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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg publicly said the platform is trying to work with Joe Biden on a joint Facebook-Biden administration push for Americans to get the COVID-19 vaccine. During a livestream interview with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Facebook founder mentioned a “push around authoritative information on vaccines,” though he did not elaborate on what that would entail. “You and the rest of the government have an important job ahead,” Zuckerberg told Fauci during the interview. “I know our team at Facebook has already reached out to the incoming administration to help with the COVID response in any way that we...

Imagine firing a gun and taking out a sniper so far away that the bullet takes 3 seconds to arrive, traveling at supersonic speed. With one shot! But an unnamed British SAS Special Forces sniper is reported to have done just that. The UK Daily Star has the story: The long-range shot took place almost two weeks ago as part of a counter-sniper operation during the battle for the Iraqi city of Mosul. The SAS soldier, a sergeant who was a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, hit the Iraqi in the throat as he left a burned-out...

Is Britain girding for a fight in Russia’s backyard? For the first time since the Cold War, Britain is sending a warship to the Black Sea on a military mission. This time, the goal is to send a message to Russia: don’t invade Ukraine. The question is whether Russia will—or even should—bother to take the warning seriously. *snip* Britain’s Defense Secretary Michael Fallon told the Daily Mail that “the UK is sending a clear message that we are committed to defending democracy across the world and support Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.”

AN SAS sniper has picked off his 100th Islamic State militant during fighting for the Iraqi city of Mosul. The impressive tally makes him one of the most successful snipers in the British armed forces. His latest kill is said to be a “high valued target” in the terror group, which has put up fierce resistance as the US-backed coalition attempts to recapture Iraq’s second city from the extremists. . . . Taking his position outside a compound that was once a base for former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, the sharpshooter needed just a single bullet to punch through the...

Outgunned, outmanoeuvred, hopelessly outnumbered and besieged in the Afghan desert, a small band of British soldiers chose to save a final bullet for themselves rather than fall into Taliban hands. For nearly two months, the 88 men of Easy Company – a mix of Paratroopers and the Royal Irish – had faced the overwhelming force and firepower of up to 500 Taliban determined to over-run the remote Helmand outpost of Musa Qala.

If there’s a high bar for which social justice warriors strive, surely it was set by Britain’s first transgender gay Muslim woman. Amid the ongoing bathroom wars in America, conservative blogger Brandon Morse took to social media to call attention to Lucy Vallender, who he said “has the gold in the oppression [O]lympics.” Vallender, formerly known as Laurens before “he” became true to “herself,” is a former British soldier who had a sex operation in 2010 to switch out his male parts for female parts. Vallender would later convert to Islam, saying it’s a “peaceful” religion and take things even...

Amid ongoing changes to the British Army under the banner of austerity, the bemusing statistic of four legged firepower outweighing the heavy metal variety persists. Recently, the Conservative Defence Minister Lord Astor admitted: “The Army currently has 485 horses, serving in the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery, the Household Division and at the Defence Animal Centre." The last time horses were used in a combat role by the British Army was World War I, when a million were sent to the frontline and only about 62,000 survived. During World War II, General Orde Wingate and...

Police are investigating after a man was found dead near a busy Miami intersection early Sunday morning. Oscar Aguilera first found the man's body on a sidewalk at Biscayne Boulevard and 81st Street around 7 a.m. "I saw him not moving and puddle of blood," Aguilera said. "I went and checked and saw when his eyes were wide open." The victim was later identified as 22-year-old Shaun Cole, a Scottish soldier who was in town with friends for the Ultra Music Festival. Cole served in the 1st Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland (1SCOTS) and had served in Afghanistan and...

They served their country with honour and courage – and 453 paid the ultimate price. But, after 13 years of bloodshed, there will be no memorial in Afghanistan to mark the troops’ sacrifice. The lives of the young Britons killed fighting the Taliban had been commemorated on memorial walls in Camp Bastion, but as the UK’s campaign in the country ended yesterday, it was confirmed they had been dismantled. A source said: ‘There is no memorial left in Afghanistan.’ The Army insisted the decision was not because of fears the memorials would be defaced or destroyed. But top-ranking soldiers and...

British military chiefs are drawing up plans to help American airstrikes in Iraq, the Times reports. Senior figures are considering sending a spy plane to provide intelligence on ISIS positions, while Royal Air Force aircraft capable of refuelling U.S. fighter jets in mid-air will also be sent. The UK government, which has welcomed American intervention in the fight against ISIS, has also not ruled out conducting its own airstrikes if the humanitarian situation worsens. MPs are also discussing the possibility of using British special forces, who have long experience in the Kurdish region, to offer help in pinpointing targets. Former...

Five British troops, including personnel from Prince Harry’s former Army unit, have been killed in the UK’s worst helicopter crash in Afghanistan. The tragedy happened when the Lynx helicopter, believed to be on a reconnaissance mission, came down in a mountainous Taliban stronghold close to the Pakistan border. The Ministry of Defence said last night that it had completed a provisional identification of those who died. There was speculation last night that some of those on board may have been special forces. It is the first time British helicopter crew have been killed in more than a decade of flying...

I don’t think there’s a more apt metaphor for what the UK is doing to itself with Islam than the story of Mr. Laurens Vallender. A former trained soldier swapped his Territorial Army beret for a veil and became Britain’s first transgender Muslim woman. Laurens Vallender now calls himself Lucy and says he is finally ‘true to herself’ after a sex change three years ago. He is now married to a Muslim man he met on an online dating site, but he did not know he was once a man when they wed. I just bet. Look at that face....

British MPs have voted against possible military action against Syria to deter the use of chemical weapons. David Cameron said it was clear the British Parliament does not want action and "I will act accordingly". The government motion was defeated 285 to 272, a majority of 13 votes.

Hundreds of British troops are being prepared to deploy to North Africa to tackle al Qaeda-inspired extremists. Under secret plans being drawn up urgently by top brass, UK soldiers would be sent ‘within months’ to the region to help train the Libyan army. Political and military chiefs have acted amid mounting fears that Libya is rapidly becoming a safe haven for Islamist fanatics after Coloner Gadaffi was toppled in October 2011. But critics have raised concerns that Britain could suffer ‘mission creep’ and be sucked into another bloody war just as fighting in Afghanistan - which has cost 444 UK...

Far from protecting British troops, this week’s novel ruling by the Supreme Court—stretching the Human Rights Act (HRA) to allow soldiers to sue the Government over decisions on equipment, training and operations—will endanger our forces and undermine democratic accountability. The claims followed casualties in Iraq after a “friendly fire” incident between two Challenger tanks, and when a Snatch Land Rover patrol hit roadside bombs. The Ministry of Defense was accused of negligence in equipping the tanks and jeeps, training the servicemen and operational decision-making. In an unprecedented judgment, the court abandoned the bar to negligence claims against the MoD in...

Hard to imagine a more demoralizing order for a soldier than to tell him to take off the uniform and hide after an enemy’s attack. And the powers that be know it: They’re stressing that the order’s temporary in order to blunt public indignation over their decision. The twisted punchline here is that the victim yesterday wasn’t wearing a uniform. The two degenerates who murdered him apparently targeted him because they saw him entering or exiting a barracks. There’s the next move, presumably — evacuate the barracks nationwide until they’re safe. For soldiers. Defence sources said the order had been...

Commanders have advised troops not to wear uniform travelling to and from work or outside bases following the brutal killing of a member of the military close to Woolwich barracks. Defence sources said the order had been given that uniform should not be worn by those travelling alone, or on public transport as a "common sense precaution" immediately after the killing.

British soldier beheaded in London street by 2 assailants shouting "Allah Akbar".

A man reported to be a serving soldier is dead and two people have been shot in Woolwich, south east London, after what Sky sources understand is being treated as a terrorist attack. Downing Street has called a meeting of the Government's Cobra emergency committee after the incident in John Wilson Street, which David Cameron described as "truly shocking". Sky sources understand that senior police officers believe the killing was likely to be a politically-motivated Islamist terrorist attack. Dozens of weapons - including a number of knives - and pools of blood could be seen on the ground, where a...

A soldier from the 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Cheshire) has been killed in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence has announced. The soldier was serving in the Nad-e Ali district of Helmand Province when he was injured in an attack by insurgents on Monday. In a statement the MoD said he had been flown to hospital for treatment "where, sadly, he succumbed to his wounds".