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The United States is now, officially, the worst place to do business in the developed world. On Sunday, Japan lowered its corporate tax rate in the hopes of luring business to its shores, handing the title of highest tax rate to the Land of the Free. The market reaction on Monday will tell whether money will begin flowing away from us and toward the more business-friendly Asian country. Japan’s combined corporate tax rate went down from 39.8 percent to 36.8 percent on its way to 34.5 percent within a few years. The U.S. federal rate is 35 percent and the...

A Christian doctor who claims he was sacked for emailing a prayer to colleagues in a bid to raise their spirits is suing a hospital for unfair dismissal.Dr David Drew, 64, told an employment tribunal that he was made to feel like a “religious maniac” after sending out the prayer by St Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, to motivate his department. He said he was subsequently disciplined and ordered to refrain from using religious references in professional communication. When he sought clarification from executives, he was told to accept the recommendation without questioning or to resign, he claimed. The...

Two British tourists holidaying in Florida begged for their lives with their trousers pulled down before they were mercilessly shot dead, a court has heard. Shawn Tyson, who turned 17 on Monday, is said to have murdered James Cooper, 25, and James Kouzaris, 24, after they drunkenly stumbled into the rundown Newtown neighbourhood of Sarasota. He allegedly forced the terrified pair to pull down their trousers before firing a volley of shots. Accused: Shawn Tyson is on trial for the murders of British tourists James Cooper and James Kouzaris Tyson is accused of going to rob the best friends in...

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Peru cancels visit by British frigate over Falkland Islands Peru has cancelled an upcoming visit by a Royal Navy frigate to the country as tensions between Britain and Latin America mount over the Falkland Islands. HMS Montrose was scheduled to dock at Peru's El Callao naval base this week, but the visit has been cancelled by Peru in a show of solidarity with Argentina. Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has criticised Britain’s territorial rights to the Falkland Islands, known in Latin America as the Malvinas. The dispute comes ahead of the 30th anniversary of the Falklands war in April,...

Most people thought they knew what marriage meant, namely the union of a man and a woman. In 2004, when the Civil Partnership Act was passed to provide legal protections for homosexual partnerships, Parliament was led to believe by the government of the day that this did not affect the established institution of marriage. But barely eight years later, political fashion has changed. More recently, though, familiar words such as “husband and wife” and “mother and father” are disappearing from the statute books in the small minority of countries that have begun the experiment in social engineering.(edit) In Canada,...

<p>The 16-year-old star of Channel 4 reality TV show Big Fat Gypsy Weddings today married the boy who 'grabbed' her in a disco last year.</p> <p>Cheyenne Pidgley of Hersham, Surrey, wed 18-year-old fellow Traveller John McFadyen in a ceremony held at St Peter's church this afternoon, with 200 family and friends in attendance.</p>

A Briton and Italian held hostage for 10 months in northern Nigeria died Thursday, apparently killed by their captors before they could be rescued, the British prime minister said. Nigerian security forces, with support from Britain, launched an operation Thursday to free British citizen Chris McManus and Italian national Franco Lamolinara, Prime Minister David Cameron said. But the effort did not succeed.

Older people routinely have to wait up to three months for formal checks for painful conditions such as bed sores, according to figures from the health care watchdog. A quarter were not given a choice of male or female staff to help them use the lavatory and more than a third of care homes surveyed admitted delays in getting medication to residents. Campaigners blamed NHS bureaucrats showing a “lack of interest” and failing to provide expert assessments for conditions as basic as incontinence. The findings emerged after almost 1,000 elderly people yesterday descended on Parliament to lobby their MPs calling...

When opium was cheaper than whiskey – and Great Britain waged a "wicked" drug war When Opium Was Cheaper Than Whiskey - and Great Britain waged a "wicked" drug war The bottles have a beautiful aqua color to them. If you hold them up to the light, rainbows fire across the delicate patina. But their beauty belies the deadly reality behind the delicate hues. The bottles once held opium based "elixirs," such as Dr. McMunn's Elixir of Opium, most claiming to be a cure for a host of ailments, including the relief of "convulsions and spasmodic action," as well as...

Report: France, Britain to build unmanned fighter jet Paris - French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron are to unveil plans to develop an unmanned European fighter jet at a summit in Paris on Friday, Les Echos financial newspaper reported. The paper on Thursday quoted unnamed sources as saying the two governments aimed to build a 'prototype of an unmanned stealth aircraft by 2020.' 'This is clearly bilateral cooperation for the post-Rafale and post-Eurofighter (era),' the paper quoted a source as saying. The Rafale fighter jet is produced by France's Dassault Aviation. Eurofighter - a consortium of...

Britain had to plead with US to take part in Iran flotilla Britain was forced to plead with the US to take part in the flotilla challenging Iranian power in the Gulf after American commanders decided the Royal Navy had nothing to contribute to the mission. Defence sources have revealed that the Americans only relented and allowed a Royal Navy frigate to join the mission following an intervention from Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president. The revelation that US defence chiefs saw little military value in UK participation will raise new questions about Britain’s international clout after Coalition defence cuts. Amid...

EXCLUSIVE Fury at wreaths for £1million armed robber Sick 'cashpoint' tribute   Fake ... but Thomas Curtis's gang took real ATMs   SICK graveside tributes have been left by family and pals for an armed robber and ram-raider found hanged in jail. Victims of the £1million crimes carried out by Thomas Curtis, 29, and his gang last night voiced fury at the display in Elm, Cambs, which includes a replica ATM and a Post Office sign. Friends and relatives "honoured" the robber by leaving rose-edged tributes at the grave that recall his trail of violent crime. Dad-of-two Curtis was...

UKIP: 'UK must build naval Typhoon' 19 January 2012 The UK should cancel the purchase of the F-35C and invest in developing a naval variant of the Eurofighter Typhoon, the UK Independence Party (UKIP) has said. Lord Alexander Hesketh, UKIP's defence spokesman and former executive deputy chairman of Babcock International Group, said that adopting a naval Typhoon would allow the UK to restore carrier strike capability on its Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers before 2020 while saving money and protecting UK jobs. UKIP estimates suggest it would cost £1.4bn to develop a naval typhoon, with unit costs of around £80m....

EXCLUSIVE  Sex swap teenager to enter Miss England contest   BY JENNA SLOAN Published: 14 Jan 2012   A TEENAGE transsexual has become the first sex swap patient to enter the Miss England beauty pageant. Jackie Green became the UK's youngest transsexual after an op in Thailand on her 16th birthday. The 18-year-old — who was born Jack but lived as a girl since age ten — was asked to enter by modelling scouts who had no idea of her history. The aspiring model, from Leeds, hopes to use the opportunity to speak out about bullying and transgender issues....

A fifteen-year-old student pilot apparently trying to recreate the 9/11 kamikaze attack on the World Trade Center slammed a stolen Cessna 172 private airplane Saturday into Tampa, Florida's Bank of America building, the city's tallest structure. Charles J. Bishop, a 15-year-old flight student from Great Britain, stole the small aircraft from Albert Whitted Municipal Airport in nearby St. Petersburg at about 5 p.m., law enforcement sources said. Bishop was killed as the Cessna carrying 56 gallons of fuel slammed into the Bank of America tower, leaving the tail section of the plane dangling precariously from its side. The fuel did ...

Quote: homeland.house.gov/hearing/subcommittee-hearing-jihadist-use-social-media-how-prevent-terrorism-and-preserve-innovation Subcommittee Hearing: Jihadist Use of Social Media - How to Prevent Terrorism and Preserve Innovation Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence | 311 Cannon House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 | Dec 6, 2011 2:00pm On Tuesday, December 6, 2011 the Committee on Homeland Security’s Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence will hold a hearing entitled "Jihadist Use of Social Media - How to Prevent Terrorism and Preserve Innovation." The Committee will meet at 2:00 p.m. in 311 Cannon House Office Building. Witnesses Mr. Evan F. Kohlmann Flashpoint Global Partners Mr. William McCants Analyst Analyst for the Center for Naval...

Britain must continue giving aid to India to secure £6.6bn fighter jet deal, says minister The Government's controversial decision to continue giving money to India, a nation that has more billionaires than the UK and an aid programme of its own, is directly linked to developing trade and investment opportunities, a senior minister admitted yesterday. With surprising bluntness, the International Development minister, Andrew Mitchell, said the decision to spend £1.2bn over the next five years was part of a broader partnership that included the hoped-for sale of fighter jets to India. "It's an important market, and for our children and...

Defence cuts: Carrier 'fully operational in 2030' Britain may be without a fully operational aircraft carrier until 2030, according to a report published by the Commons spending watchdog. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) says two carriers being built will cost more, offer less military capability and be ready much later than planned. It says the Royal Navy will be without a carrier until 2020, which may not be fully operational until 2030. The PAC also says the cost of scaling back the carriers is not fully known. The committee said the adjustments made to the vessels meant just £600m cash...

EXCLUSIVE    Perv lags getting paid to do rehab Fury at paedo jail ‘bribes’   Courses ... inmates can even pick up the cash by not attending the sessions   JAILED paedophiles are being PAID to take courses inside to stop them offending. Under prison rules, sick inmates who attend "offender behaviour programmes" get wages the same as if they have a job in jail. They can even pick up the cash by NOT attending the sessions — if they show they were willing to go but there were no spaces available. Last night Lyn Costello, of campaigning group Mothers Against...