United Kingdom

The saying ”Keeping up with the Joneses” could not have been more apt on Friday as hundreds of Joneses from around the globe headed to Cardiff to set a new world record. Joneses from as far afield as the United States and Australia have travelled to the Welsh capital to beat the current world record for a gathering of people with the same family name.

The British population rose by 500 people a day in 2005 as the number of new immigrants dwarfed the total leaving the country, official figures showed on Thursday. The Office for National Statistics said the net migration total for last year was 185 000, down from 223 000 in 2004.

Europe is facing an obesity epidemic by the end of the decade, which will increase health costs and hamper economic development, health experts said on Thursday. Up to 23% of men and as many as 36% of women in Europe are obese, and one third of children are overweight.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair strutted into the fashion world on Tuesday — then revealed that his attempts to cut a dash in the beachwear range proved a disaster. Blair, normally a man for a sober suit-and-tie combination, lifted the lid on his fashion hell as he attended the opening of the Fashion Retail Academy’s new home in London.

England is being encouraged to bid to stage the 2018 Soccer World Cup. Uefa president Lennart Johansson told BBC radio on Thursday that the 2018 edition will likely return to Europe and that England had a good chance if it submitted a bid. The statement came after a Wednesday meeting with Gordon Brown, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and sports minister Richard Caborn.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Wednesday that another inquiry could be held into his government’s handling of the Iraq war — but insisted now is not the time for such a probe. Seeking to clarify confusion after surviving a parliamentary vote on the divisive issue on Tuesday, Blair said an inquiry now would send the wrong signals to both the fledgling Iraqi government and insurgents.

All Black hooker Anton Oliver ensured a fiery reception for his teammates at Twickenham on Sunday when he labelled English rugby crowds arrogant, ignorant and living in the colonial past. ”Twickenham is one of the ultimate arenas,” the veteran hooker said in comments reported by the Guardian newspaper on Tuesday.

Richard Dunne scored a 23rd-minute winner as Manchester City beat Middlesbrough 1-0 in the English Premier League on Monday night, surviving two shots off the post by Massimo Maccarone with goalkeeper Nicky Weaver beaten. The goal came when Joey Barton’s far-post corner sailed perfectly for Dunne, who leapt to drive a header into the roof of the goal.

Researchers have suggested that treatment of patients with HIV infections in South Africa should start at higher CD4 cell counts. After studying untreated patients in the Cape Town area, they have identified a greater short-term risk of progression to Aids or death in South African patients with CD4 cell counts of 200-350 cells.

Britain puts its clocks back one hour at 2am (1am GMT) on Sunday, giving most people a welcome extra hour in bed — but two cuckoo-clock enthusiasts will have precious little time on their hands. Brothers Roman and Maz Piekarski have more than 500 clocks at their Cuckooland museum in Cheshire, north-west England.

The African Leopards, the continent’s development rugby team, will play the British Army Senior XV at the Aldershot military stadium, near London, on November 23. ”The 2006 Leopards will represent the best of rugby in Africa,” said Abdelaziz Bougja, president of the Confederation of African Rugby.

In a new satire on Britain’s royal family, they are banished to a rundown housing estate to eke out tawdry lives in a republican land that has spurned them. Best-selling author Sue Townsend, poking gentle fun at a dysfunctionally chaotic House of Windsor, has Queen Elizabeth and her rowdy brood living in exile in a specially fenced off exclusion zone for social misfits.

Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih warned against defeatism and panic on Monday as his United States and British allies came under growing pressure to change their Iraq strategy in the face of relentless bloodshed. Salih made clear his anxiety about the change in tone in London and Washington, where senior figures are questioning the current strategy.

Television presenter Richard Hammond has revealed he thought he was going to die after his high-speed smash in a jet-powered car last month. In his first interview since the accident, the Top Gear co-presenter talked about the moments after he crashed his Vampire dragster as he accelerated to 460kph while filming a feature for the BBC show at a Royal Air Force airfield near York.

A police chief in southern England was caught driving his car while using his cellphone, an offence here, by a motorist who followed him, the <i>Times</i> reported on Monday. The motorist followed the chief to his station after the officer cut in front of him while talking on his cellphone.

Andriy Shevchenko and Michael Ballack both scored for Chelsea on Saturday, helping the defending champions beat Portsmouth 2-1 in the English Premier League. Also on Saturday, it was: Charlton 0, Watford 0; Everton 2, Sheffield United 0; Wigan 4, Manchester City 0; and Aston Villa 1, Fulham 1.

Polish side Wisla Krakow and their Serbian defender Nikola Mijailovic face investigation by Uefa after Blackburn striker Benni McCarthy lodged a formal complaint about racial abuse. The black South African striker squared up to Mijailovic at the end of Blackburn’s 2-1 Uefa Cup win in Krakow on Thursday night.

Morse code, the dots-and-dashes signalling system first used at sea on the Titanic and long since consigned to the scrapheap, made a triumphant comeback this week in the rescue of a stranded fisherman. The man had run aground near Hayling Island on the south coast when his boat began taking on water.