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National Procurement, a branch of the NHS National Services Division, arranged for staff who are deemed to be "regular users" of cars for business to get the cars through a taxpayer-backed vehicle-leasing scheme. The role of National Procurement, which is funded by the Scottish Government, is to buy medical supplies for the NHS, and to "increase savings" for the health service. Figures provided by National Procurement in response to a Freedom of Information request showed that 40 employees, or one in eight members of staff, had used the 4x4s and convertibles to drive to work. Much of the

Galway city has been warned a proposed statue of revolutionary Che Guevara will be a deep insult to many Americans by the influential head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida. ... Galway’s beautiful beaches and vibrant arts festival will be marred with a memorial to a man who wished to end their way of life and violently replace it with tyranny.” Che, full name Ernesto Guevara Lynch, had Irish links. A festival in his honor was arranged for nearby County Clare earlier this year. Guevara's Irish links have been traced to Galway, and one Patricio...

Back in 2010, I excoriated the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, noting that David Cameron was increasing tax rates and expanding the burden of government spending (including an increase in the capital gains tax!). I also criticized Cameron for leaving in place the 50 percent income tax rate imposed by his feckless predecessor, and was not surprised when experts began to warn that this class-warfare tax hike might actually result in less revenue because the reduction in taxable income could be more significant than the increase in the tax rate.In other words, bad policy might lead to a...

Libor rates are calculated for different currencies each day under the auspices of the British Bankers' Association, using quotes that are submitted by banks on a panel, based on the banks' estimated borrowing costs. More than $800 trillion in securities and loans are linked to Libor, including $350 trillion in swaps and $10 trillion in loans, including auto and home loans, according to the CFTC. No other banks or individuals have been charged with wrongdoing. Banks that have disclosed they are being investigated include Citigroup Inc., C +3.72% Deutsche Bank AG, DBK.XE +2.02% HSBC Holdings HBC +1.00% PLC, J.P. Morgan...

<p>The Army is losing its “very best talent” with an exodus of generals quitting after becoming disillusioned with the huge cuts to the Service.</p> <p>At least half-a-dozen of the most senior officers have announced their departure in recent months as the Army prepares to shrink by a fifth to 82,000.</p>

A man wearing Afghan police uniform shot dead three British soldiers at a checkpoint in Afghanistan on Sunday, Britain's Defence Ministry said on Monday. The soldiers were serving with an Afghan police advisory team and were killed after a meeting at the checkpoint at Nahr-e-Saraj in southern Helmand province. The assailant was injured and detained, a Defence Ministry spokesman said. … Britain has about 9,500 troops in Afghanistan and is due to withdraw 500 by the end of the year. It plans to bring home all its combat troops by the end of 2014. …

11 UK soldiers gunned down in Helmand in past three months, compared to two in the same period last year... British soldiers in Afghanistan claim that new tactics are preventing them shooting at the Taliban until they have been fired at themselves – resulting in an alarming rise in the number of casualties. ... Soldiers now say they are particularly vulnerable when they are manning checkpoints at road junctions or patrolling Taliban heartlands such as the so-called ‘green zone’, a densely vegetated river valley. One junior non-commissioned officer said: ‘When I arrived in Helmand, my officers said our tactics were...

The rise of the Five Star Movement in Italy is the number one happening in Europe right now and mainstream media has not even begun to cover it in any depth. The movement is led by an Italian comedian, Beppe Grillo. Main Rules for the Five Star Movement Not be an elected politician prior to 5 Stelle Commit to stay in charge for no longer than 2 termsCommit to take a minimum salary and give the rest back to the communityPost a public platform on the internet Be willing to hold a public debate on the platform Beppe Grillo's personal...

Russian energy giant Gazprom issued a brief statement on June 29 which actually touches on many political problems in the greater geography surrounding Turkey. It said that the company is ready to send more gas to Turkey if necessary, but from 2018 on Turkey could ask help from Azerbaijan as well. Reuters got it right when it called the statement a threat; a threat to both Turkey and Azerbaijan. The date the Russian company named, 2018, is the planned completion date for the TANAP (Trans-Anatolian) pipeline, which will carry Azerbaijani natural gas to Europe, a $7 billion project which was...

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran has stored up imports and hard currency for a "battle" against "dastardly" EU sanctions, officials said Sunday, the day that the measures aimed at pressuring the Islamic Republic over its controversial nuclear program take effect. Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi said the country has stockpiled the population's daily needs to reduce the impact of the embargo hitting the oil and banking sectors. "Today, we are facing the heaviest of sanctions and we ask people to help officials in this battle," Rahimi was quoted by state television's website as saying at a religious conference. He said...

David Cameron has opened the door to a historic referendum on Britain’s future relationship with the European Union — declaring that voters need a “real choice”. The Prime Minister uses an article in The Sunday Telegraph to say that Britain is in danger of getting swamped by EU legislation and bureaucracy which he would like to see scrapped. He makes clear for the first time that changes will need the “full-hearted support of the British people” down the line and adds: “For me the two words 'Europe’ and 'referendum’ can go together.” Mr Cameron’s landmark move comes as Liam Fox,...

Just days after the breakdown of talks with the West over Iran’s nuclear program, the deputy chief commander of the Revolutionary Guards announced that there soon will be war - and that Allah will ensure his forces are victorious.

(Reuters) - International powers agreed on Saturday that a national unity government should be set up in Syria to resolve the conflict between President Bashar al-Assad and opposition forces trying to oust him. Peace envoy Kofi Annan said after the talks in Geneva that the government should include members of Assad's administration and the opposition. But it was not immediately clear what role, if any, was envisaged for Assad.

The wife of the former Prime Minister also accused some young women of seeking to “marry a rich husband and retire” instead of working. Mrs Blair, a QC and mother of four, criticised women who “put all their effort into their children” instead of working. Mothers who go out to work are setting a better example for their children, she said. Addressing a gathering of “powerful” women at one of London’s most expensive hotels, Mrs Blair said she was worried that today’s young women are turning their backs on the feminism of their mothers’ generation. Some women know regard motherhood...

Calls for the victims of the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre to be remembered with a minute's silence at the opening of the London 2012 Games have been rebuffed by the organisers. Ankie Spitzer has campaigned unsuccessfully for the act of remembrance since the atrocity. Her husband - fencing coach Andre Spitzer - was one of 11 Israeli athletes and trainers killed when the Palestinian "Black September" organisation attacked apartments in the Olympic village and took them hostage in what was the darkest chapter in Olympic history. The world looked on in horror as friendly competition was replaced by killing and...

By commenting that Germany should perhaps leave the euro and exerting significant pressure on Prime Minister Mario Monti, former Italian premier Berlusconi is back in the headlines. Are his political escapades those of a senile billionaire or is he seriously thinking of returning to power? On Tuesday afternoon in Rome, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti and his predecessor Silvio Berlusconi were sitting at a table with a few close associates. Monti, alarmed by Berlusconi's recent statements, which were sometimes threatening and sometimes confused, was seeking clarity. Monti said that in such a sensitive and decisive moment, Italy's parliament must stand...

British government officials said they are considering a program of having supermarkets use customer loyalty card data to offer tailored advice on better diets. David Halpern, the head of the Behavioral Insights Team, part of the prime minister's team known as the "nudge unit" -- which applies behavioral science insights to policy problems -- said supermarkets have more data than doctors have on their customers, and this information should be used for healthier eating, the Daily Telegraph reported. The program involves shoppers who buy large amounts of snack food, alcohol or unhealthy products being identified and offered advice on healthier...

Ronald Reagan made secret plans to loan Britain a U.S. warship if she lost an aircraft carrier during the Falklands War, it has emerged. The then-president was prepared to support Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher despite the U.S. being officially neutral during the 1982 conflict. The stunning revelation was made by John Lehman, the former U.S. Secretary of the Navy, to the U.S. Naval Institute on Tuesday. Mr Reagan would have loaned Britain the use of the amphibious warship USS Iwo Jima should harm have come to either HMS Invincible or HMS Hermes, which the Royal Navy had deployed to defend...

The Queen, once a prime target for the IRA, shook hands not once but twice with Martin McGuinness, a former commander of the terrorist group, in a gesture that meant every bit as much as the sovereign’s historic visit to Ireland last year. Barely a decade ago, the idea of the monarch, the ultimate symbol of British rule in Ulster, even being in the same room as Mr McGuinness, arguably the most recognisable former member of the IRA, would have been unthinkable. Yet at a charity event in Belfast, Mr McGuinness appeared genuinely pleased to meet the Queen, even using...

The group barricaded Tory MEP Sajjad Karim's house, shouting abuse and holding EDL placards with Mr Karim, his wife and their two children still inside Before police made it to the scene they continued on a 'flash demonstrations' rampage around Lancashire Violence later broke out in Brierfield where a 17-year-old Asian man was floored in the street and one man was run over. A ‘commander’ in the English Defence League who led a mob of 40 people to barricade the home of Conservative MEP Sajjad Karim has been jailed for 18 months. ... Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2165060/EDL-commander-organised-intimidating-protests-Asian-MEP-home-jailed-18-months.html#ixzz1z3EgE2ZI