Free Republic

Online reference site Wikipedia blames US Congress staff for partisan changes to a number of political biographies. Computers traced to Capitol Hill removed unpalatable facts from articles on senators, while other entries were "vandalised", the site said. An inquiry was launched after staff for Democratic representative Marty Meehan admitted polishing his biography. Wikipedia is produced by readers who add entries and edit any page, and has become a widely-used reference tool. 'Liberal' to 'activist' Using the public history of edits on Wikipedia, researchers collected the internet protocol numbers of computers linked to the US Senate and tracked the changes made...

Two US fighter crews and ground control staff have been criticised in a report after a near-miss with a civilian aircraft over Bedfordshire. The Air Accident Investigation Branch said there was "general confusion" when the F-15E Eagles from RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk passed close to the aircraft. They were at 21,000ft and above the level to which they were cleared to fly on 27 January 2005. There were 35 passengers on board the British Airways regional flight. The captain of BA CitiExpress (now BA Connect) aircraft told air traffic control he had just seen an F15 pass about 100ft below...

UK troops rushed to Afghan riot Protesters tried to break into the US embassy in Kabul Nato is sending British reinforcements to a riot-hit Afghan town after crowds protesting at cartoons satirising the Prophet Muhammad attacked peacekeepers. The UK troops are being sent to secure the airfield at Meymaneh. The UN is withdrawing some staff from the town. Two demonstrators are reported to have died after crowds tried to storm the town's Norwegian-led peacekeeping base. On Monday five people died as protests over the cartoons, first published in Denmark, swept across Afghanistan. Isaf is operating under difficult circumstances and is...

Man apologises for bomber protest Omar Khayam dressed as a suicide bomber in London Watch the apology A man who dressed as a suicide bomber during a protest about cartoons satirising the Prophet Muhammad has apologised for his behaviour. Omar Khayam, 22, from Bedford, "wholeheartedly" apologised to the families of the 7 July bombings. He likened his own "insensitive" behaviour to the "provocative and controversial" cartoon publication. Downing Street has said the behaviour of some Muslim protesters in London was "completely unacceptable". No protesters at the demonstration on Friday and Saturday outside the Danish embassy - over cartoons first printed...

The number of UK troops in Afghanistan will increase by nearly 5,000, the Defence Secretary John Reid has said. The £1 billion deployment will push the total number of troops there by July to a peak of 5,700, he told the Commons. Mr Reid said the "potent force", which will include attack helicopters, would be there to "protect and deter". The majority will be sent to the south, to the volatile Helmand area, which Mr Reid acknowledged was a "more demanding area" than others in Afghanistan. Heroin The deployment will take place over three years, with the total number of...