Two centuries of British news now on the Internet

October 1st, 2009 LONDON - An average British person spends 30 hours online every week, according to a new survey. The study says 93 percent shop and 82 percent manage their finances using the Internet.

September 2nd, 2009 British safety video on texting an Internet hitLONDON — A graphic public service announcement from British police about the dangers of sending text messages while driving has become a global Internet hit. Gwent Police in Wales say an extract from their video has been viewed more than 6 million times on YouTube and other sites.

August 29th, 2009 LONDON - News Corporation's Chairman James Mudroch has blamed BBC for trying to "throttle the news market" by providing free news on the Internet. The Sun quoted Murdoch, as saying that the licence fee-funded giant was part of a "land grab" by the British Government.

August 25th, 2009 Illegal downloaders in Britain may lose Web accessLONDON — The British government says people who illegally download music and films could have their Internet connections cut off. Treasury Minister Stephen Timms says the move would allow "swifter and more flexible measures" to clamp down on piracy.

August 5th, 2009 LONDON - A third of people in the European Union say they have never used the internet, according to an EU report, which examined the region's digital landscape over the last five years. What's more, the study found that more than one in four Europeans had never used a PC.

July 16th, 2009 BEIJING — More people now go online in China than there are people in the United States. The country's rapid economic growth and expansion of Internet access in more areas has fueled a sharp increase in Internet users, totaling 338 million by the end of June, a government-sanctioned research group said Thursday.

July 13th, 2009 LONDON - Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy Stephen Conroy has been named the Internet Villain of the Year at the 11th annual UK Internet Industry Awards for his for his Internet censorship plans. The award recognises individuals or organizations, who may have hampered the development or in a way disappointed the Internet industry - those whom the industry loves to hate, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

June 26th, 2009 LONDON - Lord West, a Security Advisor to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, has warned that people owning high-tech mobile phones may be at risk of having their personal information hacked. He said that he himself used a "Stone Age" Nokia handset to avoid any security risks.

June 16th, 2009 SOFIA - Archaeologists have discovered a previously unknown settlement from the Roman Era in the Mentesheto area near the town of Varna on Bulgaria's northern Black Sea coast. According to a report in BalkanTravellers.com, the discovery was made by archaeologists Aleksadar Michev and Teodor Rokov, who were exploring a stone structure reminiscent of a 'dolmen' - a typical Thracian tomb from the Early Iron Age.

June 9th, 2009 Demonstrators stop BNP news conferenceLONDON — Demonstrators in Britain threw eggs Tuesday at the leader of a far-right political party, forcing him to abandon a news conference outside Parliament. The protesters, many of whom carried signs reading "Stop the Fascist BNP," chased British National Party leader Nick Griffin from the area.

June 6th, 2009 UK gov't secures cash from Iceland over IcesaveLONDON — Iceland will reimburse the British and Dutch governments for compensation paid out to depositors of the failed Icesave Internet bank, the British Treasury said Saturday. In a statement, the Treasury said the British government will be repaid 2.3 billion pounds over the next 15 years with interest.

May 31st, 2009 LONDON - Two British soldiers died in an explosion during a military operation in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan, the British defence ministry announced here late Saturday. British forces have suffered 165 troops since entering the battle against the Taliban militant movement in October 2001.

April 15th, 2009 LONDON - Britain's failure to protect its citizens from secret surveillance on the Internet is to be investigated by the European Commission. According to The Independent, the move will fuel claims that Britain is sliding towards a Big Brother state and could end with the Government being forced to defend its policy on internet privacy in front of judges in Europe.

March 17th, 2009 LONDON - British parents have been named among the worst informed in the world as to how much time their children spend surfing the Internet, and what they look at online. A Norton Online Report says that parents in the UK believe that their children spend 18.8 hours a month on the Internet, while they actually spend about 43.5 hours online.

February 13th, 2009 LONDON - Hollywood stars Natalie Portman, Jude Law and Julianne Moore have had their privacy compromised after a British man bought a cellphone containing all of their personal details. Kent Devey recently purchased a BlackBerry phone on an internet auction website eBay and found the device still contained the previous owner's address book including contact numbers for a list of Hollywood stars, various movie producers and writers, reports contactmusic.com.