Former police chief whose conviction for corruption was quashed says he will sue News of the World if his phone was hacked Ali Dizaei, the controversial former senior Scotland Yard officer whose conviction for corruption was quashed earlier this month, has been told by Metropolitan police detectives that he could have been a victim of phone hacking by the News of the World. Dizaei was sacked from the force after he was found guilty of corruption and served nearly a year in prison, but his conviction was quashed a fortnight ago and he was released pending a retrial. He has said he wants to rejoin the Met . It is understood that Dizaei will sue the paper’s publisher, News International subsidiary News Group Newspapers, if it can be shown his phone was hacked. If so he would becoming the latest of more than two dozen public figures to do so. Scotland Yard is currently investigating the full extent of phone hacking at the paper after reopening its inquiry at the start of the year. Detectives are in the process of contacting everyone whose name and contact details are listed in the pages of notebooks seized in 2006 in a raid on the home of Glenn Mulcaire, the former private investigator who was working for the News of the World at the time. Dizaei said he was “shocked and appalled” after detectives told him his police phone may have been hacked. He said the phone that may have been targeted was used for police business, according to a BBC report . The relationship between the police and the News of the World has come under intense scrutiny in recent months after it emerged that some of the Met’s most senior officers have regularly met senior executives at the paper, sometimes socially. An apparent admission by former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks, who told MPs in 2003 the paper had paid police officers for information in the past, has also been placed under the spotlight once more as part of an investigation by the Commons home affairs select committee into the legal ramifications of phone hacking. Brooks, who is now chief executive of News International, the UK arm of Rupert Murdoch’s newspaper business, wrote to the committee in March this year clarifying her 2003 comment. She said she had been “responding to a specific line of questioning on how newspapers get information”. She added: “If, in doing so, I gave the impression that I had knowledge of any specific cases, I can assure you that this was not my intention.” The home affairs select committee is expected to publish its report on phone hacking early next month. •
Continue reading …Former police chief whose conviction for corruption was quashed says he will sue News of the World if his phone was hacked Ali Dizaei, the controversial former senior Scotland Yard officer whose conviction for corruption was quashed earlier this month, has been told by Metropolitan police detectives that he could have been a victim of phone hacking by the News of the World. Dizaei was sacked from the force after he was found guilty of corruption and served nearly a year in prison, but his conviction was quashed a fortnight ago and he was released pending a retrial. He has said he wants to rejoin the Met . It is understood that Dizaei will sue the paper’s publisher, News International subsidiary News Group Newspapers, if it can be shown his phone was hacked. If so he would becoming the latest of more than two dozen public figures to do so. Scotland Yard is currently investigating the full extent of phone hacking at the paper after reopening its inquiry at the start of the year. Detectives are in the process of contacting everyone whose name and contact details are listed in the pages of notebooks seized in 2006 in a raid on the home of Glenn Mulcaire, the former private investigator who was working for the News of the World at the time. Dizaei said he was “shocked and appalled” after detectives told him his police phone may have been hacked. He said the phone that may have been targeted was used for police business, according to a BBC report . The relationship between the police and the News of the World has come under intense scrutiny in recent months after it emerged that some of the Met’s most senior officers have regularly met senior executives at the paper, sometimes socially. An apparent admission by former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks, who told MPs in 2003 the paper had paid police officers for information in the past, has also been placed under the spotlight once more as part of an investigation by the Commons home affairs select committee into the legal ramifications of phone hacking. Brooks, who is now chief executive of News International, the UK arm of Rupert Murdoch’s newspaper business, wrote to the committee in March this year clarifying her 2003 comment. She said she had been “responding to a specific line of questioning on how newspapers get information”. She added: “If, in doing so, I gave the impression that I had knowledge of any specific cases, I can assure you that this was not my intention.” The home affairs select committee is expected to publish its report on phone hacking early next month. •
Continue reading …Former police chief whose conviction for corruption was quashed says he will sue News of the World if his phone was hacked Ali Dizaei, the controversial former senior Scotland Yard officer whose conviction for corruption was quashed earlier this month, has been told by Metropolitan police detectives that he could have been a victim of phone hacking by the News of the World. Dizaei was sacked from the force after he was found guilty of corruption and served nearly a year in prison, but his conviction was quashed a fortnight ago and he was released pending a retrial. He has said he wants to rejoin the Met . It is understood that Dizaei will sue the paper’s publisher, News International subsidiary News Group Newspapers, if it can be shown his phone was hacked. If so he would becoming the latest of more than two dozen public figures to do so. Scotland Yard is currently investigating the full extent of phone hacking at the paper after reopening its inquiry at the start of the year. Detectives are in the process of contacting everyone whose name and contact details are listed in the pages of notebooks seized in 2006 in a raid on the home of Glenn Mulcaire, the former private investigator who was working for the News of the World at the time. Dizaei said he was “shocked and appalled” after detectives told him his police phone may have been hacked. He said the phone that may have been targeted was used for police business, according to a BBC report . The relationship between the police and the News of the World has come under intense scrutiny in recent months after it emerged that some of the Met’s most senior officers have regularly met senior executives at the paper, sometimes socially. An apparent admission by former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks, who told MPs in 2003 the paper had paid police officers for information in the past, has also been placed under the spotlight once more as part of an investigation by the Commons home affairs select committee into the legal ramifications of phone hacking. Brooks, who is now chief executive of News International, the UK arm of Rupert Murdoch’s newspaper business, wrote to the committee in March this year clarifying her 2003 comment. She said she had been “responding to a specific line of questioning on how newspapers get information”. She added: “If, in doing so, I gave the impression that I had knowledge of any specific cases, I can assure you that this was not my intention.” The home affairs select committee is expected to publish its report on phone hacking early next month. •
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Serbian judges rules former Bosnian Serb commander will be extradited to The Hague ‘as soon as possible’ Judges have rejected an appeal by war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic seeking to stop his extradition to a UN tribunal, a prosecutor said. The former Bosnian Serb commander will be extradited to The Hague “as soon as possible”, Serbia’s deputy war crimes prosecutor, Bruno Vekaric, told the Associated Press. The timing depends on when the Serbian justice minister signs an extradition order, but that is expected to be done quickly, paving the way for Mladic’s immediate handover. Mladic is charged at the tribunal for atrocities committed by his Serb troops during Bosnia’s 1992-1995 war, including the notorious Srebrenica massacre that left 8,000 Muslim men and boys dead. Earlier on Tuesday, he was briefly released from the jail cell, travelling in a secret high-security convoy to a suburban cemetery where he left a lone candle for his daughter, Ana, who killed herself during Bosnia’s bloody ethnic war. Mladic, 69, was accompanied by a convoy of armoured vehicles, Vekaric said. “We didn’t announce his visit to the grave because it is his private thing and because it represented a security risk. The whole operation lasted for exactly 22 minutes and passed without a glitch. He was at the grave for a few minutes.” Europe’s most-wanted war crimes suspect could be handed over to the tribunal in The Hague as soon as late Tuesday or early Wednesday, officials said. A defence extradition appeal sent by mail arguing he is not mentally and physically fit to stand trial arrived at the Belgrade court on Tuesday. Mladic was arrested on Thursday in a village north of the Serbian capital after 16 years on the run. His 23-year-old daughter Ana, a medical student, killed herself in 1994 with her father’s gun. She reportedly did not leave a note, but reports at the time said she ended her life at Mladic’s Belgrade family house because of depression caused by his role in the war. Mladic has rejected the official investigation into his case and claimed she was killed by his wartime enemies, saying the gun was found in her left hand, although she was right-handed. Kadira Gabeljic, whose husband and two sons were killed in the Srebrenica massacre, condemned Mladic’s grave-side visit, saying she almost fainted at the news. So far, experts have managed to exhume only parts of her sons, Mesud and Meho, who were 16 and 21 when killed. “He [Mladic] was allowed to do it, and I am still searching for my children for the past 16 years, ever since Srebrenica happened,” she said. “My husband had been found, but what about my children?” She asked. “I will wait for years. I might even die before their complete remains are found.” In addition to the appeal, Mladic’s lawyer, Milos Saljic, had asked for a team of doctors to examine his client, who is said to have had at least two strokes. Vekaric accused Mladic of using delaying tactics and said nothing should prevent his extradition to tribunal. “Doctors are saying he’s capable of standing trial,” Vekaric said, adding that Mladic will get medical checkups once he arrives at the UN tribunal’s detention unit in The Hague. The prosecutor said no one would be informed when Mladic will be transported from his prison to the Netherlands “because of security risks”. On Monday, the Serbian president, Boris Tadic, rejected speculation that authorities had known of Mladic’s hiding place and delayed his arrest to coincide with a visit by EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton. The rumours have persisted because Mladic was found living not far from Belgrade with relatives who share his last name. “Any such comment makes no sense,” Tadic said. “The truth is that we arrested Ratko Mladic the moment we discovered him.” The president also said it was time for the EU to do its part by boosting his country’s efforts to join the bloc, arguing the arrest of Mladic proves it is serious about rejoining the international fold. “I simply ask the EU to fulfil its part,” he said. “We fulfilled our part and we will continue to do so.” The EU had repeatedly said Serbia could begin pre-membership talks only after it arrested the wartime Bosnian Serb commander. Some EU countries have said Serbia needs to do more, including arresting its last fugitive, Goran Hadzic, who led Croatian Serb rebels during the 1991-1995 war. Tadic said Hadzic would be arrested as soon as possible. Ratko Mladic Serbia Europe Bosnia and Herzegovina European Union United Nations War crimes guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Serbian judges rules former Bosnian Serb commander will be extradited to The Hague ‘as soon as possible’ Judges have rejected an appeal by war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic seeking to stop his extradition to a UN tribunal, a prosecutor said. The former Bosnian Serb commander will be extradited to The Hague “as soon as possible”, Serbia’s deputy war crimes prosecutor, Bruno Vekaric, told the Associated Press. The timing depends on when the Serbian justice minister signs an extradition order, but that is expected to be done quickly, paving the way for Mladic’s immediate handover. Mladic is charged at the tribunal for atrocities committed by his Serb troops during Bosnia’s 1992-1995 war, including the notorious Srebrenica massacre that left 8,000 Muslim men and boys dead. Earlier on Tuesday, he was briefly released from the jail cell, travelling in a secret high-security convoy to a suburban cemetery where he left a lone candle for his daughter, Ana, who killed herself during Bosnia’s bloody ethnic war. Mladic, 69, was accompanied by a convoy of armoured vehicles, Vekaric said. “We didn’t announce his visit to the grave because it is his private thing and because it represented a security risk. The whole operation lasted for exactly 22 minutes and passed without a glitch. He was at the grave for a few minutes.” Europe’s most-wanted war crimes suspect could be handed over to the tribunal in The Hague as soon as late Tuesday or early Wednesday, officials said. A defence extradition appeal sent by mail arguing he is not mentally and physically fit to stand trial arrived at the Belgrade court on Tuesday. Mladic was arrested on Thursday in a village north of the Serbian capital after 16 years on the run. His 23-year-old daughter Ana, a medical student, killed herself in 1994 with her father’s gun. She reportedly did not leave a note, but reports at the time said she ended her life at Mladic’s Belgrade family house because of depression caused by his role in the war. Mladic has rejected the official investigation into his case and claimed she was killed by his wartime enemies, saying the gun was found in her left hand, although she was right-handed. Kadira Gabeljic, whose husband and two sons were killed in the Srebrenica massacre, condemned Mladic’s grave-side visit, saying she almost fainted at the news. So far, experts have managed to exhume only parts of her sons, Mesud and Meho, who were 16 and 21 when killed. “He [Mladic] was allowed to do it, and I am still searching for my children for the past 16 years, ever since Srebrenica happened,” she said. “My husband had been found, but what about my children?” She asked. “I will wait for years. I might even die before their complete remains are found.” In addition to the appeal, Mladic’s lawyer, Milos Saljic, had asked for a team of doctors to examine his client, who is said to have had at least two strokes. Vekaric accused Mladic of using delaying tactics and said nothing should prevent his extradition to tribunal. “Doctors are saying he’s capable of standing trial,” Vekaric said, adding that Mladic will get medical checkups once he arrives at the UN tribunal’s detention unit in The Hague. The prosecutor said no one would be informed when Mladic will be transported from his prison to the Netherlands “because of security risks”. On Monday, the Serbian president, Boris Tadic, rejected speculation that authorities had known of Mladic’s hiding place and delayed his arrest to coincide with a visit by EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton. The rumours have persisted because Mladic was found living not far from Belgrade with relatives who share his last name. “Any such comment makes no sense,” Tadic said. “The truth is that we arrested Ratko Mladic the moment we discovered him.” The president also said it was time for the EU to do its part by boosting his country’s efforts to join the bloc, arguing the arrest of Mladic proves it is serious about rejoining the international fold. “I simply ask the EU to fulfil its part,” he said. “We fulfilled our part and we will continue to do so.” The EU had repeatedly said Serbia could begin pre-membership talks only after it arrested the wartime Bosnian Serb commander. Some EU countries have said Serbia needs to do more, including arresting its last fugitive, Goran Hadzic, who led Croatian Serb rebels during the 1991-1995 war. Tadic said Hadzic would be arrested as soon as possible. Ratko Mladic Serbia Europe Bosnia and Herzegovina European Union United Nations War crimes guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Serbian judges rules former Bosnian Serb commander will be extradited to The Hague ‘as soon as possible’ Judges have rejected an appeal by war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic seeking to stop his extradition to a UN tribunal, a prosecutor said. The former Bosnian Serb commander will be extradited to The Hague “as soon as possible”, Serbia’s deputy war crimes prosecutor, Bruno Vekaric, told the Associated Press. The timing depends on when the Serbian justice minister signs an extradition order, but that is expected to be done quickly, paving the way for Mladic’s immediate handover. Mladic is charged at the tribunal for atrocities committed by his Serb troops during Bosnia’s 1992-1995 war, including the notorious Srebrenica massacre that left 8,000 Muslim men and boys dead. Earlier on Tuesday, he was briefly released from the jail cell, travelling in a secret high-security convoy to a suburban cemetery where he left a lone candle for his daughter, Ana, who killed herself during Bosnia’s bloody ethnic war. Mladic, 69, was accompanied by a convoy of armoured vehicles, Vekaric said. “We didn’t announce his visit to the grave because it is his private thing and because it represented a security risk. The whole operation lasted for exactly 22 minutes and passed without a glitch. He was at the grave for a few minutes.” Europe’s most-wanted war crimes suspect could be handed over to the tribunal in The Hague as soon as late Tuesday or early Wednesday, officials said. A defence extradition appeal sent by mail arguing he is not mentally and physically fit to stand trial arrived at the Belgrade court on Tuesday. Mladic was arrested on Thursday in a village north of the Serbian capital after 16 years on the run. His 23-year-old daughter Ana, a medical student, killed herself in 1994 with her father’s gun. She reportedly did not leave a note, but reports at the time said she ended her life at Mladic’s Belgrade family house because of depression caused by his role in the war. Mladic has rejected the official investigation into his case and claimed she was killed by his wartime enemies, saying the gun was found in her left hand, although she was right-handed. Kadira Gabeljic, whose husband and two sons were killed in the Srebrenica massacre, condemned Mladic’s grave-side visit, saying she almost fainted at the news. So far, experts have managed to exhume only parts of her sons, Mesud and Meho, who were 16 and 21 when killed. “He [Mladic] was allowed to do it, and I am still searching for my children for the past 16 years, ever since Srebrenica happened,” she said. “My husband had been found, but what about my children?” She asked. “I will wait for years. I might even die before their complete remains are found.” In addition to the appeal, Mladic’s lawyer, Milos Saljic, had asked for a team of doctors to examine his client, who is said to have had at least two strokes. Vekaric accused Mladic of using delaying tactics and said nothing should prevent his extradition to tribunal. “Doctors are saying he’s capable of standing trial,” Vekaric said, adding that Mladic will get medical checkups once he arrives at the UN tribunal’s detention unit in The Hague. The prosecutor said no one would be informed when Mladic will be transported from his prison to the Netherlands “because of security risks”. On Monday, the Serbian president, Boris Tadic, rejected speculation that authorities had known of Mladic’s hiding place and delayed his arrest to coincide with a visit by EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton. The rumours have persisted because Mladic was found living not far from Belgrade with relatives who share his last name. “Any such comment makes no sense,” Tadic said. “The truth is that we arrested Ratko Mladic the moment we discovered him.” The president also said it was time for the EU to do its part by boosting his country’s efforts to join the bloc, arguing the arrest of Mladic proves it is serious about rejoining the international fold. “I simply ask the EU to fulfil its part,” he said. “We fulfilled our part and we will continue to do so.” The EU had repeatedly said Serbia could begin pre-membership talks only after it arrested the wartime Bosnian Serb commander. Some EU countries have said Serbia needs to do more, including arresting its last fugitive, Goran Hadzic, who led Croatian Serb rebels during the 1991-1995 war. Tadic said Hadzic would be arrested as soon as possible. Ratko Mladic Serbia Europe Bosnia and Herzegovina European Union United Nations War crimes guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Good morning, NBers. We hope everyone's Memorial Day was a thoughtful and restful one. And what better way to start one's week than an all-new episode of NewsBusted! Check it out below the break, and make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel . Topics in today's show: — Does Obama know which year it is? — President auto-signs Patriot Act extension — Barack O'Bama — Do Israelis support Obama's border plan? — DNC chair, who drives an Infiniti, says GOP wants everyone driving imports — Romney sends leftover pizza to Obama — Lech Walesa won't meet with Obama — Carla Bruni's pregnant Starring: Jodi Miller Production: Dialog New Media
Continue reading …Good morning, NBers. We hope everyone's Memorial Day was a thoughtful and restful one. And what better way to start one's week than an all-new episode of NewsBusted! Check it out below the break, and make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel . Topics in today's show: — Does Obama know which year it is? — President auto-signs Patriot Act extension — Barack O'Bama — Do Israelis support Obama's border plan? — DNC chair, who drives an Infiniti, says GOP wants everyone driving imports — Romney sends leftover pizza to Obama — Lech Walesa won't meet with Obama — Carla Bruni's pregnant Starring: Jodi Miller Production: Dialog New Media
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Infamous ship was launched from Northern Ireland city before heading to Southampton for ill-fated madien voyage in 1912 Launched from its dockland 100 years ago, Belfast is to mark the ill-fated first voyage of the Titanic. The ship’s hull was launched into the mouth of the river Lagan in Belfast Lough on 31 May 1911 by Harland & Wolff, which was then the largest shipyard in the world. To commemorate the event, a religious service will be held at the docks and a flare will be set off at 12.13pm – the exact time of the launch a century on. The passenger liner later sank after hitting an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York in April 1912. It took three years to build the RMS Titanic and just 62 seconds to complete the launch. The most famous ship to sink in modern history is now being used to relaunch a neglected quarter of Belfast. Up to £7bn has been invested in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter and an interactive visitor centre is due to open in 2012. The new centre which is modelled on the shape of a cruise liner will be the centrepiece of the quarter that Belfast city council and Tourism Ireland hope will attract thousands of visitors, particularly from North America. An exhibition about the Titanic will run from this weekend at the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum until 31 August. Niall Gibbons, chief executive of Tourism Ireland, said: “No ship has gripped the world’s imagination like RMS Titanic. “Her remarkable story begins at her birthplace in Belfast, and we highly recommend visitors to Belfast to discover the story of her creation through this exhibition.” The Titanic Northern Ireland Henry McDonald guardian.co.uk
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Joerg Kachelmann denied charges but country was captivated by tales of his promiscuous lifestyle and many women A celebrity weatherman has been acquitted of rape charges , judges said, after a high-profile trial that captivated the attention of the German media and public over the last year. Joerg Kachelmann, a 52-year-old public TV network weatherman, had denied the charges by state prosecutors that he raped his ex-girlfriend, 37, at knifepoint in February 2010 just before flying to Canada to work at the Vancouver Winter Olympics. Kachelmann, a Swiss national, was arrested at Frankfurt airport, leading to a case that stunned Germany. Details of Kachelmann’s private life have filled newspaper columns and TV news broadcasts since. Prosecutors had demanded a prison term for Kachelmann of four years and three months . His defence attorney argued it was consensual sex. “There was no other verdict that this court could reach,” Kachelmann’s lawyer Johann Schwenn told reporters afterwards. “Herr Kachelmann has been treated in a most shabby fashion.” The rape trial of Kachelmann, Germany’s top weatherman and famed for his rumpled appearance and entertaining reports, had dominated the media for the last nine months as it published salacious details of his tangled love life. Kachelmann admitted he was not monogamous but denied charges he raped the 37-year-old radio host. But that failed to dampen the interest of the German papers and public over reports of his many girlfriends and his celebrity lifestyle. Kachelmann said he had consensual sex just before the girlfriend discovered he was having an affair and ended their relationship. Prosecutors said Kachelmann raped her at knifepoint after she learned of the affair. Newspapers and broadcasters published stories about Kachelmann’s double life and girlfriends – with some reports saying he was seeing 14 different women simultaneously. Kachelmann became the country’s favourite weatherman in the last decade thanks to his light-hearted forecasts, ostentatious ties and unshaven appearance. Germany guardian.co.uk
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