LONDON: Britain’s military is at risk of becoming a “hollow force” with first-rate equipment but not enough troops to use it, the head of the armed forces has warned.
General Nicholas Houghton, the chief of the defence staff, made the unusually outspoken criticism as Prime Minister David Cameron yesterday snubbed the idea that the European Union should have its own armed forces.
Houghton said the military had “exquisite” equipment but, as steep defence cuts take their toll, manpower is increasingly being seen as “an overhead”, with inadequate investment in training.
US appeals court revives 9/11 case
NEW YORK: A US appeals court yesterday revived claims by families of victims of the September 11, 2001, attacks who alleged that Saudi Arabia provided material support to Al Qaeda.
Reversing a lower court ruling, the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in New York said “the interests of justice” justified reviving the claims, in light of a 2011 decision that allowed similar claims to proceed against Afghanistan.
Circuit Judge Chester Straub wrote for a three-judge panel that it would be “especially anomalous” to treat both sets of plaintiffs differently. He returned the case to US District Judge George Daniels in Manhattan for further proceedings.
Fewer executions
in US this year
WASHINGTON: The past year has seen fewer executions and death sentences in the US, where more than 3,100 inmates still linger on death row, a non-profit group reported yesterday.
Thirty-nine executions were carried out in nine states, down from 43 last year and only the second time in 19 years there have been fewer than 40 executions, the Death Penalty Information Center said.
Eighty death sentences were handed down, two more than last year but still far below the peak of 315 seen in 1994 and 1996. Agencies
