• William Hague quits as foreign secretary in cabinet reshuffle

    / By Armoured Cars / In security

    William Hague has stood down as foreign secretary and will stay in the cabinet as Leader of the Commons, Downing Street has said.

    Mr Hague is to leave Parliament at the 2015 general election after 26 years as MP for Richmond, North Yorkshire.

    As part of a significant ministerial reshuffle, veteran Conservative MP Ken Clarke has also stepped down.

    Senior ministers have told the BBC that the current defence secretary, Philip Hammond, will replace Mr Hague.

    Labour described the reshuffle as "the massacre of the moderates".

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  • Israel's Gaza campaign in seventh day as rocket fire continues

    / By Armoured Cars / In security

    Israeli air strikes on Gaza and rocket fire on Israel have continued, on the seventh day of Israel's operation against Palestinian militants.

    Palestinian officials say at least 175 people in Gaza have been killed since the offensive began last Tuesday.

    Israel says nearly 1,000 rockets have been fired from Gaza in that time. It said it shot down a Palestinian drone near Ashdod on Monday morning.

    Thousands of people have fled homes in northern Gaza after an Israeli warning.

    Israel has massed thousands of troops on the border, amid speculation of a possible a ground invasion.

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  • RAC urges government to crackdown on untaxed foreign cars

    / By Armoured Cars / In security

    The government is being urged to clamp down on untaxed foreign vehicles after the RAC warned they were costing the UK millions of pounds a year.

    About 60,000 foreign vehicles are registered with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) every year.

    However, the RAC said an estimated 15,000 others are not - the motoring organisation said this amounts to about £3m per year in uncollected tax.

    The government said it would shortly announce plans to combat the problem.

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  • Costa Concordia raised from under-sea platform

    / By Armoured Cars / In security

    The wrecked Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia has been successfully raised from the under-sea platform it has been resting on for the past year, salvage workers say.

    The wreck - the target of one of the biggest maritime salvage operations in history - is now floating about 2m (6ft) off the platform.

    In all, the refloating operation is expected to take six or seven days.

    The ship will then be towed to its home port, Genoa, where it will be scrapped.

    The Concordia struck a reef off the Italian island of Giglio in January 2012 and capsized, killing 32 people.

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  • Iraqi PM Maliki rejects emergency government

    / By Armoured Cars / In Iraq

    Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has rejected calls for a national salvation government to help counter the offensive by jihadist-led Sunni rebels.

    Such calls represented a "coup against the constitution and an attempt to end the democratic experience", he warned.

    The US has led appeals to the country's political leaders to rise above sectarian and ethnic divisions.

    Government forces have been unable to recapture the territory seized by the rebels this month. Almost half of the 300 US military advisers assigned to help the Iraqi security forces have arrived

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  • Leicester 'botched revenge' arson killers jailed for life

    / By Armoured Cars / In security

    Two men who murdered a family of four in an arson attack on the wrong house have been jailed for life.

    Tristan Richards, 23, and Kemo Porter, 19, must serve minimum terms of 35 years and 25 years respectively for the death of Shehnila Taufiq and her three children in Leicester.

    Six others have also been sentenced for their manslaughter.

    Mrs Taufiq, 47, daughter Zainab, 19, and sons Bilal, 17, and Jamal, 15 died in the blaze on 13 September 2013.

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  • West warns Russia of sanctions over Ukraine fighting

    / By Armoured Cars / In Ukraine

    US Secretary of State John Kerry has urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to publicly call on separatists in Ukraine to lay down their arms.

    He said Russia would face "greater costs" unless it took action to show that it supported peace in Ukraine.

    Earlier, German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Russia of new sanctions after fresh clashes in eastern Ukraine.

    Ukraine's president has said continued violations might end a truce between the government and pro-Russian rebels.

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  • Low turnout marks bid to end political crisis in Libya

    / By Armoured Cars / In Libya

    Voting has ended in a Libyan general election marred by low turnout and deadly violence.

    The election is seen as a last chance to end the anarchy that has gripped the country since the 2011 overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi.

    Officials said about 630,000 people voted, fewer than half of those eligible.

    At least five people died in clashes between government forces and militants in the eastern city of Benghazi.

    Security officials said Islamist insurgents had opened fire on a local security headquarters. At least another 30 people were wounded, they added.

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  • Spain's Princess Cristina to face charges

    / By Armoured Cars / In Spain

    A Spanish judge has formalised charges against Princess Cristina, King Felipe's sister, in a tax fraud and money laundering case.

    The princess, 49, was questioned in court in February about the business dealings of her husband, Inaki Urdangarin, and could now face trial.

    However, an appeal has been lodged against the decision.

    The judge's ruling will come as an embarrassment to Felipe VI, who came to the throne only six days ago.

    The tax fraud case was one of several scandals that weakened the popularity of the Spanish monarchy and prompted the abdication of King Juan Carlos.

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  • US forces arrive in Baghdad to advise Iraqi troops

    / By Armoured Cars / In Iraq

    The first US troops deployed to assist the Iraqi army in combating a growing Sunni militant insurgency have arrived and begun work, the Pentagon has said.

    Nearly half the 300 special operations soldiers promised by US President Barack Obama are in Baghdad or on the front lines of the fight.

    The rest are expected within days.

    Also, US Secretary of State John Kerry called for regional unity to expel the Sunni Isis rebels who have taken large swathes of Iraq.

    On Tuesday, two teams totalling 40 US troops began work assessing Iraqi troops on the front line, the Pentagon said.

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