Former SAS commander, retired Brigadier Aldwin Wight accused the Government today of lying to the public over Afghanistan, saying that British forces lack the support they need, The Times reports.
“Here is a government that has committed the British Army and the Armed Forces to two of the most serious recent campaigns, very long-term types of campaigns,” Wight said. “If you do commit people to that then they’ve got to be supported. I think the perception, …

The number of swine flu cases in Britain nearly doubled last week, as an estimated 100,000 people were infected, The Times reports.
Outbreaks of illness have reached epidemic levels in several parts of the country, including London, the West Midlands and parts of the North East as the Government announced details of a new telephone line and website which will enable people in England to obtain antiviral drugs without seeing a doctor.
People with symptoms of flu …

The Czech Republic announced it is quitting the Eurovision Song Contest, saying there is a lack of interest at home in the musical event, the BBC reports.
The country, which made its debut in 2007, came last with no points in one of the semi-finals in May.
Its previous two attempts failed to reach the final, with rock band Kabat also coming last in the qualifying round two years ago.

US Vice President Joe Biden, who is on a visit to Ukraine and Georgia, told the Georgian Parliament today that the US fully backs Georgia’s hopes of joining NATO, the BBC reports.
In a speech to Georgian MPs, he insisted that was not the case and declared: “We will stand with you.”
However, Biden also said that Georgia had to do much more to deepen its democracy.
The Vice President said the US continued to regard the breakaway …

With today’s technology, a trip to Mars would take about six months, but now researchers are testing a powerful new ion engine that could one day shorten the journey to only 39 days, New Scientist reports.
Traditional rockets burn chemical fuel to produce thrust. Most of that fuel is used up in the initial push off the Earth’s surface, so the rockets tend to coast most of the time they’re in space.
Ion engines, on the other …

World famous Chihuahua who said in Taco Bell commercial “Yo Quiero Taco Bell”, Gidget, died on Tuesday at the age of 15.
In addition to being the spokesdog for Taco Bell, Gidget appeared in a commercial for the ’90s edition of Trivial Pursuit and played Bruiser’s mom in Legally Blonde 2.
Here’s the video of the commercial that made Gidget famous:

About 30 people, including some New Jersey mayors and several rabbis, were arrested Thursday in a federal investigation of public corruption, the CNN reports.
The probe also involves a “high-volume, international money-laundering conspiracy”.
Among those arrested in the public corruption portion of the investigation are Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano III, Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell, New Jersey Assemblyman Daniel Van Pelt and Leona Beldini, a Jersey City deputy mayor.
Several rabbis in New York and New Jersey also were …

A young Muslim woman has been warned by police that her life is in danger after a male friend was allegedly forced to drink acid and was stabbed twice in the back in an apparent “honour attack”, the Times reports.
The Danish Asian man is in a serious but stable condition in hospital after an incident in Leytonstone, East London, three weeks ago. Sulphuric acid is said to have been forced down his throat. The 24-year-old, being …

I have to admit – I once liked Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi very much. He’s a strong leader, very charismatic, has worked very hard for his country, and the main thing – the Italian people like him.
Well, not all, obviously. There’s a reason why Lonely Planet Italy says that whoever one asks in Italy, all of them say of Berlusconi, “I didn’t vote for him”. But apparently they’ve asked only the people who really …

The daughter of Sir Anthony Berry, who was killed in an IRA terror attack in Brighton in 1984, invited his father’s murderer, IRA terrorist Patrick Magee to the event commemorating the attack, since they, according to the daughter, have become good friends.
Patrick Magee killed five people when he planted a bomb at a hotel hosting the Conservative Party conference in October 1984. He almost succeeded in assassinating the then prime minister Margaret Thatcher and killed government …

The latest Android-based handset from HTC, the Hero, is available on the Orange network today, the Daily Telegraph reports.
The device, which features a five-megapixel camera, built-in satnav and a digital compass for simple navigation, runs Google’s Android operating system. The Hero also has a touch-screen interface, an accelerometer that can sense which way the phone is being held, and up to 16GB of memory, so it can store thousands of songs, photos and movies.
The Hero …

Brigadier Ed Butler, the former commander of UK troops in Helmand, says British troops in Afghanistan do not have enough resources, the Daily Telegraph reports.
Butler disputed Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s claim that troops had the equipment and support they needed.
Responding to the latest criticism about a lack of helicopters supporting British troops, Brown said he was satisfied the current offensive Operation Panther’s Claw “has the resources it needs to be successful”.
But Brig Buttler said: “He …

Windows 7 is complete and the final code of Microsoft’s new operating system has been sent to manufacturers, the AP reports.
Companies that have long-term agreements to buy Microsoft software in bulk will be able to download and start installing Windows 7 in a few weeks.
Then starting 22nd October, Windows 7 will come on new PCs, and will be available for people to buy separately and install on their existing machines.

Israeli airline El Al announced that as of next week they will offer its passengers a low-cost economy class on flights to Europe and if the new service proves successful, it may also expand to flights to the company’s other destinations, including the United States and East Asia, Ynet reports.
Low cost airlines easyJet and Air Berlin recently announced they will soon start operating flights to Israel, a fact that is expected to increase competition over …

The terror group that rules Judea and Samaria, which the world media likes to call “moderate” – Fatah – has never recognized Israel’s right to exist and has no intention of ever doing so, member of the Fatah Central Committee Rafik Natsheh said yesterday.
Natsheh, who also serves as chairman of the faction’s disciplinary “court,” is the second senior official in recent months to make similar statements regarding Israel, the Jerusalem Post reports.
Earlier this year, Muhammad …

Terrorist Osama bin Laden’s son Sa’ad was is thought to have been killed by a US strike in Pakistan, The Times reports.
Sa’ad bin Laden, a prominent figure in the murky relationship between Iran and al Qaeda, was believed to have gone to Pakistan after spending a number of years under house arrest in Iran.
It is understood that a missile fired from a drone aircraft killed him earlier this year this year.