United Kingdom

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One Scare-Fest Customer Was Scarier Than the Clowns

Somebody attacked Ffear Fforest clown with a needle

(Newser) - A Halloween event in north Wales calls itself the "ultimate scare-fest," but one visitor did something scarier than anything the creepy clowns that roam Ffear Fforest do to frighten customers. A worker dressed as a clown was attacked with a needle at the event at the Zip World...

We Have a Cheating Scandal in the World of Conkers
Drama in the World
of Conkers Is Over
UPDATED
Oct 21, 2024 9:54 AM CDT

Drama in the World of Conkers Is Over

UK's Dave Jakins was accused of swapping chestnut for metal in his first win

(Newser) - The drama in the cutthroat world of conkers is at an end, with Dave Jakins, aka "King Conker," now cleared of cheating, reports the Guardian . Jakins had been accused of using a steel conker instead of a regular chestnut in his win at the World Conker Championships, but...

UK's Plan: Give the Unemployed Weight-Loss Drugs

Major study of injection will track 'changes in participants' employment status'

(Newser) - The British government believes weight-loss drugs could play a role in its push to reduce the number of long-term unemployed people. The government says a $365 million investment from Eli Lilly will include a "major real-world study" on the effectiveness of tirzepatide, also known as Mounjaro, reports Reuters . The...

She Applied for a Daredevil Job. The Letter Was Lost for 48 Years

Taza Hodson ended up working as a stunt pilot instead

(Newser) - Taza Hodson applied for a job as a motorcycle stunt rider in 1976, and she wondered for many years why she never got a reply. "I was very careful not to let people who were advertising for a stunt rider know that I was female, or I thought I...

Britain Gives Up One of the Last Pieces of Its Empire
Britain Gives Up One of
the Last Pieces of Its Empire
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Oct 6, 2024 10:40 AM CDT

Britain Gives Up One of the Last Pieces of Its Empire

Under deal, it will hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius

(Newser) - What some call the UK's "last colony in Africa" will now return to African hands. The UK on Thursday said it will hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius as part of a to-be-signed agreement. What you need to know:
  • The history: Mauritius has for decades claimed
...

Reducing 20-Ounce Pint Would Have Great Health Impacts

Research shows people drink less overall, but no one is keen on the idea of changing the pint

(Newser) - The pint is embedded in British pub culture, standardized centuries ago as the 20-ounce imperial pint. Research from a new study suggests a shorter pour of beer could have great health impacts, but Rachel Dixon looks at one big problem, per the Guardian : Pretty much no one is in favor...

Swift Joins UK Fight on Hunger With 'Unexpected' Donation

Pop star's 'generous' gift is going toward 1.4K food banks, community groups in United Kingdom

(Newser) - Taylor Swift has long been hailed for making an impact on local economies , but she's been helping out locally in more direct ways, too. The Independent reports that the 34-year-old pop star made an "unexpected" donation to 1,400 or so food banks run by the Trussell Trust,...

First Country to Open Coal-Fired Power Plant Closes Its Last One

UK is first G7 county to fully phase out coal power

(Newser) - Britain has said goodbye to coal power, some 142 years after Thomas Edison opened the world's first coal-fired electricity plant in London. The Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in Nottingham, the last coal-fired power plant in the country, closed on Monday, the Guardian reports. The plant, which opened in 1967, employed...

Van Gogh Painting Gets a Soup Bath by Climate Activists
They Dumped Soup on a
Van Gogh. Now, Jail Time
UPDATED
Sep 28, 2024 7:00 AM CDT

They Dumped Soup on a Van Gogh. Now, Jail Time

Sunflowers wasn't harmed, but Just Stop Oil protesters will be spending some time behind bars

(Newser) - Two climate activists from the Just Stop Oil group will see jail time after dumping tomato soup on a Van Gogh painting in London's National Gallery. Citing PA Media, CNN reports that Phoebe Plummer, 23, and Anna Holland, 22, received sentences Friday of two years and 20 months, respectively,...

85 Years Later, a Brontë Typo Is Fixed

Westminster Abbey adds dots or diaereses to the surname following historian's complaint

(Newser) - For 85 years, a stone tablet honoring literary greats Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë has hung in Westminster Abbey's Poets' Corner with a blatant omission. The sisters, three of the UK's greatest writers, spelled their last name Brontë, with diaereses over the last vowel, indicating a separate syllable....

Even the 'Cow Whisperer' Couldn't Escape Bovines' Wrath

Guardian reports on incidents of cattle attacks in the UK

(Newser) - When people spot cows idling in a field, it typically becomes an idyllic photo op. In the UK, however, cattle are the leading cause of accidental death in the nation's agricultural sphere, and they're said to be even more dangerous than dogs when it comes to going on...

Days After Theft, Gallery Displays Banksy Print in Evidence Bag

'Girl With Balloon' print, stolen from London gallery on Sunday, was quickly recovered

(Newser) - One of Banksy's most iconic images was stolen from a London gallery on Sunday. Four days later, Metropolitan Police announced they'd recovered the pricey Girl With Balloon print and charged two men in the burglary. Larry Fraser, 47, of east London, and James Love, 53, of North Stifford,...

Russia Boots 6 UK Diplomats for Spying

Britain denies espionage accusations, calling them 'completely baseless'

(Newser) - Russia on Friday accused six British diplomats of spying and said it decided to expel them, an announcement that comes as tensions between Moscow and the West grow during an intensified push by Ukraine to loosen restrictions on using weapons provided by the US and Britain to strike Russia. Russia'...

'I Looked at the Window and Saw a Ball of Fire'

Woman dies after Ukraine launches what's said to be largest drone strike on Moscow since war began

(Newser) - Ukraine has reportedly launched its biggest drone attack on the Russian capital since war erupted between the countries two and a half years ago. Russia's Defense Ministry said Tuesday that 144 Ukrainian drones were shot down around the country amid a wave of overnight attacks. "Half were in...

UK, Irish Leaders Discuss Reset
UK, Irish Leaders Discuss Reset
Sep 7, 2024 3:45 PM CDT

UK, Irish Leaders Discuss Reset

Starmer, Harris meet to plan how that would affect 'our citizens on both islands'

(Newser) - Simon Harris and Keir Starmer have discussed the need to reset the relationship between the UK and Ireland. "Today we're in Dublin to flesh out what a reset actually looks like ... in a practical sense for our citizens on both islands," Harris said Saturday before their meeting,...

PM to Grenfell Families: 'You Have Been Let Down So Badly'

Starmer speaks after yearslong inquiry report is released on 2017 London tower blaze that killed 72

(Newser) - A report on a yearslong $262.4 million public inquiry into the fatal 2017 blaze at the UK's Grenfell Tower has finally been released, and it's a "damning" one, pointing the finger at not a "single" cause, but at "a combination of dishonest companies, weak...

Fighting Cats Kill a 'Friendly Giant' Riding Bike

UK's Chris Reeves, 52, died after furious felines got caught up in bicycle wheel, causing his fall

(Newser) - The family of a UK dad is mourning him after a freak accident during his morning commute. Birmingham Live reports that 52-year-old Chris Reeves was found lying on a road July 30 in Rugby, half-conscious. Reeves, a railroad signal worker, was airlifted to a hospital in Coventry, where he had...

Banksy Is Going Full-On Animal
Banksy Is Going Full-On Animal
Aug 12, 2024 1:00 PM CDT

Banksy Is Going Full-On Animal

Famed street artist is dotting London with depictions of a rhino, wolf, piranhas, and more

(Newser) - Street artist Banksy on Monday unveiled a new mural of a rhinoceros that looks like it's climbing on top of a car in London—the eighth animal-themed artwork he has posted in the past week in a collection that includes elephants, a goat, a wolf, pelicans, and more. The...

Fox Hunters' New Strategy: We're an Ethnic Minority

Group in UK says their hunts should be protected by law

(Newser) - A fox hunting group in the UK is floating a legal argument to protect their hunts that doesn't exactly square with the common image of fox hunters of yore: The idea is that they're an ethnic minority, reports the Guardian . Ed Swales, leader of the pro-hunt group Hunting...

King Charles Responds to Far-Right Riots in UK

King is 'greatly encouraged' by anti-racist counterprotesters who've pushed back

(Newser) - King Charles III has applauded people who took to the streets of British towns and cities earlier this week to help blunt days of unrest fueled by far-right activists and misinformation about a stabbing attack that killed three girls. Charles on Friday held telephone audiences with Prime Minister Keir Starmer...

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