This year, Time's Person of the Year is sort of you: It's The Protester. Time's managing editor Rick Stengel said, "No one could have known that when a Tunisian fruit vendor in a town barely on a map set himself on fire in a public square, it would spark protests that would bring down dictators in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya and rattle regimes in Syria, Yemen and Bahrain. Or that that spirit of dissent would spur Mexicans to rise up against the terror of drug cartels, Greeks to march against unaccountable leaders, Americans to occupy public spaces to protest income inequality, and Russians to marshal themselves against a corrupt autocracy." more ›

Okay, so maybe there's a reason why women should just use investment bankers for expensive meals: It seems that they can be really awful boyfriends. For instance, there's the J.P. Morgan banker who cheated on his wife with a co-worker, only to follow the co-worker to London and stalk her. And then there's this alleged email from an investment banker who went on ONE date with a woman, "I’m disappointed in you. I’m disappointed that I haven’t gotten a response to my voicemail and text messages... I suggest that you make a sincere apology to me for giving me mixed signals. I feel led on by you." more ›

The final word on Amy Winehouse's death has finally been revealed, and the troubled singer did not, in fact, have any drugs in her system when she died—turns out she had consumed massive amounts of alcohol instead. more ›

Former NYPD Police Commission Bill Bratton, who was hired under Mayor Giuliani and is widely credited with stemming the city's reputation for crime through the broken-window theory and Compstat, has been appointed as an unpaid "consultant" to Scotland Yard. Bratton was personally chosen by British Prime Minister David Cameron, who told Parliament that the UK "should be looking beyond our shores to learn the lesson from others," with regard to the widespread rioting that has gripped London in recent days. "He thanked me for accepting the engagement," Bratton told the Daily News, "I thanked him for the opportunity." more ›

New York may like to complain about diplomats not paying their tickets, but it seems that the U.S. is guilty of doing it too! Not only does the U.S. embassy in London owe £5 million (around $8.5 million) in unpaid congestion pricing fees but this week the city of London added a symbolic £120 penalty to that total. The extra fee was levied against President Obama's high-security limo which, like the other cars in his motorcade, failed to pay the £10 charge to drive in the city center on a visit in May. The U.S. refrained from paying up even after the mayor of London asked Barack to pay in person! more ›

Liverpool hasn't seen this much tween angst since the Beatles. Right now modern day mop top Justin Bieber is holed up at a hotel in the area with thousands of girls outside his window freaking out and awaiting a glimpse of the pop star. According to TMZ (they've got a photo from the scene), the cops there have warned The Biebs that it could turn into a "possible riot situation" and have threatened to arrest him if he makes himself visible. more ›

What's the deal with ticket prices to see Jerry Seinfeld in London? The "lord of the manor" is performing one night at London's 20,000-capacity O2 Arena on June 3, his first UK gig since July 1998. British fans were already upset that ticket prices were high to begin with (between $108-155); but hours after the show was put on sale, the prices had already rocketed up to over a thousand dollars a piece thanks to ticket scalpers. more ›

While this theater season has seen multiple productions on the Middle East, the spotlight has been almost exclusively on Iraq and Israel. Now the "Graveyard of Empires" has its turn center stage with The Great Game: Afghanistan, a play of epic proportions, transplanted from London's Tricycle Theater to NYC by the Public Theater. more ›

Back in the spring, a tourist sidewalk lane magically appeared along Fifth Avenue, separating the chaff of idle skyscraper-gazers from the wheat of get-out-of-our-way natives. At first, rumor had it that it was a piece by British invader Banksy, but it was eventually revealed to be an Improv Everywhere prank. But in a new twist today, it seems the British are borrowing the idea to utilize in one of the busiest streets in London. more ›

Bloomberg has been looking to increase the city's camera surveillance in the wake of the Times Square bomb scare, and headed to London yesterday to check out their famous "Ring of Steel" system of over 500,000 cameras. He met with City of London Police Commissioner Mike Bowron, toured the tube with Mayor Boris Johnson, and was done in time for tea. Bloomberg said, "I am here to learn from others, see what works best, and try to fix things before they become a problem." So what did he learn? more ›

Hoping to gain some tips overseas, Mayor Bloomberg will stop in London next week to observe the city's security camera network. He was already heading to Berlin to accept the 2010 Henry A. Kissinger Prize. London's "ring of steel" network of cameras were the original inspiration for a 3,000 currently being installed in lower Manhattan, and for one planned for Midtown, which could help in response time for incidents like last week's Times Square bomb scare. However, the city should probably work on getting the existing camera system working before trying out any new surveillance plans. more ›

Everyone needs a hobby; some people scale bridges, others like dressing up in costumes, and some very rich folk like to give mysterious donations. And then there are those people who trade cabs. more ›

Yesterday was first day on the job for new MTA Chairman and CEO Jay Walder, who decided to meet and greet subway riders at the Main Street subway station in Queens after meeting with MTA workers at the Corona Subway Maintenance Shop and the Casey Stengel Bus Depot. He spoke of "partnership with the MTA's hard-working men and women" to meet customers' expectations, promised an action plan the end of his first 100 days, and added, "New Yorkers should be able to expect the same type of customer experience riders enjoy in London"—whose transportation system he worked for between 2001-2006—"with accurate arrival information and modern fare technology." Hear that, New Yorkers—no more Underground envy! more ›

Note to the NYPD: Don't let the budget cuts affect your manilla folder inventory! BBC News reports that Metropolitan police terror chief Bob Quick resigned after being photographed—as he was going to 10 Downing Street—"displaying a secret document," which was labeled "secret" and outlined "an ongoing counter-terror operation." Concerns that the operation could be compromised forced the police to conduct raids earlier than planned; 12 men were arrested. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who thanked Quick for his service, said the suspected plot was "very big... We know that there are links between terrorists in Britain and terrorists in Pakistan," and noted that the police operation was "successful." (Remember, the London subway bombings in 2005 prompted the NYPD to institute subway bag checks.) The Independent looks at other embarrassing notes caught on camera, leading with President George Bush's 2005 note, during the World Summit, to Secretary of State Rice: "I think I may need a bathroom break? Is this possible?" more ›

Protester (though not as many as the reported 4,000 from yesterday) appeared for another day of criticizing world policies and promoting other messages as the Group of 20 leaders met again in London. The G20 just announced a trillion-dollar plan for the International Monetary Fund: The Wall Street Journal explains that the IMF's lending power is now tripled to $750 billion and another $250 billion will be added to the reserve currency "to boost liquidity in the global financial system by expanding member countries' foreign exchange reserves. [The leaders also] committed to selling IMF gold to help poor countries." more ›

Thousands of protesters marched in London as world leaders convene for the Group of 20 conference, where the economic crisis will be the main topic. President Barack Obama met with Prime Minister Gordon Brown before the meeting; the NY Times reports that Obama "denied there is a rift between America and the world on Wednesday and urged leaders of the Group of 20 countries to act in unison to find a way out of the global economic crisis," with the president saying, "Nearly every country engaged here has done a fiscal stimulus. We can only meet this challenge together... I came here to put forward ideas but I also came here to listen, not to lecture. Having said that, we must not miss an opportunity to lead, to confront a crisis that knows no borders.” more ›

Radisson Hotels in Britain have put up a billboard in London with with a picture of Big Ben under the headline, “Heavenly Peace in the City That Never Sleeps.” But today's NY Times basically tells the British capital to step off, noting that their trains do not run all night, most of their pubs close around midnight and even their Apple Store isn't open twenty-four hours. While they make a strong case that London has no business taking one of our city's most beloved nicknames, elsewhere in the paper they question whether London will soon take away our crown as the financial capital of the world. more ›

Two weeks ago, during the festivities for the Brooklyn Bridge's 125th birthday, a mysterious and massive device was unveiled with little fanfare near the base of the bridge. Called the Telectroscope, the installation was said to optically connect passersby at either end of a forgotten tunnel between Brooklyn and London (near the Tower Bridge). The British artist behind the project, Paul St George, says he's merely fulfilling the Victorian-era dream of his great-grandfather, inventor Alexander Stanhope St George, who left behind designs for the telectroscope, as well as the secret, unfinished trans-Atlantic tunnel. more ›

The festivities commemorating the 125th birthday of the Brooklyn Bridge got underway full swing today with the unveiling of the mysterious Telectroscope at the Fulton Ferry Landing, just south of the bridge at 1 Water Street. The installation's creator, Paul St George, claims to have just completed a forgotten tunnel connecting New York to London and, using giant parabolic mirrors, has reconstructed a Victorian-era optical device enabling people on either end of the tube to wave at each other. more ›

The most intriguing part of the Brooklyn Bridge 125th birthday party announced last week is the mysterious Telectroscope, located at Brooklyn’s Fulton Ferry Landing near the bridge. In this case the mystery is quite deliberate; the installation’s creator Paul St George has crafted a whimsical back story for the device, which purports to connect New Yorkers with Londoners using giant parabolic mirrors installed in a forgotten Trans-Atlantic tunnel. UPDATE: More photos here. more ›

Mayor Michael Bloomberg met with London's mayor-elect Boris Johnson yesterday, and the pair shared pleasantries and some gifts, one of which was maybe not so pleasant. more ›

A man and three women were arrested by the feds for overseeing an intercontinental prostitution ring catering to the upper crust of New York, Miami, LA, and Europe. more ›

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