London, Aug. 1 : Over a hundred aid agencies have claimed that Afghanistan could be heading back to Taliban rule, given the unprecedented numbers of civilian casualties and terror attacks in areas that were once thought safe.

"There has been a surge in the number of civilian casualties caused by all sides, a spread of insecurity to previously stable areas, and increasing attacks on aid agencies and their staff," The Independent quoted a statement from their umbrella organisation ACBAR, as saying.

ACBAR represents 64 international aid groups with projects inside the warring country, including Oxfam, Mercy Corps and Save the Children, as well as 36 Afghan charities.

London - British Airways Friday reported an 88-per-cent drop in pre-tax profits in the last fiscal quarter to 37 million pounds (73.3 million dollars) as a result of rocketing fuel costs.

The figure for the three months up to the end of June compares with 298 million pounds for the same period in 2007.

British Airways has blamed a doubling of fuel costs for a sharp profits fall, saying the airline industry faced the "worst trading environment ever."

Fuel costs were 8 million pounds a day and were expected to reach 3 billion pounds in the year to the end of March 2009, said the airline.

London, Aug 1 : Sixty-five percent of people participating in a Daily Telegraph/YouGov survey in Britain are of the view that Prime Minister Gordon Brown has become a political liability, but add that ditching him would not save Labour from a general election defeat.

According to the poll, only one voter in seven believes he is fit for the job of prime minister.

Only Tony Blair, Brown’s predecessor, is still viewed as being more popular with voters than Brown, but even he would lose to Tory leader David Cameron.

London  - Prince William will spend time serving with Britain's elite Special Forces during military training later this year, the royal household in London said Thursday.

The 26-year-old prince, a regimental officer in the British army, has just completed an attachment to the Royal Navy after a secondment to the Royal Air Force.

The Special Forces consist of a number of highly trained specialised crack units including the Special Air Service (SAS), the Special Boat Service (SBS) and the Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR).

London - Twenty-five people, including many children, were injured when

London, July 31 : Kids as young as eight encounter nightmare images of porn, violence and horror on the worldwide web, warn Brit MPs, who insist that the spell of Internet’s “dark side” is spreading day-by-day.

According to a Commons report, one in six schoolchildren has seen “nasty, worrying or frightening” content and one in five has faced cyber-bullying.

However, not much is being done by video-sharing sites such as YouTube to prevent kids’ exposure to objectionable content like hard porn, rape, bullying and fist-fights.

In addition, there are sites that promote extreme diets and even suicide.