A private was discharged from the Defence Forces last year after being found guilty at an Army Court-Martial of sexual assault.

US President Barack Obama and German chancellor Angela Merkel have rallied behind efforts to reach a long-shot diplomatic resolution to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, but offered no clear path if talks fail.

The Arab League has agreed to combat extremists such as the Islamic State group as one of its suicide bombers killed 16 people at a meeting of Sunni tribal fighters and security troops in Iraq.

Rescuers have lost hope of finding a prominent New York couple or recovering wreckage from their small plane which crashed into the sea off Jamaica.

The brother of a newly wed murdered and secretly buried by the IRA has expressed hope of finally finding his body ahead of fresh searches commencing in remote bogland today.

At least 27 people were killed in a series of bombings across Baghdad today, including three over a span of less than 10 minutes.

Signs emerged of a reprisal sectarian slaughter of Sunnis in Iraq, as police said pro-government Shi’ite militiamen killed nearly four dozen detainees after insurgents tried to storm a jail and free them north-east of Baghdad.

A suspected US drone strike has targeted a car carrying al Qaida militants in southern Yemen, killing all five passengers, security officials said.

The head of the military junta that took control of Thailand in a coup last week has said that elections may not occur for more than a year because peace and reforms must be achieved first.

It is understood the search for 276 schoolgirls kidnapped in Nigeria is closing in on a forest near the eastern border.

Russia’s foreign minister has promised a firm response if its citizens or interests come under attack in Ukraine – a vow that came after Ukraine announced a renewal of its “anti-terror” campaign against those occupying buildings in its troubled east.

Four Irish siblings who were arrested by the Egyptian military earlier this month - are expected to come before a prosecutor in Egypt today.

North Korea has proposed working-level talks with the South as the rivals move to mend ties that have plunged during recent years amid hardline stances by both countries.

China has denied fresh US claims it is sponsoring cyber-attacks and said the countries should cooperate against the global threat of computer crime.

Algeria’s state news service has said de-mining teams are going through the gas refinery that was the scene of a four-day hostage stand-off, searching for explosives left by the Islamic militants who seized dozens of foreigners.

Gary Barlow is to team up with the Military Wives and Andrew Lloyd Webber at the Classic Brit Awards next month.

An air strike killed al Qaida’s second in command in Yemen along with six others travelling with him in a car, US and Yemeni officials said.

Yemeni armed forces have killed Said al-Shehri, a Saudi national seen as the second-in-command of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, a government website said yesterday.

North Korea has branded the use of its national flag in US-South Korean military drills a “grave provocative act” and an insult.

A move by Egypt’s military rulers to bring forward the transfer of power to a civilian government has failed to win over thousands of street protesters in Cairo.

A MOBILE phone used by Osama bin Laden’s courier appears to show that the al-Qaida leader was aided by militants linked to Pakistani intelligence, The New York Times said.

A roadside bomb has killed 10 workers as they were on their way to clean streams in southern Afghanistan.

The Egyptian military today called for an end to more than a week of demonstrations demanding President Hosni Mubarak steps down immediately after nearly 30 years in power.

A STATE visit by Queen Elizabeth next year is yet another visible sign of the transformation which has taken place over recent years between Ireland and Britain. There is nothing to fear from such a visit, and much to be gained.

ONE of Osama bin Laden’s sons was probably killed by a US missile strike in Pakistan earlier this year, US National Public Radio reported, citing US intelligence sources.

RUSSIA’S military announced plans yesterday to station about 7,600 troops in Georgia’s separatist regions, a sharp increase on the numbers deployed before Moscow sent in troops last month.

At least 43 people died in Algeria’s deadliest terrorist attack since the 1990s when a suicide bomber rammed a car full of explosives into applicants queuing outside a police academy today.

US government offices received letters containing a photo of New York City’s Times Square military recruiting office before it was bombed. The words “We Did It," were written on the card.

A Spanish judge started proceedings against 40 members of the Rwandan military today on charges of terrorism and genocide.

BENAZIR BHUTTO was the target of threats from virtually all of the militant groups who make Pakistan their home — from al-Qaida to homegrown terrorists to tribal insurgents on the Afghan border.

I READ Donal Lenihan’s feature ‘Holding out for a hero’ (October 19) about the plane that came down in the Andes in October 1972 with a Uruguayan rugby team on board.

The Lebanese military today said it had largely defeated al-Qaida-inspired Islamic militants, over-running their positions inside a Palestinian refugee camp, but gunfire and artillery blasts continued as troops pursued remaining fighters.

Lebanon’s defence minister declared victory over the Fatah Islam militant group, saying it had been crushed after a month-long military assault on its stronghold in a northern refugee camp.

A new attempt at a ceasefire in the fierce battle at a Palestinian refugee camp fell apart today when Lebanese troops and Islamic militants resumed barrages after a pause that lasted nearly an hour.

The only US military officer charged with a crime in the Abu Ghraib jail abuse scandal will be court-martialled on eight charges, including cruelty and maltreatment of prisoners.

Al-Qaida’s No. 2 has said that the terror network’s branch in Iraq has “broken the back” of the US military with hundreds of suicide bombings, in a video posted today that was the latest in a string of new messages by al-Qaida’s leaders.

Military intelligence has arrested a ring of Lebanese and Palestinian terrorists who planned to assassinate the leader of the Hezbollah militant group, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah.

The US military is up in arms over an article by a British officer saying American counterparts in Iraq displayed “cultural insensitivity” bordering on racism toward Iraqis and seemed weighed down by bureaucracy.

US forces launched airstrikes today in a town near the Syrian border in western Iraq, part of a three-day offensive against insurgents that has killed at least 36 militants since the fighting began, officials said.

US forces along the Euphrates River attacked the insurgent stronghold of Haditha early yesterday, capturing a militant with ties to al-Qaida in Iraq and killing four others, the military said.

A car bomb exploded outside a police academy in northern Iraq today, and when police set up a checkpoint to close off the area, a second car bomb exploded nearby, authorities said.

Jordan’s military court today sentenced wanted terror leader Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi to 15 years jail and a detained associate to three years behind bars for the 2003 Jordanian Embassy attack in Baghdad that killed 18 people.

The body of a kidnapped Turkish engineer was found in eastern Afghanistan today, less than 24 hours after he was snatched with his driver and interpreter by a band of armed men.

US intelligence officials were yesterday accused of transferring detainees out of Iraq for interrogation, a move that experts say violates international law.