PM paid for former News of the World editor to stay over, two months after he quit as media chief amid phone-hacking scandal David Cameron hosted Andy Coulson at Chequers in March, two months after the former News of the World editor resigned as Downing Street director of communications, No 10 has said. In a sign of his determination to stand by the man he described as a “friend”, the prime minister paid out of his own pocket to welcome Coulson for an overnight stay at Chequers. Downing Street disclosed Coulson’s visit to Chequers as it published details of all of Cameron’s contacts with media proprietors and executives since he became Tory leader in 2005. The prime minister had told MPs on Wednesday that he would publish details of the contacts since he became prime minister but he later decided that this should cover all contacts since he became Tory leader. Labour attacked Cameron’s decision to invite Coulson to Chequers two months after his resignation in January, saying it showed an “extraordinary lack of judgment”. Ivan Lewis, the shadow culture secretary, said: “This is yet more evidence of an extraordinary lack of judgment by David Cameron. He hosted Andy Coulson at Chequers after, in the prime minister’s own words, Mr Coulson’s second chance hadn’t worked out. David Cameron may think that this is a good day to bury bad news but he now has an increasing number of serious questions to answer.” The prime minister has come under fire for what Ed Miliband described as a catastrophic misjudgment in taking Coulson into No 10 after the election. Cameron said at a press conference in Downing Street last Friday that he had met his “friend” Coulson since his resignation but not recently or frequently. In the past week he has started to distance himself from Coulson after facing intense criticisms for ignoring warnings from Nick Clegg and Lord Ashdown about the political dangers of bringing Coulson into No 10 after the general election. On Wednesday, Cameron told MPs: “I hired a tabloid editor. I did so on the basis of assurances he gave me that he did not know about the phone hacking and was not involved in criminality. He gave those self-same assurances to the police, to a select committee of this house and under oath to a court of law. If it turns out he lied, it will not just be that he should not have been in government; it will be that he should be prosecuted. But I do believe that we must stick to the principle that you are innocent until proven guilty.” This marked a change in tone from his press conference last Friday in Downing Street. Asked then whether he had been in touch with Coulson, Cameron said: “Yes, I have spoken to him. I have seen him, not recently and not frequently. But when you work with someone for four years, as I did, and you work closely, you do build a friendship, and I became friends with him. I think he did his job for me and the Conservative party and then the country – I think he did it in a very effective way. So, yes, he became a friend and is a friend.” When the phone-hacking affair erupted again earlier this month, Downing Street said that the prime minister stood by a statement he made when Coulson resigned as the No 10 director of communications on 21 January. This said that he had resigned simply because the allegations about phone hacking were making it impossible for him to concentrate on his job. The details of the prime minister’s contacts with media executives will show that he had lunch with James Murdoch on occasions which have previously not been reported. They also show, as the Guardian revealed in January, that he visited Rebekah Brooks at her Oxfordshire home over the Christmas period. A Downing Street source said: “We are releasing details of all of the meetings the prime minister has ever had with media executives. This goes right back to the beginning. David took the view that he should release details of meetings with everyone – every lunch and every dinner. This really is an example of transparency.” Lewis said: “I have been asking David Cameron to come clean about his dinner with James Murdoch and Rebekah Brooks last Christmas for five months. Confirmation that David Cameron attended this dinner two days after Vince Cable was stripped of his responsibility for the BSkyB deal and in the middle of a quasi-judicial process raises further questions about the prime minister’s judgment. People will want to know whether BSkyB was discussed and what messages were then relayed to Jeremy Hunt.” The list published by Downing Street shows: • The prime minister had a second social engagement with Rebekah Brooks over the Christmas period in addition to a dinner in January at her Oxfordshire home attended by James Murdoch. This was disclosed by the Guardian in January. Downing Street has repeatedly refused to answer questions from the Guardian about this second event for the past few months. • James Murdoch and his wife, Kathryn, lunched at Chequers in November 2010. • Brooks visited Chequers twice, in June 2010 and August 2010. • Colin Myler, former editor of News of the World, met Cameron in July 2010. • Editors and proprietors of other news groups, including Guardian News and Media, met the prime minister. Andy Coulson David Cameron Phone hacking Newspapers & magazines National newspapers Newspapers News of the World News International News Corporation Media business Nicholas Watt guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …After weeks of fierce criticism of her role in the British tabloid phone-hacking scandal, Rebekah Brooks is calling it a day. The News International chief executive has announced that Rupert and James Murdoch have accepted her resignation, the Guardian reports. Brooks—who edited the News of the World during some…
Continue reading …The New Jersey man arrested for stealing a Picass o from a San Francisco gallery last month was apparently trying to add to his personal collection of stolen art, police say. Authorities raided Mark Lugo’s home in Hoboken and found 11 stolen artworks—including another Picasso drawing—worth a total…
Continue reading …Europe’s hottest digital music service has just made its American debut and some analysts are already saying that the download industry is as good as dead. Spotify has a catalog of 15 million songs which users can stream instead of buy. Users can access Spotify for a small monthly fee…
Continue reading …The creepily cozy relationship between some Brit cops and News of the World reporters is emerging with word that Scotland Yard paid a suspected phone hacker $1,500 a day in consultant fees. “This stinks to high heaven,” said one aghast politician. Neil Wallis, former executive editor of the disgraced…
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Chris and Colin Weir from Ayrshire ‘tickled pink’ by winning Europe’s biggest lottery draw Husband and wife Colin and Chris Weir, from Largs in Ayrshire, have won the £161m jackpot in Europe’s biggest lottery draw. The winning numbers in Tuesday’s EuroMillions draw were 17, 19, 38, 42 and 45, and the Lucky Stars were 9 and 10. The couple banked the entire jackpot – £161,653,000 – after several rollovers. They were unveiled as the winners on Friday at the Macdonald Inchyra hotel in Polmont, near Falkirk. The couple have been married for 30 years and have two children. Colin Weir, 64, who has worked as a TV cameraman and studio manager for 23 years, said: “When we first realised we had won, it felt like a dream. Everything went into slow motion. But it feels like a good thing; something we should not be afraid of but for us to enjoy with the children. “All our lives we have lived within our means and been comfortable. We appreciate that this money brings about a whole new life for us and our family. “We now have so many new opportunities to explore but we won’t rush it. For us, it will be a gradual change with choices to be made.” Chris Weir, 55, a former psychiatric nurse, said the couple were having a normal night in front of the TV on Tuesday evening until she checked the EuroMillions result at around midnight. “We had bought five Lucky Dips, as the jackpot was now so big,” she said. “I started circling the numbers I had matched but wasn’t doing very well. Then on the fifth line, all the circles seemed to join up. “I had all of them but couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I checked them three or four times before going back downstairs to find Colin. He knew immediately by my face and tone that something was up. “After checking many times together, the news gradually hit us. The Camelot line was closed for the night but we couldn’t sleep. We sat up all night and saw dawn come round the next morning. “We were tickled pink. I even had a glass of white wine, which is something I normally only do at Christmas. It really is unbelievable.” The couple, who have both had serious health conditions in recent years and been unable to work, are already thinking about new homes, cars and travel to China and Australia. They plan to buy homes for their son and daughter, who are considering their first driving lessons. The win will catapult the Weirs into 430th place in this year’s Sunday Times Rich List, not far below David and Victoria Beckham. The jackpot was capped at €185m after a series of rollovers made it the largest ever in Europe. Angela Kelly, from East Kilbride, who won a £35,425,411.80 EuroMillions jackpot in 2007, had previously been Scotland’s biggest lottery winner. Scotland Europe guardian.co.uk
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Italian designer celebrated for relaxed tailoring wins commission to kit out national team for 2012 Games Stratford looks set to rival Paris next summer as the most fashionable place in the world following the announcement that Giorgio Armani will dress the Italian athletes at the 2012 Olympic Games. Armani’s appointment will pitch Italy against Britain on the catwalk as well as the running track, as Stella McCartney is already dressing Team GB. It is thought that the Italian designer’s company EA7 – a sportswear line that is part of the brand’s diffusion line, Emporio Armani – will provide specially designed performance wear for the Italians. He is the third confirmed designer at the Games. In addition to McCartney, Cedella Marley, fashion designer and daughter of reggae legend Bob, is known to be kitting out the Jamaican team under an agreement with Puma. There is speculation that more designers might be appointed to design for their national teams. The commission confirms Armani’s status as the king of Italian fashion. The 77-year-old designer is known for his ability to create wearable clothes, and his fashion empire spans all levels of designer fashion – from haute couture to underwear. Armani is no stranger to the crossover between sport and fashion. Aside from his sportswear line and the occasional appearance at his catwalk shows of surf gear and other sports-inspired designs, Armani has recruited sports stars including David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo and Rafael Nadal to front his blockbuster Emporio Armani underwear campaigns. Armani has interests in the business side of sport – since 2004 he has been part owner of the Milanese basketball team Olimpia Milano. It is a considerable honour to be chosen to represent the country in such a high profile way. It illustrates how much a label is considered to be part of that country’s establishment — the very best it can offer in terms of fashion. But it is not just patriotism on the part of the designers – there is serious commercial gain too, a factor the billionaire designer, who privately owns his company, will no doubt be aware off. The exposure and boost to the designer’s profile is huge – there will be an estimated global audience of 4 billion people watching the opening ceremony, and fans are encouraged to buy related products. Fashion and the Olympics already have a proven relationship. At the Beijing Games in 2008, Ralph Lauren was chosen to dress the US team, producing an opening ceremony suit with a preppy feel. In Athens in 2004, Sophia Kokosalaki – a London-based, Greek-born designer – was responsible for overseeing all the costumes for the opening and closing ceremonies as well as the uniforms for both the teams and officials. US designer Vera Wang, known for her wedding gowns and herself a trained figure skater who represented her country, designed some of the skating costumes for the 2010 winter Games in Vancouver. If Armani’s Olympic designs are in keeping with his design aesthetic it is likely that the kit will focus on easy tailoring rather than the racier aspect of Italian fashion. Fashion designers Olympic Games 2012 Italy Stella McCartney Fashion Europe Imogen Fox guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …The Transportation Scurity Admionistration has been taking a lot of flak lately, but at least they busted a Baltimore man who tried to get through airport security with 12 switchblades and a butterfly knife in his carry-on bag, MSNBC reports. The passenger, an Egyptian citizen who has been in the…
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UN applauds move to deal with dramatic increase in refugees fleeing drought and conflict in Somalia since the beginning of the year The Kenyan government has announced it will open a fourth refugee camp at Dadaab to accommodate the thousands of people fleeing drought and conflict in Somalia. According to reports on Thursday, Kenya’s prime minister, Raila Odinga, who visited Dadaab this week, said Ifo II camp would be opened on humanitarian grounds . The UN high commissioner for refugees, Antonio Guterres, has written to both Odinga and Mwai Kibaki, the president of Kenya, applauding the decision and promising the agency’s full support. Since Dadaab opened in 1991 to accommodate refugees escaping civil war in Somalia, a steady stream of people have been arriving there. However, severe food shortages and continued violence in Somalia have resulted in a dramatic increase in numbers since the beginning of the year, putting additional strain on already beleaguered resources. Dadaab, one of the world’s largest, most congested refugee camps, was declared full in 2008, but the UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, said about 1,300 Somali refugees had recently been arriving daily. Up to five families are sharing plots designed for one family. Thousands of people are currently living in makeshift shelter outside the complex. NGOs have been pressing the Kenyan government to open the extension camp, which is expected to be operational within the next 10 days. The UNHCR said on Friday it expected its first delivery of tents for the new camp to arrive in Nairobi on Sunday. Six subsequent flights carrying equipment are expected over the next two weeks. According to the UN, as of Wednesday the total number of refugees in and around Dadaab was 439,000 – 380,000 registered and another 59,000 new arrivals living on the outskirts of the three existing camps, Ifo, Hagadera and Dagahaley. A UNHCR official at Dadaab, Fafa Attidzah, told AP the agency was “thankful” Ifo II has been given the go-ahead to open. “We are just happy and again we are thankful and we are grateful to the Kenyan government and to the Kenyan people for having allowed these refugees who are suffering to have a little bit of dignity by having somewhere where they could be accommodated,” Attidzah reportedly said. The NGO Médecins Sans Frontières, which has been working in Dadaab for 14 years, reported this week that extreme heat, lack of water and sanitation, delays in the registration of new arrivals and provision of food rations had resulted in difficult living conditions for new arrivals. There are particular concerns over the number of children suffering from malnutrition. MSF said on Thursday that last month’s three-day rapid nutritional assessment, during which 500 children between the ages of six months and five years were measured and weighed, found 37% were suffering from global acute malnutrition; of these, 17% were severely affected, with a high risk of death. Children up to the age of 10 were also showing elevated rates of malnutrition. “There is a high level of malnutrition. We are extremely concerned,” said Monica Rull, head of MSF projects in Kenya and Somalia. “I expected to find a difficult situation but not a catastrophic one,” explained Anita Sackl, the co-ordinator of the nutritional assessment. “The majority of new arrivals actually fled because they had nothing to eat, not just because their country has been at war for decades,” she added. Thousands of Somali refugees have also been crossing the border into Ethiopia and Djibouti. As of 30 June, more than 54,000 refugees had arrived in the Dolo Ado region of Ethiopia since the beginning of the year, bringing the total number of Somali refugees in Ethiopia to more than 135,000. A third refugee camp was opened in Dolo Ado last month. The UN estimates that at least 10 million people in east Africa will be in need of humanitarian assistance as a result of severe food shortages, failed harvest, rising food prices and conflict in the region. The UN and the UK’s Disasters Emergency Committee have launched appeals for funds to address the crisis. On Thursday, Kenya’s government pledged 9bn Kenyan shillings ($100m) to provide supplies to those hit by the drought. Malnutrition Kenya Somalia Africa Refugees Aid Ethiopia Famine Liz Ford guardian.co.uk
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US defence department wants to go on offensive after revealing hackers obtained 24,000 key files in March The Pentagon may have to redesign some of its weapons system after a foreign intelligence service hacked into systems at a corporate contractor and obtained 24,000 key files in March. The incursion was one of the worst single incidents the US defence department has seen. Though it did not name the contractor nor the country suspected of carrying out the attack, Lockheed Martin said in May that it had come under attack. China and Russia have frequently been suspected of carrying out internet espionage, with China the most prominent in recent years. US defence chiefs now think they need to have a means of response against such incursions. “We’re on a path that is too predictable, way too predictable,” General James Cartwright, vice chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said on Thursday. “It’s purely defensive. There is no penalty for attacking us now. We have to figure out a way to change that.” Hours later, the deputy defence secretary, William Lynn, presented a strategy whose thrust, he said, is defensive and focused on “denying the benefit of an attack”. Lynn revealed that over the year key files including plans for missile-tracking systems, satellite navigation, surveillance drones and even jet fighters have been stolen from systems. “A great deal of it concerns our most sensitive systems, including aircraft avionics, surveillance technologies, satellite communications systems and network security protocols,” he said. Attacks on defence-related contractors and systems are growing increasingly sophisticated. The hackers who broke into Lockheed Martin’s systems had first raided the systems of EMC’s security subsidiary RSA Security which provides cryptographic “keys” used to scramble and decode files, in order to gain remote access to staff computers. Cartwright said US military commanders were now devoting 90% of attention to building better firewalls and only 10% to ways of deterring hackers from attacking. He said a better strategy would be the reverse, focusing almost entirely on attack. The defence department’s new strategy relies on deploying sensors, software and code to detect and stop intrusions before they affect operations. “If an attack will not have its intended effect, those who wish us harm will have less reason to target us through cyberspace in the first place,” Lynn said. “Current countermeasures have not stopped this outflow of sensitive information. We need to do more to guard our digital storehouses of design innovation.” Cartwright suggested that stronger deterrents would be needed. “We are supposed to be offshore convincing people if they attack, it won’t be free,” he said, adding that adversaries should know that the US has “the capability and capacity to do something about it”. James Lewis, an expert on computer network warfare at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told the New York Times the Pentagon’s computer networks were vulnerable to security gaps in the systems of allies with whom the military cooperates. America’s allies are “all over the map” on cybersecurity issues, Lewis said. “Some are very, very capable and some are clueless.” Lynn said most major efforts to penetrate crucial military computer networks were still undertaken by large rival nations. “US military power offers a strong deterrent against overtly destructive attacks,” he said. “Although attribution in cyberspace can be difficult, the risk of discovery and response for a major nation is still too great to risk launching destructive attacks against the United States.” He warned that the technical expertise needed to carry out harmful internet raids was certain to migrate to smaller rogue states and to non-state actors, in particular terrorists. If a terrorist group obtains “disruptive or destructive cybertools, we have to assume they will strike with little hesitation,” Lynn said. The Democrat congressman, Jim Langevin, co-founder of the congressional cyber security caucus, told the Washington Post the plan was a good start but that key areas were missing. “What are acceptable red lines for actions in cyberspace?” Langevin asked. “Does data theft or disruption rise to the level of warfare, or do we have to see a physical event, such as an attack on our power grid, before we respond militarily?”. Lynn said the US has not yet been hit by an act of cyberwar and that there was deterrent value in remaining ambiguous about what would constitute one. But ultimately, he said, it is the president and the Congress that would decide that the human or economic damage is severe enough to consider a cyber event an act of war. Hacking Data and computer security Internet Computing United States US national security Charles Arthur guardian.co.uk
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