could lead to disease

(Newser) - The UK’s first “cancer-free” baby was born yesterday, but not without a shower of criticism for the parents and doctors, the BBC reports. Doctors screened the embryo for the altered BRCA1 gene, whose carriers have an 80% chance of developing breast cancer. “The parents will have been...

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...

Rich Foreigners Jump List for Brit Organs

Doctors outraged as a record 8,000 Britons await transplants

(Newser) - Despite dire organ shortages for ailing British patients, the livers of 50 UK donors were sold to foreigners for nearly $110,000 each, the Times of London reports. Forty patients from Greece and Cyprus—as well as others from non-EU nations including Libya, the UAE, China, and Israel—received liver...

US Phrases That Annoy Brits
 US Phrases That Annoy Brits 
OPINION
Dec 27, 2008 6:50 PM CST

US Phrases That Annoy Brits

"Happy Holidays", and "Have a nice day," irksome Americanisms

(Newser) - Toby Harnden must live among Yanks in his job as a correspondent for the UK's Telegraph, and sometimes American phrases drive him nuts. Here are his worst offenders:
  • Happy holidays (just say Christmas, please)
  • Have a nice day (make it stop)
  • You're welcome (this one's just "Pavlovian" to him)
...

'Rated R' May Be Coming to a Website Near You

Brits hope to partner with US to police web

(Newser) - Calling the Internet a “quite dangerous place,” Britain’s culture secretary says he’ll work with the Obama administration on establishing international guidelines to protect children. One idea under consideration: giving websites film-style ratings, the Telegraph reports. “There is definitely a case for clearer standards online,”...

No PDA, Cheating in Muslim Nations, UK Warns Travelers

Booze, drugs are also no-nos, Foreign Office reminds would-be vacationers

(Newser) - Extra-marital sex and public displays of affection might be OK in France or Spain, but it’s a big no-no in Dubai and other Muslim nations, the British government is reminding citizens. The Foreign Office has released a list of do’s and don’ts for Britons planning a trip...

Mamma Mia! Drowns Titanic's UK Take

Money, Money, Money at UK box office

(Newser) - The movie version of the fluffy romantic musical Mamma Mia! has become Britain's biggest box office hit of all time, E! Online reports. The Meryl Streep flick, based on the tunes of the '70s Swedish pop group ABBA, earned $107.7 million in 22 weeks in theaters, sailing beyond the...

Brown Announces July Withdrawal in Baghdad

Brown says troops home by July in surprise Baghdad visit

(Newser) - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown made a surprise visit to Baghdad today and announced that all but a handful of British troops will leave Iraq by July 2009. About 4,000 British service members remain in Iraq, mostly around Basra, though at the height of the war 100,000 were...

Terror Suspect Is Key Scotland Yard Adviser

He's 'regularly consulted' on terror issues, say officials

(Newser) - A convicted terrorist wanted by Interpol is serving on a Scotland Yard advisory board, reports the Times of London. Mohamed Ali Harrath, the subject of a "red alert" Interpol warning since 1992, was sentenced to 56 years in absentia in Tunisia for violence linked to a militant group there....

Cholera Caused By 'Genocidal' Brits: Mugabe

UK unleashed it in 'racist terrorist attack,' minister claims

(Newser) - The cholera outbreak that’s killed some 792 Zimbabweans is actually a “genocidal onslaught on the people of Zimbabwe by the British,” at least in the mind of Robert Mugabe's information minister. He called the disease a “serious biological chemical weapon,” unleashed by England in “...

French-German Relations Cool Ahead of EU Summit

France, Germany, UK clash over handling recession

(Newser) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy began his six-month European Union presidency by quibbling with Germany, and he appears to be ending his term the same way, Bloomberg reports. Half a year after clashing with German Chancellor Angela Merkel over a Mediterranean alliance, Sarkozy shrugged off the traditional France-Germany pre-summit chat and...

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...

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...

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

OPINION
Nov 26, 2008 10:11 AM CST

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...

'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’...

UK's Ex-Chief Justice Rips Into Iraq Invasion

Newly retired judge lambastes US, UK as 'vigilantes'

(Newser) - One of Britain's most respected judges struck out last night against the invasion of Iraq, which he declared illegal and worthy of a "world vigilante." Thomas Bingham, who held the UK's equivalent post to chief justice, used his first speech since retirement to decry "a serious...

Upset Election Victory Gives Brown a Boost

Surging popularity helps party win open parliament seat

(Newser) - Labour won a stunning come-from-behind victory in a special election in Scotland early this morning, reports the Times of London, offering the first evidence that Gordon Brown's political recovery may be lasting. The election was called after the death of a Labour MP. The seat looked set to go to...

Brits Say Errant Flash Drive Jeopardized Data of 12M

Gov't system shut after find in parking garage

(Newser) - UK ministers shut down a government computer system after a memory stick containing sensitive personal data was found in a parking garage, reports the Daily Mail. The government insists the system hasn’t been breached, but an expert says the blunder jeopardizes the security of 12 million people. “The...

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