EU Commission to probe UK’s failure to protect citizens from secret surveillance

October 1st, 2009 LONDON - The situation in Afghanistan is "serious", with victory not something that can be taken for granted, the commander of NATO forces in the country said Thursday in a speech to a London audience. "The situation is serious and I choose that word very, very carefully," said US General Stanley McChrystal, the new NATO commander for more than 100,000 international troops in Afghanistan.

September 27th, 2009 LONDON - British security agency MI5 is urging women to apply for 25,000 pounds per year mobile surveillance officer roles. The unusual step comes at a time when the security services are suggested to be desperately short of women to carry out surveillance operations on the 2,000 terror suspects, being monitored up and down the country.

July 21st, 2009 LONDON - Former Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf has rebuffed aspersions regarding his involvement in former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination. Addressing a seminar at the Committee House of the British Parliament here, Musharraf rejected allegations that he did not provide a fool-proof security to the former premier.

June 18th, 2009 LONDON - Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair was aware of the existence of a secret interrogation policy which effectively led to British citizens, and others, being tortured during counter-terrorism investigations, the Guardian reveals. The policy, devised in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, offered ­guidance to MI5 and MI6 officers ­questioning detainees in Afghanistan whom they knew were being mistreated by the US military.

June 16th, 2009 LONDON - Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is to be grilled in a secret Iraq War inquiry ordered last night by his successor Gordon Brown.ccording to The Sun, Blair will be a main witness in the probe. The country's military top brass will insist that its occupation force was too small, under funded and poorly equipped.

June 8th, 2009 LONDON - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will announce an official inquiry report into the Iraq war "within days". Brown's decision comes in the wake of the recent departure of the last British troops from Iraq.

May 3rd, 2009 LONDON - A DNA test has confirmed that Kerry Katona has finally found the secret family she had longed to meet. Katona was devastated when she discovered recently that her biological father Ron Armstrong had died of cancer, aged 62.

May 3rd, 2009 LONDON - Britain's secret service, Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), is looking for an occupational health adviser to counsel spies, who are feeling worse for wear after taking on enemies such as Al-Qaeda and Chinese cyber-spies. MI6 is advertising for the 40,000-pound job on the Secret Intelligent Service (SIS) website, which reads: "Here at SIS (or MI6 as you may know us), we operate across the globe.

May 3rd, 2009 LONDON - Britain's spy chiefs are reportedly pressing ahead with secret plans to monitor all internet use and telephone calls in Britain despite Home Secretary Jackie Smith's announcement of a ministerial climb down over public surveillance. GCHQ, the government's eavesdropping centre, is developing classified technology to intercept and monitor all e-mails, website visits and social networking sessions in Britain.

April 10th, 2009 LONDON - Indian diplomats Friday denied reports that a bust of Jawaharlal Nehru outside the Indian High Commission in London that was found dislodged Wednesday had been desecrated. 'It just fell off,' said M.Subhashini, the press spokesperson for the High Commission.

April 8th, 2009 LONDON - Brazilian supermodel Adriana Lima has shown off her enviable body in a photo shoot for lingerie label Victoria's Secret. Against a backdrop of stunning white sandy beach scenes, she models an array of skimpy two-pieces, reports the Sun.

April 1st, 2009 LONDON - India and Britain see progress at the G20 in addressing the lack of transparency among tax havens that hide behind strict secrecy laws in their banking system to protect people who park their funds with them. Briefing reporters after a meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his British counterpart Gordon Brown, Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon said G20 leaders were coming to a consensus on the need to share information on bank accounts by the tax havens.

March 29th, 2009 LONDON - Supermodel Cindy Crawford has revealed the secret behind her stunning body- happiness. The 43-year-old, who has graced the cover of more than 600 magazines, insists she doesn't have any secret to perfect figure.

March 26th, 2009 LONDON - The body overseeing the running of charities in Britain has launched a probe and expressed serious concern after a terrorist camp in Bangladesh was reported to have been funded by a Britain-based charity. 'We are working with relevant law enforcement and other agencies to investigate the allegation that terrorist activity is connected with the charity,' said Andrew Hind, chief executive of the Charity Commission.

February 11th, 2009 NEW DELHI - English singer-songwriter Lily Allen will perform three free secret shows for her fans on the MySpace social networking website across three continents - America, Europe and Asia. The singer, who has more than 449,000 friends on her MySpace Music profile, will put on exclusive and intimate concerts for her online fans in New York, Tokyo and London at no charge as a part of the multiple website's global Secret Show series, a statement from MySpace music here said.