United Kingdom

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Trouble With Key Witness in 'VIP Pedophile Ring'?

Report casts doubts on claims of top-level sex abuse

(Newser) - A British investigation into an alleged pedophile ring at the highest levels of government may be based on fantasy, according to a BBC report. The report found that a key witness, who says he was abused by a ring that included top politicians, generals, and intelligence chiefs in the 1970s...

'Ginger Terrorist' Plotted to Kill Princes Charles, William

He wanted to see red-haired Prince Harry as king

(Newser) - A man who felt "belittled" for having red hair has been found guilty of plotting terrorist acts from his bedroom in the UK. Prosecutors say Mark Colborne, 37, was found with handwritten notes and books describing how to make lethal poisons like napalm, cyanide, and ricin, as well as...

At UK's National Sperm Bank, Choose Between 9 Donors

Choices are, um, limited

(Newser) - Fast-forward 18 years and it shouldn't be too hard for children born out of Britain's national sperm bank to identity their biological father. The year-old sperm bank, created to address a major sperm shortage in the UK, has just nine registered donors with the first samples set to...

The Unhappiest Place on Earth: Banksy's Dismaland

Artist calls his creation 'a festival of art, amusements, and entry-level anarchism'

(Newser) - Cinderella's carriage has crashed, she and the horses are dead, and the paparazzi are hovering over their bodies, snapping away. That's just one attraction in Dismaland , the new Banksy art show in the English resort town of Weston-super-Mare, the Guardian reports. Nearly 60 artists built what Banksy calls...

Guy's Warning Photo: This Is My Coma on Drugs

Man took unknown pills at a UK festival; his friend died

(Newser) - Several people fell seriously ill at the Kendal Calling music festival in the UK late last month, and one of them has posted a sobering photo of himself in a medically induced coma on Facebook to send a message. Jordan Blackburn, 20, was in the hospital for three days, but...

Britain Remembers Its Worst Terror Attack of 21st Century

Woman tells how she escaped death on London train

(Newser) - "It was a split-second decision that probably saved my life," says Shanie Ryan. Ryan was a 20-year-old student riding the first car of a train in London on July 7, 2005, when her roommate got off at King's Cross station. She hopped out the door, gave him...

What to Know About UK's Weirdest Election in Memory

It could take weeks for country to get a new government

(Newser) - After many decades of power going back and forth between the Labour and Conservative parties, the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition that took power after the 2010 election was seen as a fluke—but up to a dozen parties have a shot at being in government after today's election, which analysts...

How a 'Safari Vacation' May Have Shaped Jihadi John

He complained about UK 'harassment' when he tried to make 2009 trip

(Newser) - Mohammed Emwazi, the British-Kuwaiti man who has been identified as "Jihadi John," had long been known to British security services—and according to the advocacy group Cage , the way they treated him may have contributed to his radicalization. According to the group, when he tried to travel to...

What's Driving British Teen Girls to Join ISIS?

Aqsa Mahmood went from 'Harry Potter' fan to radical 'poster girl'

(Newser) - Three missing London teenagers appear to have traveled to Syria to join ISIS, despite their parents' impassioned pleas—and one catalyst in the decision may have been a like-minded young woman from Scotland. Aqsa Mahmood, who at 20 is just a few years older than the trio, was once a...

Cops Fear 3 UK Schoolgirls Are on Their Way to Syria

British police hope they can intercept girls in Turkey before they find ISIS

(Newser) - Three London teens on their winter break are believed to have skipped town and headed to Syria to join up with ISIS, British police said today, per the BBC . Shamima Begum, 15, and two classmates—Kadiza Sultana, 16, and a 15-year-old friend whose parents asked for anonymity—reportedly got on...

Guy Who Helped Pal Test Bulletproof Vest Gets 7 Years

It wasn't bulletproof, British man found

(Newser) - A British truck driver has become the latest person to discover that helping a friend test out the bulletproof vest he's wearing is a good way to lose both your friend and your freedom. Ian Catley, 40, has received a seven-year sentence for manslaughter after admitting that he shot...

Brits Flip Over Cadbury Creme Egg Changes

UK-only chocolate switch causes uproar

(Newser) - It's early January, but people in the UK are apparently already munching on a lot of Cadbury Creme Eggs—and many of them aren't happy about some changes inside the foil. The Easter treats used to be made with the Dairy Milk brand of milk chocolate, but the...

Fox Pundit: UK's 2nd-Biggest City 'Muslim-Only'

News comes as a surprise to Birmingham residents

(Newser) - The residents of Birmingham, England, may have been startled to learn from a Fox News terrorism "expert" that their city is a "Muslim-only" one where "non-Muslims just simply don't go." Steven Emerson, founder of the Investigative Project on Terrorism group, also claimed there are parts...

Crooked Cop Drove Ferrari to Work

UK officer Osman Iqbal now serving 7 years

(Newser) - Police officer Osman Iqbal of Birmingham, England, had lucrative sidelines in drugs, prostitution, and money laundering—and he might have gotten away with it for longer if he hadn't started driving a $250,000 Ferrari to his day job. After the officer, who made roughly $60,000 a year,...

Stockbroker Loses Job Over Hit-and-Run 'Joke'

'It was a joke gone bad,' says Brit Rayhan Qadar

(Newser) - Humor is all about knowing your audience, and 21-year-old Brit Rayhan Qadar apparently didn't really know his. The stockbroker made an ill-advised "joke" on Twitter Monday morning and lost his job over it. The offending tweet (his account is now private, CNET notes): "Think I just hit...

Russia: Hey, That Scottish Vote Was a Little Fishy

Vote-counting room was too big, for one thing

(Newser) - Russia, the world's defender of territorial sovereignty, thinks pro-independence Scottish voters might have gotten robbed in yesterday's vote. Moscow sent four official observers to watch the votes being counted in Edinburgh, and they don't think things were up to snuff, reports the Huffington Post UK . Among the...

Queen: 'Enduring Love of Scotland' Will Unite UK

Leader of Scottish National Party resigns

(Newser) - The queen has officially weighed in on Scotland's rejection of independence —a rarity for her when it comes to current affairs, notes the Telegraph —and she's asking pro-UK Scottish residents and Brits not to gloat. She acknowledged the "strong feelings and contrasting emotions" involved in...

What's Next for Scotland—and the UK

'No' vote doesn't mean no changes

(Newser) - Scotland voted to remain part of the United Kingdom, but that doesn't mean there are no changes in store. The BBC , Telegraph , USA Today , and CNN run down what's next for the country and the UK:
  • Scottish Parliament will get more power. That's something the three biggest
...

Scotland Rejects Independence
 Scotland Rejects 
 Independence 
Sep 19, 2014 12:18 AM CDT

Scotland Rejects Independence

The 'no' vote prevails amid massive turnout, keeping the UK intact

(Newser) - The United Kingdom will stay united: Scotland has rejected independence. With the votes counted in the nation's historic referendum, results show those in favor of keeping the 307-year union with England won 55% to 45%. Those against independence received a massive boost by strongly taking Edinburgh, the capital, and...

Today's Scotland Vote: What You Need to Know

The vote over Scottish independence is here

(Newser) - Scots are taking to the polls today to determine whether Scotland should gain legal independence from the United Kingdom for the first time since 1707. Voters—more than 4 million perhaps, with 97% of the electorate registered to vote—have access to 2,608 polling places across the country between...

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