There were 100,000 new cases of swine flu in England last week, nearly double the number from the previous seven days, authorities announced Friday. Children 14 or younger were those predominantly affected, with those older than 65 showing much lower rates, the Department of Health said in its weekly swine flu update. Most cases continue to be mild, the department said, but a small minority are severe. The last weekly update showed 55,000 new cases. There is no figure for ...

A UK government minister on Wednesday reopened the dispute over support for troops in Afghanistan by insisting they had insufficient helicopters. Foreign Office minister Lord Malloch-Brown, who is resigning from the government later this week, said: "We definitely don't have enough helicopters," adding that "mobility" was vital for operations in southern Afghanistan, where British troops are battling a resurgent Taliban. Malloch-Brown also questioned Prime Minister Gordon Brown's claim that the war was being fought to prevent Afghan terrorists ...

The death of a Canadian soldier in battle-scarred Afghanistan on Thursday brings this month's toll of international military fatalities in the war to 47, the highest monthly tally so far, a CNN count of official statistics shows. The Canadian soldier was killed while he was conducting operations in the Panjwayi District in Kandahar province, the Canadian military said. The previous monthly record was 46, a mark reached twice last year, in June and August. The growing death toll, which only ...

The office of the wife of former British prime minister Tony Blair refused to comment Thursday on UK media reports that she has swine flu. A spokeswoman for Cherie Blair told CNN: "This is a private matter and we will not be making a comment." Blair was reported to have contracted the H1N1 virus, commonly known as swine flu, on Tuesday, according to the British Press Association and various media reports. PA reported that she has been given a ...

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown defended the military mission in Afghanistan amid tough questions Wednesday from the opposition leader. Speaking the day after eight British soldiers killed in Afghanistan were laid to rest, Brown also defended the volume of equipment -- specifically helicopters -- supplied to troops in Afghanistan. Conservative Party leader David Cameron said the number of helicopters in Afghanistan is "simply insufficient" and is "the basic problem" facing British troops there. "He is right to raise issues of ...

U.S. President Obama and Pope Benedict XVI discussed current affairs, the Catholic Church's teachings and abortion as they met for the first time Friday, according to the White House and the Vatican. The president also handed the pontiff a letter from Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, who was diagnosed with brain cancer last year, and asked that the pontiff pray for the senator, Deputy National Security Advisor Denis McDonough said. Kennedy, 77, a Democrat, received the diagnosis after suffering a seizure ...

I doubt that any of us have ever considered any of our past vice-presidential candidates a sex symbol. But if recent Internet searches are any measure of the average American's current interest in politics, that may be changing. On the Richter scale of Internet search energy, Republican presidential candidate John McCain's announcement on Friday that he had chosen Sarah Palin, the current governor of Alaska, as his running mate measured a magnitude 10. If you compare the number ...

Brazilian playmaker Kaka was officially presented as a Real Madrid player, after being handed the number eight jersey in front of thousands of supporters and a huge media contingent at the club's Bernabeu stadium on Tuesday evening. An estimated 50,000-strong crowd, almost three times the anticipated number, turned up to watch the ceremony as Kaka was unveiled as Madrid's latest addition by club president Florentino Perez and honorary president Alfredo di Stefano. Latest transfer gossip and ...

The "good" news in the housing market is that more homes are selling. The number of existing homes sold in May was 2.4% higher than the number sold in April, which itself was higher than the number sold in March. Yes, prices are still falling, thanks largely to foreclosures and short sales, but at least the market is starting to show signs of life. Just don't pull out the noisemakers quite yet. The segment of the market that's ...

Iran's Guardian Council has ruled out the possibility of nullifying the results of the country's disputed presidential election, saying irregularities were reported before the balloting -- not during or after. The announcement, reported by Iran's government-funded Press TV on Tuesday, was another in a series of inconsistent stances by the council on how to handle the unrest stemming from the disputed June 12 race. "If a major breach occurs in an election, the Guardian Council may annul the votes that ...