London Calms, But New Riots Splinter England

They say officers were shot at 11 times

(NEWSER) - British police have released security video footage of rioters firing gunshots at them earlier this month. Police say at least 11 shots were fired in all, and they asked the public to come forward to help identify the hooded shooters. The video also shows 30 or 40 men wreaking havoc and throwing gas bombs at officers. It raises fears that organized gangs exploited the mayhem for looting, notes the Guardian . More»

1,700 arrested, 600 charged in unrest

(NEWSER) - In a video that’s prompted outrage across Britain, including stern words from David Cameron, a 20-year-old student is pictured on the ground after his jaw was broken in a knifepoint attack. Rioters help him up in what appears to be a good Samaritan act—until they proceed to unzip his bag and steal his things. "On the mean streets of London, even the good Samaritans are bandits," writes Giles Fraser for the BBC of the Monday night attack on Asyraf Haziq. More»

And other updates from the chaos

(NEWSER) - Police are struggling to restore order on the streets of London after three days of rioting and looting. Here are some updates from the Telegraph's exhaustive coverage:

• David Cameron seemed to criticized the police effort , saying it needed to be “more robust,” and saying that the number of officers on the street tonight would swell from 6,000 to 16,000, with all police leave canceled.
• In an ironic turn, the Iranian Foreign Ministry has urged the British police to “show restraint” and said it would ask human rights organizations to investigate the fatal shooting that precipitated the riots.

No one knows exactly why population exploded

(NEWSER) - The parakeet population in Britain has exploded in recent years, up from 1,500 in 1995 to 30,000 a few years ago. The result? Scenes that could be straight out of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds, like one recent evening at a suburban park that saw hundreds of parakeets whizzing by in formations of 10, 20, or even 30. “I was delighted when I first saw one in my yard, but when you have a flock of 300, it’s a different matter,” a local tells the New York Times . “They eat all the berries. They ate all the food from my feeder in one day; it was ludicrous. I had to stop putting it out because it got too expensive." More»

(NEWSER) - London investigators have uncovered a $130 million Ponzi scheme that duped hundreds of celebrities and businessmen around the world, reports the Telegraph. The scammers were so slick that many of their victims refuse to believe they were sucked in by the ersatz high-yield fund, and are still expecting payment, according to authorities. "These victims have been totally hoodwinked," says one investigator. The probe is focusing on a Knightsbridge-based finance firm and several companies linked to it. More»