Free Republic

As America’s first female secretary of state, she was known as a tough bargainer who brooked no nonsense as she travelled the world, facing down despots such as Saddam Hussein and Kim Jong-il. But Madeleine Albright has revealed that she had an unexpected diplomatic tool — costume jewellery. She began using brooches in 1994 after the Gulf war when the Iraqi press referred to her as “an unparalleled serpent”. Then US ambassador to the United Nations, she responded by wearing a golden brooch depicting a coiled snake to her next meeting with the Iraqis. “I didn’t consider the gesture a...

AN Ipswich metal detecting enthusiast has found treasure trove expected to be worth thousands of pounds in a farmer's field. John McLaughlin, 54, discovered silver gilt brooches, Anglo Saxon dress ornaments, silver studs, rings, knives, a spearhead and amber beads in Mark Partridge's north Ipswich field. The treasure was from disturbed burial sites from the Sixth and Seventh Century Anglo Saxon and Pagan periods. Mr McLaughlin said the landowner, Mr Partridge gave him permission to metal detect over his land after it was ploughed. He said he had been finding treasure there for the last three years. “This is my...