William Lee Adams

William Lee Adams is a staff writer at TIME’s London bureau where he writes about business, culture and European social affairs. Since joining TIME in 2007, he has traveled extensively, reporting from Roma slums in Bucharest, maximum security prisons in Norway, and the world’s largest song contest for children in Ukraine. Half-Vietnamese and half-American, Adams grew up in Fayetteville, Georgia, and holds degrees from Harvard and the School of Oriental and African Studies.

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Fabergé Giant Magnolia Ring

Rumors of Fabergé Spider Brooch ‘Untrue’

Diamonds are a girl’s best friend, but if Internet buzz is any indicator, she’d prefer to hang with bejeweled arachnids.

Julia Gillard

Julia Gillard Joins Growing List of Elected Female Leaders

If you hear the faint sound of something shattering, don’t fret: Julia Gillard has just kicked through Australia’s glass ceiling.

School Supplies

Germany’s Communist Party Distributes Porn Pens to Children

Every fall local organizations in Germany assemble goodie bags to give to children on their first day of elementary school—a tradition that usually results in chocolate-stained fingers and pencil fights. But following a mix-up involving Germany’s Communist Party, six-year olds have been left grasping pens that project erotic images.

Britain's Prince Charles speaks at the Oslo Climate and Forest Conference

Prince Charles Under Fire for $80,000 Train Ride

Prince Charles had hoped his five-day train trip through Britain would raise awareness about sustainability and boost his street cred as an environmentalist. Instead, criticism from green groups has him looking like an out-of-touch, playboy prince.

Aerial View of Paris From the Arc de Triomphe, Looking Towards Montmartre and La Basilique du Sacre Coeur, Paris, France

Paris to Heat Building With Commuters’ Body Heat

A public housing project in Paris plans to reduce its carbon footprint by harnessing a universal and completely renewable form of energy: excess body heat.

Picture 3

X-Factor Meltdown Leads to On-Air Punch-Up

Abbey Johnston and Lisa Parker walked onto the X-Factor stage as giggling teenagers. By the time they finished their audition four minutes later, they resembled brawling barmaids.

Wolfgang Priklopil

Austrian Dungeon Survivor Releases Autobiography

Natascha Kampusch, the Austrian woman who spent more than eight years locked in cramped, windowless basement, has disclosed shocking details of her time in captivity.

Hands in Prayer

Court Delivers Final Blow to Orgasm Church

Following months of legal wrangling, a court battle involving the Madonna of the Orgasm Church has finally reached its climax.

Gerard Depardieu and Juliette Binoche

French Actor Throwdown: Juliette Binoche vs. Gerard Depardieu

She’s an Oscar winner and France’s highest-paid actress. He’s the macho star of B-List films like My Father the Hero. Now Juliette Binoche and Gerard Depardieu are locked in a war of words that has the French film community shrieking Mon Dieu!

Dan Brown, The Lost Symbol

Dan Brown Named Britain’s ‘Most Unwanted Author’

Despite selling more than 80 million copies of The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown  has been named the U.K.’s “most unwanted author.”