Murdoch editors must have known of phone hacking, court hears
LONDON (Reuters) – Rebekah Brooks, a former top editor, and Andy Coulson, Prime Minister David Cameron’s ex-media chief, oversaw a system of phone-hacking and illegal payments when they ran Rupert Murdoch’s British tabloids, a London court heard at the…
Israel pushes plans for 3,500 settler homes after prisoners freed
BETHLEHEM, West Bank (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered officials on Wednesday to press ahead with plans to build 3,500 more homes for Jewish settlers, hours after Israel freed 26 Palestinian prisoners as part of U.S.-brokere…
U.S. spy agency denies that it eavesdropped on Vatican
WASHINGTON/VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – The National Security Agency, responsible for U.S. electronic eavesdropping, said on Wednesday that it does not target the Vatican and called an Italian media report that it had done so “not true.”
Merkel envoys at White House to sort out U.S.-German tensions
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – American and German officials sought to overcome tension between their governments on Wednesday following reports that the U.S. National Security Agency monitored German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s mobile phone.
Iraqi PM Maliki struggles to convince U.S. lawmakers to back more aid
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. lawmakers had tough criticism for Iraq’s government after meeting with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Wednesday, saying they were open to meeting his request for military assistance only if Baghdad made significant changes…
France denies paying ransom as Sahel hostages return
NIAMEY/PARIS (Reuters) – Four Frenchmen held hostage in the Sahara desert by al Qaeda-linked gunmen for three years were reunited with their families on Wednesday, and Paris dismissed media reports it had paid a ransom for their release.
Egyptian students protest after Brotherhood leader arrested
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egyptian police fired teargas at protesting students at Cairo’s al-Azhar university on Wednesday hours after authorities announced the detention of Muslim Brotherhood leader Essam El-Erian, part of a crackdown against the Islamist mov…
Brazil to extradite former Turks and Caicos premier
BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil will extradite former Turks and Caicos Prime Minister Michael Misick to answer corruption charges alleging he accepted millions of dollars in bribes to allow developers to build resort hotels on the Caribbean islands.
U.S. tells U.N. it won’t spy on world body
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The United Nations said on Wednesday that the United States has pledged not to spy on the world body’s communications after a report that the National Security Agency had gained access to the U.N. video conferencing system.
Britain approves new press regulation system, newspapers cry foul
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain approved a new system of regulating its press on Wednesday, a move newspapers said was draconian and threatened freedom of speech but which former victims of press excess described as long overdue.
