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Germany plans to bring 100 mothballed tanks back into service in what is widely seen as a response to rising tensions with Russia over Ukraine. The tanks were sold to industry as part of defence cuts after the Cold War. The German defence ministry said it would spend €22m (£16m;$24m) on bringing its total of tanks to 328. Nato officials agreed in February to create a quick-reaction force to meet the challenges posed by the Ukraine crisis and by Islamic extremists.

Labour Candidate: People Who Fly England flags Are 'Simpletons And Casual Racists' Huw Thomas, a Labour candidate in Wales, is facing calls to resign after it emerges that he wrote a blog post saying he was 'completely sickened' by England flags By Steven Swinford, 10 Apr 2015 A Labour Party candidate has been forced to apologise after it emerged he wrote a blog posting in which he said anyone who flies an England flag is a "simpleton or casual racist". Huw Thomas, the Labour candidate for Ceredigion, said during World Cup that cars flying the England flag deserve to be...

New mother and actress Alyssa Milano had her freshly pumped breast milk confiscated at London’s Heathrow Airport Thursday, which left her reeling on social media. The 42-year-old, who gave birth to her daughter in September, first tweeted the difficulty of pumping on a plane. That message was soon followed up with another in which she called out the airport for taking her milk altogether. “@HeathrowAirport just took my pumped breast milk away. 10 ounces. Not okay,” she wrote in a tweet. “They said they would let the pumped milk through if I had the baby with me. Why would I...

Exploration firm U.K. Oil & Gas Investments said Thursday there may be up to 100 billion barrels of oil at an onshore site in south England, near Gatwick airport, a company spokesperson told CNN. That's more than double the amount of oil pumped from Britain's energy offshore North Sea fields in the past 40 years. The company's share of the total reserves are estimated at close to 9 billion barrels. UKOG chief executive Stephen Sanderson described the discovery as a "world class potential resource."

The BBC was feared to have fallen victim to an ISIS cyber-attack this evening as 'hackers' appeared to post Islamic State propaganda during a live broadcast. Viewers were left stunned as the words 'Je suIS IS' appeared on TV screens following a feature on the BBC News Channel. Above the red and white writing was the word 'CYBERCALIPHATE'.

Russia is considering soon giving Greece funds based on future profits Athens would earn from shipping Russian gas to Europe as part of an extension of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline project, a Greek government official said. Plans for the pipeline taking Russian gas from Turkey to Europe via Greece would be linked to lower Russian gas prices, the official added. Greece would pay back the Russian prepayment after the pipeline started operating, the official said.

A 16-year-old boy has admitted trying to buy a biological toxin that is 30 times more deadly than ricin from undercover police on the 'dark web'. The teenager from Mossley, Greater Manchester, who cannot be named for legal reasons, wanted to obtain abrin online. He was caught after an investigation was launched by the North West counter-terrorism unit in January. Today he pleaded guilty to trying to buy the toxin at Manchester Youth Court. He will be sentenced later this month for the offence, which is contrary to the Criminal Attempts Act 1981 and Section 1 of the Biological Weapons...

Can you think of anything more cruel than telling a five-year-old boy who likes Lady Gaga that he might have gender dysphoria? Or telling a nine-year-old tomboy who hates Barbie and loves Beckham that she might really be male – in spirit – and therefore she should think about putting off puberty and possibly transitioning to her ‘correct gender’? Saying such things to kids who are only doing what kids have done for generations – messing about, discovering their identity – turns playfulness into a pathology. It convinces boys who aren’t boyish and girls who aren’t girly that they must...

LONDON, April 7, 2015 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The British government must “make it compulsory that all schools’ sex education policies include a positive portrayal of same-sex relationships," the UK's National Union of Teachers (NUT) decided at its annual conference on Sunday.Christine Blower, General Secretary of the union, said that “NUT is at the forefront in the campaign for equality of opportunity and fair treatment for all students and staff, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation,” and that all political parties contending in the May election should adopt the union's motion."The NUT calls for all parties standing in the 2015 General...

Britain's membership of the European Union hangs on the outcome of a knife-edge election in four weeks' time, but the issue and that of the country's wider global role have been largely absent from a campaign narrowly focused on domestic worries. It's not unusual for British elections to be dominated by schools, hospitals and taxes, but foreign policy debate has rarely been so slight as before the May 7 vote. Many diplomats say this reflects Britain's shuffle from the global stage and a self-inflicted downgrading of its military and diplomatic muscle. "While much of the world seems to be going...

Eight Muslim schools in England have been featured in the top 50 schools of the examination league tables for 2014. The schools that featured in the league table are: Al-Furqan Community College (Birmingham), Al-Burhan Grammar School, (Birmingham), Al-Khair School, (Croydon), Islamia Girls’ High School, (Brent), Tayyibah Girls’ School, (Hackney), Lantern of Knowledge Secondary School, (Waltham Forest), Al-Ashraf Secondary School for Girls, (Gloucestershire) and Jamiatul Ummah School, (Tower Hamlets). Of the 75 schools featured in The Muslim News performance table, 42 managed to achieve a higher pass rate than the national average. That is also two more schools as compared to...

Hundreds of faqirs – Muslim ascetics who have taken vows of poverty and worship – walked to Ajmer Sharif in New Delhi to assist in the annual Urs festival, which commemorates the Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti. One Sufi devotee went to extreme lengths to demonstrate his devotion, sticking a knife behind each eyeball. Worshippers at events such as this are known for performing extreme acts.

Greece has demanded nearly €279bn in reparations from Germany, more than the value of its current bail-out, as the cash-strapped country continues to pursue compensation for crimes carried out by the Third Reich. A parliamentary committee established by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras put an official number on the claim, which includes the cost of a forced Nazi loan made by the Bank of Greece and the return of archaeological treasures. Greece suffered a brutal occupation at the hands of the Third Reich in 1941, with over 40,000 people starving to death in Athens alone. SNIP--- Berlin moved to quickly to...

Teachers are avoiding class discussions on Islamic extremism for fear they may have to report pupils to the police, a teachers' union says. New counter-terror rules aiming to expose radicalisation require schools to report any concerns about pupils. The National Union of Teachers says the rules are too heavy handed and stifle much-needed debate in schools. The Conservatives said the guidance made clear that no teacher should feel unable to talk about sensitive issues. A party spokesman said teaching about "fundamental British values" actively encouraged such discussions. In certain circumstances teachers could also face prosecution if they failed to alert...

Nigel Farage has said his comments about ‘HIV tourists’ are perfectly compatible with a religious outlook, claiming that it is “a sensible Christian thing to look after your family and your own community first”. The UKIP leader spoke out on the topic of Christianity over the Easter weekend, after his criticism of foreign-born HIV patients receiving treatment under the NHS during the party leaders’ election debate was condemned as intolerant, xenophobic and lacking in basic human charity. Mr Farage had claimed that 60 per of the 7,000 HIV annual diagnoses in the UK involved “health tourists” who travel to Britain...

'In 1936 the mortal remains of Ensign Ewart were discovered under a builders’ yard in Salford, it would take another two years for his remains to be reinterred in 1938 on Edinburgh Castle’s Esplanade at a grand ceremony to which the descendants of Ewart’s family were invited along with many other dignitaries and honoured guests. There is a longstanding tradition in my family that my great-great-aunt was invited, as a descendant of Ensign Ewart, to attend the re-internment. Indeed it is no coincidence that the family maintained a tradition of carrying on the name of Ewart, which was exemplified by...

Muslim Group With Links To Extremists Boasts Of Influencing Election A group suspected of being a front for Islamic extremists claims it can control as many as 30 seats in the general election and boasts of acting a "kingmaker" By Andrew Gilligan 04 Apr 2015 A front group for Islamic extremists which wants to let British Muslims fight in Syria has boasted that it is “negotiating with the Tory and Labour leadership” to secure some of its demands. Muslim Engagement and Development (Mend) has built links with both parties – and been chosen as an “official partner” by the Electoral...

What ARE the Russians up to? NATO fears grow over why 'research vessels' sent by Moscow have taken over mothballed secret Arctic base in mountain hideaway Concerns are growing over Russian ships that have docked in a once-secret naval base in the Arctic. Military leaders in Norway are nervous about its powerful neighbour's presence on its 'strategically important' coastline following a spike in tensions between Russia and NATO nations. Some experts have criticised the shutting down of Olavsvern Naval Base - a huge complex buried in mountainous terrain near the town of Tromsoe - which has been closed since 2009....

The way in which we behave this Easter weekend is as good an indicator as any that this Britain is now an all but totally secular society. How many people have you heard describe the past six days as Holy Week — even though that was what everyone, atheist or Christian, used to call it. I can recall in my teens listening to an edition of Radio Four’s Any Questions on Good Friday. On the panel was a bishop, and a novelist and commentator called Marghanita Laski, an intellectual lady who made no secret of her atheist views.

Muslim men and their cultural problem with women: Sajid Javid says that some view females as commodities to be abused Muslim communities in parts of Britain have a 'cultural problem' where they view women as commodities to be abused, according to the Culture Secretary. Sajid Javid declared some values prevalent in certain Asian communities were 'totally unacceptable in British society'. His comments come after inquiries into the sexual abuse of vulnerable girls targeted by Asian men in Rochdale, Rotherham and Oxford found that the authorities had failed to protect them.