The British government is plowing more public money into a miracle new substance. Graphene is said to be the lightest, thinnest and strongest material known to man. It was developed in Britain and could revolutionize high-tech manufacturing.
On the face of it, it sounds crazy: Your house or apartment is on fire, and rather than phoning the emergency services, you tweet them. But that is what the London Fire Brigade is mulling over.
Faced with the costs of alcoholism and alcohol-related crime, Britain's government wants to introduce a mandatory minimum price for alcohol. Cheap drink is believed to cost the country billions of dollars each year.
Britain contributes far more to the budget of the European Union than it receives in subsidies for agriculture and infrastructure. Its prime minister wants to freeze the budget where it is.
The British government says it will have to deploy an extra 3,500 soldiers to protect the Olympic Games after a private security contractor abruptly said it would fall short.
Tomorrow, The Shard will officially open in London. It's the tallest building in Europe at over a thousand feet high. Meanwhile, Britain's economy isn't looking so good.
The problems that got us today's health care Supreme Court decision — rising health care costs, the pull between personal liberty and the social safety net — are familiar around the world, even if the solutions have been very different.
In the spirit of environmental conservation, the British government wants to put a price on nature. They've created a group called the Natural Capital Committee, which will put a dollar value on landscapes, river purity, and wildlife.
