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Showing posts with label Britain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Britain. Show all posts

FACTBOX - Prince Philip in hospital

Queen Elizabeth's 86-year-old husband Prince Philip has been taken to hospital with a chest infection, Buckingham Palace said on Friday.

Here are some key facts about him:

* Philippos Schleswig-Holstein Soenderburg-Glucksburg was born on a dining room table on the Greek island of Corfu on June 10, 1921, the fifth child and only son of Prince Andrew of Greece.

* Philip's parents went into exile when he was 18 months old. They sailed from Corfu with him sleeping in a cot made hurriedly from orange boxes.

* He was educated at Gordonstoun, a tough school in Scotland, where his son, Prince Charles was later an unwilling pupil, and became a naturalised British citizen, looking and sounding every bit the English gentleman.

* Philip joined Britain's Royal Naval College at Dartmouth, southern England, as a cadet, in 1939. He graduated top of his class and served on battleships, cruisers and destroyers during World War Two. He was mentioned in dispatches, took part in the Allied landings in Sicily and was in Tokyo Bay when the Japanese surrendered in 1945.

* Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip first met when at the wedding of Prince Philip's cousin, Princess Marina of Greece, to The Duke of Kent, who was an uncle of Princess Elizabeth, in 1934.

* They were married at Westminster Abbey on November 20, 1947 in a spectacular ceremony attended by statesmen and royalty from around the world.

* He continued his naval career until 1951, then took indefinite leave and devoted himself fulltime to public duties when Elizabeth became queen a year later.

* Philip's reputation, and that of the queen, has suffered as the marital problems of their children have mounted.

* He is known for his acerbic wit but has also caused offence with off-the-cuff remarks: He once told British students in China: "If you stay here much longer, you'll be slitty-eyed

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Snacking Mugabe, flying penguins greet April Fools

Flying penguins, lampooned heads of state, foul-mouthed chefs gone polite and a car that repels full-bladdered dogs topped the list of April Fool pranks around the world on Tuesday.

A girl watches a parade during a traditional celebration of April Fool's Day in Skopje April 1, 2008. Children in Skopje parade in costumes every year on April Fool's Day. (REUTERS/Ognen Teofilovski)

An elaborate BBC video of flying penguins topped a rich offering of spoofs in Britain that included Gordon Ramsay, Alistair Darling and a full-page advert from BMW.

The Independent newspaper reported that foul-mouthed TV chef Ramsay was banning swearing in all his restaurants after Australian authorities refused an application for him to set up an eatery on the grounds of "decency".

The BMW advert, carried in several newspapers, purported to introduce Canine Repellent Alloy Protection, an ingenious system of delivering an electric shock to any dog thinking of relieving itself against a BMW wheel.

The Daily Telegraph featured a story based on BBC footage of a colony of penguins that flies thousands of miles to the rainforests of South America to sunbathe (http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/page/item/epeng001.shtml?src=ip_potpw).

With an eye to last week's French state visit, the Sun said diminutive President Nicolas Sarkozy will be stretched five inches to help him see eye to eye with supermodel wife Carla Bruni.

MUGABE'S LATE NIGHT SNACK

In southern Africa, Zimbabwe's election provided rich material for the newspapers, with front page stories mocking President Robert Mugabe.

Johannesburg paper the Times said Mugabe had been seen around the grounds of the official residence of South African President Thabo Mbeki, who has faced criticism over his "quiet diplomacy" that has failed to end Zimbabwe's crisis.

"I saw a Mugabe looking in the fridge last night. Mbeki is clearly too embarrassed to entertain Mugabe at meal-time," the paper quoted a witness as saying.

It quoted a Mugabe spokesman named as "Roli Flapo" as saying it was "no business of the Western, imperialist, reactionary media whether or not a comrade visits a fridge at any time of day or night."

In Australia, various companies and media organisations got into the swing of April 1 when pranks are allowed until noon with a range of hoaxes designed more to amuse than trick people.

Google Australia announced that it was to launch a new feature "enabling you to search for content on the Internet before it is created" so you could get tomorrow's news today including share prices and sports results. (http://www.google.com.au/intl/en/gday/index.html).

NOT ALL PRANKS WORK OUT

Virgin Blue, Australia's second-largest airline, put an advert in newspapers across Australia that read: "Stand Up and Be Discounted," offering half price fares if passengers would stand for a flight with a complimentary calf massage for flights of over two hours.

"We've had over 1,000 click-throughs onto the Web site we set up (http://www.virginblue.com.au/nochairfare) and people had a very good humor about it. We like to have a bit of fun," said Virgin Blue spokeswoman Leonie Vandeven.

April Fools' Day dates back centuries but its origins remain unclear.

The Museum of Hoaxes, a Web site set up by self-described "hoaxpert" Alex Boese in 1997, said references began to appear in the late Middle Ages.

But Boese said the most widespread theory about its origin dates back to late 16th century, when France switched from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar meaning the start of the year moved from late March to January 1.

Those who continued to celebrate the New Year during the week that fell between March 25 and April 1 had various jokes played on them. Boese said there was no evidence to back this.

But not all April Fools hoaxes work out.

The worst hoax, according to Boese, was in 1998 when a newspaper owned by Saddam Hussein's son Uday informed readers that U.S. President Bill Clinton had decided to lift sanctions against Iraq. It admitted later that it was just joking.

He does, however, list the top 100 April Fools' Day hoaxes, which is headed by the Swiss Spaghetti Harvest. This dates back to 1957 when the BBC news show Panorama announced Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop due to a mild winter with footage of Swiss peasants pulling spaghetti strands from trees.

Boese said April Fools' Day has never been a widely celebrated tradition but he believed pranks are becoming more common with the Internet offering fertile ground.

"Also advertisers have come to realize that a funny prank can generate lots of good publicity," he said in an e-mail.

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Judge wraps up Diana inquest after 250 witnesses

After almost six months and more than 250 witnesses, the judge presiding over the inquest into Princess Diana's death wraps up the case on Monday with his summary to the jury.

Pictures of Dodi Al Fayed and Princess Diana are displayed in the window of Harrods in London, August 31, 2007. (REUTERS/Chris Radburn/Pool)

Few areas of the private life of the "People's Princess" were spared before Lord Justice Scott Baker and a string of sensational allegations were explored in court.

Did security services kill Diana on the orders of Britain's Royal Family? Was she pregnant? Did the 36-year-old plan to get engaged? Was her phone bugged?

To some the inquest was an unnecessary 10 million-pound ($20 million) soap opera. To others it was a chance to bring closure in a tragedy of lives unfulfilled.

Friends, family, faith healers, spies, bodyguards, police chiefs and butlers -- everyone had an opinion on Diana.

The jury was flown to Paris to see the crash scene in a road tunnel and the hospital where she died in August 1997.

Mohamed al-Fayed, whose son Dodi died alongside Diana in a high-speed car crash after a brief summer romance, pointed the finger of blame at the royals.

On a day of high drama in London's High Court, the owner of the luxury London store Harrods accused Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth's husband and Diana's former father-in-law, of being a "Nazi" and a "racist".

His voice cracking with emotion, he said Diana, divorced from heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles, had "suffered for 20 years from this Dracula family".

"It was slaughter, not murder," said al-Fayed who believed Diana and Dodi had been planning to announce their engagement.

Diana's confidante Annabel Goldsmith was convinced the affair was a summer fling. Just days before she died, Diana told Goldsmith she needed marriage "like a rash on the face".

"Affairs of the heart are impossible to fathom," said Diana's stepmother Raine Spencer, resplendent in black hat and veil, talking like a character from the pages of a romantic novel by her own mother, author Barbara Cartland.

Paul Burrell, Diana's former butler, told the inquest her mother had called her a whore for dating Muslim men.

Al-Fayed fought a long legal battle to have the inquest heard by a judge and jury. Under British law, an inquest is needed to determine the cause of death when someone dies unnaturally.

It was delayed for a decade because Britain had to wait for the French legal process and then a British police investigation to run their course before the inquest could begin.

Both police probes concluded it was a tragic accident because chauffeur Henri Paul was drunk and driving too fast.

The jury, expected to retire on Wednesday to consider their verdict, will have to decide if it was an accident or if there is any evidence of a plot.

The judge will at first be seeking a unanimous decision and, failing that, will settle for a majority verdict, court officials said.

For full coverage of the inquest visit

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Inquest jury near deliberations on death of Princess Diana and her lover

Flashing lights, swarming paparazzi, a mysterious Fiat Uno, a swiftly aborted proposal to assassinate a Balkan leader - what will jurors make of it all in reaching a judgment on the deaths of Princess Diana and her lover Dodi Fayed?

Testimony has ranged far and wide in an extraordinary coroner's inquest, without shedding much light on claims that they were victims of a plot directed by Prince Philip. The coroner, Lord Justice Scott Baker, is expected to begin his summation Monday, which may take several days before it goes to the jury.

The key question for the jurors is whether the car crash in a Paris road tunnel on Aug. 31, 1997, was an accident or something more sinister.

Mohamed Al Fayed has not budged from his belief that his son and the princess died at the hands of British security agents, acting at the prince's behest.

French police concluded that the couple died in an accident, caused in part by excessive speed and by the high blood-alcohol level of the driver, Henri Paul. A British police investigation reached the same conclusion.

More than 240 witnesses have given evidence since the inquest began on Oct. 2. Al Fayed's late bid to force the coroner to summon Prince Philip to testify, and for written questions to be put to Queen Elizabeth II, was summarily rejected by a higher court.

The inquest was in part an exploration of how the couple's speeding Mercedes came to slam into a concrete pillar, after apparently having a glancing collision with a white Fiat Uno; and in part an examination of Al Fayed's belief that he knew who drove the Uno, who employed him and why.

Diana's close friends, Prince Philip's private secretary, a former head of the Secret Intelligence Service and Diana's former butler, Paul Burrell, are among those who have been in the witness box.

There has been evidence that Diana feared dying in a car crash, but also had speculated about death in a helicopter or airplane crash; there was testimony that she feared Prince Philip, her former father-in-law.

The basic scene is familiar: the couple's car crashed as they were pursued from the Ritz Hotel by a pack of paparazzi photographers.

Some witnesses near the Alma tunnel said they saw flashes of light in the instant before the crash, other witnesses didn't notice any. Al Fayed's claim is that flashing lights disoriented the driver and sent the couple's car skidding into a crash.

But there was precious little evidence to back up Al Fayed's claims that his son and Diana were engaged, that she was pregnant and that Philip was at the head of a murder plot.

As the inquest progressed, some distance opened between Fayed and the lawyers working for him.

Michael Mansfield, Al Fayed's main advocate, steered away from accusing Philip or of claiming that MI6 assassinated the couple. He did suggest that rogue agents might have been involved.

"Mr. Al Fayed ... has certain beliefs which he has made clear. He is plainly not a member of MI6 or, certainly, the establishment either,'' Mansfield told the coroner on Feb. 20.

"He has certain beliefs and I have never at any stage withdrawn any of his beliefs but you will see I have focused very carefully on elements of what he is suggesting that may be true; in other words, for which there is, forensically, evidence to support his beliefs.''

Mansfield has suggested that Diana's campaign against land mines was the motive for the conspiracy, and that elements of the government and the arms industry were frightened that Diana was assembling a dossier about land mines; a dossier, he said, that was "capable of exposing historically British involvement in Angola because of who manufactured the weaponry, how it was got in there.''

Al Fayed believes the "establishment'' simply didn't want Diana to marry his son. When he testified on Feb. 18, Al Fayed affirmed his belief that the conspirators included Prince Philip; Prince Charles; former Prime Minister Tony Blair; Diana's sister, Sarah McCorquodale; her brother-in-law Robert Fellowes; two former chiefs of London police; driver Henri Paul; the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency; Diana's attorney, the late Lord Mishcon; two French toxicologists; Britain's ambassador to France; members of the French medical service; and three bodyguards he once employed.

Al Fayed has claimed that Diana's brother-in-law, Fellowes, was in Paris on the night of the crash sending messages to agents back in Britain. But none of Al Fayed's lawyers put that allegation to Fellowes when he testified.

Al Fayed was the only witness to claim that he knew that Diana was engaged to marry Dodi Fayed. He was told of the engagement, Al Fayed said, in a telephone call hours before the crash.

Likewise, Al Fayed was the only witness to definitely assert that Diana was pregnant.

The pathologist who examined her body said he saw no evidence, her former lover Hasnat Khan said Diana was conscientious about taking her birth control pills, and staff aboard Al Fayed's yacht, Jonikal, said they found opened contraceptive packages in her cabin.

Former MI6 agent Richard Tomlinson, who disclosed that a colleague had once proposed assassinating a Serb leader, has also claimed that flashing lights were part of the plan. When he testified, however, Tomlinson acknowledged that he was wrong in claiming the proposal was aimed at former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, and probably wrong about the lights too.

Richard Dearlove, a former head of MI6, testified that the assassination proposal was swiftly dismissed.

Al Fayed said he had been thwarted in attempts to prove his theory. "How can you want me to get the proof?'' Al Fayed said. "I am facing a steel wall of the security service, Official Secrets Act.''

The coroner asked Al Fayed if he could possibly be wrong.

"No way, 100 percent,'' Al Fayed said. "I am certain. I am the father who lost his son. And I know exactly the situations. I know exactly the facts.''

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BA cancels flights in continuing Heathrow T5 chaos

British Airways Plc cancelled a fifth of flights from its new $8.6 billion terminal at London's Heathrow airport on Friday as chaos from its shambolic opening spilled into a second day.

Baggage remains at a closed check-in desk at the new Terminal 5 building at Heathrow Airport in London March 27, 2008. British Airways Plc cancelled a fifth of flights from its new $8.6 billion terminal at Heathrow airport on Friday as chaos from its shambolic opening spilled into a second day. (REUTERS/Luke MacGregor)

BA said it dropped the short-haul flights to "create more capacity" as it attempted to recover from the mess left by Thursday's opening when nearly 70 flights were cancelled, leaving passengers distraught.

Chief Executive Willie Walsh warned travellers that problems could persist into the weekend.

"I would expect some disruption tomorrow (Saturday), but I think it will get better every day as we become accustomed to the building and the quirks of the systems," he said.

"Yesterday was definitely not British Airways' finest hour," he said. "There were problems in the car parks, airport areas, computer glitches and the baggage system."

Baggage-handling and check-in problems at Heathrow's much-vaunted fifth terminal (T5) provoked a public relations disaster for the carrier that once styled itself the "world's favourite airline" -- and weighed on its shares.

BA fell more than 3 percent on Friday, hit by the T5 chaos and jitters ahead of Sunday's start of the "open skies" deal to create greater competition on trans-Atlantic routes.

"I don't think it will be material, but it's certainly bad for sentiment and not good for the BA brand," BlueOar Securities analyst Douglas McNeill said. "You'd need several days of severe disruption to really impinge on BA's financial performance."

"AMAZING NEW BUILDING"

BA's rivals, which resent Spanish-owned airport operator BAA gifting BA its own dedicated terminal, were quick to capitalise.

"Terminal 1, which now has 40 percent less passengers to accommodate following BA's move to Terminal 5, is running like clockwork," said bmi, BA's main competitor at Heathrow.

Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic said 200 BA passengers had already switched across to longhaul Virgin flights because of the problems.

"Our daily Dubai and Hong Kong services have seen the largest switch, with many more BA passengers expected to move across in the next few days," said spokesman Paul Charles.

The open-plan T5 is Britain's largest enclosed space, equivalent to the size of about 50 soccer pitches. It was touted as the answer to the delays passengers can face at the other four terminals at the world's third-busiest airport.

As opposed to Thursday, when some passengers were told they could only check in hand luggage and some flights left with no luggage in the hold at all, British Airways said customers could now check in both hand and hold luggage.

Some stranded passengers -- many of whom publicly denounced the airline -- spent the night in the gleaming terminal, reluctant to pay for nearby hotels even though BA, which is using T5 exclusively, had promised to reimburse them.

"I am very sorry that the problems have meant that some of our customers did not experience the true potential of this amazing new building," Walsh said.

British Airways spent months promoting the gleaming Richard Rogers-designed terminal, packed with high-end shops and restaurants, bringing photographers and journalists from all over the world to London to show off the complex.

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BA cancels flights in continuing Heathrow T5 chaos

British Airways Plc cancelled a fifth of flights from its new $8.6 billion terminal at London's Heathrow airport on Friday as chaos from its shambolic opening spilled into a second day.

Baggage remains at a closed check-in desk at the new Terminal 5 building at Heathrow Airport in London March 27, 2008. British Airways Plc cancelled a fifth of flights from its new $8.6 billion terminal at Heathrow airport on Friday as chaos from its shambolic opening spilled into a second day. (REUTERS/Luke MacGregor)

BA said it dropped the short-haul flights to "create more capacity" as it attempted to recover from the mess left by Thursday's opening when nearly 70 flights were cancelled, leaving passengers distraught.

Chief Executive Willie Walsh warned travellers that problems could persist into the weekend.

"I would expect some disruption tomorrow (Saturday), but I think it will get better every day as we become accustomed to the building and the quirks of the systems," he said.

"Yesterday was definitely not British Airways' finest hour," he said. "There were problems in the car parks, airport areas, computer glitches and the baggage system."

Baggage-handling and check-in problems at Heathrow's much-vaunted fifth terminal (T5) provoked a public relations disaster for the carrier that once styled itself the "world's favourite airline" -- and weighed on its shares.

BA fell more than 3 percent on Friday, hit by the T5 chaos and jitters ahead of Sunday's start of the "open skies" deal to create greater competition on trans-Atlantic routes.

"I don't think it will be material, but it's certainly bad for sentiment and not good for the BA brand," BlueOar Securities analyst Douglas McNeill said. "You'd need several days of severe disruption to really impinge on BA's financial performance."

"AMAZING NEW BUILDING"

BA's rivals, which resent Spanish-owned airport operator BAA gifting BA its own dedicated terminal, were quick to capitalise.

"Terminal 1, which now has 40 percent less passengers to accommodate following BA's move to Terminal 5, is running like clockwork," said bmi, BA's main competitor at Heathrow.

Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic said 200 BA passengers had already switched across to longhaul Virgin flights because of the problems.

"Our daily Dubai and Hong Kong services have seen the largest switch, with many more BA passengers expected to move across in the next few days," said spokesman Paul Charles.

The open-plan T5 is Britain's largest enclosed space, equivalent to the size of about 50 soccer pitches. It was touted as the answer to the delays passengers can face at the other four terminals at the world's third-busiest airport.

As opposed to Thursday, when some passengers were told they could only check in hand luggage and some flights left with no luggage in the hold at all, British Airways said customers could now check in both hand and hold luggage.

Some stranded passengers -- many of whom publicly denounced the airline -- spent the night in the gleaming terminal, reluctant to pay for nearby hotels even though BA, which is using T5 exclusively, had promised to reimburse them.

"I am very sorry that the problems have meant that some of our customers did not experience the true potential of this amazing new building," Walsh said.

British Airways spent months promoting the gleaming Richard Rogers-designed terminal, packed with high-end shops and restaurants, bringing photographers and journalists from all over the world to London to show off the complex.

Read More News Dedicated...

Man sprints onto Heathrow runway in security breach

A man sprinted onto a runway at London's Heathrow airport on Thursday, the day before Queen Elizabeth was due to open its giant new Terminal Five, in the second major security breach in less than a month.

An aircraft prepares to land at Heathrow airport in London March 11, 2008. A man was arrested on Thursday after running onto a runway at London's Heathrow airport carrying a bag, police said. (REUTERS/Alessia Pierdomenico)

Police arrested the man and blew up his bag in a controlled detonation but found no bomb, a spokeswoman said.

The world's busiest international airport has been the target of protests from environmentalists angered at the opening of the new terminal and plans to boost traffic with the addition of a third runway and a sixth terminal.

"I can confirm that at approximately 2:05 p.m. (1405 GMT) a man was seen airside at Heathrow airport on the northern runway. He's been arrested by police and he's currently in custody," a police spokesman said.

Last month protesters opposing the expansion plans breached the airport's security to unveil a banner on top of a parked passenger jet. Others chained themselves to the roof of parliament. Organisers have threatened more action.

Police declined to speculate on the arrested man's motives.

Television pictures showed several emergency cars with flashing lights parked on the airport runway.

About two hours after the incident airport operator BAA said both runways had reopened.

"Some short delays have occurred but we are expecting to return to normal later this afternoon," said a spokeswoman for BAA, owned by Spanish firm Ferrovial.

A spokesman for Queen Elizabeth said there were no plans to cancel her appearance at Friday's opening ceremony for the new Terminal Five.

"At this stage there's no reason to expect that it will not go ahead as planned," a spokesman for the Queen said.

Security at the airport has also been a high-profile issue since 2006 when British authorities said they had thwarted a plot to smuggle explosives onto trans-Atlantic flights.

"The important thing about the Heathrow incident is that the person was detained, that all the security precautions went quickly into action, that he's now being interviewed and that all possible steps were taken," Prime Minister Gordon Brown told reporters at a European summit in Brussels.

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Britain's Queen Elizabeth shown as 21st century icon

Chris Levine, the artist who in 2004 created an acclaimed holographic portrait of Britain's Queen Elizabeth, is back with a set of pictures selected from among the 8,000 or so he took at the original sittings.

Artist Chris Levine talks about his exhibition of images of Britain's Queen Elizabeth at the StolenSpace Gallery in London March 11, 2008. (REUTERS/Stephen Hird)

But this time Levine, who describes himself as a light artist, has manipulated the pictures in a bid to do for the British monarch what Andy Warhol did for Marilyn Monroe.

"The emphasis is modernity. I am putting the Queen into the pop culture," Levine told Reuters as he set about mounting the pictures and accompanying laser light show on Tuesday.

Among the images that go on show to the public on Friday are one with the Queen's face erased, one showing just the back of her head and another with her eyes closed.

Levine said he was inspired by his muse Warhol, whose portraits of Monroe helped make her a 20th century icon.

"I want to do the same for the Queen in the 21st century," he said. "These images are done with real affection. There is no disrespect intended here.

"Showing the back of her head simply means she is in front, leading us," he added. "She has seen some of the images and was enthusiastic. I intend to send her a boxed set."

Buckingham Palace said the Queen was aware of the exhibition, but would not be commenting on it.

"We do not offer any comment on the art itself. We leave it for members of the public, and others, to offer their views," a spokesman said.

Levine had two sittings and two private meetings with the Queen while working on the 2004 hologram, which was commissioned by the island of Jersey to commemorate 800 years of allegiance to the crown.

The title "Equanimity" was his original working title which was supposed to reflect the inner peace he hoped to capture in his depiction of the monarch -- a goal that critics generally accepted he achieved.

Star portrait photographer Mario Testino, a friend of Levine, described the hologram as the best portrait of the Queen he had ever seen, adding that this was because he had never photographed her himself.

Levine said that during his meetings with the Queen she expressed interest in his habit of meditating for two hours a day, adding that he was sure she too found space in her daily life to find inner calm.

"I am sure she meditates in her own way. She is so strong and has been through so much," Levine said. "You can relate to her like your own granny."

The show "Lightness of Being" is at the StolenSpace art gallery in London's Brick Lane until March 23.

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Prince Harry deployed in Afghanistan

Prince Harry, third in line to the British throne, has been secretly serving as a combat soldier on the front lines in Afghanistan for 2-1/2 months, the Ministry of Defence said on Thursday.

Prince Harry prepares to greet guests as they arrive for the Service of Thanksgiving for the Life of Diana at the Guards' Chapel at Wellington Barracks in London, August 31, 2007. Harry has been serving with the British army in Afghanistan for 2-1/2 months, the Defence Ministry said on Thursday. (REUTERS/Pool/Lewis Whyld/WPA/PA Wire/Files)

Following leaks in the international media about his deployment, officials said they were reviewing whether he should remain there, fearing that he could become a target for Taliban militants or other fighters.

Harry, 23, was deployed to Helmand, a dangerous region of southern Afghanistan, in December, seven months after plans to send him to Iraq were scrapped following threats from Iraqi militants to kidnap or kill him.

The army posted him to Afghanistan only after the British and selected members of the international media agreed not to report his presence until he had returned from a scheduled 4-6 month deployment.

That embargo was broken on Thursday after German, Australian and U.S. Web sites reported that he was there.

Harry has been responsible for calling in air strikes against Taliban positions, has conducted foot patrols through villages and has fired on suspected enemy combatants, pool photographs and footage have shown.

Before he was deployed, Harry, the son of Prince Charles and deceased Princess Diana, told reporters that he sometimes wished he was not a royal as it made it difficult to do things that he enjoyed, including fighting in the army.

"I wish that quite a lot actually," he said, adding of himself and his brother, William:

"William and I have said numerous times that there's a lot of opportunities that we miss out on -- as well as we also got a lot of chances -- for who we are.

"At the beginning of this year (2007), it was very hard and I did think, `well, clearly one of the main reasons that I'm not likely to be going (to war) was the fact of who I am'."

It was Harry's grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, who told him that he was to be sent to Afghanistan.

AL QAEDA TARGET?

In recent days, the prince has given interviews to reporters sent out to cover his deployment as part of a "pool" arrangement. He said he was aware that if his presence there was reported it could make him a target for al Qaeda or others.

"Once this film comes out there'll probably be every single person, every single person that supports them will be trying to slot me," he said.

"Now that you come to think about it it's quite worrying.

"I think there's a lot of guys here who hopefully won't be targeted, but as I say, now that this film has been made and now ... people will know I'm out here, no doubt I'll be a top target."

The head of the army, General Richard Dannatt, issued a statement expressing his disappointment that the press embargo -- a rare agreement in Britain's usually free-for-all media environment -- had been broken by foreign media Web sites.

"In deciding to deploy him to Afghanistan, it was my judgment that with an understanding with the media not to broadcast his whereabouts, the risk in doing (so) was manageable," Dannatt said.

"Now that the story is in the public domain, the chief of staff and I will take advice from the operational commanders about whether his deployment can continue.

"I now appeal to the media to restrain from attempting to report Prince Harry's every move and return to our understanding."

Dannatt, whose decision it was to cancel Harry's deployment to Iraq, said he had been a model soldier.

"His conduct on operations in Afghanistan has been exemplary," he said. "He has been fully involved in operations and has run the same risks as everyone else."

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Britain joins U.S.-led nuclear power club

Britain has signed up to a U.S.-sponsored club of countries that want to see more nuclear power plants built globally while keeping atomic weapons in the hands of a few.

Britain became the 21st member of the Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP), which aims to keep a firm grip on technologies that can be used to make nuclear weapons, when UK industry minister John Hutton signed up on Tuesday.

"The UK shares in the vision of improved non-proliferation and nuclear waste management and recognises the real benefits of initiatives such as GNEP," Hutton said in a statement issued before the signing in Washington.

"With a new generation of nuclear energy now set to be part of the UK's future energy mix, the UK is in position to play a role in this global initiative."

The British government is in talks with some of Europe's largest utilities about building a new generation of atomic power plants in the country and Hutton is expected to meet U.S.-based companies interested in taking part during his visit.

The U.S. sees the GNEP, which was initiated by President George W. Bush in 2006, as way to share expertise in waste management to countries hoping to build their first reactors, while keeping a grip on the technologies and knowledge that could be used to develop atomic weapons.

"This important addition provides great momentum for GNEP and will help advance its important goals of expanding clean, safe nuclear power development while reducing the risk of nuclear proliferation," U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said in a statement.

All but one of GNEP's original members -- China, France, Russia and the United States -- have nuclear weapons, with only Japan limiting its nuclear activity to energy. Britain also has nuclear weapons.

The U.S. suspects Iran's nuclear programme is aimed at making nuclear weapons. Tehran says it only wants nuclear power is not on the waiting list to join GNEP.

Algeria and Saudi Arabia, which have also shown an interest in nuclear power as a way of boosting oil exports, are not lining up to join the group. Italy, where nuclear power has been outlawed since the late 1980s, joined last November.

Senegal in west Africa became the 20th member of the group at the start of February, while Canada, the Republic of Korea, Australia, Bulgaria, Ghana, Hungary, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, and Ukraine joined last year.

Other candidate or observer countries include Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, Mexico, Morocco and Turkey.

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Diana inquest probes murky world of espionage

British intelligence officers are facing unprecedented public scrutiny as they take the stand at the inquest into Princess Diana's death to deny claims that the security services killed her on the royal family's orders.

A woman looks at images of the late Diana Princess of Wales by photographer Mario Testino, on exhibition at Kensington Palace, London, November 22, 2005. (REUTERS/STRINGER)

Their former boss has already given a fascinating glimpse into the murky world of espionage -- but this is not all about glamorous 007 figures. Theirs is a more mundane world of bureaucratic checks and balances.

With his deadly array of guns and gadgets, James Bond has a Licence to Kill in his constant battle to thwart villains plotting world domination.

In reality, the world's most famous spy would need a Class Seven authorisation agreed by his line managers and personally signed by the Foreign Secretary.

Britain's former spy chief Richard Dearlove gingerly lifted the lid on this secret world when giving evidence to the inquest into the 1997 deaths of Diana and her lover Dodi al-Fayed in a Paris car crash.

"His testimony made the security services sound more like a firm of accountants than a bunch of 007s," The Daily Telegraph concluded.

Now it is the turn of 10 serving and former intelligence officers to appear in court -- but their identities will be protected and they will be just referred to as numbers or letters.

The court will be cleared of the media and public on Tuesday when they start to give evidence, which will be piped by audio link to an annex.

In an unprecedented move by the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) they are going public to deny allegations from Dodi's father, luxury storeowner Mohamed al-Fayed, that the security services killed the couple on orders from Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth's husband and Diana's former father-in-law.

Dearlove dismissed al-Fayed's allegations as "utterly ridiculous" and went into a detailed description of the bureaucratic hoops a real-life James Bond would face.

"When the paperwork was completed -- and this would apply to an initiative overseas as much as to one developed within head office --it would be signed off by, let's say, the senior regional official," he said.

But the checks do not stop there.

"It would come to me for further signature and then it would go down restricted channels to the Foreign Secretary," Dearlove told the court.

Renegade British spies have in the past accused British intelligence of hatching plots to assassinate Serbia's President Slobodan Milosevic and Libya's Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

But both these allegations have been officially denied and Dearlove was adamant when asked in court if he was ever aware of the Secret Intelligence Service ever assassinating anyone during his 38 years with the organisation.

"No I was not," he told the jury which now faces a week listening to the evidence of 10 intelligence officers who could offer further intriguing insights into just how spies operate.

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Diana's butler asked to return to inquest

The judge at the inquest into Princess Diana's death on Friday asked her former butler to return to court to explain discrepancies between his testimony and comments attributed to him in a tabloid newspaper.

Princess Diana's former butler Paul Burrell poses for photographers at the High Court in London January 14, 2008. The judge at the inquest into Princess Diana's death on Friday asked Burrell to return to court to explain discrepancies between his testimony and comments attributed to him in a tabloid newspaper. (REUTERS/Kieran Doherty/Files)

Paul Burrell faced a three-day grilling from lawyers last month when he flew in from Los Angeles to give evidence at the inquest into the deaths of Diana and her lover Dodi al-Fayed in a 1997 Paris car crash.

Dodi's father,luxury department store Harrods owner Mohamed al-Fayed, alleges the couple were killed by British security forces on the orders of Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth's husband and Diana's former father-in-law.

On the day that al-Fayed peppered his testimony to the inquest with a string of allegations covering a whole host of British establishment figures, The Sun published details of an interview with Burrell.

In a video recording obtained by the tabloid, he appeared to say he had held back certain facts and introduced "red herrings" during his evidence to the inquest.

An inquest spokesman said: "The Coroner has asked Mr Burrell to return to court to explain discrepancies between the evidence he gave to the inquest and the material which is contained in the transcripts of the recording taken by The Sun Newspaper."

At an emotionally charged appearance at the inquest, Burrell was repeatedly asked by lawyer Michael Mansfield, representing Dodi's father, exactly how much he knew about the secrets he was supposed to have held for Diana.

"If I put it politely, you are all over the place," Mansfield told the butler known as "Diana's Rock" after running through conflicting evidence he gave to the court.

Burrell, confessing to confusion as he tried to recall a lifetime of memories, said of his legal grilling: "Quite frankly, it's been horrid. It's been quite disgraceful actually. ... I didn't expect it to go to such depths."

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UK says U.S. rendition flights used its territory

Britain said for the first time on Thursday the United States had used British territory to transfer terrorism suspects, in an embarrassing apology that corrected previous denials.

Britain, after maintaining for years it was unaware of a British link to such "rendition" flights, said Washington had now told it two planes with detainees refuelled at a U.S. base on the British Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia in 2002.

Allegations of covert U.S. activities as part of the "war on terror" have circulated for years. A European investigator said last year he had proof Poland and Romania hosted secret prisons for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.

"Contrary to earlier explicit assurances that Diego Garcia had not been used for rendition flights, recent U.S. investigations have now revealed two occasions, both in 2002, when this had in fact occurred," British Foreign Secretary David Miliband told parliament.

"In both cases a U.S. plane with a single detainee on board refuelled at the U.S. facility in Diego Garcia," he said.

It is embarrassing for the government, already sensitive to criticism that it is too ready to follow Washington's line, with Tony Blair, who was prime minister at the time, dubbed in the press as President George W. Bush's "poodle".

"It's unfortunate mistakes were made in the reporting of the information, but we will continue to have good counter-terrorism cooperation between the United States and the United Kingdom," Gordon Johndroe, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, told reporters travelling with Bush in Liberia.

STAUNCH ALLY

Britain, Washington's leading ally in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, has previously said it was not aware of its territory being used to transfer terrorism suspects outside normal extradition procedures since Bush took office in 2001. Washington has admitted to the practice, known as "rendition".

Miliband said he was "very sorry indeed" to have to correct earlier government denials, based on new information from the U.S. government.

Washington had told Britain that neither of the detainees was British, Miliband said, without revealing their identity. One was being held at the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the other had been released.

He said the two detainees had not been taken to a secret detention facility and had not undergone water boarding or other similar forms of interrogation.

The U.S. Congress last week voted to ban the CIA from using water boarding, a simulated drowning technique widely condemned by human rights groups as a form of torture.

Miliband said he had discussed the issue on Wednesday with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who had pledged there would be no renditions through Britain, its air space or territories without express British permission.

Britain would draw up a list of all suspicious flights through Britain or its overseas territories and ask for U.S. assurance that they were not used for rendition, he said.

Miliband agreed the matter was serious but said Britain would continue to have "the strongest possible intelligence and counter-terrorism relationship with the U.S."

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Britain's ex-spy boss says: We did not kill Diana

Britain's former spy chief on Wednesday took the rare step of going public to deny that the security services murdered Princess Diana.

Princess Diana reacts after being kissed by Louisa Griffiths (R), a patient at the Hospital of St. John and St. Elizabeth for the terminally ill, during her visit on October 9, 1986. (REUTERS/Peter Skingley)

The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) normally neither confirms nor denies stories about its operations in the shadowy world of espionage glamourised in the James Bond movies.

But former MI6 boss Richard Dearlove decided to speak out over the deaths of Diana and her lover Dodi al-Fayed in a high-speed Paris car crash in 1997.

Dodi's father, luxury storeowner Mohamed al-Fayed, says that his son and Diana were killed by British security services on the orders of Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth's husband and Diana's former father-in-law.

Fayed has said her killing was ordered because the royal family did not want the mother of the future king having a child with his son, and that Diana's body was embalmed to cover up evidence she was expecting a baby.

That produced a forceful denial from Dearlove at the inquest into the deaths of Diana and Dodi, where al-Fayed has made a string of allegations against British Establishment figures.

Lawyer Ian Burnett asked Dearlove: "During the whole of your time in SIS, from 1966 to 2004, were you ever aware of the service assassinating anyone?"

"No, I was not," he told the court, rebutting what he called a "very personal allegation" over Diana's death.

Burnett, putting a string of al-Fayed's allegations to Dearlove, said: "It is suggested that Prince Philip and the intelligence agencies really run this country and that we are not a parliamentary democracy."

"I do not want to be flippant," Dearlove said. "I'm tempted to say I'm flattered, but this is such an absurd allegation that it is difficult to deal with ... It's completely off the map."

Dearlove dismissed as "utterly ridiculous" claims that Philip and his son Prince Charles, Diana's former husband and heir to the throne, were members of MI6, Britain's overseas spy agency.

He said MI6 needed the authorisation from Britain's Foreign Minister to carry out any operation which broke the law.

Asked to confirm that no authorisation was sought over Princess Diana, he said: "I can absolutely confirm that."

Next week three secret service officers are scheduled to appear at the inquest but their identities will not be revealed.

The court will be cleared of the media and public when they give evidence, which will be piped by audio link to an annex.

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Prince of Wales charters luxury yacht to cut costs

LONDON - Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall are to tour the Caribbean in one of the most expensive charter yachts in the world in an effort to cut travel expenses and greenhouse gas emissions.
Britain's Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, seen in Ankara in this November 29, 2007 file photo. (REUTERS/Umit Bektas)

The couple will hire the yacht Leander from National Car Parks founder Donald Gosling for the 11-day trip next month, Clarence House said.

The cost, which will be included in the prince's annual report later in the year, will be less than travelling by chartered planes, a spokesman said.

The vessel will also emit about 40 percent fewer carbon emissions than the planes did on the prince's last Caribbean tour in 2000, he added.

The royal couple will further reduce costs by flying to and from the Caribbean on a scheduled flight.

The visit, which will take in Trinidad and Tobago, St Lucia and Jamaica is aimed at reinforcing Britain's ties with Commonwealth countries and its relations with the UK Overseas Territory Montserrat.

"It will advance key British government priorities in the promotion of sustainable development, environmental protection and youth opportunity," the spokesman said.

The 246 foot-long vessel has a crew of 25 and facilities including a Jacuzzi deck, bar, gym and sauna while the owner's quarters contain two suites as well as a saloon and a private deck.

The magazine Power & Motoryacht said Leander has been the world's most expensive charter yacht during the past few years, but has since been overtaken.

It remains "arguably one of the finest to vacation aboard", it added, with its "sumptuous spaces".

The royal yacht Britannia was decommissioned in 1997 after the Labour government came to power.

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Archbishop's sharia comments: "Recipe for disaster"

LONDON - A British government minister accused Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams of concocting "a recipe for disaster" for suggesting the introduction in Britain of some aspects of sharia was unavoidable.
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams talks to media in Colombo in this May 10, 2007 file photo. (REUTERS/Anuruddha Lokuhapuarachchi)

Britain's main political parties distanced themselves from Thursday's comments on Islamic law by Williams, the spiritual leader of the world's 77 million Anglicans, who is already battling divisions within his church over gay priests.

"You cannot run two systems of law alongside each other. That would be a recipe for chaos," said Culture Secretary Andy Burnham, joining a chorus of condemnation for Williams.

Nick Clegg, leader of the centrist Liberal Democrats, said "On this I think he is wrong" while former Interior Minister David Blunkett said formalising Islamic law "would be catastrophic in terms of social cohesion".

The Sun, Britain's leading tabloid, said on Friday: "It's easy to dismiss Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams as a silly old goat. In fact he's a dangerous threat to our nation."

The issue of integrating Britain's 1.8 million Muslims has been widely debated since July 2005, when four British Islamists carried out suicide bombings on London's transport system, killing 52 people.

Those attacks prompted questioning of a long-standing policy of avoiding a single British identity and promoting a multicultural society, which some argue has led to segregation of ethnic minorities.

Speaking to the BBC, Williams said other religions enjoyed tolerance of their laws in Britain and called for a "constructive accommodation" with Muslim practice in areas such as marital disputes.

Asked if the adoption of some aspects of sharia was necessary for community cohesion, he said: "It seems unavoidable."

His unexpected comments were welcomed by some Muslim groups, but the government said it was out of the question that the principles of sharia could be used in British civil courts.

"The prime minister is clear that in Britain, British laws based on British values will apply," a spokesman for Prime Minister Gordon Brown said.

Sharia is the body of Islamic religious law based on the Koran, the words and actions of the Prophet Mohammad and his companions, and rulings of Islamic scholars. It covers issues including worship, commercial dealings, marriage and penal laws.

Williams said he was not endorsing the harsh punishments meted out in countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran, where murderers and drug traffickers are publicly beheaded or hanged.

But that did not placate critics.

Trevor Phillips, chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, called Williams' intervention "muddled and unhelpful".

"Raising this idea will give fuel to anti-Muslim extremism," he added.

And Labour parliamentarian Khalid Mahmood had no doubt about where he stood: "I, along with the vast majority of UK Muslims, oppose any such move to introduce sharia here. British law is the envy of the world."

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UK's Brown hails environmental work with China

SHANGHAI, China- British Prime Minister Gordon Brown hailed a new era of environmental cooperation between Britain and China on Saturday and called for a renewed drive for a world trade deal.Brown visited a highly efficient gas-fired power station in Beijing and studied the plans for an environmentally friendly town to be built near Shanghai to underline his keenness to cooperate with China on fighting global warming.

Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown addresses the media during a news conference in Shanghai Urban Planning museum January 19, 2008. Brown hailed a new era of environmental cooperation between Britain and China on Saturday and called for a renewed drive for a world trade deal. (REUTERS/ Nir Elias)

"We now enter this new era of environmental cooperation," Brown told a news conference in Shanghai after listening to a presentation on Dongtan, billed as the world's first eco-city.

Construction is due to start early this year at Dongtan, designed by British engineering firm Arup. It will use renewable energy and will not allow gasoline-fuelled cars.

It is the first of a number of low-carbon eco-towns being planned by both Britain and China, the second biggest emitter of greenhouse gases after the United States.

Brown, who flies to India on Sunday, pleaded for progress in slow-moving talks on a new world trade agreement.

"I would like the talks which have now been stalled for some months to resume," he said.

All sides would have to compromise to reach a deal but the differences can be bridged, Brown said.

"In the next few weeks I will ... talk to all the potential players as I've done with the Chinese government, as I will do tomorrow with the Indian government, (about) the importance of us moving forward to a trade agreement as soon as possible."

The talks have been held up by disputes between rich and poor countries over the speed of opening up their markets.

PROTECTIONISM FEAR

"The worst thing that could happen to the global economy, facing the turbulence that it has over the last few months, is for people to feel it is going to retreat into a new protectionism...," Brown said.

Brown said on Friday that Britain would welcome more trade and investment from China, including from its new $200 billion sovereign wealth fund, a state-run investment agency.

Britain and British companies are already working with China on clean energy initiatives and agreements signed by China and Britain during Brown's visit aim to increase that cooperation.

One agreement commits Britain to provide at least 50 million pounds ($100 million) to support investment in energy efficiency and clean energy projects in China. Under a second accord, the two countries will collaborate on developing low carbon cities.

Brown's government has proposed the world's first climate change law which requires Britain to cut climate-warming carbon dioxide emissions by 60 percent from 1990 levels by 2050.

Major developing countries such as China have been loath to agree to firm targets for emissions cuts that could hold back their rapid economic growth.

But last month U.N.-led talks in Bali approved a roadmap for negotiations on a successor to the Kyoto Protocol that would widen the treaty to the United States, China and India.

Brown also visited the 91,000-seat Bird's Nest National Stadium, a centrepiece of this year's Beijing Olympics.

Brown, accompanied by his wife, Sarah, and British double gold medal-winning athlete Kelly Holmes, was given a 20-minute tour of the $400 million stadium complex.

"This is going to be one of the greatest Olympic Games ever," said Brown.

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Data of 600,000 lost in UK laptop theft

LONDON - The personal details of up to 600,000 people were lost when a Royal Navy officer's laptop was stolen in the latest embarrassment to hit British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

The Defence Ministry said the laptop, containing personal information about people who had joined the Navy, Marines and Air Force and from people keen to join, was stolen from the officer in the central English city of Birmingham.

The timing could not be worse for Brown, currently on a trade visit to China and India. He is seeking to put behind him several government blunders that have seen his popularity plummet in opinion polls.

In November, details on 25 million child benefit claimants were lost by the Revenue and Customs department and a week later information on three million learner drivers went missing.

Last month, it also was revealed that medical records had disappeared at some health trusts.

In the latest case, entries on the stolen computer included family and passport details which could be used by fraudsters bent on identity theft.

Police said the theft was being "thoroughly and professionally investigated" by their officers in conjunction with the Ministry of Defence.

The theft took place on January 9 but was not revealed until nine days later because of the possible impact that might have on the investigation, the Ministry of Defence said.

Media reports of the security gaffe prompted them to change their mind.

In a statement, it said: "The stolen laptop contained personal information relating to some 600,000 people who have either expressed an interest in, or have joined, the Royal Navy, Royal Marines and the Royal Air Force.

The information held is not the same for every individual. In some cases, for casual inquiries, the record is no more than a name."

But it did concede that "for those who progressed as far as submitting an application to join the Forces, extensive personal data may be held, including passport details, National Insurance numbers, drivers' licence details, family details, doctors' addresses and National Health Service numbers."

Revealing such a wide array of information could have devastating consequences for anyone trying to defend themselves from identify theft.

Banks holding personal accounts that could have been affected by the security breach have been "flagged for scrutiny against unauthorised access."

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