The Star Online: World Updates
The Star Online: World Updates |
- News Intl "worked with criminals" - ex PM-Brown
- Obama sharpens rhetoric against Syria's Assad
- Senator calls for U.S. investigation of News Corp
| News Intl "worked with criminals" - ex PM-Brown Posted: 12 Jul 2011 07:59 PM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown accused Rupert Murdoch's News International media group on Tuesday of using criminals to obtain information illegally about his private life and spoke of the shock he felt when it published a story about his baby's ill health. Brown said the Sunday Times newspaper had obtained access to his building society account and other personal files, and said he had seen evidence collated by the Guardian newspaper that News International was using known criminals to obtain private information.
His comments broaden the phone hacking scandal engulfing the News of the World to other titles run by parts of Murdoch's News Corp media empire. News International denied any wrongdoing by either of the newspapers. "My tax returns went missing at one point, medical records have been broken into. I don't know how all this happened but I do know ... that in two of these instances there is absolute proof that News International was involved in hiring people to get this information," Brown said in a BBC television interview. "And I do know also that the people that they work with are criminals, criminals with records, criminals who sometimes have records of violence as well as records of fraud." In a statement, the Sunday Times said it was pursuing a story in the public interest that Brown had bought a flat below market value and that he had obtained it through a company in which ally Geoffrey Robinson was a director. "We had reasonable grounds to investigate this matter and followed the PCC (Press Complaints Commission) Code on using subterfuge," the newspaper said. "We believe no law was broken in the process of this investigation, and contrary to Mr Brown's assertion, no criminal was used and the story was published giving all sides a fair hearing," it added. BROWN'S TEARS Brown was finance minister for a decade from 1997 and then prime minister until 2010. Like his predecessor Tony Blair, he cultivated News International newspapers and was angry when the top-selling Sun switched to supporting the Conservatives in 2009. Brown said he was devastated when told in 2006 by News International's Sun newspaper that it was to publish a story that his newborn son Fraser had cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease which often leads to an early death for the sufferer. The Sun was edited at the time by Rebekah Brooks, the chief executive of News International, the UK arm of the News Corp media empire. He said he was "in tears" about the disclosure. "Your son is going to be broadcast across the media, (my wife) Sarah and I were incredibly upset about it." Prime Minister David Cameron said his predecessor appeared to have suffered an "appalling invasion of privacy." "My heart goes out to Gordon and Sarah Brown. To have your children's privacy invaded in that way is completely unacceptable and heartbreaking for the family concerned," Cameron said. News International says it is satisfied the Sun story was obtained from a legitimate source. "We are able to assure the Brown family that we did not access the medical records of their son, nor did we commission anyone to do so," a News International spokesman said. "The story The Sun ran about their son originated from a member of the public whose family has also experienced cystic fibrosis," the spokesman said. "On receipt of the information, The Sun approached Mr Brown and discussed with his colleagues how best to present it. " (Reporting by Tim Castle and Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Tim Pearce) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. | ||
| Obama sharpens rhetoric against Syria's Assad Posted: 12 Jul 2011 07:59 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Tuesday that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had "lost legitimacy" for failing to lead a democratic transition, but stopped short of explicitly calling on him to step down.
It was the strongest language Obama has used against the Syrian ruler over his harsh crackdown on protests and echoed comments by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton a day earlier. "I think that increasingly you're seeing President Assad lose legitimacy in the eyes of his people," Obama told CBS News in an interview. "He has missed opportunity after opportunity to present a genuine reform agenda." White House spokesman Jay Carney said Assad "is not indispensable" and urged him to lead a transition to democracy. The sharpened rhetoric follows an assault by Assad loyalists on the U.S. and French embassies in Damascus, which drew strong condemnation by the United Nations Security Council. Pressed on why Obama has not gone further and urged Assad to leave office, Carney told reporters: "There's really a growing consensus among the Syrian people that this transition needs to take place and that President Assad is not going to lead it ... The Syrian people will, should, be able to decide their own future." The Obama administration has reacted cautiously to the Syrian government crackdown after working for the past two years to try to woo Damascus away from its alliance with Tehran, and remains mindful of the limits of its influence. Aside from international denunciation, the only concrete response to the violence has been U.S. and European Union sanctions against Assad, family members and aides. Washington has also been worried about instability on Israel's borders and wants to avoid another military entanglement in the Muslim world, where it is involved in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and a NATO air campaign in Libya. But with Monday's assault on the U.S. embassy by what the White House called "thugs," U.S. patience appears to be wearing thin with Assad, who has has been trying for four months to stamp out a broad popular revolt with troops and tanks. "We've made that clear to the Syrian government, that it is their responsibility ... to provide security for and to maintain security for foreign embassies," Carney said. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the U.S. ambassador to Damascus, Robert Ford, had met with Syria's deputy foreign minister for talks with "a much more collaborative tone." Syria has accused the United States and France of distorting and exaggerating facts about the embassy attacks. But Nuland said the United States would continue to discuss with allies possible further steps against Syria, including sanctions on its oil and gas sectors and potential referral to the International Criminal Court over the crackdown. (Additional reporting by Andrew Quinn, Caren Bohan and Laura MacInnis; editing by Christopher Wilson) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. | ||
| Senator calls for U.S. investigation of News Corp Posted: 12 Jul 2011 06:57 PM PDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. senator called for an investigation of News Corp following the telephone hacking scandal at one of its British newspapers, signaling the crisis could spread to the United States. Senator John Rockefeller, chairman of the committee on commerce, science and transportation, said phone-hacking at News of the World raised "serious questions" about whether the newspaper's parent company had broken any U.S. laws.
"I am concerned that the admitted phone hacking in London by the News Corp. may have extended to 9/11 victims or other Americans," he said in a statement on Tuesday. "If they did, the consequences will be severe." So far, the scandal has largely been contained to the British business of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. But News Corp is based in New York, and owns a clutch of prominent media properties in the United States, including the Wall Street Journal, New York Post, and Fox Broadcasting. In London, Murdoch and two top lieutenants have been summoned to parliament to answer questions next week as popular anger has spread over allegations that reporters spied on thousands of people, from the rich and powerful to vulnerable victims of crime. Earlier on Tuesday, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski said he did not expect his agency to become involved in any examination of News Corp. (Reporting by Paul Thomasch; Editing by Gary Hill) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
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