AFP - Friends and family of British peace activist Norman Kember celebrated his rescue from captivity in Iraq, providing a brief lift for a government heavily criticised over its military role there.

AFP - The father of Australian Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks will attend an address to Canberra's parliament by British Prime Minister Tony Blair in hopes of gaining his backing for the release of his son, officials said.

U.S. and British forces acting on a tip from a detainee today rescued three Christian peace activists without firing a shot, a U.S. military spokesman said. The rescue ended a four-month drama in which the lone American in the group, Tom Fox, was shot to death and dumped on a Baghdad street. James Loney and Harmeet Sooden of Canada and Briton Norman Kember were found in a house in western Baghdad, according to Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch. In a statement issued by his embassy, Kember said, "It's great to be free."

A giant tortoise believed to have been born around 1750 and once the pet of a famous British colonial general dies of liver failure at an Indian zoo. If the claims are accurate, "Addwaitya" was the oldest tortoise in the world.

AFP - A supergrass with links to Al-Qaeda gave evidence in a London court against seven men accused of planning a bombing campaign across Britain.