Small teams of US special forces soldiers have been secretly embedded with Pakistani military forces in the tribal belt, helping to hunt down Taliban and al-Qaida fighters and co-ordinate drone strikes, the embassy cables reveal.The numbers involved are small – just 16 soldiers in October 2009 – but the deployment is of immense political significance, […]

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – The Marine Corps Air Station Miramar Falcons’ football team defeated the 1st Marine Logistics Group Beasts in their last regular season game 26-12, at Paige Fieldhouse aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., Oct. 14.The game started at a stalemate as both teams fought hard not allowing each […]

Tens of thousands of people marched in Paris on Sunday in support of a government-sponsored bill that would legalize marriage and adoption for same-sex couples.Demonstrators waved banners emblazoned with phrases such as “Equality of rights is not a threat” as they began marching Sunday from Denfert-Rochereau square in the southern part of the city.The march […]

The White House is preparing to introduce new sanctions against the Syrian regime in response to a military crackdown that saw tanks and armoured cars deployed against protesters on Monday.The Obama administration condemned “the brutal violence used by the government of Syria”, describing it as deplorable, and adding: “The United States is pursuing a range […]

Men are drawn to a wider range of women when they are feeling stressed out, according to research into the psychology of sexual attraction.People are usually attracted to partners with similar facial features to their own, but after a brief but stressful experience, men’s preferences changed to include a wider variety of women, the study […]

The world is in the midst of an “international currency war” according to Brazil’s finance minister as governments force down the value of their currencies to boost their struggling economies.The comments are the first public admission made by a senior policymaker about a practice which has become increasingly widespread since the global economic downturn.Many countries, […]

The death toll from a US drone strike in Pakistan rose to 19 on Saturday, increasing tensions ahead of a meeting between secretary of state Hillary Clinton and her Islamabad counterpart.Pakistani authorities increased the estimate from an initially reported 12 suspected militants who were killed in the attack in the Dattakhel region in North Waziristan […]

As Germany’s captain Philip Lahm lifted the World Cup trophy up to the heavens inside the Maracanã stadium on 13 July, many at home hoped the sporting triumph would also boost the national economy. But a month on, analysts say the much-talked about “World Cup effect” has been exposed as a myth. On Thursday, Germany’s […]

Toyota, the biggest player in hybrid-electric cars, has launched a cut price Prius as the Japanese firm fights back following one of the worst years in its history.Jim Lentz, president and chief operating officer of Toyota USA, unveiled the Prius C at the second day of the North American International Automobile Show (NAIAS) at Detroit’s […]

Shaker Aamer, the British-based former Guantánamo Bay detainee finally freed this week after nearly 14 years in captivity, was so mistrustful of his US captors that he did not eat anything on the plane flying him home for fear it might have been spiked, one of his doctors has said.David Nicholl, a consultant neurologist who […]