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Britain is no longer a superpower (been there and done that) but, militarily, it still packs a hell of a punch. Only three countries on the planet can deploy any serious military strength to any part of the world - the US, Britain and France (despite the fact it rarely does so). In Europe...

It is a question that will have millions of people around the world lying awake at night: What shall we call the new decade? Should it be the Tens, the Teenies, the Tenners (an appropriate name whilst Britain is still in its greatest recession since the 1940s) or even the Tenties...

The British police may be the oldest in the world and were once regarded as the world's best, but these days they aren't held in such high esteem. Political Correctness and form-filling often hampers the police from nicking felons (that's not the fault of the ordinary policeman but that of...

The death of a British soldier in Afghanistan yesterday, New Year's Eve, made 2009 the third-bloodiest year for British forces since 1945. The bomb disposal expert,from 33 Engineer Regiment, Royal Engineers, was killed in an explosion near Sangin in Helmand Province. That means the total...

With a height of 443 feet, with 32 sealed egg-shaped passenger capsules (representing the 32 boroughs of London) each weighing 10 tonnes and capable of holding 25 people, the London Eye is Europe's largest ferris wheel (and the largest in the world when constructed in 1999 but is now the third...

Until the reign of Henry VIII, England was a Catholic country. But it was Henry who broke the English Church away from Rome and made himself its Head and, over time, the English Church became Protestant. Henry VIII's daughter, Elizabeth I, wanted to ensure that England would firmly remain a...

Abroad, Britain's reputation lies in shreds. At home, an exhausted government is drifting, rudderless, from one crisis to the next. Unemployment is rising sharply. The public finances are in chaos. The unions are threatening havoc and inflation is set to soar... This sounds very much like...

Is Rosie the world's oldest donkey? The average lifespan for a donkey is 25-30 years, whereas Rosie is believed to be 54. A donkey year counts as three, so she is the human equivalent of 162 years. Rosie lives in Belper, Derbyshire with her owner Lesley Manger. The record for the oldest...

England have quashed rumours that they will pull out of the 2010 Commonwealth Games in India for security reasons. There were rumours that security chiefs feared that the England team would be a target for Pakistani extremists in the Games in Delhi. This would be the first time in the...

Graeme Swann produced bowling figures for second innings of 5-54 and for the whole match of 9-164 as England emphatically completed an innings victory against South Africa in Durban, England's first victory in that city since 1964. South Africa posted a first innings total of 343, but England...

England have replied strongly in the First Innings against South Africa on the Second Day of the Second Test in Durban. South Africa made 343 in their First Innings, which would have been a slightly smaller score had England not been frustrated in taking South Africa's last wicket. England's...

Dover Castle, on the coast of Kent looking out into the English Channel, was originally built by the Anglo-Saxons, but it was taken over by the Normans after their successful invasion of England in 1066. The Normans burnt much of it to the ground, but William the Conqueror then added new...

For most of us, Christmas is about spending time with the family, opening presents and letting the children leave some mince pies and milk on the bannister on Christmas Eve night for Father Christmas. But for others, Christmas is something entirely different. British soldiers in Afghanistan...

If you're the Queen and it's Christmas, eating a box of Roses or Quality Street just won't do. What you want is chocolate that's fit for a Queen. Several small boxes of dark chocolate, made to a secret recipe, were delivered to Buckingham Palace for Christmas. World famous chocolate makers...

Meet the English Defence League (EDL), an English Nazi group, made up mostly of football fans, whose aim is to oppose the spread of Islamism, Sharia Law and Islamic extremism in England. The size of its membership is not known but is probably around 500. Members wear balclavas, hoodies and...

We've seen Manchester United's Eric Cantona kung-fu kicking a Crystal Palace fan (1995), a young David Beckham somehow scoring from the halfway line against Wimbledon (1996), the Brentford goalkeeper injuring himself after colliding with a dog which wandered onto the pitch (1970), and the...

You may think that many of the symbols of Christmas have been around for centuries, but, in fact, many of them have much more recent origins. Father Christmas himself was only invented in 1935 for a Coca-Cola campaign. Before that, it was mainly St Nicholas who was the personification of...

Anybody would be forgiven for thinking they had somehow travelled 2000 years back in time and ended up in the Middle East and discovered that there WAS room at the inn after all and you were witnessing the arrival on Earth of God in human form. When, in fact, you'd still be in the present day in...

The Queen will pay tribute to Britain's Armed Forces in her annual Christmas speech - broadcast on TV - tomorrow after they suffered their worst fatality rate this year since 1982. And, in the Commonwealth's 60th year, the Queen will also use her annual address to urge its member states...

A hound the world in 80 days: Meet Oscar "Phileas Fogg" Lefson, a dog without equal Most dogs would be content to go for a little run around on a playing field fetching large sticks, or just nip down to the nearest off-licence with their owner to get the day's newspaper and a pint of milk...