Topic: United Kingdom

Tears and Jeers at Margaret Thatcher's Funeral

AP Photo/Joel Ryan

Thousands of Britons lined the streets of London to give their final respects — and their final insults — to former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Here's what the dichotomous scene looked like.

By Adam Clark Estes

Apr 14, 2013

'Ding Dong the Witch Is Dead' Just Missed Becoming the Meanest Number One Song Ever

The results are in, and "Ding Dong the Witch Is Dead" has failed to climb to the number one slot on British charts. It was just 5,700 copies behind Duke Dumont's "Need Me (100 Percent)" when the official tally was taken.

Comments | 1,526 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Apr 11, 2013

The BBC's Not Sure How to Deal with the Sudden Popularity of 'Ding Dong the Witch Is Dead'

In the handful of days since Margaret Thatcher's death, there's been no indicator of her opponents' satisfaction more troubling than the resurgence of the near-century-old song, "Ding Dong the Witch Is Dead."

Comments | 40,134 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Apr 11, 2013

You Weren't Invited to Margaret Thatcher's Funeral

The British Prime Minister's office has released the list of dignataires invited to next week's funeral for Margaret Thatcher, a roster of guests that includes the Queen and every living U.S. president.

Comments | 736 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Apr 8, 2013

Margaret Thatcher Dies at 87

Margaret Thatcher, the first woman to ever serve as prime minister of the United Kingdom, has died at the age of 87. This is the story of a respected, controversial life as reactions arrive from across the globe.

Comments | 4,500 Views

By Philip Bump

Mar 18, 2013

The Iraq War Anniversary Is Prompting a Flood of Reflection, Except from the Media

The 10th anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq War  this Wednesday may be the last opportunity for reflection, told-you-sos, revisionism, and apologies — a flood of which have been released over the past few days. With one notable exception: The news media has been largely silent on the role it played.

Comments | 1,566 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Mar 14, 2013

Archaeologists Just Found Another British Noble Buried Under a Parking Lot

There's a sad lesson about urban planning in the trend of major archaeological finds turning up under parking lots in the United Kingdom. Or maybe it's a happy lesson. It's hard to tell.

Comments | 3,966 Views

By Philip Bump

Mar 11, 2013

The Superbug Scare Is This Bad

There's reason to believe that a drug-resistant bacteria could be a "catastrophic" health crisis, especially given the lack of a response plan and especially for older people in the United States. No location is exactly safe, but before you freak out, here's some much needed context.

Comments | 13,017 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Feb 6, 2013

Britain Is Forcing People to Inject Microchips Into Their Dogs

Nobody likes a lost dog. The owners lament her absence. The public fears her bite. And authorities have better things to do than chase down pets. So why not just put tracking chips under their skin?

Comments | 2,698 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 5, 2013

Britain Moves One Step Closer to Legalizing Gay Marriage

The British House of Commons have shown overwhelmingly for same-sex marriage legislation that could soon bring soon make gay marriage a reality, but the victory isn't the end of the fight.

Comments | 1,196 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 4, 2013

DNA Tests Prove That This Skeleton Is Richard III

Scientists in England have announced that they can now conclusively say that a skeleton found under a parking lot in Great Britain last year belongs to the Richard III, the famous king who was killed (without his horse!) more than 500 years ago.

Comments | 8,841 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Jan 29, 2013

British Troops Are Going to Mali, Despite What David Cameron Said

Today, the U.K. announced that it would be sending around 350 troops to support the French operation in Mali, which means Prime Minister David Cameron has some explaining to do

Comments | 1,379 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Jan 24, 2013

Britain Says There's an 'Imminent Threat' to Westerns in Benghazi

The British Foreign Office has issued a travel warning to Westerners who might be in Benghazi, urging all its citizens to leave the city immediately.

Comments | 622 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Jan 11, 2013

Report: BBC Star Was a 'Prolific, Predatory Sex Offender'

A report on the sexual abuse allegations made against ex-BBC host Jimmy Savile found that the beloved TV star was accused of sexually abusing more than 450 people during his lifetime, yet was never formally charged with any crimes.

Comments | 2,414 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Dec 13, 2012

Poisoned Russian Spy Was Working as a British 'Triple Agent'

The British government is still trying to solve the bizarre 2006 poisoning death of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko, who was apparently not only working for MI6 but also with Spanish intelligence and his ex-KGB pals.

Comments | 4,045 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Dec 11, 2012

Obama's Finally Recognized the Syrian Opposition Coalition, So What Now?

The Syrian rebel government scored a major victory on Tuesday night when the Obama administration threw its support behind the coalition. This doesn't mean we'll be sending them weapons anytime soon, though.

Comments | 2,967 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Dec 2, 2012

UK Lawmakers Say Google, Amazon and Starbucks Are Guilty of Immoral Tax Dodging

The era of big multinational corporations like Google, Amazon and Starbucks skirting around their tax liabilities is coming to a close. In the United Kingdom, it is, anyways.

Comments | 1,380 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Dec 2, 2012

France and Britain Reportedly Considering Pulling Ambassadors from Israel

Everybody knew that Israel's move to build new settlements in the previously off-limits area outside Jerusalem known as E1 would anger friends and enemies alike. But few probably guessed that it would send European ambassadors fleeing the country.

Comments | 101,461 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Nov 11, 2012

British Lawmakers Are Taking Starbucks to Task for Tax Dodging

A Parliamentary committee will grill top executives from Amazon, Google and Starbucks on Monday about exactly how and why the companies have managed to pay appallingly low tax rates in the UK.

Comments | 829 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Nov 5, 2012

If You're a British Spy, Don't Drive a Jaguar with '007' Plates

More details have emerged in the very curious case of Neil Heywood, a British businessman living in Beijing, who was poisoned by the wife of a Chinese Communist Party leader last year.

Comments | 4,656 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Nov 4, 2012

The British Have Invaded 90 Percent of the Countries on Earth

Everybody knew that the British loved to conquer lots of countries for their precious empire. It's not until somebody sits down and actually counts all of them that we realize just how many.

Comments | 8,883 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Oct 25, 2012

The UK Is Finally Out of Its Recession

The British economy grew for the first time in nine months, officially moving the UK out of recession and giving all of Europe some hope for the future.

Comments | 965 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Aug 16, 2012

Julian Assange Granted Asylum by Ecuador

Ecuador has accepted the asylum request of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, putting the United Kingdom in a difficult bind. Can it revoke Ecuador's diplomatic status so it can arrest a fugitive hiding inside their embassy? More importantly, should they?

Comments | 1,547 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Jul 31, 2012

The Weird End to the Men's Gymnastics Team Final: A GIF Guide

The Japanese men's gymnastics team—and its star, Kohei Uchimura, who dominates the individual competition—didn't win a medal in the team competition Monday. Except, then they did.

Comments | 10,394 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Jul 5, 2012

London Police Arrest Six Alleged Terror Suspects as Olympics Loom

Six people were arrested in Greater London on Thursday as part of a possible terrorist plot "involving Islamist extremists, with potential UK targets," according to The BBC.

Comments | 862 Views

By Eric Randall

Jun 12, 2012

Comment of the Day

'I No Longer Watch American TV'

The Atlantic Wire's Richard Lawson put forward several theories Tuesday for the American television watcher's recent fit of anglophilia, but none of them were quite so bluntly stated as the theory of our featured commenter, HFgm: British TV is better.

Comments | 805 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

May 11, 2012

British Intelligence Also Getting Credit for Foiling Airline Bomb Plot

Intelligence services in the United Kingdom are now getting pulled into the story of the foiled airline bomb plot as it's been revealed that the mole who infiltrated al Qaeda in Yemen was actually a British citizen

Comments | 649 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Apr 26, 2012

Five Best Green Stories

Obama Throws Environmentalists a Bone; Get Ready for 'Agent Orange Corn'

The Washington Post on the president and climate change, The New York Times on 2,4-D and chicken sanctuaries, the Los Angeles Times on making organic farms efficient, and The Guardian on shrinking the world

Comments | 1,407 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Apr 23, 2012

Five Best Green Stories

No Warm Feelings for 'Frozen Planet'; Fish Labels Are Fishy

The New York Times on Frozen Planet, The Daily Beast on climate change, The Guardian on the 2012 Olympics, The Washington Post on fish labels, and the BBC on a white orca

Comments | 1,195 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Apr 19, 2012

Stat of the Day

Sorry, Mum: 1 in 10 U.K. Sexts Are Sent to Wrong Phone Numbers

Reason No. 453 to never ever ever! send a sext? There's a significant chance that you'll end up sending your sexplicit message to the wrong person.

Comments | 1,035 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Apr 16, 2012

Five Best Green Stories

The Next Cold War May Be Really Cold; There's Uranium in Them Hills

The Associated Press on soldiers in the melting Arctic, The Texas Tribune on uranium mining, Christian Science Monitor on solar panels in Germany, The Washington Post on saving the seahorse, and The Guardian on the drought in England

Comments | 1,430 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Apr 5, 2012

Five Best Green Stories

Nick Kristof on Chicken; Cubans Are Very Green Farmers

Nicholas Kristof on arsenic in chicken, Slate on ecologically friendly farming in Cuba, Mother Jones on the low cost of stopping climate change, Good on not buying leather, and NPR on the end of the Ice Age.

Comments | 1,035 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Mar 16, 2012

How David Cameron's Date with America Is Going

The Brits were thrilled that President Obama swept Prime Minister David Cameron off his feet in his official state visit this week, but now they're feeling a bit used.

Comments | 2,293 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 15, 2012

What Happened at Last Night's State Dinner?

The President and First Lady played hosts to British Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife, Samantha, at their fourth state dinner since taking office.

Comments | 4,311 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Mar 2, 2012

British Media Kick a Dead Horse Story

Though you wouldn't know it from picking up some British newspapers today, the fact that one-time News Corp. editor Rebekah Brooks was loaned a retired police horse wasn't that a big deal. 

Comments | 230 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Jan 31, 2012

The Good, the Bad, and the Fuzzy of Twitter's New Censorship Rules

Twitter chief executive Dick Costolo, stern-faced and blank-eyed, explained his company's new censorship capabilities defensively on Monday night.

Comments | 274 Views

By Adam Martin

Jan 12, 2012

What British Tabloid Editors Think About Their Laughable Headlines

Overwrought headlines (see above) are the bread and butter of tabloid journalism, and accuracy comes second, the editor of Britain's Daily Star told an ethics panel there on Wednesday.

Comments | 973 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Jan 11, 2012

The Savvy Scot Trying to Start a (Very Polite) Civil War

Civil War is a strong term to describe Alex Salman's quest to bring the question of Scotland's independence from the United Kingdom to a vote, but it does describe the pro-independence politician's seriousness in defying London. 

Comments | 1,381 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Jan 10, 2012

Let's Hope Scotland's Quest for Independence Is More Peaceful Than America's

Scotland made measurable progress in setting a date for a historical confrontation: a referendum that would enable the Scots to declare independence from the United Kingdom.

Comments | 5,703 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Dec 31, 2011

Apple Now Has Its Very Own Knight on Staff

You might recognize Apple's senior vice president of industrial design Jonathan Ive from such past accomplishments as the masterminding of, well, pretty much single every iDevice, but he's now a knight too.

Comments | 1,379 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Dec 9, 2011

European Union Agrees to a New Financial Treaty, but Britain Stands in the Way

Most of the members of the European Union agreed to a new "intergovernmental agreement," with strict budget rules and financial safeguards, but the United Kingdom has effectively torpedoed the deal as a threat to its national sovereignty.

Comments | 1,281 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Nov 30, 2011

A World Tour of Creepy Condom Ads

While the last shuddersome condom ad campaign from abroad has fake unborn children friend-requesting men, it's hardly the first bizarre way foreigns have peddles their rubbers.

Comments | 14,623 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Nov 9, 2011

Stat of the Day

Only 11% of Possible Phone-Hacking Victims Have Been Contacted by Police

Apparently we've only seen the tip of News Corp.'s phone-hacking iceberg.

Comments | 270 Views

By Uri Friedman

Oct 6, 2011

Markets Cautiously Optimistic About Europe's New Debt Measures

The ECB holds rates steady while the U.K. buys up more bonds

Comments | 288 Views

By Uri Friedman

Oct 4, 2011

How Did Buckingham Palace Miss a Corpse Rotting 100 Yards Away?

Robert James Moore's obsession with the Queen took him to West Island

Comments | 4,841 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Sep 30, 2011

Britain's Austere Stimulus: Raise the Speed Limit

The transportation secretary thinks cars going 80 m.p.h will rev the economy

Comments | 293 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Sep 23, 2011

Stat of the Day

In Britain, Lesbians Separate at Half the Rate Heteros Do

Only 2.5 percent of lesbians in civil partnerships separate in the U.K.

Comments | 1,173 Views

By Uri Friedman

Sep 16, 2011

Where Are the Rogue Traders Now?

Losing billions of dollars lands bankers in jail, but at least one has bounced back

Comments | 2,335 Views

By Erik Hayden

Sep 16, 2011

UBS Trader Kweku Adoboli Charged with Fraud

London police charged the trader connected to $2 billion in unauthorized trading

Comments | 697 Views

By Uri Friedman

Sep 15, 2011

What the Internet Knows About the UBS Trader Who Lost $2 Billion

31-year-old Kweku Adoboli has shaken one of the world's largest banks

Comments | 9,070 Views

By Uri Friedman

Sep 7, 2011

Propaganda Parade

Iran Calls Britons Liars, Belarus Has Op-Ed Confusion

It's time for our regular roundup of propaganda from around the world

Comments | 2,931 Views

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