A British pilot has avoided a fatal crash after going blind while flying his small plane over England as a Royal Air Force (RAF) plane and pilot guided him to a safe landing. Businessman Jim O'Neill, 65, revealed his death defying ordeal from his hospital bed in Romford, East London Friday and thanked the RAF for saving his life. He is recuperating from the temporary blindness caused by the swelling of a blood vessel in his eyes due to a stroke.

Spanish chef Ferran Adria may be known for owning El Bulli, which was recognized four times in 2002, 2005, 2007 and 2008 by Restaurant magazine as the best dining establishment. Although he had been called the most imaginative generator of haute cuisine on the planet, his taste buds also appreciate fast food, particularly McDonald's hamburgers.

A study by researchers from King's College in London of 800 Britons ages 13 and 14 showed that teenagers of a generation ago were brighter than today's youth. The survey was based on measurement of understanding of abstract scientific concepts such as volume, density, quantity and weight, with the results placed side-by-side with a similar study made in 1976.

Belt-tightening measures made by Britons for the past few months included lesser food purchases, causing food retail to slump for the first time in two decades. According to the Office for National Statistics, volume sales of food stores went down by 0. 1 percent for the third quarter of 2008. Prior to the economic slowdown characterized by soaring fuel and food prices, job losses and recently the global credit crunch, food sales in the United Kingdom enjoyed an annual growth rate of 2. 7 percent for the past 20 years.

Elisabeth Fritzl, the woman who was locked in a cellar for 24 years by her father, who raped her and fathered her children, has spoken out about what her life was like while kept prisoner by her domineering father. In an interview with an Austrian judge, Elisabeth, 42, said that her father, Josef, raped her at least three times a week for all those years. Of the seven children he fathered with her, three lived in the cellar, while three were chosen by Josef to be raised in the house by he and his wife. One child died in infancy, and Josef reportedly incinerated the baby's corpse.