UK
Unmasked: Chinese guardians of Olympic torch
China’s blue-clad flame attendants, whose aggressive methods of safeguarding the Olympic torch have provoked international outcry, are paramilitary police from a force spun off from the country’s army. The squad of 30 young men from the police aca...
English teens sent to prison in shock tactic
Young people are being sent to prison – in a bid to put them off a life of crime. Teenagers at risk of offending will be 'locked up' behind the bars at Preston Prison to give them a taste of life behind bars. Youths will spend a day at the jail, t...
England's, Wales' ban on samurai swords becomes law
Legislation against selling, making, hiring or importing samurai swords in England and Wales has come into force. Those breaking the law face six months in jail and a £5,000 fine. Carrying a sword in public is already illegal. Exemptions will cove...
'Terror plot' to blow up transatlantic flights out of London
A British terrorist cell planned to detonate suicide bombs on seven transatlantic flights over North America, causing catastrophic loss of life, a court was told yesterday. The flights chosen by the alleged terrorists – based in Walthamstow, East ...
Cannabis to be Classified as a More Serious Drug in the U.K
Gordon Brown today gave his backing for cannabis to be reclassified as a more serious drug later this month in a move that will reverse its downgrading by his predecessor. At his monthly press conference, the Prime Minister revealed his strong sup...
Murders in London mapped after latest death
Figures from the Metropolitan Police Service have revealed the density of murders occuring on London's streets, as officers investigate the latest killing of a teenager in the capital. A 16-year-old has been accused of the murder of a 14-year-old ...
Policeman who exposed forced marriages faces sack for 'shaming' his city
A former police inspector who has spoken out about the forced marriages endured by thousands of girls is today facing dismissal. Police support worker Philip Balmforth - praised last week by MPs - has been removed from his duties and faces a disci...
British marine threw himself onto grenade; escapes death with bloodied nose
A Royal Marine who threw himself onto an exploding grenade to save the lives of his patrol has been put forward for the UK's highest military honour. Lance Corporal Matt Croucher, 24, a reservist from Birmingham, survived because his rucksack and ...
British minister defends embryo research bill
LONDON - The British government is right to push through hybrid human-animal embryo legislation after a Roman Catholic cardinal attacked the government for "endorsement of experiments of Frankenstein proportion", Health Minister Ben Bradshaw has t...
Put young children on DNA list, urge police
Primary school children should be eligible for the DNA database if they exhibit behaviour indicating they may become criminals in later life, according to Britain's most senior police forensics expert.
Jack Straw apologises after 200 Muslim prisoners are given ham sandwiches during Ramadan
Muslim prisoners who were offered ham sandwiches during the holy month of Ramadan have received a letter of apology from the Government. Officials said sorry to the 200 Muslim inmates of HMP Leeds believed to have been offered the meat, which is f...
British teachers mull ending homework for pupils
Homework should be scrapped for primary school children because the pressure to complete assignments makes pupils "unhappy and anxious", say teachers. A Royal Commission should also investigate why so many children dislike school, the Association ...
3,000 women a year forced into marriage in UK, study finds
At least 3,000 young women in Britain are the victims of forced marriages each year, with the scale of the problem far bigger than originally thought, according to a groundbreaking report out this week. The first study ever conducted in the UK int...
Heathrow airport first to fingerprint
Millions of British airline passengers face mandatory fingerprinting before being allowed to board flights when Heathrow’s Terminal 5 opens later this month. For the first time at any airport, the biometric checks will apply to all domestic passen...
England to deport gay Iranian to be hung
Mehdi Kazemi is a gay teenager from Iran. He sought sanctuary in Britain after his boyfriend was hanged for homosexuality. So why is Britain so determined to send him back to Tehran – to almost certain execution?
Sent home in shame, the British commandos who stripped naked for crass stunt in a foreign bar
Eight British Commandos have been flown home in disgrace for stripping naked and engaging in appalling behaviour in a Norwegian bar during an Arctic training exercise. The men disgusted onlookers in the town of Harstad with a drunken game of "nake...
Google Earth showed protesters way to conquer British parliament
Demonstrators revealed yesterday that they had used Google Earth to plot their protest on the roof of the Houses of Parliament last week against the expansion of Heathrow. The website, which allows users to zoom in on satellite photographs of Eart...
The clones are coming - to a supermarket near you
The first cattle born to a cloned cow in Britain will this week be sold at public auction. The sale - at a cattle market outside Bristol - marks the opening of a new chapter in food technology in this country, say scientists.
Revealed: Ordinary British families would get £100 a week MORE benefits if they lived apart
Three out of four ordinary families would be better off living apart than sharing a home under Labour's benefits system. Tax credits and benefits are increasingly skewed towards single mothers, a study has shown.
Harry flirted so much with girl Harrier pilot we told him: ‘Get a room.’ ‘Does that count as the Mile High Club?’ he said
To the fighter pilots and the crews manning spy planes above the battlefields of Afghanistan he was just Widow-Six-Seven. Another radio call-sign, a reassuring voice of authority, a brother in arms, a bit of a wag ... and an incorrigible flirt.