Major Afghan surge aims to squeeze Taliban

The goal of Operation Strike of the Sword is all of the Lower Helmand River valley.

Two British soldiers were killed on Wednesday paving the way for this latest offensive.

Waves of helicopters landed troops before dawn. About 4,000 surged forward, backed up by thousands more in one of the biggest operations in Afghanistan since the Soviet withdrawal in 1989.

In all, there are 61,000 troops from 42 countries fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan.

America’s 29,000 are due to be more than doubled by the end of the year. Britain has had a major major presence in Helmand Province since the invasion in 2001.

And the Afghan force comprises almost 90,000. The Taliban is estimated by one general to number between 10,000 and 18,000 in the south.

Pakistan has re-deployed some of its border forces to block the frontier with south-western Afghanistan to prevent insurgent fighters from fleeing.

The Taliban might be at the centre of a squeeze, but they have warned they will fight back.

Italian Senate approves immigration crackdown

Tough new laws against illegal immigration are set to come into force after being approved by the Italian senate.

Among the controversial measures are fines of up to 10,000 euros for anyone caught trying to enter the country illegally. It has provoked an outcry from humanitarian groups and the left.

Felice Belisario of the leftist opposition said the costs of implementing the legislation would actually undermine security and “paralyse the justice system”.

The detention period for suspected offenders has been increased from two to four months. Cracking down on illegal immigration has been a top priority for Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and his allies.

Federico Bricolo of the Northern League said: “Having stopped the illegals from landing on our shores we’re targeting those in our towns — the criminals, drug-traffickers and pimps. We don’t want these people among us.”

Italy has been one of the European country’s most affected by illegal immigration in recent years and it remains divided on how to tackle the problem. In some areas people have set up civilian patrols, another source of deep debate.

The nuclear debate reaches boiling point in Spain

The government of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero is to decide whether to allow an ageing nuclear plant to remain in service longer than its 40-year normal lifespan.

According to television reports in Spain the Garona nuclear reactor will get the green light until 2013.

Prime Minister Zapatero has emphasised the importance of alternative energy sources.

“The government has to maintain what is strictly necessary concerning nuclear energy, just the absolutely essential, but the emphasis is on renewable energy,” he said.

Workers from the Garona nuclear plant gathered in Madrid to protest the possible closure of the reactor near Burgos in northern Spain in 2013. They faced environmentalists demanding that the plants be closed immediately.

Luis Gonzalez Reyes of Spain’s Ecologists in Action said: “It’s about the greed of some private energy companies such as Endese and Iberdrola to continue making a profit.”

Spain has eight functioning nuclear plants. Some will not turn 40 until 2020. Permits for six of them are due to be renewed by 2011.

Zapatero’s socialists have pledged to gradually replace nuclear power with renewable energy.

Spain is the second biggest solar energy producer in the world and is ranked number three worldwide for the production of wind energy.

Zapatero’s goal is to cut greenhouse gas emissions and the country’s heavy dependence on imported fuels. This is the first test of his electoral pledge to phase out nuclear power.

ALERT|Fire Marshal's Wife Gets Max for Murder

A fire marshal's wife convicted of using his own gun to shoot him dead while he slept will spend 25 years to life in prison for the crime.

More Updates on this Story Later…..

Comoros crash miracle survivor flown home

The sole survivor of the Comoros air crash has been flown home to France and is being treated in hospital. Even though Bahia Bakari can barely swim, she clung on to floating debris for the entire day before rescuers spotted her.

It was a painful homecoming. Although the 12 year old was reunited with her father before being taken to hospital, her mother did not make it out alive from the stricken jet.

The Yemenia Airways Airbus plunged into the Indian Ocean while trying to land in bad weather.
The lack of flotsam has led local rescuers to suspect many of the 152 remaining passengers and crew remain trapped in the body of the Airbus.

There is a feeling among the search teams that efforts should now be concentrated on finding the wreck of the plane.

The President of the Comoros, Ahmed Abdallah Sambi, went to the makeshift rescue centre at Mitsamiouli on the coast. Dozens of Red Crescent tents have sprung up on the shoreline. About 100 American, Yemeni, French and Comoran military have gathered to help in the rescue effort.

French Air Accident investigators are also sending a team, along with expert engineers from Airbus.

Two killed in RAF Tornado crash

Two RAF air crew have been killed after a Tornado jet crashed during a training flight in Argyll.

The plane came down on a hillside near the Rest and Be Thankful beauty spot in Glen Kinglass, near Arrochar, at about 1145 BST.

The Ministry of Defence said that the Tornado F3 was based at RAF Leuchars in Fife and that next of kin had been informed.

No civilians are thought to have been hurt in the crash.

Bolivian, Polish and Dutch news outlets fall for Air France hoax

PARIS (BNO NEWS) -- Bolivian television station PAT, Poland's TVN24 and Dutch news radio BNR probably thought they had their biggest scoop yet: photos from inside Air France Flight 447, seconds before it crashed into the Atlantic early this month. The crash killed more than 200 people and most parts of the wreckage have not been found yet.

Late last week, Bolivian television channel PAT apparently became the first to air the "shocking" footage, which were likely provided to them from a viewer. The photos show people grabbing to their oxygen masks and one even shows a passenger being sucked out of the plane.

But, they weren't alone. TVN24 in Poland probably got the same adrenaline rush when they received these "exclusive" pictures. And on Sunday evening, news radio BNR in the Netherlands broke the same story on their website. "BNR has received photos from a reliable source with Air France - KLM from moments before the crash of the Airbus," an article read.

But... is it really from Air France Flight 447? No. And apparently, the editors over at BNR, TVN24 and PAT haven't watched the hit-series "Lost" either.

The footage is from "Lost" and is several years old. If you are not familiar with the series, you can watch a clip showing the "exclusive" footage on YouTube.

"Damn, probably hoax ... Sorry :(," read a message from Marjolein Niestadt, who works for BNR Newsradio, on her Twitter account. The article was quickly and quietly removed.

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