Britain

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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...

Yet Another BBC Host Cops to Sex Abuse

Stuart Hall, 83, admits to assaulting 13 victims

(Newser) - BBC idols continue to tumble in a continuing sex abuse investigation that's forcing the broadcaster to report on itself . The latest disgraced icon: Radio personality Stuart Hall, 83, who has admitted to 14 charges of indecent assault against girls. The youngest of his 13 victims was just nine years...

British Sex Abuse Probe Snares Another TV Legend

Rolf Harris, 83, suspected of 'sexual offenses'

(Newser) - A sex-scandal probe has led to the arrest of another legend of British television. British police last year launched Operation Yewtree following allegations against the late Jimmy Savile, who has since been called one of Britain's biggest-ever sex predators. Now, it's Australian-born Rolf Harris, 83, who's suspected...

Britain, France: Syria Used Chemical Weapons

They want UN to launch broad investigation

(Newser) - Syria's Bashar al-Assad has indeed defied repeated US warnings not to use chemical weapons, say France and Britain. The two nations told the UN they have evidence that Syrian troops used nerve agents more than once in Aleppo, Homs, and maybe even Damascus, reports the Washington Post . Investigators drew...

Cocaine the True Cause of Financial Crisis: Claim

Ex-UK drugs adviser David Nutt claims it made bankers 'overconfident'

(Newser) - Forget all those complicated economic explanations. The real reason for the financial crisis was simple: Bankers were doing too much coke, says a professor and former UK government drugs adviser. The drug made bankers "overconfident," prompting them to take "more risks," says David Nutt. Cocaine fueled...

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