Britain

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China Widens Antarctic Presence
China Widens Antarctic Presence

China Widens Antarctic Presence

The race for the continent's seabed continues

(Newser) - China will build its third Antarctic research facility, expanding its presence on the continent as the international race for rights to the seabed heats up. As melting ice caps open the possibility of mining the seabed, countries including Chile, Argentina, and the UK are scrambling to claim portions of the...

Saudi, Brit Royals Dine
Saudi, Brit Royals Dine

Saudi, Brit Royals Dine

King Abdullah sweeps into London with 23 advisers and 400 aides

(Newser) - In the first visit of a Saudi king to the UK in 20 years, King Abdullah was treated to a Buckingham Palace banquet last night. His host, Queen Elizabeth, said Britain and Saudi Arabia must fight together against "terrorists who threaten the way of life of our citizens."...

Saudi King: Britain Lax on Terror
Saudi King: Britain Lax on Terror

Saudi King: Britain Lax on Terror

Monarch maintains UK ignored intelligence that may have averted 7/7

(Newser) - Britain needs to do more to fight international terrorism, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah says. Speaking on the eve of the first official visit to the UK by a Saudi ruler in 20 years, the monarch said his government passed along intelligence that could have averted the 7/7 bombings "but...

Scotland Yard Busts Royal Sex Tape Blackmailers

Pair threatened to reveal video of mystery royal

(Newser) - Two men have been arrested for attempted blackmail of a member of the British royal family who was threatened with exposure of a videotape allegedly showing a sex act, according to Scotland Yard officials. Authorities would not reveal the identity of the target, who was told to pay $100,000...

Brits to Study 'Invisible' Brain Injuries

Shock waves from IED blasts affect 20% of US troops in Iraq

(Newser) - The "invisible" brain injuries that are plaguing as many as 20% of US troops coming home from Iraq are now getting attention in Britain, where the Defence Ministry is launching a major study of returning British troops. The injuries, called "mild traumatic brain injury" (mTBI), are the result...

Class Reigns Supreme in Britain
Class Reigns Supreme in Britain

Class Reigns Supreme in Britain

(Newser) - Britain’s Labour Party says a classless society can be a reality in England, but after 10 years in power, their country still feels deeply divided by class. According to a Guardian survey, 89% of Britons felt they were judged by their class, with almost half saying it counted for...

Credit Crisis Could Torpedo UK Housing Market, Too

Prices more inflated than US, agency warns

(Newser) - Britain risks its own housing price crash, according to an International Monetary Fund report. The UK is in a credit crunch similar to the ongoing US version, and its housing is more overpriced than the US market before the crisis. In fact, "a number of advanced economies' housing markets...

Britain to Claim Antarctic Seabed
Britain to Claim Antarctic Seabed

Britain to Claim Antarctic Seabed

Bid follows this summer's Arctic territory scramble

(Newser) - Britain will submit a claim to the UN for 386,000 square miles of Antarctica, its foreign office said today, joining the international race to grab a piece of the mineral- and oil-rich territory as global warming makes it more accessible. The move violates a 1959 treaty, which Britain signed,...

Tory Poll Surge Batters Brown
Tory Poll Surge Batters Brown

Tory Poll Surge Batters Brown

PM accused of cowardice, lack of vision as opponents soar in polls

(Newser) - British PM Gordon Brown took a beating this week as a new poll showed the opposition Tories surging to their highest levels of popular support in 15 years, and even some Labourites came out of the woodwork to attack his vision for the future. Support for the Conservatives rose 5...

Britain Launches Wi-Fi Health Investigation

Study to examine wireless effects in schools, offices

(Newser) - Great Britain’s Health Protection Agency has launched a two-year comprehensive study into the health risks of wireless Internet connections, responding to rising fears from advocates and educators – but they don’t expect to find anything. There’s no evidence suggesting health risks, the Agency says, and it's likely...

Brit Tourists' DNA Sought in Maddy Case

Investigators aim to match evidence to possible kidnapper

(Newser) - British tourists staying at the same resort where toddler Madeleine McCann disappeared have been told to provide fingerprints and DNA samples to aid the ongoing investigation by Portuguese police, reports the London Times. The move is an attempt to help investigators identify evidence found in the McCann's Portugal apartment that...

Brown Under Fire for U-Turn on Elections

PM ditched snap vote when it looked like Labour would lose

(Newser) - Gordon Brown has a new nickname: “bottler,” British slang for someone who’s lost their nerve at the last minute. He's facing heavy criticism for the unpopular decision not to hold a snap general election this autumn after learning that his Labor party lags 6 points behind the...

Britain Opens Doors to Iraqi Interpreters

In danger if they stay in Iraq, British supporters may settle in the UK

(Newser) - Britain will allow and aid hundreds of Iraqi interpreters and their families to relocate to the UK when British forces withdraw, reports the Times of London. Interpreters and other support staff who helped coalition forces in Iraq are often targeted by death squads; dozens have been kidnapped, tortured or killed....

The New English Commute: via the Channel

UK buyers say oui oui to working in London, living in France

(Newser) - The Independent reports on the rise of a new phenomenon of Britons commuting to work in London—from France. Middle-class buyers, priced out of "character" English homes and stuck in cookie-cutter subdivisions, are increasingly purchasing properties in Normandy and other parts of France's north—where prices are as much...

Bluetongue Means Crisis for UK Farmers

PM signals possible compensation for crippled industry

(Newser) - Bluetongue cases will keep infecting UK cattle and mire farmers in a financial crisis, possibly for years, the Guardian reports. Almost a dozen cows have been hit so far, the first tremor of UK bluetongue after 3,000 cattle were hit this summer in Northern Europe. So far Gordon Brown...

Bluetongue Outbreak Declared
Bluetongue Outbreak Declared

Bluetongue Outbreak Declared

Five cases are confirmed; quarantine measures in place

(Newser) - An outbreak of bluetongue disease is affecting livestock in Suffolk, UK government vets confirmed today. The devastating and often deadly ailment, for which there is no vaccine, has never before been reported in the country. Authorities set up a quarantine zone of 93 miles around farms known to have had...

Flemish Recycling Runs to Chicken Feed

Flanders pioneers pay-as-you-dispose policy, reuse centers

(Newser) - The Belgian region of Flanders is attracting international attention with novel recycling schemes that include reuse centers, pay-per-bag garbage collection, and omnivorous chickens. The Russians, the Chinese and the British have come calling to see how Flanders has managed to hold its total waste generation steady even as its population...

Case of Bluetongue Has UK Farmers on High Alert

One more 'body blow' to the industry

(Newser) - The discovery of bluetongue—an insect-borne illness that has killed livestock throughout Europe—in a cow on a rare breed farm in Britain yesterday was devastating news to a cattle industry already staggering from waves of foot-and-mouth outbreaks.Tests are underway to determine if England's first case had spread to...

An Absolut Blockbuster
An Absolut Blockbuster

An Absolut Blockbuster

Maker of top-selling Smirnoff eyes second-place Swedish brand

(Newser) - British beverage conglomerate Diageo, maker of best-selling vodka Smirnoff, is “very interested” in acquiring Sweden’s Absolut, the world’s second-largest vodka. Diageo says it isn’t worried about anti-trust problems, although its CEO tells Reuters “complexity will vary from market to market.” One easy market would...

UK Bank Chief Takes Heat After U-Turn

Rescue of Northern Rock leads to calls for resignation

(Newser) - The leader of the Bank of England, the Fed's counterpart in the UK, is facing substantial pressure to resign. Only last week Mervyn King had declined to offer loans for inter-bank trading to ease credit markets, vowing to discourage the "moral hazard" of risk-taking that led to Northern Rock's...

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