Free Republic

The Sun was the first newspaper to track down and speak to Bernard Obama, 37. Muslim Bernard - an avid Manchester United fan and Sun reader - is staying with his bingo-loving mum Kezia, 67, who has lived in the Berkshire new town for six years. Bernard leads a quiet life, running a car parts firm in Nairobi, Kenya. But he is a regular visitor to the UK to visit Elvis fan Kezia. She married Barack Obama Snr in Kenya in 1957 when she was a teenager. He later left for the US and went on to meet Ann Dunham,...

She's revered as a trail-blazing feminist and author Alice Walker touched the lives of a generation of women. A champion of women's rights, she has always argued that motherhood is a form of servitude. But one woman didn't buy in to Alice's beliefs - her daughter, Rebecca, 38. Here the writer describes what it was like to grow up as the daughter of a cultural icon, and why she feels so blessed to be the sort of woman 64-year-old Alice despises - a mother.

London, July 26 (Xinhua) The US needs the help of overseas partners to solve its domestic problems, US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said here Saturday. “The reason that I thought this trip was important as I am convinced that many issues we face at home are not going to be solved as effectively unless we have strong partners abroad,” he told a news conference. Commenting on his meeting with British Prime Minister Gorden Brown, Obama said, “We share the same language and the same belief and Britain and the US have gone through the world wars together and share...

Safety concerns were raised as long ago as February about the Qantas aircraft that had to make an emergency landing after a 9ft hole opened up in its fuselage at 29,000 feet, it has emerged.

A doctor who bound a 14-year-old girl with washing line and raped her has been jailed for 12 years. The terrified girl hid in a wardrobe after calling 999 following her ordeal, Bradford Crown Court heard yesterday. Mohammad Sajjad was led weeping to the cells after a judge told him his “deep remorse” was just self-pity. Sajjad, a qualified doctor who was granted asylum in the UK, had been employed as a learning disabilities healthcare assistant in the Bradford area. The court heard he three times tied the girl’s hands tightly with red washing line and bound her feet before...

The survey found that extreme Islamist ideology has a profound influence on a significant minority of Muslims on campuses across the country. The findings will concern police chiefs, the security services and ministers, who are struggling with radicalisation among Muslim communities. The YouGov poll was conducted for the Right-wing think tank, the Centre for Social Cohesion, at 12 universities, including Imperial College and Kings College London. It also found: * 40 per cent support the introduction of sharia into British law for Muslims * a third back the notion of a worldwide Islamic caliphate (state) based on sharia law *...

Health and safety killjoys tell war veterans they are too old to hoist the Union Flag over town hall Last updated at 02:38am on 26.07.08      Up in arms: Veterans John Ireland (right) and Keith Hutchins in front of the town hall In their younger days, they risked death and injury to fight for their country against the Nazis and other enemies.  But, now, war veterans who want to fly the Union Flag proudly above their town hall are being defeated by a barrage of health and safety rules.  Royal British Legion members had scented victory after fighting...

British couples should have no more than two children to save the world from global warming, according to a green think tank. Campaigners from the Optimum Population Trust said limiting family size was the 'simplest and biggest' contribution people could make to saving the planet. While Britain need not follow the example of China and ban large families, having more than two children should be frowned upon in the same way as using a patio heater or driving a gas guzzling car. But critics said doctors and governments had no right to tell parents how many children to have -...

At British Parliament today, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, met with Tory Leader David Cameron. Seemingly unaware of an enormous fuzzy boom mike held by ABC News' Eric Kerchner, the two chatted casually -- and privately. "You should be on the beach," Cameron told Obama. "You need a break. Well, you need to be able to keep your head together."

Excerpt - MOSCOW (AFP)--British-Russian oil company TNK-BP chief executive, Robert Dudley, has been summoned to appear before Russian prosecutors on Monday to explain "violations" of labor laws by his company, Interfax news agency reported Saturday. Dudley "temporarily" left Russia this week, the company said Thursday, saying he would run the company from outside the country. ~ snip ~

Antiretroviral therapy has increased life expectancy by 13 years, researchers say THURSDAY, July 24 (HealthDay News) -- Since 1996, the life expectancy of HIV patients in developed countries taking antiviral therapy has increased more than 13 years, and deaths have dropped by almost 40 percent, researchers report. Despite these gains, life expectancy still falls short by some 20 years, compared with people in the general population. Life expectancy among injection drug users and those who start their treatment late is even shorter. "People on [antiretroviral therapy] can live a fairly long life," said lead researcher Robert Hogg, from the British...

Gordon Brown is being openly undermined by Cabinet ministers who are now publicly questioning his future as Prime Minister. The Labour Party has no option but to replace him as leader or face certain defeat at the next general election, said one. Should he be forced to step down, Mr Brown would be the first Prime Minister since Neville Chamberlain not to fight a general election "We cannot go any lower," the minister said, following Labour's disastrous defeat in the Glasgow East by-election, one of the biggest upsets in political history. "We are at rock bottom. The evidence is there...

For painter and decorator Gordon Williams, his van is simply a means of getting from A to B. But council officials chose to give the vehicle a more lofty status. When they spotted him behind the wheel with a cigarette, they handed him an on-the-spot fine of £30 - for smoking in his place of work.

Britain was told yesterday by a United Nations committee to take firm action to combat 'negative public attitudes' towards Muslims. The nine-member human rights committee also criticised some of the UK's antiterror measures. The body, which is composed of legal experts, said it was concerned ' negative public attitudes towards Muslim members of society' continued to develop in Britain.

A British Army dog handler has been killed in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed. The soldier, from the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, died on Thursday after coming under fire while on routine patrol, the MoD said. Six other soldiers were injured in the incident in Helmand Province. The death brings the total number of British service personnel who have died in Afghanistan to 112. The soldier's next of kin have been informed. The soldier was attached to the 2nd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment, serving in the Sangin area of Helmand. His patrol came under small arms fire from...

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - Candy giant Mars pulled a U.K. Snickers advertisement after it was criticized for being homophobic, according to a gay-rights group. The ad features LDS actor Kirby Heyborne, who has appeared in several LDS-themed movies, including Singles Ward, The RM, The Best Two Years, and others. In the commercial, Heyborne is seen as effeminate man who is speed walking as Mr. T approaches him in a truck while firing Snickers candy bars at him from a gun. Mr. T then berates the speed walker, calling him "a disgrace to the man race." The commercial...

After many mind-sapping years of trawling through the morass of health scare stories, I formulated a number of laws, one of which was the Law of Beneficial Developments: The intensity of the scaremongering attack on any new development is proportional to the level of benefit that it endows. Unbelievably, the Chlorine Scare has returned. According to the science editor of the Daily Telegraph, Babies exposed to chlorinated water are at risk of heart problems.

You must be nicer to Muslims, Britain is told by UN human rights chiefs By Mail Foreign Service Last updated at 8:34 AM on 25th July 2008 Britain was told yesterday by a United Nations committee to take firm action to combat 'negative public attitudes' towards Muslims. The nine-member human rights committee also criticised some of the UK's antiterror measures. The body, which is composed of legal experts, said it was concerned ' negative public attitudes towards Muslim members of society' continued to develop in Britain. Be nice: Britain has been told to take firm action and combat negative public...

Gordon Brown’s worst nightmare was realised early today as the Scottish National Party triumphed by taking Glasgow East, one of Labour’s safest seats. The hopes of Labour strategists that their disastrous run of electoral setbacks was about to end were dashed as the SNP’s John Mason achieved the enormous 22 per cent swing required to topple the long-time stronghold. Mr Mason, a Glasgow councillor, overturned a 13,507 Labour majority at the general election in 2005 to win by 365 votes from Labour’s Margaret Curran. Turnout was just over 42 per cent. Earlier in the day, Labour had requested a recount,...

GORDON Brown is today facing disaster after the SNP celebrated a stunning victory in the Glasgow East by-election. Nats candidate John Mason achieved a massive swing to take the once rock-solid Labour seat. He got 11,277 votes to Labour candidate Margaret Curran’s 10,912. It was a majority of just 365 – but represented the “political earthquake” SNP leader Alex Salmond had predicted. It was the biggest upset in Labour’s Scottish heartlands since the loss of Glasgow Govan in 1988. In his victory speech, Mason said his party had “removed the dead hand of Labour control”. And he boasted that Labour...

    Major gongs for heroic Our Boys   Award ... Captain Paul Britton is congratulated by Major General Gary Robison    By TOM NEWTON DUNN Defence Editor Published: Today     AN Army officer who led a battle despite a lump of burning shrapnel in his shoulder was one of 19 forces heroes awarded the Military Cross yesterday.   Praise ... Lieutenant General Graeme Lamb  Captain Paul Britton, 28, refused morphine so he could control artillery and air strikes to beat off Taliban attackers in Helmand province, Afghanistan. The Royal Artillery officer was wounded by a rocket-propelled grenade...

GLASGOW (Reuters) - Britain's ruling Labour Party lost a parliamentary seat in one of its traditional strongholds, a stinging electoral setback for Prime Minister Gordon Brown, results showed on Friday. Defeat in Thursday's poll in the Glasgow East constituency, which Labour won with a huge 13,500 majority at the 2005 election, will fuel Labour discontent with Brown's leadership and could lead to moves to oust him, some analysts believe. The pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP) scored a dramatic victory by a slim 365-vote margin as voters in Britain's third-largest city turned against Labour in droves. The result, following a series...

Universal access to contraception is needed to help fight climate change, it has been claimed. A spiralling global population, with an annual increase of 79 million people, is driving up greenhouse gas emissions, John Guillebaud of University College, London, and GP Pip Hayes of St Leonard's Practice, Exeter, said. And in an editorial in the British Medical Journal they raised the question of whether people in the UK should be told that stopping at two children is "the simplest and biggest contribution" that can be made to saving the planet. The doctors said every person born adds to greenhouse gas...

Safety Group Urges Airbus Fixes LOS ANGELES -- U.S. aviation safety watchdogs, concerned about severe electrical problems that have blacked out cockpit displays on dozens of Airbus jetliners over the years, urged regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to mandate aircraft fixes and enhanced pilot training to alleviate such hazards. Recommendations released by the National Transportation Safety Board Wednesday cite 49 incidents over the years in which electrical problems caused various cockpit displays on widely-used Airbus A319 and A320 to suddenly stop functioning and temporarily go blank during flight. According to the board, seven of those incidents resulted in...

Border checks are to be introduced between Britain and Ireland for the first time in more than 80 years. London and Dublin have today announced plans for full identity checks on travellers which could involve a full passport inspection.

After being woken for the third time in one night by a group of drunken and noisy students, Jo Calvert-Mindell was at her wits' end. The former policewoman got dressed, went outside and shouted at them: 'Why can't you go back to where you come from and make some noise there? I bet your families and neighbours wouldn't put up with it. 'You don't care about us and do just as you like. What gives you the right to frighten my elderly neighbours, cause damage and keep us awake at night?' She also reported the incident to police, who came...

One in ten households in England and Wales will fall into "water poverty" under plans to introduce meters for every home in Britain, a consumer group has warned. Millions of families, already suffering from rising food and fuel costs, face soaring bills, with some left up to £200 a year worse off by the Government plans, according to The Consumer Council for Water. Currently water companies can introduce "pay as you flow" meters in areas that are at a high risk of drought. The Government had long-term plans to introduce them into other areas by 2030. However a Government report...

A ROMAN ring that was discovered in a field near York has been classified as an item of treasure, an inquest heard. The silver ring which could date as far back as first century AD, was discovered by Peter Spencer, while he was searching a field in Dunnington using a metal detector. The jewel, whose value will be determined by the treasure valuation committee, was despatched to the British Museum, where it was examined, and a report on it completed. The report, by Ralph Jackson, at the museum’s department of pre-history and Europe, described the find as a small, Roman...

Formal border checks between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland will be introduced to prevent the movement of illegal immigrants to and from Britain, according to proposals published by the two governments today. The proposals would constitute a “substantial change” to the Common Travel Area (CTA) established in 1925. Throughout the Troubles border checkpoints were common, but the porosity of the border has come under renewed scrutiny because it was feared it was a soft touch for people traffickers and illegal immigrants. The British and Irish governments will also step up to catch non-British and non-Irish nationals traveling between...

David Cameron is to launch the biggest shake-up of the Conservative Party for decades as part of a bold plan to win support across the whole of the United Kingdom. The Tories are to forge a new party with the Ulster Unionists to try to secure broader backing for Mr Cameron before the next election. The move to restore a link severed more than 30 years ago forms a central plank in a new Conservative strategy to broaden the party's appeal outside England.

London, England (AHN) - British Health Secretary Alan Johnson, in a major speech, has asked the public to be kinder to obese Britons.In a major speech, Johnson said vilifying the overweight would not spur the obese to amend their behavior. He said a campaign to encourage healthy eating must be done in a more intelligent and less hurtful manner.Obesity is considered the biggest threat to public health in the U.K. Experts forecast nine of 10 Britons and two-thirds of young British would be struggling with weight problems by 2050.Meanwhile, the burden of these concerns on the nation's health services would...

WASHINGTON, July 23, 2008 – Iraq’s fledgling navy is gaining prominence within its country’s security forces due to its role in protecting the nation’s oil infrastructure, a coalition advisor said July 22. British Royal Navy Capt. Paul Abraham, director of the Maritime Strategic Transition Team and senior advisor to the Iraqi navy, explained during a conference call with military bloggers that in addition to quickly expanding their naval force, Iraqi marines and sailors also are fast moving into a lead role in defending Iraq’s major ports and oil terminals from insurgent attack. “The Iraqi navy's aim is to be able...

A Royal Marine who threw himself on to an exploding grenade to save the lives of his comrades is to receive the George Cross. Lance Corporal Matthew Croucher stepped on a trip-wire which triggered the device during a night raid on a Taliban compound in Afghanistan. Realising that three other members of his patrol would be killed if he did not act, he launched himself forward to smother the explosion, managing to twist on to his back to let his rucksack take the full force of the blast. Lance Corporal Matthew Croucher with his shredded rucksack. Having stepped on a...

American entrepreneur Gregg Bemis finally gets courts go-ahead to explore the wreck off IrelandIt is the best known shipwreck lying on the Irish seabed, but it is only today that the owner of the Lusitania will finally begin the first extensive visual documentation of the luxury liner that sank 93 years ago. Gregg Bemis, who bought the remains of the vessel for £1,000 from former partners in a diving business in 1968, has been granted an imaging licence by the Department of the Environment. This allows him to photograph and film the entire structure, and should allow him to produce...

Most say it matters to their country who is elected U.S. president

LONDON (AFP) - The birth of Louise Brown, the world's first IVF baby, hit headlines around the globe three decades ago -- but the married mother-of-one wants to keep her 30th birthday Friday low-key by contrast. Brown -- who lives in Bristol, south-west England, with husband Wesley Mullinder and 18-month-old son Cameron, working as a shipping company administrator -- remains reluctantly in the public eye despite her modest lifestyle. Although her birth opened the door for millions of infertile couples worldwide to give birth to IVF (in vitro fertilisation) or test tube babies, Brown has no big plans to celebrate...

L/Cpl Matthew Croucher will become part of a select of group of just 20 living George Cross holders when the Queen awards him the medal, which is given for acts showing the same level of heroism as the Victoria Cross. The Marine had less than seven seconds to make up his mind on whether to risk sacrificing his own life to save his friends when the hand grenade rolled onto the ground during an operation in Afghanistan earlier this year. Without hesitating he chose to chance death and save his three fellow Royal Marines. '

A Royal Marine who threw himself on a grenade to save his comrades' lives is to receive the George Cross. Lance Corporal Matthew Croucher, 24, from Solihull, in the West Midlands triggered a trip wire in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in February. He immediately dropped to the ground and lay across the grenade, being blown into the air as it went off. The George Cross is one of the highest decorations that can be awarded for acts of gallantry. L/Cpl Croucher said: "All I could do in the moment was shout out 'grenade' before diving on top of it." His bag...

Doctors to be banned from dishing out antibiotics for sore throats and colds By Daniel Martin Last updated at 2:35 AM on 23rd July 2008 Doctors will be told not to hand out antibiotics for coughs, sore throats and colds under guidelines to be unveiled today. GPs have been accused of wasting more than £100million on the drugs every year for patients with respiratory tract infections. Rationing watchdog the National Institute for Clinical Excellence said today that the vast majority of cases would clear up on their own. Adults should simply 'take a rest' while children should be offered 'love...

A British soldier has died and two others have been wounded in southern Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence has said. The soldiers, serving with the Parachute Regiment's 2nd Battalion, came under fire while on patrol. The soldier who died was with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, attached to the Parachute Regiment. The injuries of the other two soldiers are not thought to be life threatening. All next of kin have been informed. The soldier's death, on Tuesday night, takes the number of British military casualties in the country to 111. A statement issued by the MoD said that the...

Barack Obama has arranged to meet Tony Blair, as well as Gordon Brown and David Cameron, on his visit to London this weekend, with some Labour activists claiming his visit represents a challenge for Labour to rethink its entire political message and style. Before meeting Brown, Obama will meet Blair, probably at his hotel for breakfast, to discuss climate change and the Middle East, two issues on which Blair remains politically active. Some Blairites are claiming that Obama regards the photo-opportunity with the former prime minister as more important to his presidential campaign prospects in the US than a long...

LONDON, England (CNN) -- A protester who wanted his message to stick managed to superglue himself to the British prime minister Tuesday evening. Dan Glass, right, takes hold of the British PM's right arm just before he was about to receive his award. Dan Glass was at 10 Downing Street to receive a charity's award for his work on transportation issues when he staged the unusual protest. Just before Prime Minister Gordon Brown presented him with the award, Glass squirted superglue in the palm of his left hand. He shook Brown's right hand and then grabbed the prime minister's sleeve....

The leaders at Portsmouth City council were asked to donate £500 to a fun day event to raise money for the charity Help The Heroes, which looks after wounded soldiers back in this country. But they initially turned down the grant because it argued their support may upset ethnic minorities who could have been traumatised by armed conflicts. A rejection letter said the event "could cause offence to ethnic minority groups living in the community who may also have experience of injury/violence due to the war". The decision left Richard Chamberlain, 57, who had arranged the event with other residents...

LONDON (AFP) - A climate change protester unsuccessfully tried to superglue himself to Prime Minister Gordon Brown at an event in the leader's residence, a government spokesman said Tuesday. Dan Glass, a 24-year-old member of Plane Stupid, which campaigns against airport expansion, tried to attach himself to Brown's suit as he was about to shake hands with the premier at his Downing Street residence. --snip-- Brown can be heard laughing as Glass began his demonstration, in an audio recording of the protest. Glass assured the prime minister he was carrying out a "non-violent protest" and told Brown that "we cannot...

A tourist who relieved himself over a live railway line at a south London station was electrocuted.

Senior Taliban leader killed in Afghanistan Reuters July 22, 2008 KABUL (Reuters) - A senior Taliban commander in southern Afghanistan surrendered to Pakistani authorities and British forces killed another leader, dealing a "shattering blow" to the militant group's leadership, the British army said on Tuesday. Mullah Rahim, the top commander for southern Helmand province, gave himself up after British forces had killed two other Taliban leaders in little over three weeks. Hours after his surrender, another senior Taliban commander, Abdul Rasaq, also known as "Mullah Sheikh", was killed in a British missile strike 15 km (9 miles) north of the...

Guidelines being drawn up by senior officers will tell dog handlers they should "avoid offending" people with phobias of animals when dogs are used in drug raids and other investigations. The rules have been produced amid fears that suspects with medical conditions triggered by the presence of dogs, such as asthma, may file costly compensation claims against the police if they suffer an allergy or panic attack during a police raid. Dog handlers have also been told to take "cultural sensitivities" into account, though reports that dogs would be required to wear specially-designed boots on their paws during searches of...

Britain's illegal immigrant problem will only be solved if the government allows non-citizens to purchase their legalised status, a thinktank believes. CentreForum says a £5,000 fee, to be paid in five annual instalments, should be considered to help solve the problem of Britain's illegal immigrants. It believes already scarce resources need to be targeted at those who pose a "genuine security threat" and that earned amnesty is a viable solution for those who deserve to stay. Report co-author Will Somerville said security, social cohesion and prosperity would all improve if the move was pushed through. "Deporting all Britain's illegal immigrants...

<p>The New Yorker's Washington correspondent has been denied a press place on Barack Obama's tour of the Middle East and Europe after the magazine depicted the presidential candidate as a terrorist on its cover.</p> <p>The Obama camp said there was not enough room on the aircraft but the move is being seen as a snub to the magazine.</p>