Britain

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Crafty Brit Cons Telemarketers Into Paying to Call Him

Man sets up pay line, makes hundreds off callers

(Newser) - Lee Beaumont was sick of telemarketers calling him, so he came up with a brilliant solution: He made them pay him for the privilege. The Leeds man signed up for an 0871-number (the British equivalent of a 900-number), and began giving that out to banks, utility companies, and other commercial...

Specter of Iraq 'Evidence' Hangs Over Obama in Syria

US, Britain face uphill battles ahead of military action

(Newser) - President Obama has concluded that Syria used chemical weapons, but his next step remains a major challenge. As his administration considers military action, it's well aware that a public intelligence presentation—which could occur today—would be the most important of its kind since the run-up to the Iraq...

How Spoons Tucked Into Underwear Fight Forced Marriage

 How Spoons in 
 Underwear Fight 
 Forced Marriage 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Aug 18, 2013 7:30 PM CDT

How Spoons in Underwear Fight Forced Marriage

They serve as airport warning

(Newser) - A charity in Britain has devised a clever last line of defense against forced marriage, and it involves an unusual trick: packing a spoon in your underwear. The Karma Nirvana charity suggests the move to victims being taken out of the UK via plane: The spoon will set off the...

Teen Kills Himself Over 'Skype Blackmail': Mom

Perpetrators allegedly threatened to reveal chats to his family

(Newser) - Police are looking into the death of a Scottish teenager who appears to have killed himself after being blackmailed online, the Guardian reports. Daniel Perry, 17, chatted with someone on Skype who he thought was an American girl. His mother said police have learned that blackmailers threatened to show his...

Man&#39;s Diary Weighs Half a Ton
 Man's Diary Weighs Half a Ton 
Aug 9, 2013 9:32 AM CDT

Man's Diary Weighs Half a Ton

John Gadd's daily journal fills 21K pages in 151 volumes

(Newser) - If you've ever perused War and Peace, you know it's as long a war itself. But it's a short story compared with John Gadd's diary—a life collection eight times as long as Tolstoy's novel. It spans 66 years, 21,000 pages, and weighs half...

Kate in Labor, Royal Baby Coming

Expect a little prince or princess shortly

(Newser) - Kate Middleton is in labor in London's St. Mary's Hospital, the royal family says. She's in the "early stages," the BBC reports, in what CNN notes is the hospital where William and Harry were born. Details are few, and there won't likely be more...

UK Deports Radical Cleric to Jordan After Decade Fight

Abu Qatada will finally face trial in Jordan

(Newser) - A radical Muslim preacher suspected of being a key al-Qaeda operative in Europe arrived in Jordan today to face retrial on terrorism charges after his deportation from Britain, ending a decade-long legal battle over his fate. The return of 53-year-old Abu Qatada was viewed as a victory in Jordan, whose...

Royal Baby's Cash Value: $376M

New heir to bring in more cash than his dad did

(Newser) - You can't put a price on the birth of a child—unless you're the British economy, and the child is an heir to the throne. The royal baby, due in July, will bring some $376 million into Britain's retail coffers, according to a Center for Retail Research...

Murdoch Tape: Bribe Scandal 'Next to Nothing'

Recording reveals meeting with journalists

(Newser) - A newly released tape reportedly reveals a conversation between Rupert Murdoch and Sun journalists—and its contents are looking damaging for the News Corp. boss. Apparently speaking to staff arrested on bribery claims , Murdoch calls the investigation into his media empire "the biggest inquiry ever, over next to nothing,...

Brits May Create Babies With DNA From 3 People

Proposed move would help parents avoid passing on diseases

(Newser) - Can a baby have three biological parents? Maybe. Britain may allow a controversial technique to create babies using DNA from a mother, father, and a donor. The idea behind it is to help couples from passing on rare genetic diseases. For a woman with faulty mitochondria, scientists take only the...

Queen's Jubilee Year Cost UK Taxpayers $50.7M

That's an extra $1.4M more than the year prior

(Newser) - We're hoping that Britons enjoyed Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee year—because it ran taxpayers about $1.4 million more than the year before. The long-reigning monarch's official bottom line expenses came in at $50.7 million, according to royal finances. Where did the additional money go? Mainly...

Horrors: Belgian Royals Must Now Pay Taxes

Their allowances also are cut, except for the reigning king

(Newser) - Belgium is taking after the monarchies of Britain and the Netherlands and trimming the royal purse strings. Reigning King Albert II is exempt, but other royals are going to pay income taxes for the first time and get smaller allowances, reports Reuters . For instance, in the case of Queen Fabiola—...

Dementia Patient Ends Life at Assisted-Suicide Clinic

83-year-old is first Brit to do so at Switzerland's Dignitas

(Newser) - An 83-year-old man in the early stages of dementia has become the first person in Britain so diagnosed to end his life at an assisted-suicide clinic, reports the BBC . The unidentified man did so with the support of his family—in fact, his wife made the trip with him to...

Britain Reveals Its Version of Guantanamo

As many as 90 Afghans being held without trial at Camp Bastion

(Newser) - Britain is taking a page out of the US' book, quietly running a prison in Afghanistan where 80 to 90 people have been held without charges for as long as 14 months. Defense Secretary Philip Hammond confirmed the prison's existence at Camp Bastion to the BBC today, after lawyers...

Bizarre Recall: Radioactive Belts

US border agents apparently made the odd discovery

(Newser) - A major British online clothing merchant has recalled one of its belts due to a small problem: The items are radioactive. Made of leather studded with metal, the belts tested positive for Cobalt-60 and could be dangerous if people wear them for more than 500 hours, Asos said in an...

MI5 Investigated London Suspects Before Killing

Sources identify one of the attackers as a 28-year-old who was raised Christian

(Newser) - UK intelligence had previously investigated the men accused of hacking a soldier to death in the streets of London yesterday, and determined that they weren't a threat requiring "immediate intervention," Sky News reports. BBC sources, however, said that while the men were known to security services, reports...

James Bond's Missing Watch Reappears... at Flea Market

Goes for $38; set to auction for up to $91K

(Newser) - James Bond's wristwatch played a starring role alongside Sean Connery in the 1965 film Thunderball, but after the movie, it went MIA. Now it has finally made a reappearance—after a buyer found it at a British equivalent of a flea market, Sky News reports. The anonymous buyer paid...

Vatican Sends Disgraced UK Cardinal Away for 'Penance'

Keith O'Brien was felled in sex scandal

(Newser) - The Vatican yesterday ordered a disgraced Scottish cardinal to leave Scotland for several months to pray and atone for sexual misconduct , issuing a rare public sanction against a "prince of the church" and the first such punishment meted out by Pope Francis. The Vatican said Keith O'Brien , once...

UK Pulls Staffers From Libya Amid Unrest

Embassy stays open

(Newser) - Britain's Foreign Office says it is temporarily withdrawing some staff from its embassy in the Libyan capital in light of recent political unrest . Heavily armed militias have been besieging government buildings in Tripoli over the past month, blocking access to ministries to push their political demands. The Foreign Office...

UK Cops Seek 'Incredible Hulk' Over Assault

Suspect was painted green with orange hair during alleged attack

(Newser) - Police in northern England are after a suspect who should stand out from the crowd: She's green with orange hair—or at least, she was. The police themselves have already dubbed the woman, suspected of assault, the "Incredible Hulk," Sky News reports. The alleged attack, outside a...

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