Rebel News - Independent News and Analysis

The British Ministry of Defense (MoD) has appointed General Peter Wall to take over as the new Chief of the General Staff in September this year.

The 55-year-old general will replace General David Richards, who becomes chief of the defense staff in October.

Britain's Labour shadow cabinet plans to vote against a "voting reform" bill -- the flagship policy of the coalition government -- at the House of Commons.

A backbench Tory-Labour alliance has also been designed to kill the bill either at its second reading or by rejecting the proposed date for holding the referendum which will be on the same day as elections in Scotland and parts of England and Wales next May.

The UK's Trident nuclear deterrent policy should be scrapped or cut back so that the government will be able to afford its costs in future, a think tank says.

The Royal United Institute (RUSI) has called on the government to reconsider the law that requires one nuclear missile submarine be patrolling at sea at all times.

Britain will launch two new inquiries to investigate the country's role in the war in Afghanistan, the House of Commons has announced.

The House of Commons' defense committee announced the new inquiries Wednesday, after previously secret documents leaked to the media shed new light on the civilian casualties of the Afghan war.

As Italy is facing a serious financial crisis, a decision by the coalition of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to buy costly fighter jets has sparked controversy.

Many pacifists and environmentalists, as well as Italian opposition, have criticized the decision to purchase a number of Eurofighter combat aircrafts.

A number of Christian organizations in France have called on the government to hold Israel accountable for its violation of Palestinians' rights.

Five institutions including Secours Catholique, Cimade, Acat-France, Defap and les Amis de Sabeel-France wrote a letter to the French Prime Minister Francois Fillon on Wednesday, calling for action against Israeli crimes in Palestinian territories.

Italy‎'‎s‎ ‎Foreign‎ ‎Minister‎ ‎Franco‎ ‎Frattini‎ ‎has‎ ‎expressed‎ ‎concern‎ ‎over‎ ‎BP's ‎plan‎ ‎to‎ ‎begin‎ ‎deep‎-‎sea‎ ‎drilling‎ ‎‎in‎ ‎Libya‎'‎s‎ ‎Gulf‎ ‎of‎ ‎Sirte‎.‎

‎BP‎ ‎should‎ ‎reach‎ ‎an‎ ‎agreement‎ ‎with‎ ‎the‎ ‎Union‎ ‎of‎ ‎the‎ ‎Mediterranean‎ ‎before‎ initiating ‎the‎ ‎project‎, Italian‎ ‎news‎ ‎agencies‎ ‎quoted‎ ‎Frattini‎ ‎as‎ ‎saying‎ on Wednesday.

Former head of the British Army says the country's military had "no desire" to enter the Iraq war in 2003 as its war machine ground to a halt over different engagements.

In his testimony to the Iraq war inquiry on Wednesday, former British army chief General Francis Richard Dannatt said that the British army nearly seized up since it was conducting simultaneous operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, the UK media outlet reported.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has agreed to grant a loan of more than $15 billion to Ukraine to help the country recover from economic crisis.

The aim of the loan is to revive the country's economy "through fiscal, energy and financial reforms," the IMF said on Wednesday.

BP's new chief executive Bob Dudley says the Deepwater Horizon well in the Gulf of Mexico may be permanently shut down as early as Monday.

"It is possible that as early as Monday or Tuesday this well might be killed," Dudley said on National Public Radio on Wednesday.