United Kingdom

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Citizenship Test Just Too Tough for Most Brits

High standards, or a scheme to foil would-be immigrants?

(Newser) - Should would-be immigrants to the United Kingdom be required to know the population of Wales when a majority of Britons don't? Only one in seven natives would pass the test required to get a passport, the Christian Science Monitor reports. The government says the bar should be set high even...

Bank of England Governor Gets 2nd Term

King reappointed despite criticism over Northern Rock

(Newser) - Mervyn King has won a second term as governor of the Bank of England, the Fed's British counterpart, ending months of speculation about his future. Reuters reports that King will serve at the head of the UK central bank for another five years despite the City's fury at his handling...

UK Cracking Down on Suicide Sites
UK Cracking Down on Suicide Sites
Jan 26, 2008 3:45 PM CST

UK Cracking Down on Suicide Sites

Spate of copycat deaths sparks calls for tougher laws

(Newser) - A spate of apparent copycat suicides in a Wales town has lead to a nationwide campaign against suicide websites, the Guardian reports. Rumor has it that seven recent suicide victims in the town of Bridgend knew each other, and noted each others' deaths on a social networking site. Police are...

Northern Rock Bailout Plan a Money Shuffle

Deal pays back government loans, but public still on the hook

(Newser) - The British government today unveiled its last-gasp plan to hand off the Northern Rock hot potato and prevent nationalization, the London Times reports. Under the plan, the bank would immediately pay back the £25 billion it owes the government by selling the debt to private investors as bonds. But...

Brits Debate Eco-Wisdom of Biofuels
Brits Debate Eco-Wisdom
of Biofuels
Jan 20, 2008 11:03 AM CST

Brits Debate Eco-Wisdom of Biofuels

Oil substitute may destroy rainforests, increase food prices

(Newser) - Biofuels may actually exacerbate the environmental problems they were meant to allay, reports the Observer, and a UK Parliamentary committee has released a report examining the possible effects. Using fuel made from crops like tallow and rapeseed may actually worsen greenhouse gas emissions, kill rainforests, and drive up food prices...

UK Defies Russia in Latest Diplomatic Row

Moscow irate as Brits reopen cultural offices in Russia

(Newser) - Moscow's tit-for-tat diplomatic row with the UK continues to escalate as British officials defied Russian orders to close two cultural offices, the BBC reports. Russia called the reopening of British Council offices in St. Petersburg and the Urals city of Yekaterinburg an "intentional provocation aimed at inflaming tensions,"...

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...

Russian Art Approved for UK Display
Russian Art Approved for UK Display
Jan 10, 2008 1:40 PM CST

Russian Art Approved for UK Display

Moscow allows paintings to travel after diplomatic spat, fears of seizure

(Newser) - The Royal Academy in London will scramble to open a major exhibition of Russian-owned art after Russian officials finally granted permission to send the works to the UK, the Times of London reports. The show faced cancellation over Russian concerns that the works would be subject to seizure, a dispute...

Apple to Charge Fewer Pence per Song

Price of iTunes tracks will correspond between UK and EU

(Newser) - Apple has vowed to ease up on British purses, cutting the price for iTunes downloads so UK fees will match those in the rest of Europe. EU regulators have been probing Apple since a consumer group complained about its policies in 2004; the new settlement comes after direct talks between...

Britain, Spain Soften Over Rock
Britain, Spain Soften Over Rock
Jan 9, 2008 11:12 AM CST

Britain, Spain Soften Over Rock

Settling of dispute over Gibraltar means EU can sign long-delayed treaties

(Newser) - Britain and Spain have worked out a compromise on Gibraltar that will pave the way for the EU to sign some important treaties, Reuters reports. Treaties on child protection and aviation had been held up for years because Spain balked at plans to let officials in the British enclave administer...

UK Air Travelers Allowed 2 Bags (Some Airports)

Baggage rules relaxed at Heathrow, not Gatwick, others

(Newser) - Confusion may be the rule for air travelers in the UK, where some—but not all—airports have been allowed to drop a one-cabin-bag-per-passenger limit. Passengers at Heathrow and 21 other airports will be permitted to carry two bags for the first time since the tightening of airport security in...

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...

UK Plans Cheap Web Access for All Students

Broadband to become compulsory under new schools program

(Newser) - The Brown government is collaborating with Britain's top IT companies to provide Internet access to every child in the country. A major education review recently urged closing the widening achievement gap between rich and poor families. In effect, a broadband Internet connection is becoming compulsory, the Guardian reports.

UK To Introduce Sweeping Bank Reforms

Darling announces regulatory shift after Northern Rock fiasco

(Newser) - Britain's chancellor will offer sweeping new powers to that country's equivalent of the SEC to intervene in the event of a banking crisis. In an interview with the Financial Times, Alistair Darling presented a set of triggers that would allow the Financial Services Authority to step in and protect assets...

Families Blast N. Ireland Bomb Acquittal

Demand inquiry after lone suspect cleared on 56 counts

(Newser) - Furious families of victims have slammed provincial police and called for an inquiry a day after the acquittal of a man charged with the worst terror attack in Northern Ireland history. Sean Hoey was cleared of 56 counts of murder and terrorist charges stemming from the 1998 Omagh bombing. The...

UK Slaps Chatty Drivers With Jail
UK Slaps Chatty Drivers With Jail
Dec 20, 2007 12:06 PM CST

UK Slaps Chatty Drivers With Jail

Texting, tinkering with gadgets could net 2 years in the pokey

(Newser) - Yakking on the phone while behind the wheel could fetch you a little quality time behind bars in the UK, reports the Daily Telegraph. A new law rewards chatty driving—or texting, or tinkering with a GPS unit or MP3 player— with jail terms of up to two years. The...

UK Probe Finds 6K Illegals in Security Jobs

Home Office takes heat over 11K total given clearance

(Newser) - UK Home Secretary Jacqui Smith came under fire today after an investigation revealed that as many as 11,000 illegal immigrants are employed in or have been cleared for security jobs, including one man who guarded the PM's car. Of those workers, 6,653 were found to have no permission...

Northern Rock Boss Quits as Fall Continues

$570M writedown posted; sale of troubled bank months away

(Newser) - The CEO of collapsing British bank Northern Rock quit this morning without comment, reports the Financial Times. Adam Applegarth resigned last month but had pledged to stay on as CEO until the end of January to guide the struggling company through its upcoming sale. But investors are troubled by the...

British Library Acquires Harold Pinter Archive

$2.2M keeps Nobel laureate's papers in the country

(Newser) - The British Library has bought the papers of Harold Pinter, the Nobel Prize-winning playwright, paying more than $2.2 million for 150 boxes of material, writes the Times of London. After the purchase of several British authors' archives by American universities, Pinter committed himself to finding a home in his...

Outbreak Hits World's Most Remote Island

Viral asthma affecting 275-person UK territory in South Atlantic

(Newser) - A severe viral asthma is wreaking havoc on Tristan da Cunha, a volcanic island 1,700 miles off the coast of South Africa described as the world's most remote community, the BBC reports. Many of the island's 275 residents are having trouble breathing; medical supplies are dwindling in the South...

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