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Special to the tribune Whistleblower’s ‘suicide’ fuels wild speculation in London  The apparent 'suicide' of a former News of the World Journalist has fuelled wild speculation in London about whether darker forces could be involved in trying to cover up the sordid story of telephone hacking involving British journalists, the police and the political establishment.
Taliban execute 16 Pak policemen on video |
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India may soon export N-reactors: US report
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Special to the tribune Whistleblower’s ‘suicide’ fuels wild speculation in London Shyam Bhatia in London The apparent 'suicide' of a former News of the World Journalist has fuelled wild speculation in London about whether darker forces could be involved in trying to cover up the sordid story of telephone hacking involving British journalists, the police and the political establishment. Sean Hoare died after imbibing lethal quantities of alcohol and drugs and the police so far say there is nothing suspicious about his "unexplained" death. But conspiracy theorists are quick to point out Hoare's key role as the whistleblower journalist who tipped off the public that his former editor, Andy Coulson, has actually encouraged his staff to 'hack' or intercept voice messages. Comparisons have been drawn with the 2003 death of British weapons scientist and Iraq expert David Kelly who died after slashing his wrists. He too was a whistleblower who told the media that the British government, to justify its role in the invasion of Iraq, had exaggerated claims about Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction. To this day there are a significant number of concerned British experts who believe Kelly was silenced to prevent him from speaking out even more. Last year Hoare told the New York Times that Coulson's claims he knew nothing about phone hacking were "simply a lie" and that Coulson "actively encouraged" him to intercept mobile telephone messages. At the time Coulson was media adviser to British Prime Minister David Cameron. He was forced to resign a few months later after a barrage of continuing stories that he was in charge of the News of the World when its journalists hacked into the telephones of murder victims, families of dead soldiers, members of the British royal family and many hundreds of other celebrities. It was subsequently alleged that journalists obtained their victims' telephone numbers from police officers who were given generous bribes in exchange for the information. No police officer was named, but leaked documents confirm how the newspaper's parent company, News International, made payments to the police in return for information. Last week, the head of Scotland Yard, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson, announced his resignation. A few days later, he was followed by the head of the counter-terrorism squad, Assistant Commissioner John Yates, who also announced he was stepping down. Both men deny any wrongdoing, but it turns out that Stephenson accepted £12,000 worth of hospitality from a health spa called Champneys that had as its PR expert a former News of the World journalist, Neil Wallis, who had also served as deputy editor under Coulson. Assistant Commissioner Yates stepped down after it was revealed he had failed to re-open an earlier investigation into the News of the World's phone hacking tactics. When Hoare was interviewed by the BBC and asked about the culture of telephone hacking at his former newspaper, he said, "There's an expression: the culture of the dark arts. You were given a remit - just get the story, that's the most important thing. "I've stood by Andy (Coulson) and been requested to tap phones, to hack into them and so on. He was well aware that the practice exists. To deny it is a lie. It’s simply a lie. It was always done in the language of 'Why don't you practice some of your dark arts on this', which was a metaphor for saying, 'Go and hack into a phone.' "Such was the culture of intimidation and bullying that you would do it because you had to produce results." It was after his revealing interviews to the print and broadcast media that Hoare was said to have become paranoid that someone from the government was coming to 'get him.' Friends and neighbours have been quoted in the British media as saying, "He would talk about someone from the government coming to get him and he was always hiding in the flat with his curtains drawn and he'd say, "If anyone comes by, don't say I'm in.' Although the police says Hoare's death is not suspicious, not least because he had been treated in the past for drink and drug problems, his death is an embarrassment for Cameron because it keeps public attention firmly focused on the phone-hacking scandal. The Prime Minister has been criticised for his poor judgement in hiring a controversial journalist like Coulson and then for failing to quickly get rid of him once it became clear that he might be implicated in the scandal. It has since become clear that Cameron was on friendly terms with at least one other News of the World journalist and former editor, Rebekah Brooks, who subsequently became chief executive of News International. Downing Street admitted on Tuesday that Brooks, who was arrested and questioned for nine hours by police detectives last Sunday, had been a guest at Cameron's 44th birthday party. Cameron is now facing the gravest political crisis of his career and there is talk for the first time about who could replace him as the Conservative Party leader and the Prime Minister. He has been forced to cut short his visit to South Africa to make a statement to an emergency session of Parliament. Whether that will be enough to placate his critics remains to be seen. Meanwhile, there is talk about who could make a suitable successor. Among the possible contenders are Defence Secretary Liam Fox and Home Secretary Theresa May. There is also a question mark over whether the Liberal Democrats, led by Nick Clegg, will want to continue to be linked to a coalition led by someone as badly damaged as Cameron. An early general election before the end of the year cannot be ruled out.
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Taliban execute 16 Pak policemen on video The Pakistan Taliban has released a chilling video that shows militants killing 16 Pakistani policemen and tribal guards after declaring them to be “enemies of Islam”.
In the recording, a Taliban commander loudly taunts a line-up of sombre-faced men dressed in salwar kameez, with their hands tied behind their backs. “These are the enemies of God’s religion,” the militant declares. “They are apostates.” The commander accuses the police officers of killing six children in the Swat Valley, once a Taliban stronghold. His face shrouded in a scarf, he says that “Allah” has assigned him to execute them. Then a crackling barrage of automatic gunfire is heard. The policemen tumble backwards on to a mound. Some of the bullets miss their mark, causing clouds of white dust to rise in the air. The police can be heard screaming as the weapons continue to empty. As the officers lie lifeless on the ground, a militant reloads his weapon. Walking slowly between the bodies, with the camera following closely behind, the Taliban fighter fires a further bullet into each of their heads. The Pakistani military’s chief spokesman, Major-General Athar Abbas, acknowledged the authenticity of the video. — The Independent
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India may soon export N-reactors: US report Washington, July 19 “Only Canada, China, France, Japan, Russia, South Korea, and the US export nuclear reactors. India may join this group in the near term,” the Congressional Research Service (CRS) said in its latest report ‘Nuclear Energy Cooperation with Foreign Countries Issue for Congress’. The CRS is the independent and bipartisan research wing of the US Congress, which prepares periodic report on issues of interest to the lawmakers. According to the World Nuclear Association, India is offering its indigenous 220 and 540 megawatt heavy water reactor designs for export, although no specific customers have been identified. The CRS report said only a limited number of countries conduct commercial enrichment and reprocessing of fissile materials and can supply this technology. At present, supplier states are not planning any transfers of enrichment or reprocessing technology.— PTI
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Brooks appears before British Parliament London, July 19 Brooks, who was subjected to intense grilling, said News International had acted “quickly and decisively” in dealing with the scandal. Rebekah Brooks, who is out on bail, said she was shocked at claims that her journalist had hacked murder-victim Milly Dowle’s phone. She said she was aware that the News of the World used the services of private detectives. “I was aware that News of the World used private investigators,” the 43-year-old former executive of the tabloid said. Under fire for the hacking scandal, Rebekah Brooks said she never sanctioned payments to police. Apologising for the intercepts, she said: “We have acted as quickly as possible over evidence. Mistakes were made but we are putting them right.” — PTI
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