LONDON (Reuters) - Smart meters to boost energy efficiency in homes do not automatically achieve a significant reduction in energy demand, research showed Wednesday.
Here is the original:
Smart meters alone may not save much energy - study
BASEL (Reuters) - Wayne Rooney scored his first international goal for almost one year to set England on the way to a 3-1 win away to Switzerland in their Euro 2012 qualifier on Tuesday.
Go here to read the rest:
Rooney on target to set up England’s Swiss stroll
LONDON (Reuters) - The United Nations should help investigate allegations that opposition figures in Bahrain have been tortured in prison in the run-up to next month’s elections, a British lawmaker said on Tuesday.
Here is the original post:
U.N. must probe Bahrain torture allegations - UK lawmaker
LONDON (Reuters) - HSBC Holdings PLC said on Tuesday its Group chairman Stephen Green is stepping down to become Minister of State for Trade and Investment.
Read the original here:
HSBC confirms Chairman Green to step down
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain promoted one of its top financial crimebusters on Tuesday to help keep experienced staff on board at a watchdog set to be abolished in two years’ time.
Read more from the original source:
Government promotes financial crimebuster as shake-up looms
LONDON (Reuters) - Two-time Man Booker winner Australian author Peter Carey, Emma Donoghue and Andrea Levy go head to head in a final field of six authors vying for one of the world’s most influential literary prizes.
Continued here:
Two-time Booker winner Carey tops 2010 shortlist
LONDON (Reuters) - The government launched an initiative on Tuesday to unlock new investment in low-carbon technologies and make London a global hub for green finance.
Originally posted here:
UK launches investor forum to spur green finance
LONDON (Reuters) - Workers on London’s underground rail network walked out Monday in a staggered 24-hour strike over plans to save money by reducing staffing at stations and closing ticket offices.
Here is the original post:
London faces transport chaos in jobs strike
LONDON (Reuters) - Retail sales growth accelerated last month, helped by clothes sales, a survey showed on Tuesday, but discounting played a part in the improvement and consumers remain reluctant to splash out on expensive items.
The rest is here:
Retail sales growth picks up in August
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s tabloid Sun newspaper launched its own celebrity perfume on Monday to provide readers with the scent of showbiz.
LONDON (Reuters) - A floating duck house, which came to symbolise a scandal which erupted last year over British politicians’ expenses, has been sold and the money given to a cancer charity, the organisation said on Monday.
View original here:
Duck house, symbol of MPs’ expense scandal, sold
LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. model and actress Jerry Hall is selling several works of art from her private collection, including a portrait by Lucian Freud, as a way of letting go of a past she shared with Rolling Stone Mick Jagger
See the original post here:
Jerry Hall to auction Freud portrait, Warhol
LONDON (Reuters) - A vicar who oversaw hundreds of sham marriages between African nationals and cash-strapped eastern Europeans to help migrants settle illegally in Britain was jailed for four years on Monday.
Original post:
Vicar jailed for sham marriage scam
LONDON (Reuters) - A giant bale of hay has killed a founding member of the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) band after it tumbled down a hill and crashed into his van.
Here is the original post:
Giant hay bale kills former ELO cellist
LONDON (Reuters) - Maintenance workers on London’s underground rail network went out on strike on Monday at the start of a wave of industrial action which unions say will cripple the system, bringing misery to commuters.
Read the original post:
Tube commuters braced for travel chaos
LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron’s communications chief denied on Monday that he encouraged reporters to illegally hack into phone messages in his previous role as a tabloid newspaper editor.
Go here to see the original:
Coulson "happy to speak to police"
LONDON (Reuters) - Immigration Minister Damian Green is calling for tougher rules for non-EU students seeking to enrol on courses in Britain, after research found a fifth were still in the country five years after being granted visas.
Read the original here:
Non-EU student visa system faces shake-up
LONDON (Reuters) - Tony Blair said on Monday he was considering cancelling a book-signing in London this week to mark the launch of his memoirs, over fears the event would be hit by protests.
Originally posted here:
Blair "may cancel" book-signing over protests
NEW YORK (Reuters) - An ailing Andy Murray suffered a shock exit from the U.S. Open when he was beaten 6-7, 7-6, 6-3 6-3 by Swiss 25th seed Stanislas Wawrinka in the third round Sunday
Original post:
Ailing Murray shocked by Wawrinka at U.S. Open
LONDON (Reuters) - Police said on Sunday they had sought more information about claims that reporters at the News of the World newspaper illegally hacked into voicemail accounts to eavesdrop on people’s phone messages.
See the original post here:
Police seek information on newspaper eavesdropping
CARDIFF (Reuters) - Pakistan test opener Yasir Hameed said Sunday he had been duped into making statements reported in the British newspaper The News of the World alleging widespread match-fixing by his team mates.
Originally posted here:
Hameed says he was duped by newspaper
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The Dutch painter Corneille, co-founder of the avant-garde Cobra movement, died on Sunday at the age of 88, the Dutch Cobra museum said on Sunday.
Read more here:
Dutch painter and Cobra co-founder Corneille dies
LONDON (Reuters) - Entrepreneur Richard Caring is considering a counter-bid for British cafe and restaurant chain Carluccio’s, British newspaper the Mail on Sunday reported.
Go here to see the original:
Caring mulls counter-bid for Carluccio’s - report
LONDON (Reuters) - Tim Waterstone, the founder of the UK book retailer that bears his name, is considering a 100 million pound-plus bid to buy the chain from parent company HMV, the Observer newspaper reported on Sunday.
Go here to see the original:
Waterstone founder may take chain back - report
CARDIFF (Reuters) - England play their first Twenty20 international on Sunday since claiming the World Cup in Barbados this year against a backdrop of suspicion and innuendo rather than celebration.
More here:
England-Pakistan series opens with air of suspicion
LONDON (Reuters) - Two people died after a mid-air collision by two light planes during an air race over the Isle of Wight, police said on Saturday.
Read the original post:
Two die in mid-air light aircraft collision
DUBLIN (Reuters) - Three people were arrested after protesters threw eggs and shoes at former British Prime Minister Tony Blair when he arrived to sign copies of his memoir at a bookshop in Dublin on Saturday, national broadcaster RTE said.
Go here to read the rest:
Blair pelted with eggs at Dublin book signing
LONDON (Reuters) - Nearly six million people are to be told they have paid the wrong amount of tax, and authorities will demand about 2 billion pounds more from hundreds of thousands of taxpayers, HM Revenue and Customs said on Saturday.
LONDON (Reuters) - The cost of car insurance has risen by almost a third in the past year, its biggest ever increase, as insurers seek to offset a sharp rise in claims expenses driven in part by fraud, AA Insurance said.
Original post:
Car insurance premiums jump 31 percent
LONDON (Reuters) - Liberal Democrat stalwart and former Rochdale MP Sir Cyril Smith has died aged 82, his party said on Friday.
Read more here:
Larger than life Liberal Cyril Smith dies
LONDON (Reuters) - Fugitive businessman Asil Nadir appeared in court on Friday for the first time since returning to London last month, 17 years after he fled while awaiting trial on fraud and theft charges related to one of Britain’s biggest corporate failures.
Read the original:
Tycoon appears in court 17 years after fleeing Britain
LONDON (Reuters) - Alcohol consumption in Britain saw its sharpest decline in more than 60 years in 2009 in contrast to the perception that the country has a growing drink problem, the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) said on Friday.
Read the rest here:
Alcohol consumption suffers sharp slump
ROVERETO, Italy (Reuters) - A woman carrying pole vaults in a purpose-built bag struggles to make her way through a crowd of screaming children at an athletics meeting in northern Italy.
More here:
Pistorius expects to comfortably make London Olympics
LONDON (Reuters) - Pension obligations of British companies have grown to “unprecedented” levels due to falling yields on government bonds, consultancy Aon warned on Thursday.
Here is the original post:
UK firms’ pension liabilities hit new high - Aon
LONDON (Reuters) - Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown will join efforts to improve access to education and the internet as part of pro bono work following Labour’s election loss in May, his spokesman said on Thursday.
See the original post:
Gordon Brown begins charity work
LONDON (Reuters) - Royal Bank of Scotland announced another wave of job cuts on Thursday as the part-nationalised bank continues with its drive to trim costs and improve its profitability.
Original post:
Royal Bank of Scotland to cut 3,500 jobs in UK
LONDON (Reuters) - Scotland’s government announced on Thursday that its planned minimum price for alcohol would be set at 45 pence per unit, meaning a bottle of wine would cost at least 4.23 pounds and a bottle of whisky 12.60 pounds.
View post:
Scotland announces minimum price for alcohol
LONDON (Reuters) - God did not create the universe and the “Big Bang” was an inevitable consequence of the laws of physics, the eminent British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking argues in a new book.
See the original post:
God did not create the universe, says Hawking
LONDON (Reuters) - Ofgem is launching an investigation into whether four of the big gas and power suppliers are mis-selling products to customers, the energy regulator said on Thursday.
See more here:
Utilities probed for mis-selling to households
LONDON (Reuters) - Foreign Secretary William Hague has denied rumours he was gay and said one of his male aides had quit over untrue speculation they had been involved in a relationship.
TAUNTON, England (Reuters) - Pakistan test captain Salman Butt and pace bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif will meet their country’s High Commissioner later Thursday to discuss corruption allegations levelled against the team.
See more here:
Pakistan trio meet Commissioner over corruption claims
LONDON (Reuters) - Staff at Britain’s BBC voted on Wednesday to strike in protest against the state-funded broadcaster’s plans to reduce a large pension deficit by capping the growth of pensionable pay, unions said.
See the original post here:
BBC staff vote for strike over pension overhaul
LONDON (Reuters) - The identity of “The Stig,” the mystery test car driver on the popular BBC TV motoring show “Top Gear” was revealed on Wednesday after the broadcaster lost a legal battle to keep his name secret.
Go here to see the original:
Top Gear’s Stig finally unmasked
LONDON (Reuters) - British hedge fund company Man Group Plc named GLG head Emmanuel Roman as its chief operating officer on Wednesday, to help Man Group integrate its recent acquisition of the GLG business.
Excerpt from:
GLG’s Roman named Man Group chief operating officer
LONDON (Reuters) - Shares in Spice Plc, Britain’s biggest installer of water meters, rose strongly on Wednesday in anticipation of a bidding war as the company revealed it was in talks with a second potential bidder.
Here is the original:
New bidder emerges for UK’s Spice
LONDON (Reuters) - A special constable found guilty of assaulting an off-duty soldier while trying to arrest him was jailed for three years on Wednesday.
The rest is here:
Special constable jailed for soldier assault
DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish retail sales fell in July and jobless claims rose last month, adding to fears that a nascent recovery from the euro-zone’s deepest recession may have already hit a wall.
Read more here:
Irish recovery stutters as retail falls, jobless rises
LONDON (Reuters) - An intact Roman lantern made of bronze, believed by experts to be the only one of its kind in Britain, has been unearthed in a field by a metal-detecting enthusiast.
LONDON (Reuters) - The union representing British Airways’ cabin crew is considering balloting members over a fresh wave of strike action if no progress on a peace deal is made soon.
The rest is here:
Unite union mulling fresh BA strike ballot
LONDON (Reuters) - Protesters from environmental group Greenpeace boarded a drilling rig operated by UK oil explorer Cairn Energy on Monday to try to stall development of what the oil industry hopes will become a major new producing centre.
Excerpt from:
Protesters board Cairn oil rig off Greenland
LONDON (Reuters) - Official statistics place too much weight on a standard European Union inflation measure at the expense of a national index more suited to wage negotiations, experts said in a letter published on Tuesday.
Go here to read the rest:
Top statisticians criticise CPI inflation measure
LONDON (Reuters) - British customs officials said on Tuesday they had had arrested three people as part of an investigation into money laundering.
Original post:
Three arrested in money laundering investigation
EDINBURGH (Reuters) - Britain’s top annual comedy prize, the Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Award, went to England’s Russell Kane at an Edinburgh Fringe festival ceremony on the weekend for his show “Smokescreens and Castles.”
The rest is here:
Comedian Russell Kane takes Foster’s award
LONDON/PARIS (Reuters) - Britain said on Tuesday it would discuss closer military cooperation with France in talks this week, but played down a report that the two countries would share aircraft carriers to save costs.
Here is the original post:
Government cool on mooted carrier sharing scheme
LONDON (Reuters) - The exceptionally dry early summer months in Britain have revealed the ghostly outlines of several hundred previously unknown ancient sites buried in fields across the English countryside.
Read more:
Parched English fields reveal ancient sites
LONDON (Reuters) - “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling has donated 10 million pounds ($15.5 million) to set up a new clinic to carry out research into multiple sclerosis (MS), the disease which killed her mother.
View post:
J.K. Rowling gives millions for MS research
LONDON (Reuters) - Nearly half of the UK public has little confidence in local authorities as they face massive budgetary cuts despite being sympathetic to their plight, a poll by Zurich Municipal showed on Monday.
Read the original post:
Half public not confident in budget-cutting council - poll
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain and France are getting ready to unveil plans to share aircraft carriers amid pressure on the British military to cut costs, the Times reported on Tuesday.
Here is the original:
Britain, France to share aircraft carriers - paper
LONDON (Reuters) - The International Cricket Council’s (ICC) anti-corruption unit has been asked to submit a report within the next three days on an investigation into alleged corruption within the Pakistan team.
View original here:
Corruption report expected in two to three days
HOUSTON (Reuters) - BP Plc delayed retrieval of the failed blowout preventer atop its ruptured Gulf of Mexico oil well this week because of bad weather, the top U.S. official overseeing the oil spill said on Monday.
Read more from the original source:
Bad weather delays retrieval of BP blowout preventer
LONDON (Reuters) - Nearly half of the public has little confidence in local authorities as they face massive budgetary cuts despite being sympathetic to their plight, a poll by Zurich Munich showed on Monday.
The rest is here:
Public has little confidence in budget-cutting councils
LONDON (Reuters) - British house prices suffered their biggest fall since April 2009 this month, declining by 0.3 percent, property data company Hometrack said on Monday in its monthly survey of estate agents and surveyors.
The rest is here:
August house prices down by most since April 2009 - Hometrack
LONDON (Reuters) - Britons can expect no cut in the overall tax burden for an extended period as the coalition government takes tough steps to narrow a gaping budget deficit, a Treasury minister was quoted as saying on Sunday.
Original post:
Minister sees no early cut in tax burden
LONDON (Reuters) - Police said on Saturday they had arrested a man over an alleged cricket betting scam connected to the fourth test between England and Pakistan at Lord’s.
See the rest here:
Police arrest man after newspaper claims of betting scam
LONDON (Reuters) - England coach Fabio Capello said he regretted the way he announced the end of David Beckham’s international career but added he still had a good relationship with the former captain who would make a top manager one day.
More here:
England coach regrets way he handled Beckham decision
LONDON (Reuters Life!) - A toilet that belonged to late Beatle John Lennon fetched 9,500 pounds at auction on Saturday, around 10 times its estimate, the sale organisers said.
See more here:
John Lennon’s toilet sells for £9,500 at auction
LONDON (Reuters) - The world-famous British Museum was evacuated on Saturday after visitors reported eye irritation from what they thought was a chemical leak, officials said.
View original here:
British Museum evacuated after visitors complain of smell
LONDON (Reuters) - England manager Fabio Capello could be missing key players for the Euro 2012 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Switzerland after Frank Lampard was ruled out with a hernia and several other players injured Saturday.
Go here to read the rest:
Lampard out of England squad, Zamora doubtful
LONDON (Reuters) - Frank Lampard will miss England’s Euro 2012 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Switzerland with a hernia problem that will need surgery next week, Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti said Saturday.
Here is the original:
Lampard out of England qualifiers
LONDON (Reuters) - Theo Walcott’s sparkling early-season form continued on Saturday as he scored again in Arsenal’s 2-1 Premier League victory at Blackburn Rovers.
Read the original here:
Sparkling Walcott helps Arsenal win at Blackburn
LONDON (Reuters) - England batsmen Jonathan Trott and Stuart Broad set a world record eighth wicket partnership on Saturday when they extended their stand to 332 on the third day of the fourth test against Pakistan at Lord’s.
Read the original:
Trott and Broad set world record for eighth wicket
LONDON (Reuters) - The head of the BBC made an impassioned defence of the state broadcaster on Friday, following years of mounting criticism from rivals and politicians accusing it of being too large and too arrogant.
Go here to read the rest:
BBC boss defends it from critics, rivals
LONDON (Reuters) - One in four women who works as a lap dancer in Britain has a university degree and the majority of those involved in the industry enjoy their work, earning up to 48,000 pounds a year, academic research has found.
View original here:
Study finds quarter of lap dancers have degrees
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Steelmaker Corus, owned by India’s Tata Steel, said it had reached an agreement with Thailand’s SSI over the potential $500 million sale of its mothballed Teesside plant.
Original post:
Corus and SSI agree scope of $500 million Teesside sale
LONDON (Reuters) - House prices in England and Wales rose 0.4 percent on the month and 6.7 percent on the year in July, figures from the Land Registry showed on Friday.
Go here to see the original:
House prices up 6.7 percent year on year in July
LONDON (Reuters) - An intimate portrait of Queen Victoria with her hair down — belying her traditional frumpy image — and a painting she commissioned of an American lion tamer form part of an exhibition at the Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace.
See original here:
Queen Victoria’s artistic tastes go on show
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s biggest defence industry trade body urged the government on Friday to clarify who will pay for a new nuclear deterrent, voicing fears that its high cost could hit orders for other military equipment.
Original post:
UK defence industry asks who will pay for nuclear deterrent
LONDON (Reuters) - The government has declared war on the profusion of unnecessary road traffic signs, railings and advertising boards, saying they blight towns’ English character.
View post:
Britain being "overrun" by street signs
LONDON (Reuters) - The deputy prime minister on Thursday rejected a report by an independent and influential think-tank that said the government’s fiscal new measures will hit the poor hardest.
Read more:
Nick Clegg rejects budget criticism
LONDON (Reuters) - More tests will be carried out on Thursday on the body of a man who worked for Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service MI6 found at a flat near the agency’s headquarters.
See original here:
More tests on MI6 worker’s body
LONDON (Reuters) - About 200 Alstom-Metro maintenance workers on London’s underground rail network will strike over pay, the Rail Maritime and Transport union said on Thursday, the second action announced this week by Tube workers.
Read the original post:
Alstom London tube staff to strike over pay - union
DUBLIN (Reuters) - Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said Ireland had a solid bank plan and was Europe’s leader in fiscal reform, warning not to take rating agency views such as S&P’s downgrade of Ireland this week too seriously.
See original here:
Canada finmin defends Irish policy after downgrade
LONDON (Reuters) - A Wiltshire beekeeper said on Wednesday he may have discovered a strain of honey bee immune to a parasite that has been gradually wiping out populations of the vital insect worldwide.
Go here to see the original:
Bee industry abuzz with mite resistant breed
LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha have named their newborn daughter Florence Rose Endellion, Downing Street said on Wednesday.
See the rest here:
Cornwall features in name of new Cameron baby girl
LONDON (Reuters) - The home of a woman filmed picking up a cat and throwing it into a rubbish bin is under police guard in Britain after her actions sparked outrage from animal lovers and even death threats.
See original here:
Police guard for woman who put cat in bin
LONDON (Reuters) - The government unveiled a new look passport on Wednesday after it was redesigned to include strengthened security features and iconic images from across the nation.
See more here:
White cliffs to feature on new UK passport
LONDON (Reuters) - Classical music label Decca has signed up with the Royal Air Force to mark the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, a key phase of World War Two, in a bid to top the pop charts.
See more here:
Churchill set to music in military chart attack
LONDON (Reuters) - A man who worked for the Secret Intelligence Service MI6 has been found murdered at a flat near the agency’s headquarters, media said on Wednesday.
Read more here:
MI6 worker found murdered in London
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain recorded almost half a million new cases of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) last year, with teenagers and those aged under 25, especially young women, particularly affected, figures showed on Wednesday.
Go here to see the original:
Almost half a million UK sex infections last year
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s biggest public sector trade union launched a legal bid on Tuesday to block the government’s planned shake-up of the health service, saying it had failed to properly consult the public about the changes.
Here is the original post:
Union in legal bid to block NHS shake-up
LONDON (Reuters) - The Handel House Museum in London is a permanent celebration of the 18th century German-born composer’s life and times, but this week honours another legendary musician linked to the site — Jimi Hendrix.
View original here:
UK show explores Hendrix’s links to Handel
KARACHI (Reuters) - Former captain Younus Khan was again ignored by Pakistani selectors but fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar was recalled to the 16-man squad for next month’s one day series against England.
The rest is here:
Younus ignored but Akhtar recalled for England ODIs
BANGALORE (Reuters) - UK pawnbroker H&T Group posted a 71 percent jump in profit as it bought more gold from those who sold off the metal amid surging prices, and forecast full year above the top end of market expectations.
Read the original here:
H&T Group shines on gold buy, sees brighter days ahead
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s City regulator slapped a $3.51 million fine on the UK branch of Zurich Insurance for data security failings after the loss of a tape in South Africa containing details on 46,000 insurance customers.
Go here to read the rest:
FSA fines Zurich UK $3.5 million over lost data tape
LONDON (Reuters) - UK housebuilder Persimmon unveiled a 70 million pound writeback and the resumption dividends as the chief executive said there may be a dent in the crucial autumn selling season until the government’s October spending review.
View original here:
Persimmon restores dividends, warns on early autumn sales
LONDON (Reuters) - Healthcare cost agency NICE rejected Roche’s drug Avastin for advanced bowel cancer again on Tuesday, saying it was too expensive, despite a fresh price deal offered by the manufacturer.
Here is the original:
Roche’s Avastin again spurned by NICE
Corrects Saturday story in last paragraph to remove reference to NCR.
Read the original here:
CORRECTED - Barclays’ network glitch causes nationwide chaos
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s tax authority will introduce reverse value-added tax (VAT) charges relating to carbon emissions trading from November 1, replacing a zero tax rate implemented last year to prevent fraud.
Here is the original post:
UK to launch reverse VAT charges for CO2 trading
LONDON (Reuters) - A new reality TV show, which will film two people — one disfigured, the other attractive — living together in a house full of mirrors, has been branded a “freak show” by critics.
See more here:
Channel 4 reality show branded "freak show"
LONDON (Reuters) - Pilgrims attending the large public events during Pope Benedict’s visit to England and Scotland next month have been issued a long list of do’s and don’ts including a ban on musical instruments and steel cutlery.
Read the original:
No musical instruments please, Vatican asks Britons