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British politicians vote in favour of same-sex marriage bill
British lawmakers on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly in favor of a bill to legalize same-sex marriage championed by Prime Minister David Cameron, despite stronger-than-expected opposition from within his Conservative Party.
In a first House of Commons vote, lawmakers voted 400 to 175 in support of the legislation. There was strong support from the left-leaning Labour Party and Liberal Democrats party, but many Conservatives rejected the proposals.
The bill will have to go through more detailed parliamentary debates and a vote in the House of Lords, where a vote in favor is likely given the strong support Tuesday. If it becomes law, the proposed bill would enable same-sex couples to get married in both civil and religious ceremonies, provided that the religious institution consents. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison, File)
Gentlemen, unsheathe your umbrellas! Chap Olympiad celebrates all things eccentric about the British upper classes
The eighth annual ‘Chap Olympiad’ kicked off in Bedford Square in London last weekend, celebrating all things eccentric about the British upper classes.
Some 1000 spectators attended the dapper event, which saw athletes compete against each other in mock Olympic games for the golden-prize title of “Chap Champion.” (Getty Images; Reuters)
Britain’s new Olympic uniforms presented without comment …
Photos: Queen’s Diamond Jubilee
Today marks 60 years to the day since Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the throne after the death of her father. Click through for more photos from her life and reign.
Odd Christmas photo of the day
David Warren, who has been playing Santa for the past ten years, holds the clearly freaked-out seven-month-old Olivia Ruch at Santa’s Grotto in Selfridges department store in London, Dec 7, 2011. (Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters)
Tintin in the Congo defended by Vatican newspaper
The Vatican’s official newspaper has come to the defence of boy hero Tintin.
The book Tintin in the Congo, has been placed in the adult section of British bookstores after being branded racist for its depiction of Africans.
The book, published by Egmont, has a protective band around it and warns that its portrayal of Africans as wide-eyed simpletons would offend some readers and was based on “the bourgeois, paternalistic stereotypes of the period.”
Photos: London’s riot-shattered streets
British Prime Minister David Cameron said he would recall parliament from its summer recess for a day on Thursday after rioting swept through London for three consecutive nights.
Photo: A man clears up in a supermarket in Ealing in west London, August 9, 2011. (Toby Melville/Reuters)
Photos of the Day, Aug. 3, 2011
A girl plays in a fountain on a summer’s day in London August 3, 2011. (Photo: REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett)
Obama calls for renewal in transatlantic relationship
U.S. President Barack Obama delivered a powerful exaltation on the past and the future of the transatlantic alliance Wednesday, anchoring a European tour by decrying the notion of inevitable Western decline.
But the gap between soaring oratory and the intractable nature of modern challenges was laid bare as Obama admitted the current NATO operation in Libya had “limitations” and was able to offer little new hope for Middle East peace.
British Invasion, in reverse: 1950s rock ‘n’ roll Americana remains alive & well across the pond. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Long live the monarchy
Barbara Kay: In modern democracies we tend to forget that monarchies have been the norm since time immemorial, and the younger Republican nations are the exceptions. All tribalistic people striving to bond as distinct, purposeful entities yearn for an anointed figurehead (“Give Us a King!” 1 Samuel 8:1-22). After centuries, you cannot separate the ancestral dancers from the historical dance.
A billion people watched Charles and Diana marry, the overwhelming majority of them non-Britons. Now Kate Middleton will soon be the most talked-about woman in the world. According to a study by the Texas-based Global Language Monitor, when all Internet, social media, print and other citations are compiled, “Kate Middleton is set to eclipse Princess Di as the media star of the royal family.”
(Illustration by Steve Murray)
Bubbly Kate and William launch lifeboat
Kate Middleton got a taste of life as a working royal Thursday when she and Prince William dedicated a lifeboat in their first official appearance since their engagement. (Photo: Dylan Martinez/Reuters)
Seems you don’t get to launch real ships until you’re an actual royal.
Toy soldier’s tiny gun barred from airplane
A Canadian tourist in Britain says security personnel at Gatwick Airport wouldn’t let her board a plane with a plastic toy soldier holding a four-inch rifle, saying the resin “firearm” was a threat to passenger safety.
“They told me it was a gun and that I was not allowed to take it on the plane,” Ms. Lloyd recounted from her home in Oakville, Ont., Thursday. “I showed them politely that it had no moveable parts and no hole down the gun barrel. But they kept saying it was a gun.”
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