Legislator says British secret services may have mistakenly recruited al-Qaida sympathizers

September 11th, 2009 Al-Qaida Web sites down ahead of 9/11 anniversaryCAIRO — A U.S.-based group monitoring militant Web sites said Friday that jihadist forums have been experiencing technical problems on the eve of Sept. 11, finally going offline a day before the 8th anniversary of the al-Qaida attack on the U.S.

August 20th, 2009 Correction: CIA-Secret ProgramWASHINGTON — In an Aug. 19 story about a secret CIA program to kill al-Qaida suspects, The Associated Press reported erroneously that Anne Tyrrell is the spokeswoman for Xe Services, a private security company.

August 10th, 2009 LONDON - The head of Britain's MI6, Sir John Scarlett, has insisted that the British secret service works on a basis of "no torture and no complicity in torture". "Our officers are as committed to the values and the human rights values of liberal democracy as anybody else," Scarlett told the BBC Radio 4 programme.

August 1st, 2009 LONDON - A British MP has called for an investigation into whether British secret service organisation MI5 recruited sympathisers of the international Al Qaeda terrorist network, the Telegraph newspaper reported Saturday. According to the newspaper, counter-terrorism sub-committee chairman Patrick Mercer made the call after the expulsion from MI5 of six Muslim recruits, of whom two allegedly attended Al Qaeda training camps in Pakistan.

July 15th, 2009 LONDON - If a new study is anything to go by, British men are among the least romantic in the world. A new study by the psychologist Professor Richard Wiseman claims that British men are less likely to make romantic gestures than men from other parts of the world-in fact, they are less likely to pay compliments, be inspired to write love poetry or take their loved ones away for surprise holidays than their foreign counterparts.

July 14th, 2009 House intel lays groundwork for CIA investigationWASHINGTON — The House Intelligence Committee has asked the CIA to provide the committee with documents about the now-canceled program to target al-Qaida leaders with hit teams. CIA Director Leon Panetta told Congress June 24 that he had canceled the program after learning about the effort to kill al-Qaida leaders.

July 13th, 2009 Report: CIA had plan to kill al-QaidaWASHINGTON — The Wall Street Journal reports that the CIA program concealed from Congress was a secret plan to kill or capture al-Qaida operatives. Former intelligence officials tell the Journal that the plan, which was ordered halted by agency Director Leon Panetta, was an attempt to carry out a 2001 presidential finding authorized by President George W.

May 10th, 2009 UK politicians face curb on expenses after scandalLONDON — A senior British lawmaker says Parliament will set up an independent body to oversee legislators' expenses following a series of damaging revelations. The Telegraph newspaper has been publishing leaked details of expense claims by Prime Minister Gordon Brown and other politicians.

April 26th, 2009 Al-Qaida in threatens to kill UK hostageCAIRO — Al-Qaida in North Africa says it will kill a British hostage if the British government does not release an imprisoned radical preacher. The group said in a statement posted Sunday on an Islamist Web site that it will execute a British tourist held by the group since late January if the extremist Muslim preacher Abu Qatada is not freed in 20 days.

April 26th, 2009 Al-Qaida threatens to kill UK hostageCAIRO — Al-Qaida in North Africa said Sunday it would kill a British hostage if London does not release an imprisoned radical preacher. The group said in a statement posted on an Islamist Web site that it will execute a British tourist held by the group since late January if the extremist Muslim preacher Abu Qatada is not freed in 20 days.

April 22nd, 2009 CHANDIGARH - Ram Kumar Gautam, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator in Haryana, Wednesday resigned from his assembly seat. Gautam submitted his resignation to assembly Speaker Raghubir Singh Kadian at a function in Jhajjar town, sources close to the legislator said.

April 13th, 2009 BHOPAL - A Congress party legislator was shot at by unidentified assailants in Bhind district of Madhya Pradesh Monday evening, police said. Makhan Singh Jatav is a legislator from Gohad assembly constituency in the state.

March 30th, 2009 LONDON - British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith's husband has said sorry for embarrassing his wife after two adult films were viewed at their home, then claimed for on expenses, BBC reported Sunday. Richard Timney, who is also Smith's parliamentary aide, said he understood why people might be angry.

March 29th, 2009 LONDON - British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith was in hot water Sunday over the billing to parliament of a pay-per-view package, which included the cost of two adult entertainment programmes. Smith apologised for the billing of 67 pounds ($96) for the TV package which was mistakenly applied to her parliamentary allowance as a part of her Internet connection expenses, the BBC reported.

March 20th, 2009 LONDON - Hollywood actress Eva Mendes has been recruited as the Global Pleasure ambassador of Magnum ice Cream. The Hitch actress has been recruited by Magnum ice-cream company to work alongside the firm's Professor of Pleasure, who will be conducting the world's largest study into the causes of happiness.