United Kingdom

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Shell Strike Threatens UK Motorists
Shell Strike Threatens UK Motorists

Shell Strike Threatens UK Motorists

Government's urging not to panic-buy gas falls on deaf ears

(Newser) - Truck drivers for Shell have begun a four-day strike in Britain that threatens to hike already sky-high gas prices. Although the government has warned motorists not to panic-buy, gas stations were reporting a 30% spike in sales in the hours before the action; union leaders, meanwhile, have threatened that gasoline...

Brown Hangs Tough to Win Terrorism Vote

UK PM denies buying support for increase in detention time

(Newser) - Prime Minister Gordon Brown prevailed in a crunch vote last night to extend Britain's period of detention without trial for terror suspects to 6 weeks, the BBC reports. Brown avoided defeat by convincing a small Northern Ireland party to support him after 36 members of his Labour Party joined the...

Ex-PM Blasts UK Government on Civil Liberties
Ex-PM Blasts UK Government on Civil Liberties
OPINION

Ex-PM Blasts UK Government on Civil Liberties

Major blasts proposal that OKs 6-week detention without trial

(Newser) - The British parliament is set for a nail-bitingly close vote on a law that will allow the police to hold terror suspects without charge for 42 days—by far the longest in the free world. As Gordon Brown pushes the law and attempts to prevent his first Commons defeat, John...

Diet Duchess Leaves Sour Taste
 Diet Duchess 
 Leaves Sour Taste 
TV review

Diet Duchess Leaves Sour Taste

Lecturing poor on diet a sicking symptom of TV's feast on self-respect

(Newser) - Watching Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson lecture some of Britain’s poorest—and hungriest—on the virtues of healthy eating on the UK show "The Duchess of Hull" may turn stomachs, but it's just the latest offering from a lengthy menu of a la carte snobbery perpetuated by today’...

Nuclear Sub Damage Linked to Tracing Paper

British vessel runs aground because of nautical chart mishap

(Newser) - Investigators have found the culprit behind a $10 million nuclear submarine accident: Tracing paper. HMS Trafalgar struck the seabed in 2002 because a piece of tracing paper obscured key details on a nautical chart, the Guardian reports.

Brit Cafe Bomber 'Preyed On by Extremists'

Radicals took advantage of mentally ill Islamic convert: cops

(Newser) - British police believe a mentally ill man who tried to blow himself up in a restaurant yesterday was taken advantage of by Islamic extremists, the Guardian reports. The recent convert to Islam walked into a busy restaurant in the West Country city of Exeter and exploded a device. The only...

New Election Loss Could Be Knock-Out Punch for Brown

Tory takes vacancy in industrial district

(Newser) - The crushing defeat for the Labor Party yesterday in an election in a working class district of England could spell disaster for Prime Minister Gordon Brown, reports the Guardian. The opposition Tory candidate beat the ruling party choice in a by-election to fill a death vacancy by a whopping margin...

Londoner Dies in Double-Decker Crash

Bus runs into tree, killing bystander and injuring 19

(Newser) - A double-decker bus crashed into a tree this morning near Tower Bridge, one of London's most famous landmarks, leaving one woman dead and 19 people injured. The victim was believed to be a pedestrian in her early 20s. Bystanders told the Times of London that the bus windows had been...

Dalai Lama Won't Be Welcomed at 10 Downing

Brown draws fire for moving meeting

(Newser) - The Dalai Lama arrived in Britain today for an 11-day visit, during which he will give lectures and meet with senior religious and political figures. Gordon Brown won acclaim at the height of the Olympic torch protests for agreeing to meet the Tibetan leader. But now, writes AFP, the PM...

Hooker Sex Is Rape, London Ads Warn Johns

Trafficked women aren't giving consent, campaign maintains

(Newser) - British authorities are targeting men who pay for sex with a hard-hitting ad campaign comparing some instances to rape, Reuters reports. Because thousands of women trafficked into the country each year are forced into prostitution, there's nothing consensual about the sex they sell, the ads suggest. "Walk in a...

Doherty Freed Early From London Prison

Babyshambles frontman serves a month in drug case

(Newser) - Pete Doherty, the perpetually troubled rock star and ex-boyfriend of Kate Moss, was released early from prison today. The frontman of the band Babyshambles had been imprisoned for violating his probation after a conviction for possession of crack, heroin and other drugs, reports the Telegraph. Doherty had served about one...

GPS Beams Laughs to British Drivers

Comedy sketches make traffic jams a little funnier

(Newser) - The world's first satellite navigation comedy has British drivers chuckling up and down the country's busiest highway, the Guardian reports. The "satcom," called 230 Miles of Love, features audio comedy sketches set to play when drivers reach certain points along the country's 230-mile-long M6 highway.

'Buffoon' Boris Takes London's Mayor Race

Johnson's huge win deals devastating blow to Brown's Labour party

(Newser) - Self-described "buffoon" Boris Johnson won a hard-fought race last night to become mayor of London, the Guardian reports, dealing British PM Gordon Brown's party a stunning loss in his first election test. Johnson unseated Labour incumbent Ken Livingstone 53% to 47% after a 15-hour count that ended with a...

Brown, Labor Savaged in UK Elections

Labor posts worst election results in 40 years

(Newser) - Labor has suffered its worst showing in 40 years in local elections across England and Wales. Just one year after Gordon Brown became prime minister, his party pulled only 24% of the projected national vote, 20 points behind the Tories and behind even the third-party Liberal Democrats. As for the...

Support for Scot Independence Hits Record Low

Year after separatists take power, Scotland wants to remain in UK

(Newser) - It's been one year since a separatist government came to power in Scotland, vowing to break away from the United Kingdom. But a new poll shows while the Scottish still admire Alex Salmond, the region's first minister, support for independence is at an all-time low—with only 19% wanting to...

Labour Will Lose London, Final Poll Says

Boris Johnson on course for 10-point victory in mayor's race

(Newser) - With 48 hours to go before the election, a final poll gives Boris Johnson a 10-point edge in the race for mayor of London. The shambolic Tory is poised to romp to victory over incumbent Ken Livingstone Thursday, according to the pollster YouGov. The finding is completely at odds with...

UK Intelligence 'Sent Citizens to Be Tortured'

MI5 outsourced brutal interrogations to Pakistan, say lawyers

(Newser) - British intelligence officers have been accused of sending citizens to a Pakistani agency to be tortured, reports the Guardian. MI5 officials requested Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence Agency to arrest British terror suspects in the country, where they were subjected to beatings, whippings, sleep deprivation and fingernail extraction, according to lawyers...

Brits 'Duped' Over Olympic Pricetag
Brits 'Duped' Over Olympic Pricetag

Brits 'Duped' Over Olympic Pricetag

Government slammed after projected costs soar $10B

(Newser) - The projected pricetag of the 2012 Olympic games in London has more than doubled to $18 billion since the city was picked as host three years ago—and the British  government is being accused of deliberately low-balling estimates to sell the event to the public, the Guardian reports. A public...

Health History Hidden in Urine
 Health History Hidden in Urine 

Health History Hidden in Urine

Metabolites differ across national, ethnic boundaries, could offer insight into disease

(Newser) - Urine does indeed hold metabolic clues, researchers have found, and could shed light on blood pressure and heart problems, the Times of London reports. "Metabolic profiling can tell us how specific aspects of a person’s diet and how much they drink are contributing to their risks for certain...

UK Psychics Foresee Trouble
 UK Psychics Foresee Trouble 

UK Psychics Foresee Trouble

Mediums fear EU rule could expose them to suits over poorly received advice

(Newser) - Britain’s mediums are consulting their crystal balls about a new EU law that might expose them to lawsuits, the Independent reports. A group of them marched up Downing Street today to deliver a 5,000-signature petition to No. 10, hoping to convince the government not to adopt the European...

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