Move to deputy chief operating officer confirms Rupert Murdoch’s youngest son is being lined up as his successor James Murdoch is moving from London to New York to become deputy chief operating officer of News Corporation. He will report to Chase Carey, who is number two at the media conglomerate run by his father, Rupert. Murdoch Jr will also become chairman and chief executive of News Corp’s international businesses, retaining his responsibilities for Europe and Asia. The move confirms that the youngest of Rupert Murdoch’s three children from his second marriage is being lined up as an eventual replacement for the News Corp founder, who is the company’s chairman and chief executive. Murdoch Jr has been based in London since November 2003, first as chief executive of BSkyB, the pay-TV company in which News Corp is the largest shareholder and of which it is attempting to take full control. In December 2007 he was promoted to BSkyB chairman and chief executive of News Corp in Europe and Asia. In this role he oversaw businesses including the Times, Sunday Times, Sun and News of the World publisher News International, and News Corp’s satellite TV businesses in Germany, Italy and Asia. The deputy chief operating officer job is the same post his older brother Lachlan occupied until he resigned in July 2005 . In a statement, News Corp said James will “work closely” with Rupert Murdoch in what it described as a “newly created role”. Murdoch will focus on News Corp’s international assets, developing strategies that “strengthen and further evolve businesses”, the company said. Murdoch joined the company in 1996 to run a portfolio of digital businesses before moving to Hong Kong in 2000 to run its Asian TV business Star, which was losing money. He has been executive chairman of News International, News Corp’s UK newspaper arm, since 2007, when Les Hinton moved to the US to take charge of the Wall Street Journal. He is also a non-executive director of pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline and auction house Sotheby’s. Murdoch said: “I feel extremely fortunate to continue to support News Corporation’s international growth and also be given the chance to contribute to important initiatives across the company. Most of all, I am delighted to work even more closely with Chase Carey, whose extraordinary leadership is felt in every part of the business.” Carey, News Corp’s deputy chairman, president and chief operating officer, added: “As we become increasingly global and consumer focused, we believe there are real opportunities to add new dimensions to our core businesses. We are confident that James’ deep knowledge of international markets, his proven leadership, and his passionate focus on building consumer relationships make him the ideal person to help us realise these opportunities across all our companies.” •
Continue reading …
Libya rebels withdraw from oil town as international coalition continue discussions over legality of arming them Troops loyal to the Libyan leader, Colonel Gaddafi, have retaken the key oil port of Ras Lanuf, forcing rebel fighters into a chaotic retreat under a barrage of tank and artillery fire. Nato planes bombarded the regime troops as their outgunned opponents continued to fall back from positions taken earlier in the week, when they had advanced within 60 miles of Sirte, Gaddafi’s home city. Meanwhile, as the debate within the anti-Gaddafi international coalition over the legality of arming the rebellion continued, the foreign secretary, William Hague, said that it would be possible to supply weapons under certain circumstances. Earlier, David Cameron told the Commons that no decision had been made but he “would not necessarily rule out the protection of civilians in certain circumstances”. The rebel’s rapid withdrawal came just days after insurgent fighters raced westwards following the destruction of government tanks and artillery in five days of aerial bombardment in the town of Ajdabiya. Ragtag opposition fighters have repeatedly been forced to retreat after fierce bombardments by the more disciplined government troops. “Gaddafi hit us with huge rockets. He has entered Ras Lanuf,” rebel fighter Faraj Muftah told Reuters after pulling out of the oil port. “We were at the western gate in Ras Lanuf and we were bombarded,” said a second fighter, Hisham. Scores of rebel four-wheel pick-ups raced east, away from Ras Lanuf, a Reuters journalist saw. Speaking to the Commons, Hague revealed that five Libyan diplomats had been expelled from the regime’s London embassy because they represented a potential security risk. Hague said that while the current arms embargo prevented weapons being provided to the whole of Libya, UN resolution 1973 allowed “for all necessary measures to protect civilians” to be taken. The British government’s view, which was not necessarily shared internationally, was that this meant rebels protecting civilians could be armed although ministers had “not yet taken a decision”, he said. Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, said on Tuesday that she believed arming rebels was legal under the UN security council resolution which sanctioned the no-fly zone and air operations. But experts in international law have questioned this interpretation , saying that it would breach the arms embargo on Libya agreed last month. There also remain questions about who is represented in the interim national council (INC) guiding the uprising. In Washington, Admiral James Stavridis, Nato’s supreme allied commander in Europe, told the Senate that intelligence reports had suggested “flickers” of al-Qaida or Hezbollah presence within the rebel movement. A UK diplomat, Christopher Prentice, the ambassador in Rome, met rebel leaders in their stronghold of Benghazi on Monday and Tuesday, the Foreign Office has said. Cameron told the Commons during prime minister’s questions: “In terms of the situation on the ground it is an extremely fluid situation, but there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that the ceasefire is still being breached and it is absolutely right for us to keep up our pressure under UN security council resolution 1973.” Asked by the Labour leader, Ed Miliband, whether the terms of the resolution that authorised “all necessary measures” to protect Libyan civilians, overrode the arms embargo, Cameron said: “I have said before in the House that we must do everything to comply with both the security council resolutions. “The arms embargo applies to the whole of the territory of Libya, but at the same time UN security council resolution 1973 allows all necessary measures to protect civilians and civilian-populated areas. “Our view is that this would not necessarily rule out the provision of assistance to those protecting civilians in certain circumstances. We do not rule it out but we have not taken the decision to do so.” Cameron said coalition forces had “taken action yesterday against regime forces harassing civilian vessels trying to get into Misrata”, the rebel-held town in the west of Libya, under siege from Gaddafi’s troops for several days. The RAF had flown 24 sorties over Libya on Tuesday night and Wednesday. “Tornado aircraft destroyed artillery and an armoured fighting vehicle near Sirte,” he told MPs. He also revealed that in his talks with the INC’s special envoy at Tuesday’s international conference on the Libya crisis, he had been “reassured” the group wanted its role to be transitional. “They are democrats. They are not tribal, and they want to see a future for the whole of Libya where the people have a choice over how they are governed.” Hague told the Commons afterwards: “To underline our grave concern at the [Gaddafi] regime’s behaviour, I can announce to the House that we have today taken steps to expel five diplomats at the Libyan embassy in London, including the military attache. The government also judged that were these individuals to remain in Britain, they could pose a threat to our security.” Libya Arab and Middle East unrest Muammar Gaddafi Middle East Nato James Meikle guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Facebook has yanked an “Intifada” page urging a Palestinian uprising against Israel. The site, the Third Palestinian Intifada, was pulled for promoting violence after Israel complained, said Facebook officials. Some 350,000 people were following the page, which called for an uprising following Muslim prayers on May 15. “Judgment Day…
Continue reading …The Getty Museum is the first museum in North America to agree to return a painting looted by the Nazis from a Dutch Jewish art collector. The Los Angeles institute will return Landscape With Cottage and Figures to the heirs of art dealer Jacques Goudstikker, whose collection was confiscated by…
Continue reading …Soulful leading man Farley Granger, best known for his roles in Alfred Hitchcock thrillers Strangers On a Train and Rope , left the movie business twice: once to enlist in the Navy during World War II and a second time, at the height of his Hollywood success, to take acting lessons…
Continue reading …British authorities are investigating how a fake bomb hidden in a wedding cake box was able to make it from the UK to Turkey without being detected. The package, containing a timer, wires and a detonator, traveled on a UPS flight to Istanbul, reports the BBC . A 26-year-old man has…
Continue reading …A 12-year-old student spent the day on a Dutch field trip as a girl and ended a mother. The girl suddenly suffered severe stomach pains on the outing, and arriving paramedics discovered she was about to give birth, reports the Telegraph . Both the pre-teen mom and baby are doing well….
Continue reading …New Yorker Ho Vasko says she went on a Chinatown pickpocketing spree for money to give to the poor. But prosecutors have a different explanation: she’s a thief who hates Chinese people. The 67-year-old former restaurateur, who came to the US as a refugee from Vietnam, faces up to 3…
Continue reading …Four proposals seek to ban or limit US government’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions The US Senate is due to vote as early as Wednesday on measures that would strip the Obama administration of its powers to act on climate change. Up to four separate proposals in circulation this week would seek an outright ban – or at the very least severe limits and delays – on the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. President Barack Obama was expected to deliver a speech later on Wednesday pledging to cut America’s oil imports by one-third over the next decade, by ramping up domestic oil production and increasing energy efficiency. White House officials said Obama would continue to press for new nuclear plants, despite the still-unfolding crisis at Japan’s stricken Fukushima plant, and also said that the president would make a call for the manufacture of more electric cars. The various measures in front of the Senate would prevent the EPA from going ahead with new rules on greenhouse gas emissions from major power stations that started to come into effect this year. The measures were expected to be attached to a small business bill. The leading Republican proposal would impose a ban on any future EPA regulation of greenhouse gas emissions, and prevent further improvements in car emissions standards after 2017. But it is the other proposals, put forward by Democrats, that could in the end destroy the last hopes of any strong action on climate change during Obama’s remaining two years in the White House. Even the most ardent opponents of the EPA’s climate change mission, such as Oklahoma senator James Inhofe, were unsure on Tuesday whether opponents of the climate regulation had the votes to pass an absolute ban. The White House has also said it would veto bills blocking the EPA. Inhofe told reporters he hoped the votes would put Democrats in coal and heavy industry states under pressure. “I do think this will force some Democrats to go on the record. And then the next time isn’t going to be quite so easy.” he told The Hill newspaper . But a Democratic proposal initially put forward by Jay Rockefeller, from the coal-mining state of West Virginia, was also gaining traction. Rockefeller’s proposal would put a two-year hold on EPA regulation on major installations. The idea is expected to pick up some support from coal state Democrats or those from conservative areas who are facing tough re-election fights in 2012 against conservative Tea Party Republicans. Obama administration officials had initially hoped to push Congress to pass climate change legislation, arguing that it was a better alternative to expanding government regulation through the EPA. Obama also offered deep compromises on his energy agenda to try to win over Republican support. He expanded offshore drilling only a few weeks before the BP oil disaster, extended $36bn in loan guarantees for new nuclear plants, and just last week opened up 7,500 acres for coal mining in Wyoming . But the strategy of using the EPA to scare Republicans into action backfired. After climate change legislation failed in the Senate , EPA action became the only course left to the Obama administration. Meanwhile, a new breed of conservative Republican vehemently opposed to government regulation began mobilising against the EPA and climate change regulations, calling the move to protect the climate a “job killer”. “It was a threatening argument [regulation through the EPA] – it did not help,” Senator Richard Lugar, an Indiana Republican, told reporters on Tuesday. “It was clearly meant to be intimidating, but it did not succeed and the pushback now is strong.” Climate change Carbon emissions Obama administration United States Suzanne Goldenberg guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …
Ouattara envoy claims forces loyal to would-be president control two-thirds of war-torn country after Gbagbo loses more towns Rebel forces in Ivory Coast say they are advancing towards the capital after seizing two more towns in the heart of the war-torn country. Militias loyal to presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara have taken control of Sinfra and Bouafle , according to his defence spokesman, Captain Leon Alla. Both are west of the capital city, Yamoussoukro. Earlier this week the rebels took three towns further to the west. Ally Coulibaly, Ouattara’s ambassador to Paris, claimed that rebel forces now control three quarters of the country. He said the incumbent president, Laurent Gbagbo, had been given every chance to step down following his defeat in last November’s election but Ivorians eventually had to take up arms to avoid a massacre of the civilian population. A spokesman for Gbagbo called for a ceasefire and mediation but warned that the battle was far from over. Spokesman Don Mello told Radio France International: “We call for an immediate ceasefire and the opening of talks under the mediation of the African Union high representative. Failing which, we will use our legitimate right of defence. “We have adopted a strategy of tactical withdrawal. We hope that dialogue will open very shortly. It is useless to head into conflict and increase the number of victims.” Over the past few days the rebels – who have controlled northern Ivory Coast since the civil war of 2002-3 – have advanced east toward the centre of the country. They have claimed to have seized two major cities, Duekoue and Daloa. Roads from Daloa lead south to the port of San Pedro, which could be used to resupply the rebels who do not have access to the sea, and east to Yamassoukro. The capture of Yamassoukro would be symbolic but not decisive. Gbagbo’s seat of power is in the commercial capital, Abidjan, where fighting has raged for months between rival factions. Pro-Ouattara forces also made progress in the east, near the Ghana border. They took Bondoukou in the north-east before marching 200km (125 miles) south to, and through, Abengourou unopposed, residents said, leaving them 200km north-east of Abidjan. The UN accused pro-Gbagbo forces of shooting dead up to 10 civilians in the Abidjan suburb of Abobo on Tuesday. Gbagbo’s government spokesman dismissed the report and said Abidjan was “impregnable” to rebel attack. Violence in Abidjan may escalate after Gbagbo’s army spokesman called on his youths to join the fight. “The hour for their enrolment has arrived,” Colonel Babri Gohourou told state TV. “They will be called up from Wednesday.” Gbagbo’s Young Patriots have targeted UN staff for weeks, beating them, burning UN vehicles and sometimes abducting them. A Nigerien UN peacekeeper was seized by unknown attackers two weeks ago and remains missing, according to security sources. “We think one of our soldiers in the Nigerien contingent in Abidjan was kidnapped in the week from 12 to 19 March,” a security source in Niamey, Niger’s capital, told Reuters. “The UN is investigating.” The international community and Ivory Coast’s electoral commission say Ouattara won the presidential election. But Gbagbo refuses to give up power. More than one million people have fled the fighting that has ensued and at least 462 have been killed since the election, according to UN figures. Ouattara’s camp puts the death toll above 700. In the town of Doekoue, up to 30,000 people took refuge in a church compound to escape the fighting. A missionary told the BBC that many of those who had sought refuge at the mission were migrants from other West African countries who had been working in the surrounding cocoa plantations. Sources said electricity in Duekoue has also been cut, apparently as a result of the fighting, depriving people in the area of water. Amnesty International called on the UN mission in Ivory Coast, known as UNOCI, to take urgent action to protect civilians in Doekoue. Veronique Aubert, its Africa deputy director, said: “The UNOCI mandate in Ivory Coast requires the peacekeepers to protect civilians at imminent threat of physical violence. They must act immediately to prevent further bloodshed.” “Their camp is only about 3km from Doekoue and we’re urging them to use all means necessary to protect civilians against the violence taking place on their own doorstep.” A UN spokesman added that “robust patrols” had been deployed to protect the church and those inside. Ivory Coast African Union United Nations David Smith guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …