Britain's Prince Harry to sue tabloid press owners over phone-hacking

LONDON - Britain's Prince Harry is to sue the publishers of Rupert Murdoch's Sun newspaper and the Daily Mirror over allegations of phone-hacking as he and his wife Meghan step up their battle with the tabloid press.

The move by Harry, Duke of Sussex, comes days after he and Meghan took legal action against a different newspaper in response to what he called "bullying" by some sections of the British media.

Harry was one target in a phone-hacking scandal that rocked Murdoch's newspaper empire and prompted the closure of his News of the World tabloid in 2011.

"Claims have been filed on behalf of The Duke of Sussex at the High Court regarding the illegal interception of voicemail messages," a spokeswoman for Harry said. She declined to give further details of the claim.

A spokeswoman for News Group Newspapers, publisher of The Sun, confirmed that a claim had been issued by Harry.

Court documents first reported by website Byline Investigates also show that Harry is targeting Mirror Group Newspapers, owned by Reach PLC, with the legal action. A spokesman for Reach declined to comment.

A source familiar with the situation said proceedings have been issued but the publisher was yet to receive legal papers in relation to the case.

On Tuesday, Harry said he and Meghan were taking separate legal action against the Mail on Sunday over the publication of a private letter that her lawyers said was unlawful.

In an emotional statement, Harry said the treatment of Meghan by sections of the British press was reminiscent of their approach to his mother Diana, who died in a car crash in 1997 after being followed through the streets of Paris by photographers.

"My deepest fear is history repeating itself. I've seen what happens when someone I love is commoditised to the point that they are no longer treated or seen as a real person. I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces," he said in a statement on Tuesday.

HARRY AND KATE TARGETED

Friday's legal action relates to events that happened before Harry and Meghan met.

In August 2006, the News of the World’s former royal editor Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire were arrested and later charged with hacking the telephones of royal aides by accessing voicemail messages. They admitted the charges in 2007.

The phones of Prince Harry, who is Queen Elizabeth’s grandson and sixth in line to the throne, and his brother William's wife Kate were hacked by staff working for the now-defunct News of the World, a London court heard in 2013.

News of the World had been part of News Group Newspapers.

The court heard extracts of a message left on Harry's phone in which an unknown male pretended to be the prince's then-girlfriend Chelsy Davy. The paper later ran a story saying the joke message was left by William for his brother.

Australian media tycoon Murdoch, now 88, said it was "the most humble day of my life" when he appeared in front of lawmakers to answer for the phone-hacking allegations in 2011.

News Group Newspapers and Mirror Group Newspapers faced millions of pounds of civil claims after the scandal, with celebrities including former footballer Paul Gascoigne and actors Hugh Grant and Steve Coogan receiving damages.

Reach PLC, which owns the Daily Express and Daily Star as well as the Daily Mirror, said in July there was a 12-million-pound provision for costs associated with the settlement of civil claims in relation to phone-hacking and it represented "the Board's best estimate of the amount required to settle the expected claims."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

One Direction's Louis Tomlinson to be father: reports

NEW YORK - One Direction heartthrob Louis Tomlinson is set to become a father, reports said Tuesday, in the latest jolt for the boy band once known for its squeaky-clean image.

The 23-year-old, who would be the first dad in One Direction, is expecting a child with Los Angeles stylist Briana Jungwirth, according to British tabloid The Sun and US celebrity magazine People.

The Sun -- which ran the headline "One Conception" -- said that Tomlinson went on dates with Jungwirth in May after breaking up with girlfriend of four years Eleanor Calder.

People magazine said that Tomlinson -- whose British band has vowed not to split up after a recent feud -- was looking for properties in Los Angeles.

"They are both really happy and although they aren't in a relationship, their friendship is extremely strong and they are both really excited about the baby," an anonymous friend was quoted as saying.

A representative for the band did not immediately comment.

Tomlinson last posted on Twitter a day earlier to raise support for a children's charity.

One Direction stormed onto the scene in 2010 when the young men appeared on the British talent show "The X Factor."

Beginning in 2011, the group has released an album of crowd-pleasing pop each year before the year-end holidays, selling more than 50 million records worldwide.

One Direction largely managed to avoid controversy until March when founding member Zayn Malik quit.

Malik afterward entered a feud over social media with Tomlinson, who questioned his former bandmate's solo efforts.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Is Zayn Malik working on a solo album?

MANILA - Zayn Malik may have left One Direction in order to live a life of a normal 22-year-old, but apparently that doesn't mean he'll be leaving the spotlight completely.

On Thursday, Malik gave his first interview to UK tabloid The Sun since his announcement.

He opened up about his decision to leave behind Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, and Louis Tomlinson to continue as a four-member group.

He admitted that he has been thinking of parting with the UK boy band for awhile, saying: "You know, I did try to do something that I wasn't happy doing for a while, for the sake of maybe other people."

He also confirmed that he is still engaged to Little Mix band member, Perrie Edwards, amid speculations that the two have split following his controversial photo with another woman.

"Yeah, she’s always supportive. She’s always good, man," he said of Edwards.

Malik also mentioned that he has been working on his own music, adding that he plans to "be [himself] for a bit. Write and relax and chill."

Other media outlets speculated that this meant that the singer will be embarking on a solo career, with some even noting that he was seen in a West London Studio with Naughty Boy --a producer that has worked on Sam Smith's debut album.




Malik also quashed rumors about a supposed rift with the other band members. "My band has been really supportive. They've been really cool about it. And they understand that it's not real to me any more," he said.

Shortly after Malik's announcement, Styles was caught on video in tears during the band's performance in Jakarta. All four band members have since aired their support for Malik's decision on their respective social media accounts.

Malik, in his decision on Wednesday, said that he feels that it is the right time for him to leave the band. He added that he wants to have some private time out of the spotlight.

It came days after he was signed off the band's world tour due to stress, which caused him to miss One Direction's first ever concert in Manila.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Murdoch admits 'cover-up' at News of the World

LONDON -- Rupert Murdoch admitted Wednesday there was a "cover-up" over phone hacking at Britain's News of the World tabloid but tried to shift the blame away from himself and senior executives at his media empire.

The tycoon told an official inquiry in Britain he had "failed" by not ordering an internal investigation sooner, but insisted that staff at the now-defunct paper kept top bosses at US-based News Corp. in the dark.

"There's no question in my mind that, maybe even the editor but certainly beyond that, someone took charge of a cover-up which we were victim to and I regret that," he said in his second day of evidence to the Leveson Inquiry.

"I think the senior executives were all... misinformed and all shielded from anything that was going on there and I do blame one or two people for that whom I shouldn't name because for all I know they may be arrested yet."

The News of the World's royal editor and a private investigator were jailed in 2007 for phone hacking but the industrial scale of the practice at the paper did not emerge until a new police probe was launched in January 2011.

Pressed by the senior judge leading the inquiry, Brian Leveson, about why he did not take further action over allegations against one of his biggest-selling newspapers, Murdoch added: "I also have to say that I failed."

The scandal fully erupted in July last year when it emerged the News of the World had hacked the mobile phone voicemail messages of Milly Dowler, a murdered British schoolgirl, sparking public outrage.

Murdoch shut the Sunday tabloid when advertisers boycotted it and Prime Minister David Cameron set up the Leveson Inquiry to probe the ethics of the press and its relations with politicians and police.

Asked on Thursday where the cover-up originated, the 81-year-old tycoon said it was "from within the News of the World."

"There were one or two very strong characters there who I think had been there many, many, many years and were friends of the journalists," he said.

"The person I'm thinking of was a friend of the journalists, a drinking pal and a clever lawyer... this person forbade people to go and report to Mrs Brooks or to James."

Former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks resigned as chief executive of Murdoch's British newspaper wing when the hacking scandal erupted in July last year, while Murdoch's son James was chairman.

Murdoch further denied that he had ever discussed News Corp.'s bid for full control of British satellite broadcaster BSkyB with British culture minister Jeremy Hunt.

Hunt's special adviser, Adam Smith, resigned on Wednesday over claims that he leaked details to a News Corp. lobbyist about the government's view of its takeover attempt.

Murdoch abandoned the BSkyB bid when the hacking scandal blew up.

In the first day of his long-awaited testimony on Wednesday, the Australian-born Murdoch denied that he had exerted a decades-long stranglehold over British politics, saying: "I've never asked a prime minister for anything."

He also denied discussing the controversial BSkyB deal with Cameron.

Murdoch still owns The Sun -- Britain's biggest-selling newspaper -- The Times and Sunday Times in Britain and the Wall Street Journal and New York Post in the United States.

News Corp. has paid out millions of pounds in compensation to hacking victims and more than 40 people have been arrested over hacking and alleged bribery of public officials by staff at the News of the World and The Sun.

source: interaksyon.com