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11 Aug 2011 10:47

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World: David Cameron’s tough words for British rioters: “We will hunt you”

  • To the lawless minority, the criminals who have taken what they could, we will hunt you. … We will punish you.
  • British PM David Cameron • Offering tough words to looters and rioters as Britain attempts to rein in a set of riots that have expanded beyond London and into other cities. While he admitted local officials were not ready for such a breakout of violence, he did praise community leaders who helped restore normalcy. Damage from the riots is estimated to top $300 million. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Jun 2011 13:52

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World: VIDEO: Cockpit footage of British choppers hitting Libyan targets

  • From the cockpit of a British Apache helicopter: The British Ministry of Defense released a selection of videos of helicopter strikes at various Libyan targets, including the clip above. The Telegraph, where we grabbed the video above, suggests that the footage emphasizes a key point; by knocking out these relatively small targets one-by-one, both the rebels and the forces are slowly wearing away at Gaddafi’s infrastructure. “Helicopters and war planes will take out the check-points from the air; the rebels seize the ground,” writes Richard Spencer, who suggests the coalition has formed an alliance with the rebels on the ground in all but name. If it sounds like this is going to take a freaking long time, that’s because it probably will. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 May 2011 10:54

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World: Queen Elizabeth finally visits Ireland, because really, why not?

It’s the first visit by a reigning British monarch since Ireland first went independent in 1922. There have been two bomb threats already. She’s 85 — might as well get this visit in now. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Mar 2011 13:53

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World: British officials say no deal struck with Moussa Koussa

  • NOMoussa Koussa was not offered immunity to defect source
  • » So say British officials: Koussa, the former Libyan Foreign Minister who defected yesterday, had been a cornerstone of the Gaddafi regime dating back to the 1969 revolution. As such, it wasn’t unreasonable upon learning of his defection to wonder just how dirty his hands were. The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court lists Koussa as having had command control over Libyan forces suspected of “crimes against humanity” during his long career as Gaddafi’s confidant. If he has indeed defected with no assurance of legal immunity, that might be indicative of how Gaddafi’s inner circle is feeling right now. Here’s hoping more of these dominoes start to fall.
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Mar 2011 11:23

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World: After the fact: London protests cause tons of freaking damage

  • 201 people were arrested after London’s austerity protests last night
  • 100 street cleaners worked overnight to fix the damage caused
  • tens the amount, in thousands of pounds, officials say cleanup will cost source
  • » And ol’ Clocky suffered “superficial damage”: A number of major structures were hit, including the Olympic clock, the memorial, the Ritz and Fortnum and Mason, were damaged. Nearby businesses may have also gotten nailed very badly.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Mar 2011 16:32

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World: Britain follows U.S. on Fukushima evacuation advisement

  • A bit of a contradiction: “We advise British nationals to follow all relevant advice from the Japanese authorities, and as an additional precautionary measure, not to go within eighty kilometers of the site.” It seems that the British have assessed the situation in Fukushima, and have come to the same conclusion the Americans have. While it’s impossible to say at this juncture what is and isn’t the proper advice, this much seems clear; that both the U.S. and Britain would publicly refute Japan’s own evacuation plan, however politely, makes the Japanese look pretty bad, and implies some degree of turmoil in diplomatic communication and coordination. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Mar 2011 10:29

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World: British official: Sudden drop in Libyan refugees worrying

  • That is a matter of some anxiety … Two days ago there were 10,000 or 11,000 people coming across (the border). Yesterday there were only 1,863 people who came across That is an artificial flow. Something has happened.
  • British International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell • Expressing worry over the sudden drop of refugees coming out of Libya. Mitchell expressed concern about what he saw happening in the country: “I met people on the border who had been robbed by Gaddafi loyalists…, who said they had had in some cases their papers removed, any money they had, their watches, their goods.” Mitchell says that the world at large should prepare to expand the humanitarian effort in Libya at a moment’s notice. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

02 Mar 2011 10:43

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World: David Cameron steps up British efforts to help out in Libya

  • last week The British government faced criticism over the speed in which it got its own people out of a very volatile situation in Libya. Rescue planes only came to oil fields days after the crisis started.
  • this week As a sign in contrasts, David Cameron is now planning on evacuating 6,000 Egyptians from the border of Libya and Tunisia. The decision caught British officials off guard with its speed. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Feb 2011 17:47

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World: Britain a little late with evacuating its citizens from Libya

  • 150 stranded oil workers rescued by British military planes source
  • » Britain’s been getting criticized lately: See, many have felt that the country has been a tad, uh, slow, in getting its citizens out of the country. In response, Britain has closed its embassy and is getting its diplomats out. As for this incident, while not all of the workers were British, many of them were. (The Brits dropped them in Malta.) Britain has upwards of 500 nationals in the country, many of them oil workers, so they have their work cut out for them.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Feb 2011 22:11

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Offbeat: Meet the British government’s highest-ranking cat. (Seriously.)

  • Meet Britain’s new Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office: Larry the Cat has one of the most important jobs in Britain – and it’s one that the government, wisely, didn’t put on the chopping block during their recent austerity craze. See, Larry, a 4-year-old former stray, will be in charge of killing mice inside of David Cameron’s 10 Downing Street office. There are many rats in London, and Larry seems like he’s up to the job. We salute you, old chap. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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