Great Britain

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June 2009
- Charles, Camilla Cut Personal Spending by $1M
  
  Guardian (UK) | Jun 23, 09 8:16 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - It's belt-tightening, royal style. Prince Charles and Camilla slashed their personal spending by about $1 million (American) last year because of the recession, reports the Guardian . Among the draconian cutbacks: Charles skipped his usual ski holiday to Switzerland, and Camilla scrapped her annual sailing trip to Greece. Both are said to be getting more wear out of their pricey clothes. More »
- UK Women More Prone to Boozing, Brawling
  
  Daily Telegraph (UK) | Jun 15, 09 10:46 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - In a sign of a growing “binge-drinking ladette culture,” fines for being drunk and disorderly have soared 30% over two years among British women, the Daily Telegraph reports—faster than among men. Fines to underage girls have risen by half, and a report says a quarter of violent attacks involve women. “The government has completely failed to tackle binge drinking and the resultant violence,” said an MP. More »
- Michelle, Queen Stay Tight
  
  Daily Telegraph (UK) | Jun 14, 09 5:43 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - An unlikely friendship between Queen Elizabeth and Michelle Obama has blossomed in the weeks since the first couple's visit during the G20 Summit in April, reports the Telegraph . After their weekend in Paris, Michelle Obama flew with her daughters to London for a private tour of Buckingham Palace, a treat for Sasha's eighth birthday. The queen gave a warm personal welcome at the end. More »
- Queen's Poet Savages Politicians in First Poem
  
  Guardian (UK) | Jun 13, 09 8:23 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Britain's poet laureates have been criticized for writing about humdrum events on the royal calendar. If her first effort is any indication, the new laureate—the first woman—has no such intentions. Carol Ann Duffy is ticked off about the nation's scandal over lawmakers' expense accounts, and she lets everyone know it in her first poem, reports the Guardian . Politics "makes of your heart a fist," writes Duffy, who says of the poem only that it's about lost idealism. More »
- Banksy Strikes Again— With Huge Museum Show
  
  Times (UK) | Jun 12, 09 4:11 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Controversial artist Banksy has mounted a huge show at his hometown Bristol City Museum—but the secretive vandal is nowhere to be seem, the Times of London reports. The exhibition was planned in secret through Banksy’s representatives. “We couldn’t even tell the council and the whole thing could have been a huge hoax,” the museum’s director said. The show includes paintings and sculpture. More »
- Extremist UK Party Linked to Museum Shooter
  
  Guardian (UK) | Jun 12, 09 7:36 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Alleged Holocaust Museum shooter James von Brunn has links to the British National Party, the whites-only extremist bloc that won two seats in the European Parliament in last week's vote, reports the Guardian . Von Brunn attended fundraising meetings of an American affiliate of the group, although he is not believed to have made any contributions. BNP leader Nick Griffin, who has been pictured with Klansmen, and has referred to black and Asian Britons as "racial foreigners," attended at least two meetings of the US group. More »
- Thatcher in Hospital After Breaking Arm
  
  Times (UK) | Jun 12, 09 7:07 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Margaret Thatcher, now 83, has been hospitalized after breaking her arm in a fall in her home in London, reports the UK Times . A spokeswoman for the long-serving prime minister said she would be released today and was "very lucky." Thatcher has suffered multiple strokes in recent years, but she maintains a busy schedule: last week, she had an audience with the pope at the Vatican. More »
- Britain Bashes Bermuda for Taking Gitmo Inmates
  
  BBC | Jun 12, 09 4:51 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Britain has berated its oldest remaining colony for taking in former Guantanamo detainees without asking London's permission first, the BBC reports. American officials say they dealt directly with Bermuda on the issue, through its British-appointed governor, as they arranged to release four Chinese Muslim Uighurs to Bermuda. More »
- UK Military Seeks Canine Recruits
  
  Guardian (UK) | Jun 10, 09 3:35 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Short on canine recruits, Britain’s military has launched an effort to recharge the ranks, the Guardian reports. “Your country needs your dog,” the Ministry of Defence campaign proclaims, seeking German or Belgian shepherds, English springers, and Labradors in particular. The military typically gets dogs from shelters and private homes, but has found those means insufficient in recent years. More »
- London Cops Waterboarded Drug Suspects: Report
  
  Times (UK) | Jun 10, 09 7:41 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - London police subjected accused pot dealers to waterboarding, charges a major inquiry into corruption and police brutality in the British capital. The investigation also claims that officers fabricated evidence and stole property from suspects in a drug case. Six officers are facing criminal proceedings, reports the Times of London, but none have been arrested. More »
- Commuters Down the Tube as Strike Hits London
  
  Evening Standard (UK) | Jun 10, 09 5:14 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - London commuters faced a trial to get to work today as a subway strike pushed millions onto buses, bikes, and boats. The 48-hour strike began last night after talks broke down with one of the Tube's unions over disciplinary measures against two train drivers. Some lines are running irregularly, however, as dissenting Tube workers showed up to work in defiance of the union, reports the Evening Standard . More »
- Shift to Right in Europe Bodes Ill for US Dems
  
  Salon | Jun 9, 09 4:12 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The global recession has sparked a conservative, anti-immigrant impulse in Europe—see the right’s victory in European Parliament elections—and US liberals should take notice, Michael Lind writes for Salon. Though “it would be a mistake to read too much into the elections” as the “European Parliament has more symbolism than power,” Lind writes, the tide is turning. “Symbolism counts for something.” More »
- Michelle, Daughters Slip Into London
  
  Daily Mail (UK) | Jun 9, 09 6:43 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Barack Obama flew back to the US Sunday, but Michelle, Malia, and Sasha began a secret trip to London yesterday, reports the Daily Mail , visiting Big Ben and Parliament before tucking in for fish and chips at a traditional pub near the American embassy. Michelle also made an unofficial visit to Downing Street to see Sarah Brown—but not Gordon, who has been rather busy lately. More »
- London Subway Workers Set to Strike Tomorrow
  
  Reuters | Jun 8, 09 4:47 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - After failing to reach an agreement with management, London Underground workers will go on a two-day strike starting tomorrow evening, Reuters reports. The dispute over worker safety could affect millions of commuters and tourists. London transportation authorities say they will add extra buses and ferries to accommodate the disruption. More »
- Brown Survives Party Revolt
  
  Guardian (UK) | Jun 8, 09 4:12 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - British PM Gordon Brown survived a rowdy party meeting today despite Labour’s dismal election results and a backbencher uprising, the Guardian reports. 16 Labour parliamentarians spoke in defense of Brown and five called for his resignation in the wake of a high-profile financial scandal. “You solve the problem not by walking away but by facing it and doing something about it,” Brown said in a call for unity. More »
- Madoff Yanked $165M from London Branch Just Before Bust
  
  Independent (UK) | Jun 7, 09 7:20 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A month before he came clean on his Ponzi scheme, Bernie Madoff sold $165 million in UK bonds from his London office and the money disappeared, the Independent reports. Madoff ordered a director of the London arm to transfer the money to his New York office so Madoff could use it to buy US Treasury bills—but Madoff investigators found that none were purchased. More »
- Brown: 'I Won't Walk Away'
  
  Guardian (UK) | Jun 6, 09 5:24 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A defiant Gordon Brown said last night he will not "waver or walk away" from leadership despite a growing mutiny within the Labour Party, the Guardian reports. The British prime minister rejected calls for his resignation and managed to restore a semblance of authority after a day of surprise resignations within his party. The Labour rebels plan a fresh assault on his leadership this weekend. More »
- Jude Law's Hamlet Slays Critics
  
  Daily Telegraph (UK) | Jun 4, 09 11:03 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Jude Law took to the stage last night for the opening performance of Hamlet in London, and newspapers were largely impressed by the actor's take on the melancholy Dane. In the Telegraph , Charles Spencer writes that Law showed "rare vulnerability and emotional openness" in Shakespeare's toughest role. Dressed in black jeans, a worn T-shirt, and often near tears, Law "joins the modern pantheon of spellbinding sweet princes." More »
- Festival Aims to Slay Zombie Record
  
  Daily Telegraph (UK) | Jun 4, 09 2:56 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A British music festival is planning the biggest night of the living dead in history, reports the Telegraph . Organizers of the Big Chill have invited all festival-goers to appear as zombie extras for a scene from the upcoming movie I Spit on Your Rave . They hope to send the existing official "zombie walk" record of 1,227 people—set last Halloween in Nottingham—shambling into second place. More »
- Pregnant Brit Gets Life Sentence in Laos
  
  AFP | Jun 3, 09 9:04 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A pregnant British woman convicted of drug trafficking in Laos last year has been handed a life sentence, AFP reports. Samantha Orobator, 20, who was nabbed while trying to board a plane to Thailand, had been found found guilty of trafficking 1.5 pounds of heroin, said a UK embassy spokesman. A newly signed prisoner transfer agreement may allow Orobator to serve her sentence in Britain. More »