Britain – News Stories About Britain - Page 81

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,...

Britain Tops US in Funding for World Bank

Dec 14, 2007 3:15 PM CST

Britain Tops US in Funding for World Bank

Institution raises record $25.1B for globe's poorest countries

(Newser) - Great Britain has supplanted the United States as the largest contributor to the World Bank, pledging $4.2 billion of the total $25.1 billion raised for the world's poorest nations, a record high. The shift in power reflects both the dollar's waning dominance as well as an end to...

Gauguin Sculpture a Fake

Dec 12, 2007 12:03 PM CST

Gauguin Sculpture a Fake

'The Faun' outed as impostor after decade in Chicago art museum

(Newser) - After a decade on display at the Art Institute of Chicago, a ceramic figure allegedly sculpted by Paul Gauguin was revealed yesterday to be a fake. The museum discovered 'The Faun,' a half-man, half-goat figure, to be the work not of the 19th century French artist, but of a...

Bobbies Warn of Wildcat Strike Over
Pay Row

Dec 12, 2007 11:22 AM CST

Bobbies Warn of Wildcat Strike Over Pay Row

Police fume over delay in date of annual raise

(Newser) - A furious row over a pay raise for police officers erupted in Britain last night, with the Labour government divided against itself and constables threatening a wildcat strike. The Times of London reports that the home secretary's decision not to backdate a 2.5% pay increase by 3 months, as...

UK Proposes Wind Power Investment

Dec 11, 2007 12:22 PM CST

UK Proposes Wind Power Investment

7,000 turbines planned to 'power the equivalent of all the UK's homes'

(Newser) - The UK intends to boost their production of wind power 60-fold by 2020, under plans released yesterda by business secretary John Hutton, the BBC reports. The secretary proposed an investment into the construction of 7,000 mostly off-shore wind turbines to produce a target of 33 gigawatts that could "...

British PM Gives Troops Surprise Visit

Dec 9, 2007 3:35 PM CST

British PM Gives Troops Surprise Visit

Vows Basra pullout in 2 weeks; mum on link to kidnappings

(Newser) - UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown surprised his troops with a visit in Iraq today and declared that Britain will cede control of Basra within two weeks, the Times of London reports. He told 300 soldiers that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki had advised the quick pull-out "so Iraq can...

Britain Frees Guantanamo Four

Dec 8, 2007 5:54 AM CST

Britain Frees Guantanamo Four

After months of negotiations, four of five prisoners will be freed

(Newser) - Four British residents imprisoned for years at Guantanamo Bay will be released, the BBC reports. US and UK officials involved in negotiations since August came to a compromise on the fates of five men the US claimed were connected to al-Qaeda. Of the four released, three will return to the...

UK Court Bans Teen's Insults From Web

Dec 7, 2007 3:29 PM CST

UK Court Bans Teen's Insults From Web

First-of-its-kind order forbids him to post abusive comments

(Newser) - A British court has put a low-tech law to high-tech use in a bid to keep a teenager from writing abusive comments about police on the internet. The court issued an Anti-Social Behavior Order—usually used to keep hooligans out of certain parts of town—against a 17-year-old to prevent...

Iran Praises
Nuke Report; Israel Skeptical

Dec 4, 2007 8:15 AM CST

Iran Praises Nuke Report; Israel Skeptical

Barak says Tehran hasn't stopped, urges more US pressure

(Newser) - Iran trumpeted a US intelligence report released yesterday that said it suspended its nuclear weapons program in 2003, but Israel expressed skepticism, Reuters reports. "The condition of Iran's peaceful nuclear activities is becoming clear to the world," an Iranian official said of the report. Not so fast, said...

'Terrified' Teddy Bear Teacher Happy to Be Home

Dec 4, 2007 5:15 AM CST

'Terrified' Teddy Bear Teacher Happy to Be Home

Shocked adventure-seeker got 'more than I bargained for'

(Newser) - Safely home after a "terrifying" ordeal in a Sudanese jail for allowing a class Teddy bear to be named Muhammad, teacher Gillian Gibbons was delighted to be back with family today. "I went out there to have a bit of an adventure and I got more than I...