Britain – News Stories About Britain - Page 80

Crash Landing at Heathrow Injures 8; Cause Unknown

Jan 17, 2008 1:15 PM CST

Crash Landing at Heathrow Injures 8; Cause Unknown

British Airways 777 buckles after hitting grass short of runway

(Newser) - A British Airways passenger jet slammed into the ground at London's Heathrow Airport today, causing eight injuries but no deaths, the AP reports. The crash landing damaged the plane's underbelly and wings. The cause is still unknown; the 6-year-old Boeing 777 had never previously crashed, and was flown by "...

Brits Close Russian Offices Over Brouhaha

Jan 17, 2008 10:30 AM CST

Brits Close Russian Offices Over Brouhaha

'Cold War' intimidation of cultural centers' staff has minister outraged

(Newser) - After days of what Britain called “Soviet-era” intimidation tactics, the British Council today closed its offices in St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg, the Times reports. Britain had tried to keep the cultural centers going, despite Russian orders to close them, but after staff members were subjected to multiple visits—and...

Indignant NATO Allies Blast Gates' Critique

Jan 17, 2008 5:02 AM CST

Indignant NATO Allies Blast Gates' Critique

It's 'bloody outrageous,' says angry Brit official

(Newser) - US Defense Secretary Robert Gates has sparked an uproar among America's allies after he complained to the Los Angeles Times that some NATO forces are unprepared for their jobs in Afghanistan. The Dutch, British and Canadians—who all have troops in the south of the country—immediately slammed the comments,...

UK Pushes 'Opt-Out' Organ Donor Plan

Jan 13, 2008 7:46 PM CST

UK Pushes 'Opt-Out' Organ Donor Plan

Patient groups say 'presumed consent' is no consent at all

(Newser) - UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown is backing an initiative to let hospitals harvest organs from dead patients without their consent, the Telegraph reports. The plan, which could take effect this year, presumes consent unless patients opt out or family members object. The goal is to help the 1,000 Britons...

Vomiting Bug Still Has UK
on Its Knees

Jan 12, 2008 1:53 PM CST

Vomiting Bug Still Has UK on Its Knees

Nasty norovirus has now hit 3M; cases could spike again

(Newser) - A vicious bug that causes days of vomiting and diarrhea continues to wreak havoc in the UK, striking down 3 million Brits so far this winter, the Telegraph reports. Experts warn that with many returning to school and work after the holidays this week, the norovirus, which is potentially deadly...

UK Bishop Blasts Muslim 'No-Go' Zones

Jan 7, 2008 5:50 PM CST

UK Bishop Blasts Muslim 'No-Go' Zones

Blames extremists, immigration laws for anti-Christian areas

(Newser) - A high-ranking UK bishop has sparked a row by criticizing immigration laws and claiming that Islamic extremists threaten Christians in "no-go" areas across Britain. Rev. Michael Nazir-Ali, the Church of England's only Asian bishop, wrote a Telegraph editorial that blames the "novel philosophy of multiculturalism" for threatening Britain's...

Brits Richer Than Yanks
for First Time in 100 Years

Jan 7, 2008 2:00 PM CST

Brits Richer Than Yanks for First Time in 100 Years

Britons earn more than Americans for first time in over 100 years

(Newser) - Britons are making more per capita than Americans for the first time since the 19th century, a new GDP report finds. Brits are earning $46,323 a year on average, $500 more than their US counterparts, according to Oxford Economics. The Yanks are still ahead when it comes to purchasing...

Thousands Glued to WWI Blog

Jan 6, 2008 5:38 PM CST

Thousands Glued to WWI Blog

Private Harry Lamin's letters appear in real time online

(Newser) - Does he live, or lose his life to "liquid fire and bombs"? That question is keeping tens of thousands glued to a site that is posting the letters of a World War I soldier in real time, 90 years after they were written. The soldier's grandson, who collected...

Outbreak Has UK Wards Closing Doors

Jan 4, 2008 3:25 PM CST

Outbreak Has UK Wards Closing Doors

Vomit-inducing norovirus strikes with a vengeance

(Newser) - Dozens of hospital wards across the UK have shut their doors in an effort to stop the spread of a vomiting virus that has already infected more than 2 million nationwide. With 100,000 new patients per week, many already-overflowing hospitals have been forced to cancel non-emergency operations and focus...

George MacDonald Fraser Dead

Jan 3, 2008 8:00 PM CST

George MacDonald Fraser Dead

(Newser) - George MacDonald Fraser, the creator of the Flashman series of of historical novels, died yesterday at age 82. Fraser's widely read and beloved series of 12 novels featured a lovable, cowardly cad named Harry Flashman, first created as a minor character in the classic 19th century English novel, "...

China Allows Hong Kong to Vote in 2017

Dec 29, 2007 4:23 PM CST

China Allows Hong Kong to Vote in 2017

Enraged by delay, democracy activists condemn decision

(Newser) - Reacting to years of pro-democracy rallies in Hong Kong, China agreed today to let the territory elect a leader in 2017 and a legislature in 2020, BBC reports. Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang had lobbied Beijing for elections by 2012, but hailed today's news as a "hard-earned opportunity....

Catholics Now No. 1 in Britain

Dec 23, 2007 12:47 PM CST

Catholics Now No. 1 in Britain

Anglicans second to Catholicism for first time in 400 years

(Newser) - For the first time in 400 years, Catholicism has more adherents than the Church of England in Great Britain, the Sunday Telegraph reports. Immigrants from Eastern Europe and Africa have filled the pews of Catholic churches, while attendance at Anglican Sunday services has dipped 20% since 2000, according to a...

Queen of YouTube

Dec 23, 2007 8:24 AM CST

Queen of YouTube

Christmas message to be broadcast on new Internet 'Royal Channel'

(Newser) - Look who's using YouTube. The British Royals have just joined the ranks of YouTube users with the launch of a "Royal Channel" on the video-sharing Internet site that showcases recent and historical clips of the queen and her family. On Tuesday the queen will broadcast her 50th anniversary Christmas...

The Queen Called a Philistine

Dec 22, 2007 5:04 PM CST

The Queen Called a Philistine

Historian says Elizabeth II is uneducated and incurious, even about her predecessors

(Newser) - Queen Elizabeth II is undereducated and lacks curiosity about culture and her predecessors, a British historian charges in an interview with the Guardian. "I think she's got elements a bit like Goebbels in her attitude to culture," David Starkey says. "You remember: 'Every time I hear the...

Brown Orders Britons to
Think Green

Dec 22, 2007 1:43 PM CST

Brown Orders Britons to Think Green

UK must count 'carbon cost' of new projects—a boon to clean energies

(Newser) - British PM Gordon Brown has told his ministers to count the cost of global warming—literally. For each ton of carbon a new project emits, the UK will tack on a “carbon price" to account for climate costs. The move will prove a boon to carbon-free energy sources like...

Churchill's Granddaughter Dies

Dec 22, 2007 9:10 AM CST

Churchill's Granddaughter Dies

She led unconventional life in one of Britain's most esteemed families

(Newser) - Arabella Churchill, the bohemian granddaughter of Winston who founded both a rock concert and a charity, has died of pancreatic cancer at age 58, the Telegraph reports. Arabella was said to have been Winston's favorite grandchild, but she found the famous name to be a mixed blessing. "I'm immensely...

Queen Breaks Royal Age Record

Dec 20, 2007 9:07 AM CST

Queen Breaks Royal Age Record

81-year-old passes Victoria, becomes oldest Brit monarch

(Newser) - As of today, Queen Elizabeth II is Britain's oldest-ever monarch, AFP reports. She's now a day older than Queen Victoria lived to be, and while she doesn't seem to be slowing down much, the British are starting to think about what will happen after she dies—as well as looking...

Brits Hatch Secret Plan
to Bail Out Northern Rock

Dec 18, 2007 2:05 PM CST

Brits Hatch Secret Plan to Bail Out Northern Rock

No good options for struggling bank

(Newser) - Worried that the state might be stuck nationalizing Northern Rock, Britain has worked up a contingency plan behind closed doors to divide the troubled bank among the country’s commercial banks. A private buyout is still preferable, the Guardian reports, but some now fear the main bidders will back out,...

UK Bomb Plot Suspect Escapes

UPDATED

Dec 17, 2007 8:57 AM CST

UK Bomb Plot Suspect Escapes

Botched extradition deep embarrassment to Musharraf government

(Newser) - The escape in Pakistan last night of a British terror suspect has set off a nationwide manhunt and further strained precarious diplomatic relations between Britain and Pakistan, reports AFP. Guards returning Rashid Rauf, 26, to jail from a court appearance allowed him to stop for burgers and prayers, where Rauf...

Sex Slaves Win Cash Damages

Dec 16, 2007 12:46 PM CST

Sex Slaves Win Cash Damages

Ruling could open floodgates of compensation for thousands of others

(Newser) - In a groundbreaking decision, Britain has awarded four women smuggled from eastern Europe to the UK and subjected by their captors to "forced prostitution, multiple rapes and beatings" more than £140,000. The decision, the first to consider false imprisonment and forced prostitution as categories for awarding damages,...