Britain

There's so much to praise in the blissful Broadway revival of "Follies," which opened Wednesday at the Ahmanson Theatre on the heels of its numerous Tony nominations, but let's pay homage first to the sheer sophistication of the show itself. After experiencing "Follies" again - an adult entertainment if ever there was one - I flat-out refuse to accept any more jukebox substitutes. One doesn't often talk about architecture when writing about musicals, but the most impressive thing about "Follies," beyond Stephen Sondheim's bejeweled score, is the ingenious way it is constructed.

We knew it was bad, but news out from across the pond indicates that uncertainty in Europe might be slamming the economy there even more than had been thought. Revised data show that Britain's gross domestic product contracted more than previously believed in the first quarter, indicating that its economy not only entered a double-dip recession earlier this year, but that the drop was also deeper than expected. Britain's GDP fell by 0.3% in the first quarter, the Office for National Statistics said, and output in production industries fell by 0.4%.

On my recent trip to Britain, I purchased a wireless Internet device called a dongle from Vodafone for 19 pounds, or about $30, which gets you one month of service. This was a plug-and-play device that plugs into a USB port on your netbook (which is what I had with me) or your laptop. While I was in London and Manchester I was able get 3G service practically any time, including in my hotel room. The hotel Internet service would have been about 25 pounds, or about $40, for 24 hours. Bill Mark Redondo Beach

LONDON - She once had the ear of media mogul Rupert Murdoch and Prime Minister David Cameron. Through newspapers such as the Times of London and the Sun, she exerted a powerful influence on British society. But in a spectacular fall from grace, Rebekah Brooks was charged Tuesday with three counts of trying to obstruct justice in the phone-hacking and media corruption scandal that has rocked Britain. Brooks' husband, Charlie, and four of her former colleagues were also charged Tuesday with two counts each of "conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

Looking to woo Californians and prime the pump before next year's London Summer Olympics, Paralympics and Queen's Diamond Jubilee, British Airways has opened a 72-hour fare sale that includes discounts of $100 to $200 for travelers flying economy or premium economy to the U.K. from the Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco airports in fall, winter or spring. The offer comes in conjunction with a daylong promotional event at Hollywood & Highland in Los Angeles -- a set-up that includes a chance for consumers to pose in a big “3D canvas” version of the Beatles' classic “Abbey Road” album cover (released 42 years ago this month)

The face peering from the ads and posters belongs to Meryl Streep, but the shadow that hovers over the land is definitely Margaret Thatcher's. The reaction to the film "The Iron Lady" has illuminated just how polarizing "Mrs. T. " (or "TBW" - "that bloody woman") remains a generation after her ouster from 10 Downing St. Love her or hate her - and there are plenty of people on both sides - it seems that hardly anyone here can watch the movie without their personal feelings entering into it. Put Sam Fogg in the "hate" camp.

Strange but true: The British public is simply not that excited about the royal wedding. According to the Economist, only a third of the population is definitely going to watch the nuptials on TV, while close to half are actively uninterested. My own secret source on the English streets (OK, it's my mum, who lives in a small town called Tring) reports that "people seem much less bothered" about Will and Kate than about Charles and Di in 1981. FOR THE RECORD: Americans on Britain: A commentary in the April 25 Calendar section about Americans' fairy-tale impression of Britain said that PBS is largely responsible for "maintaining the illusion that Britain is a country where everybody takes afternoon tea. " However, the headline erroneously referred to "high tea," which is a different meal.

If's there's one thing the British people can't complain about now that the outcome of the May 6 general election has finally been decided, it's that they didn't get a good deal. After all, they demanded a new prime minister, and got exactly what they wanted — plus another one thrown in for free! You half expect the speaker of the House of Commons to begin the next session of Parliament by declaring, "But wait … !" before announcing that the electorate has also qualified for a bonus "Cam 'n' Clegg" flashlight keychain (just pay shipping and handling )

Britain has just two words for controversial California radio talk-show host Michael Savage: Keep out. The San Francisco-based Savage, known for his fiery right-wing views, is one of 22 people who have been banned from entering Britain since October, when the government here concluded that they were agents of extremism and intolerance.

How unpopular is Gordon Brown? According to one Conservative member of Parliament, even "a monkey on a stick" could defeat the British prime minister in the forthcoming general election. Just one in four voters believes Brown has the "necessary character" to be prime minister, and his approval ratings remain so staggeringly low that even normally unflappable pollsters confess themselves astonished by the public's level of disdain for him. Nevertheless, come the May election, many Brits will hold their noses and vote for him anyway.

Bert Weedon was a legendary British guitar player who influenced a generation of budding rock stars with his popular "Play in a Day" instructional book. Eric Clapton, Brian May, Pete Townshend, Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison are among those who received help in learning to play the guitar from Weedon's book, which was first published in 1957 and has sold more than 2 million copies. "I wouldn't have felt the urge to press on without the tips and encouragement Bert's book gives you," Clapton once said.

LONDON — By turns contrite and defiant, media magnate Rupert Murdoch on Thursday apologized for the phone-hacking scandal that has tarnished his company but then blamed subordinates for covering up the problem and police for failing to investigate it properly. "The buck stops with me," Murdoch said. "I failed. And I'm very sorry about that.... It's going to be a blot on my reputation for the rest of my life. " Had he known the extent of hacking by the News of the World tabloid, he would have "torn the place apart, and we wouldn't be here today," Murdoch testified on his second day before a British judicial inquiry on media ethics, which was spawned by the hacking scandal.

The long tentacles of  Rupert Murdoch'sNews Corp. scandal have ensared many ofBritain's top media figures. The unfolding controversy has now embroiledBritain's culture secretary Jeremy Hunt in what is turning out to be a fight for his political life. This week, Hunt was in damage control mode as he faces allegations about his connections to News Corp. 's takeover bid for BSkyB, the British satellite broadcaster. Hunt -- whose department oversees the arts, media, cultural heritage, sports, the Olympics and more -- is accused of being partial to News Corp.

LONDON - The British government is scrambling to fend off accusations of trying to turn the country into a virtual police state with plans to conduct some trials in secret and allow authorities to track the phone calls, emails, text messages and online activity of the entire population. Civil liberties advocates are aghast over revelations this week that officials are preparing to introduce legislation to expand state surveillance in the interests of national security. Separately, the government of Prime Minister David Cameron is proposing that certain civil court proceedings take place behind closed doors if sensitive matters of intelligence are involved.

Naomi Wormell is a vicar, not a vigilante. But these days, she finds it hard to choose Christian charity over some swift -- and terrible -- retribution. The centuries-old church she leads in this quiet English village has fallen victim to a plague sweeping across Britain. Like hungry locusts, metal thieves have repeatedly attacked St. Mary's Church, swooping down on its roof in the dead of night and stripping away large sections of its Victorian-era lead cladding. Six times over a four-month period, the heartsick residents of Hatfield Broad Oak awoke to discover yet another piece of their history stolen, most likely to be melted down and sold for scrap.

  The British government has requested that China open an investigation into the mysterious death of a 41-year-old British businessman who had been friendly with the family of Bo Xilai, the recently purged Communist Party secretary of Chongqing. Neil Heywood died in November in a Chongqing hotel; the cause was ruled to be "excessive alcohol consumption" and his body was cremated. But this year, the case was reopened "based on new information from one of our contacts," according to a spokesman for the British Embassy in Beijing.

Britain's new coalition government on Tuesday unveiled the country's most painful budget in a generation, outlining a program of deep spending cuts and tax hikes in line with the mood of public austerity sweeping across Europe. George Osborne, chancellor of the exchequer — Britain's equivalent of Treasury secretary — said drastic measures affecting everyone were unavoidable to mollify jittery investors and tackle the nation's biggest national deficit since World War II. The emergency budget calls for rises in sales and capital gains taxes and reductions in welfare benefits to help erase the government deficit within six years.

Campaigning in Britain's most unpredictable election in years entered the homestretch Tuesday even as the nation began girding itself for a period of political uncertainty stemming from a potential stalemate in Parliament. The opposition Conservatives remain in the lead in the polls as they try to smash the Labor Party's 13-year grip on power. But there are increasing signs that no party is likely to emerge from Thursday's vote with a majority in the House of Commons, which would throw this country into murky political waters not seen here in more than 30 years.

  President Obama launched a fiery defense of his energy policy Thursday amid growing pressure to stem rising gasoline prices, perhaps by releasing oil from the nation's emergency petroleum reserve. Obama avoided mentioning the Strategic Petroleum Reserve option, but acknowledged the pain Americans feel at the pump and mocked Republicans for "acting like 'We've got a magic wand and we will give you cheap gas forever.' " "We've seen it all before; we know better. You know better," he told a crowd at Prince George's Community College in Maryland.

President Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron tried to project a clear and steady commitment to their strategy for the war in Afghanistan even as a possible attack at a U.S. base there during a visit by the secretary of Defense highlighted the country's tenuous hold on security. Appearing together in the Rose Garden during Cameron's first official visit to the White House, the leaders rejected calls to speed up the withdrawal from Afghanistan and sought to build support for the war effort.