According to Army intelligence sources, terrorists attacking British bases in Basra are using aerial footage displayed by Google's internet tool to pin-point their attacks. Documents seized during raids on the homes of insurgents uncovered print-outs from photographs taken from GoogleEarth, which pinpoints virtually all features on our planet. The satellite photographs show in detail the buildings inside the bases and vulnerable areas such as tented accommodation, lavatory blocks and where lightly-armoured Land Rovers are parked.

The British explorer, David Hempleman-Adams, has broken the world altitude record in a hot air balloon, having endured temperatures of minus 60C whilst flying his balloon at 32,500ft (6.1 miles) – just above the cruising height of a jumbo jet – and breaking a 27-year record. An airline pilot flying below the 50-year-old adventurer radioed him to say: "Only a mad Englishman would do that in an open basket." It was his 4th attempt to break the record set by Carol Davis, an American, who flew at 31,299ft in 1979.