Last Call

A third night of riots in London has all but paralyzed the country, forcing embattled PM David Cameron to cut short his overseas trip and head back to try to settle the city down with the old stiff upper lip.

Riots spread to new areas of London on Monday while looting also erupted in the city of Birmingham as Britain's worst unrest in decades escalated in a third night of violence.

In Hackney, a multi-ethnic area in east London close to the site of next year's Olympic Games, hooded youths set fire to rubbish bins and pushed them down a street toward police, while hurling bottles and bricks.

Many laughed as they ran back when police charged them. Others shouted into their cellphones telling their friends to join in.

The disturbances started late on Saturday in London's northern Tottenham district when a peaceful protest over the police's shooting of a suspect turned violent.

On Monday, the violence had spread to the south of the city, including the areas of Peckham, Croydon and Lewisham.

No signs of this calming down either.  It's turning into a pretty lousy Monday.