Britain is throwing out more than one million tonnes of electronic ”e-waste” such as broken computer monitors and discarded cellphones every year, and new government figures show that more than ever is going abroad. Last year, 23 000 tonnes of IT and electronic equipment was shipped out illegally, mostly to China, west Africa, Pakistan and India.

Police found thousands of Mandrax tablets, and materials for manufacturing the drug, when they raided a house in Kensington in Johannesburg on Monday, said police spokesperson Superintendent Chris Wilken. No one was in the house at the time of the raid and no arrests were made, said Wilken.

Fears were growing on Monday night for the safety of Ken Bigley, the Briton taken hostage in Iraq, after an Islamist website posted a video showing the beheading of one of the two Americans being held with him. The British Foreign Office condemned the killing and said the ”appalling crime” would not weaken its resolve in Iraq.

John Kerry fought to regain the initiative in the presidential race on Monday with a wide-ranging and scathing attack on the Bush administration’s policy in Iraq, accusing the president of bungling the war and lying to Americans about the seriousness of the situation.

The scene: a club in London’s West End used to welcoming showbusiness types and footballers. The cast: marketing experts, shareholders out to make a quick buck, plus a smattering of Russian hostesses known as the ”Nikita” girls. Oh, and one rather diminutive general, a hero of the Soviet military, dressed in full military regalia, sipping vodka and fascinating all and sundry with the story of how he invented the most famous rifle of all time.