The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, has stepped into the controversy between religious fundamentalists and scientists by saying that he does not believe that creationism — the Bible-based account of the origins of the world — should be taught in schools.
The FTSE 100 (the Financial Times/London Stock Exchange list of the top 100 companies) spent much of last week above 6Â 000 points for the first time since March 8 2001, achieving the latest landmark in one of the most remarkable post-war stock market recoveries. It didn’t quite last — the closing level was 5 999,4.
Those charged with designing new cruise ships and skyscrapers share a common bond. Both will have a similar command ringing in their ears after their first meeting with the client: ”It must be the biggest the world has ever seen.” This year will see the maiden voyage of the cruise industry’s latest record-breaker.
John Terry’s fourth-minute strike put Chelsea into the FA Cup semifinals, earning a 1-0 victory over Newcastle on Wednesday to keep the Blues on course for their first league-cup double. The England centreback’s goal at Stamford Bridge sent the Blues into the final four along with Liverpool and West Ham.
Mohamed Sissoko has completed one of the most remarkable comebacks in football after helping Liverpool into the last four of the FA Cup only a month after being temporarily blinded in his right eye. Sissoko played the full 90 minutes of Liverpool’s 7-0 thrashing of Birmingham on Tuesday evening.
A British terrorist cell with alleged links to al-Qaeda discussed killing and maiming revellers at a large central London nightclub, as well as targeting power facilities, a court was told on Wednesday. One of the seven men also discussed trying to buy a radio-isotope or so-called ”dirty bomb” from the Russian mafia, but nothing appeared to have come from his enquiries.
South Africa would like Sven-Goran Eriksson to be their soccer coach at the 2010 World Cup. The Swede is leaving the England job after this year’s championship in Germany. Danny Jordaan, chairperson of South Africa’s World Cup 2010 organising committee, said Eriksson is the ideal man to lift the nation’s struggling team. ”Sven has overseen the emergence of young players and that sort of attitude would be important when building a new team for South Africa,” Jordaan said.
England rugby chiefs are hoping to lure World Cup-winning coach Clive Woodward back into the fold following another disappointing Six Nations campaign, it was reported in London on Monday. Woodward heads the Rugby Football Union’s wishlist of replacements for beleaguered coach Andy Robinson, who saw his team suffer their third defeat of the championship against Ireland on Saturday.
Arsene Wenger believes his young Arsenal team is maturing at just the right time after watching them brush Charlton aside 3-0 at Highbury. Goals from Robert Pires, Emmanuel Adebayor and Alexander Hleb kept up the pressure for fourth spot in the Premiership which would guarantee them Champions League football when the club moves to their new Emirates stadium next season.
Humphrey, the cat who shared 10 Downing Street with two British prime ministers but was evicted by current resident Tony Blair, has died. He was aged about 18. Blair’s office said late on Sunday that Humphrey died last week at the home of a civil servant who had adopted him.
The Guardian, voice of Britain’s middle-class liberals, added its voice on Monday to calls for Prime Minister Tony Blair to step down sooner rather than later, amid a scandal over financing for his Labour Party. ”He should go this year,” the paper said in an editorial, ideally before the end of September, when Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown should take his place.”
A three-week long trial that has swung from the religious mysteries in The Da Vinci Code to the more humdrum world of copyright law approaches its climax in a British court on Monday. Lawyers for Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, authors who claim novelist Dan Brown ”appropriated the architecture” of their non-fiction book The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, are to begin their closing arguments.
Six men who became ill during a drug trial remained in serious condition in a London hospital on Thursday. Two of the men were listed in critical condition, Northwick Park Hospital said in a statement. Raste Khan — one of two men given a placebo in the trial — said the six had been stricken within a few minutes of receiving the drug.
Robbie Fowler scored his first goal in nine games since his return to Liverpool, helping his team beat Fulham 5-1 on Wednesday in the English Premier League. Fowler, who scored 120 goals in 236 appearances during his first nine-year spell with Liverpool, had gone eight games on his return without hitting the target.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s Labour Party was at the centre of an investigation on Thursday launched by the party itself into a series of large loans received last year. Labour’s treasurer initiated the inquiry after revealing on Wednesday evening that he had not been informed about the loans given to the party by wealthy supporters in the run-up to last May’s general election.
American writer Dan Brown returned to the witness stand on Wednesday for a third day of questioning about the writing of his best-selling thriller The Da Vinci code. Brown has already been quizzed about everything from his wife’s handwriting to the word-processing program he uses.
London-based human rights activist Peter Tatchell on Tuesday dismissed Zimbabwean government allegations that he was linked to a plot to overthrow President Robert Mugabe. Tatchell, who has attempted citizen’s arrests of Mugabe, described the claims as ”Mugabe fairy tales” and ”downright laughable”.
British male drivers waste nearly six-million hours a year on the road because they are reluctant to ask for directions, a study said on Tuesday. Men who are lost wait an average of 20 minutes before giving up and asking for directions, while women only wait 10 minutes before seeking help.
Dan Brown took the stand on Monday to rebut accusations that he copied from other writers’ work to produce his massive best-seller Authors Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh are suing Da Vinci Code publisher Random House for copyright infringement, claiming Brown ”appropriated the architecture” of their non-fiction book The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail.
Thierry Henry scored twice and Arsenal beat Liverpool 2-1 on Sunday, while two goals from Wayne Rooney gave Manchester United a 2-0 win over Newcastle in the English Premier League. Henry punished a rare blunder from Steven Gerrard to score the winner at Highbury.
William Gallas scored in the last minute on Saturday to give league-leading Chelsea a 2-1 win over Tottenham, which moved the Blues 18 points clear atop the English Premier League. Other results on Saturday included: Birmingham 1, West Brom 1; Bolton 4, West Ham 1; Everton 3, Fulham 1; and Portsmouth 2, Manchester City 1.
John Profumo, the former British Cabinet minister whose liaison with a prostitute nearly brought down a government, and who spent more than 40 years redeeming himself with unpaid work among London’s poor, died after suffering a stroke, an official said on Friday. He was 91.
The British now spend more time on the internet than watching television, according to a survey published on Wednesday by internet search engine Google. The report showed that British internet users spend an average of 164 minutes online daily compared with 148 minutes watching television.
More than 20-million people in the Horn of Africa are at risk of famine, in conditions the head of the World Food Programme (WFP) described recently as the worst in his experience. James Morris, executive director of the WFP, has warned the international community that millions of people in Kenya, Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Tanzania are now at risk because of drought.
It may not be the secret to eternal youth, but one Italian company claims to have found a unique way to make people’s skin look younger, healthier and even lighter using, of all things, a truffle. The invention, TruffleTherapy, adds to a collection of gourmet products by the Dafla Skincare Institute made from wine and chocolate.
AC Milan, Arsenal, Lyon and Benfica reached the Champions League quarterfinals on Wednesday. Defending champions Liverpool and nine-time champions Real Madrid are out, however. Three other clubs advanced on Tuesday — FC Barcelona, Villarreal and Juventus.
A writer who claims The Da Vinci Code copied from his work insisted in a British court on Wednesday there were specific echoes of his book in the best-selling thriller. However, Michael Baigent conceded there were many differences in detail between The Da Vinci Code and his 1982 non-fiction book.
Nessie, the Loch Ness monster, is in fact an elephant, according to a Scottish palaeontologist. Neil Clark, curator of palaeontology at Glasgow University’s Hunterian Museum, told The Times on Monday that the idea for Nessie was dreamt up as a ”magnificent piece of marketing” .
Arsenal and England soccer player Ashley Cole is suing two tabloid newspapers which published articles allegedly linking him to a ”gay orgy”. Cole’s lawyer, Graham Shear, said Friday the suit accuses The Sun and News of the World of defamation, harassment and breach of privacy — even though the articles did not name the player.
A fourth person was due to appear in court on Friday, charged in connection with the British record £53,1-million robbery, as three others remain in custody. Jetmir Bucpapa (24) is accused of conspiracy to commit robbery at a Securitas cash depot in the town of Tonbridge, in Kent, southeast England, last Wednesday.
Jack Wild, the child star who earned an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of The Artful Dodger in the 1968 film Oliver! died overnight aged 53 after a battle with cancer, his agent said on Thursday. Wild was just 16 when he dazzled as the pickpocket Dodger in the classic musical based on Charles Dickens’s novel.
Britain’s smaller opposition Liberal Democrats were to crown their new chief on Thursday after a leadership contest dogged by scandals involving alcoholism, gay chat lines and male prostitutes. Bookmakers reckoned acting leader Menzies Campbell was just ahead of economics spokesperson Chris Huhne with party president Simon Hughes trailing in the race to lead Britain’s third-biggest party.