At long last, having joined the Special Air Service in 1944, he got the chance to go on a special mission, if still not a secret one.

ECONOMIST: M.R.D. Foot

British special forces are on standby to stage a rescue mission in Algeria, after foreign gas plant workers were taken hostage, says the Times.

BBC: Papers

Thanks to the Center of Studies for Peace and the Development, and with the support of the UNESCO Office in Jakarta, young women and men will be at the heart of attention in Timor-Leste on 26 February 2013, during a National Consultation in direct continuity with the special mission of the United Nations in this country, which has just ended.

UNESCO: THEMES

Some 29 of the hostage-takers died, while three were captured by Algerian troops during a special forces mission to end the four-day stand-off which began on 16 January.

BBC: Sebastian John

Press reports served up in the wake of the bin Laden mission to the effect that special forces teams and their CIA paramilitary counterparts perform such feats on a daily basis only underscores the high quality of these units, and their value to the nation.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Time for a fresh start on 'terrorism'