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KABUL, Afghanistan -- In a further step toward reconciling with insurgents, President Hamid Karzai said Saturday he will soon name the members of a council tasked with pursuing peace talks with rebelswilling to break with al-Qaida and recognize the government in Kabul. Karzai's announcement was given added poignancy by comments from the outgoing deputy commander of NATO forces in the country ...

TWO HUNDRED years ago this month, in late September 1810, William Grattan -- a young soldier serving in Portugal with the British Army -- heard his colonel shout an order: 'Drive those French rascals down the hill ... push home your bayonets to the muzzle.' Grattan described what followed: 'All was now confusion and uproar, smoke, fire and bullets, officers ...

The former head of the Army has accused ex-prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown of letting down British troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai says he will set up a peace council as part of the reconciliation effort to reintegrate some Taliban militants. A spokesman for Karzai's office said the list of council members will be announced early next week, CNN reported Saturday. Gen. David Petraeus, head of the U.S. military effort in Afghanistan, said earlier this week approaches to some ...

BRITAIN'S MOST senior commander in Afghanistan has warned that violence in the country will get worse before it gets better. Lt Gen Sir Nick Parker, the deputy commander of the International Security Assistance Force, said Allied forces were making progress against Taliban insurgents but it was "hard, slow and variable". His warnings follow what has been a bloody year for ...

One of the trial balloons floated in the last two weeks in the fevered European debate about what not to buy for defense was that France and Britain would share aircraft carriers. Publicly and officially their defense ministers repudiated that idea today but they did raise the prospect of sharing the fleet of the hugely over-budget but technologically hugely over-budget but ...

For three weeks after he turned 18, David Cruickshanks sat in the bowels of a Royal Navy assault ship while Argentinian forces ripped its sides with machine gun fire and bombs tore at its bow. He prayed none were destined for him as he listened helplessly to the terrifying noises outside. Now aged 46, Cruickshanks's experiences during and after the ...

News reports surfaced this past week that in a drastic bid to trim government spending Britain and France were discussing sharing aircraft carriers. Britain currently operates two carriers, HMS Ark Royal and HMS Illustrious, with two more under construction, while France operates the large deck carrier Charles de Gaulle. Today, British and French officials threw cold water on the idea with ...

A Chinese lingerie company used a Princess Diana lookalike to launch an undergarment line on the anniversary of her death, prompting criticism from Britons. Pictures of the Princess Diana lookalike were splashed on billboards throughout China accompanied by the tag line "Feel the romance of British royalty. Diana underwear," Sky News reported Thursday. The phony Princess Diana is pictured in bra ...

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Nervous Afghans on Saturday continued pulling funds out of the nation's largest bank despite assurances from government leaders that their money was safe. Crowds gathered at Kabul Bank branches around the capital to withdraw dollar and Afghan currency savings, with customers saying they had lost faith in the bank's solvency following a change in leadership and reports that ...

ANKARA, Turkey -- The United States' top military officer stressed on Saturday the need for Turkey to help enforce United Nations sanctions against Iran aimed at deterring the Islamic Republic from obtaining a nuclear bomb. Turkey voted against the U.S.-backed sanctions against Iran in June, insisting that its neighbor's nuclear program is peaceful , despite fears that Tehran might be seeking ...

 Cairo cancels a visit by Islamic Republic's foreign minister after he accuses Arab leaders who attended new round of Mideast peace talks of 'betraying their nations' by 'following America's orders'

More than 200 soldiers from 7th Armoured Brigade (the Desert Rats) have come out in force to register as potential new bone marrow donors with leukaemia charity Anthony Nolan.

  Netanyahu asks Putin to stop deal involving sale of advanced P-800 Yakhont supersonic cruise missiles; Israel considers this weaponry dangerous to its navy vessels in Mediterranean Sea.

 The badly decomposed body of Yuri Ivanov washed up last month on the shore of the Mediterranean, and was discovered by Turkish villagers in the province of Hatay, Turkish newspapers reported today. Reports suggest that he was quietly buried in Moscow over the weekend.

New ventilators, which will play a key role in saving the lives of soldiers injured on the front line, have arrived in Afghanistan. The Vela Comprehensive ventilators are being used in the Intensive Care Unit at the Armed Forces' hospital in Camp Bastion, providing additional hi-tech kit for doctors and nurses who work to save the lives of personnel injured on ...

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 A specially upgraded Russian Akula class submarine has been caught trying to record the acoustic signature made by the Vanguard submarines that carry Trident nuclear missiles, according to senior Navy officers.British submariners have also reported that they are experiencing the highest number of "contacts" with Russian submarines since 1987.