Britain

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Teddy Bear Teacher Goes Free
Teddy Bear Teacher
Goes Free
Dec 3, 2007 11:36 AM CST

Teddy Bear Teacher Goes Free

Amid protests over pardon, educator to head home to UK

(Newser) - Gillian Gibbons was released today after a week behind Sudanese bars and apologized "if I have caused any distress," the Guardian reports. Though some called for her death, Gibbons wasn’t bearing a grudge. “I have encountered nothing but kindness from the Sudanese people,” she said...

Brits Accuse China of Web Espionage

Spy chief warns businesses Beijing is infiltrating sites

(Newser) - UK spy agency MI5 has sent an unprecedented letter to 300 British business leaders, warning them that vital sectors of the country's economy are under attack from Chinese state-sponsored electronic espionage. The Chinese "use every means at their disposal" to dig up information about British companies, a letter recipient...

Brown Sinks Deeper Into Fund Scandal

Flap over illegal donations has Labour reeling

(Newser) - The British scandal over political donations deepened today with PM Gordon Brown implicated in the affair and facing possible questioning from police, reports the Times of London. Accusations of illegal proxy donations are engulfing the Labour Party, which only last year faced down a police inquiry over the so-called "...

Sudan Will Jail, Deport Teddy Bear Teacher
Sudan Will Jail, Deport Teddy Bear Teacher
UPDATED
Nov 29, 2007 1:08 PM CST

Sudan Will Jail, Deport Teddy Bear Teacher

Gibbons gets 15 days and the boot for bear named 'Muhammad'

(Newser) - A Sudanese court sentenced British schoolteacher Gillian Gibbons to 15 days in prison and deportation from Sudan for inciting religious hatred by allowing her students to name a class teddy bear Muhammad, the Guardian reports. The sentence represented something of a success for British officials, who had said they would...

British Teacher Charged in Teddy Bear Flap

Jail, lashes could be punishment for 'insult to Islam' in Sudan

(Newser) - The British teacher held in Sudan for committing blasphemy by naming a teddy bear “Muhammed” has been charged with insulting religion, inciting hatred and showing contempt for religious beliefs, the BBC reports. The UK Foreign Secretary said he would summon the Sudanese ambassador; Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he...

Faith Doesn't Play in British Politics

Blair complains that any UK pol who cites God is considered 'a nutter'

(Newser) - Soon-to-be-Catholic Tony Blair has confessed that faith was "hugely important"  in decisions he made as Britain's prime minister, and he wished he could, like President Bush, have been open about it at the time. But Britons are suspicious of religion, Blair said in a TV interview reported in...

Iran Warns Against UN Sanctions
Iran Warns Against UN Sanctions
Nov 23, 2007 5:44 PM CST

Iran Warns Against UN Sanctions

US, Europe allies call for penalties after inspectors' report

(Newser) - Iran warned today that UN sanctions might bring a halt to its cooperation with nuclear inspectors, Reuters reports. The warning comes a day after Britain, France, and Germany joined the US in calling for such sanctions because a report by international inspectors gave Tehran mixed marks on its openness. "...

UK Teens Guilty of Cocaine Smuggling in Ghana

16-year-olds may spend three years in detention

(Newser) - Two 16-year-olds were found guilty today of attempting to sneak $600,000 of cocaine from Ghana to Britain, the Times reports. The conviction could mean up to three years in a Ghanaian juvenile detention center for the British girls, who claimed they had been set up when they were arrested...

Rhodesian PM Ian Smith Dies at 88
Rhodesian
PM Ian Smith
Dies at 88
Nov 20, 2007 9:47 PM CST

Rhodesian PM Ian Smith Dies at 88

Broke from Britain and defended white minority rule for 15 years

(Newser) - Ian Smith, the Rhodesian leader who unilaterally declared independence from Britain in 1965 and defended white rule for 15 tumultuous years, died today at 88. Seen as a symbol of  African colonial-era racism, Smith was unrepentant during his lifetime, arguing that what is now Zimbabwe suffered more under the tenure...

25M Britons' Private Info Lost in Mail

Parliament told addresses, bank data may be in wrong hands

(Newser) - Two computer discs containing the personal details of 25 million British citizens are missing, the chancellor of the exchequer told Parliament today. There’s no reason to believe the names, addresses, and bank info were stolen by criminals, but citizens were told to beware of “unusual activity.” Several...

Northern Rock Plummets 40% as Britain Seeks Buyer

Bank crisis spells political trouble

(Newser) - In Britain the meltdown of Northern Rock has expanded into a full-out political crisis. The bank's stock plummeted 40% this morning to trade at less than a dollar a share, the Financial Times reports. The collapse of Northern Rock spells serious trouble for Alistair Darling, the chancellor, who is desperate...

Dad: Predator Stalked Us, Snatched Maddy

British TV airs father's taped statement

(Newser) - The father of missing toddler Madeleine McCann says he thinks a "predator" was watching his family during a vacation in Portugal and snatched Maddy after seeing her parents leave their hotel for a nearby restaurant. "They've watched me go in, come back out and then they've thought, 'That's...

Our Vote for Brit Motto: Yanks Who Missed the Boat

Cynicism, humor set the tone

(Newser) - British leaders are on the hunt for a national motto to stir the civic soul, the Christian Science Monitor reports. The government plans to survey 1,000 Brits to find a phrase that speaks to national pride. "At least we're not French," "Americans who missed the boat"...

Iran Prepared for Large-Scale Nuclear Fuel Output: UN

Report likely to raise debate on sanctions

(Newser) - Iran is able to produce nuclear fuel on an industrial scale, with 3,000 centrifuges capable of enriching uranium, a UN watchdog agency said today in a report sure to fuel diplomatic wrangling over sanctions. In praising Iran’s openness but demanding more, the International Atomic Energy Agency provided ammunition...

UK Court OKs Radical Cleric's US Extradition

Al-Masri tried to build a terrorist training camp in Oregon, US says

(Newser) - Radical Islamic cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri could be extradited to the US, thanks to a British court ruling today. Hamza is serving a seven-year prison term for inciting his congregation to murder, but US charges, which include attempting to set up a terrorist training camp in Oregon, could put the...

UK Bird Flu Cull Widens to 22K
UK Bird Flu Cull Widens to 22K 
Nov 14, 2007 12:43 PM CST

UK Bird Flu Cull Widens to 22K

Culling seen as precautionary; no sign of disease spreading

(Newser) - Some 22,000 more birds are being killed in Britain after an outbreak of bird flu on a turkey farm in Suffolk, northeast of London. The cull has been extended to four nearby sites, although the disease has only been detected at the first farm. "This is a precautionary...

Britain Braces for Huge Storm in North Sea

(Newser) - Britain and the Netherlands are bracing  for massive flooding tomorrow as a huge storm in the North Sea churns its way to the coast, BBC reports. The entire coast is under alert for the first time in three decades, says the Dutch Transport Ministry. The storm surge is expected to...

UK to Cut Greenhouse Gases
UK to Cut Greenhouse Gases
Nov 7, 2007 2:38 PM CST

UK to Cut Greenhouse Gases

Britain pledges to reduce emissions 60 percent by 2050

(Newser) - Britain has pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 60 percent over the next four decades, the BBC reports. Under the Climate Change Bill, the government will create an independent commission to help it meet five-year "carbon budgets." The government says the plan gives Britain the first...

London Unveils Hip Rail Station
London Unveils Hip Rail Station
Nov 7, 2007 2:01 PM CST

London Unveils Hip Rail Station

St. Pancras gets a spruce-up, new high-speed link to the Chunnel

(Newser) - London's St. Pancras train station has gotten a nifty £800 million (nearly $1.7 billion) renovation and a new high-speed rail link to the Chunnel, the Times of London reports. Queen Elizabeth and assorted celebrities officially opened the new route last night with pomp and theatricals; the head of...

Surfers See Red Over Brit Airways Board Ban

Petitioning to change gnarly new rule

(Newser) - Furious surfers hope to sink a gnarly new British Airways rule banning surfboards from the airline. Wave riders are petitioning the company to reverse its decision, which went into effect yesterday because the airline determined the boards are "simply not suitable for airport baggage systems," according to a...

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