The man who at Christmas in 1996 was responsible for the British army was at Christmas in 1997 spotted buying tin soldiers for his collector brother.

ECONOMIST: Up for Portillo | The

Our correspondent also understands from Afghan sources, that the attacker's brother may have been involved in a separate attack on separate Nato soldiers in a different province of Afghanistan.

BBC: UK soldier killed in Afghanistan 'insider attack'

Her brother Josef was sent to Prague, where he was executed by German soldiers, after they discovered he had lied about his age.

BBC: Marie Supikova

And Mr Fonseka's biggest mistake as a candidate may have been to appear disloyal to his own soldiers by accusing the defence secretary (who happens to be the president's brother) of having ordered extra-judicial killings (before withdrawing the accusation).

ECONOMIST: Sri Lanka's presidential election: Between a rock and a hard man | The

His brother, Antauro, whom he has never publicly criticised, organised a fascist movement of ex-soldiers which in January 2005 briefly seized a small town in the Andes, killing five people.

ECONOMIST: Peru