Tony Blair’s wife sues Murdoch company over hacking
Cherie Blair, wife of Tony (and herself a lawyer), decides she, too, must stand in line and sue News International over allegedly having her phone intercepted. And to think that the Blairs and the Murdochs used to be such friends.
(Credit:
Screenshot: Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)
Rupert Murdoch was so looking forward to the launch this weekend of the Sun on Sunday, when suddenly a little more bad news was tossed at his mood.
For Cherie Blair, wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, has decided to sue Murdoch’s News International. Yes, she too believes that her phone was hacked by unscrupulous, prying journalists.
The Guardian reveals electronically that she is not only suing News International, but also Glenn Mulcaire, a private investigator whom the News of the World allegedly employed to interfere with the telephony of many famous people–as well as of some ordinary citizens who just happened to be in the news.
Almost 60 people have already managed to extract financial penance from News International. But there are still reportedly at least 50 waiting in the wings for their star turn.
Some speculate that this hacking may have involved attempting to discover tidbits about Cherie Blair’s sometime “lifestyle adviser,” Carole Caplin, who was featured in some interesting newspaper articles over the years.
What might seem sad to a few is that the Blairs once seemed to be fast friends of Rupert Murdoch. Indeed, many believe that without the support of the Sun, Tony Blair would never have been elected.
Britain is surely enjoying peculiar times. The current prime minister’s former communications director, Andy Coulson, is the subject of legal proceedings stemming from the alleged hacking–Coulson was once the News of the World’s editor. And now the former prime minster’s wife claims she, too, was eavesdropped upon.
This might be a reminder to so many in business that you only have friends for as long as there is a mutual–and material–benefit. However, one wonders just how many journalists in the U.S. might also have attempted a little hacking over the years and have yet to be discovered.
Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cnet/tcoc/~3/YVoQ0ekt2ZE/
Firefox’s Jetpack extensions reach mobile browsing
Mozilla has begun adding mobile device support to its newer extensions framework–but it’s also change Jetpack’s direction and breaking earlier extensions’ compatibility.
(Credit:
Mozilla)
Not long after Mozilla brought its browser to
Android, the organization has adapted its Jepack tools for building browser add-ons for mobile use, too.
“Now you can start developing add-ons for the mobile version of
Firefox,” said Mozilla’s Dave Mason in a mailing list message yesterday about the latest Jetpack, formally called the Add-on SDK version 1.5. “For this initial release we have the page-mod API working so that you can, among other things, create add-ons that will display mobile-friendly versions of Web sites that do not have that option.”
The mobile market is very important, given the tremendous growth in browsing from mobile phones and
tablets, but Mozilla is having a tough time getting a foothold. The non-profit organization is effectively shut off from Windows Mobile and iOS, and Google just released a beta version of its Chrome for Android.
But Mozilla is working hard on its Android browser–and building a browser-based mobile OS called Boot to Gecko (B2G) that it plans to showcase next week at Mobile World Congress. All this work is central to Mozilla’s hope to break the ecosystem locks in the mobile market that make it difficult for programmers and device owners to switch from one group of technologies to another.
Jetpack lets people expand Firefox’s abilities through use of extensions built with Web programming technologies such as HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. Jetpack lives alongside Firefox’s earlier add-ons that use the more powerful but complicated XUL technology.
Part of the promise of Jetpack is that Firefox updates shouldn’t break add-on compatbility as often as with traditional XUL add-ons, because Mozilla aims to keep the Jetpack interfaces stable across.
However, Mason also said one aspect of Jetpack is changing, so Jetpack add-ons will need to be rebuilt for Firefox 11:
In Firefox 11 (currently the Firefox beta release) we removed the nsIDOMNSElement, which is heavily used in the SDK. We’ve updated the SDK to handle this change, but this means that add-ons built with earlier versions of the SDK will not work with Firefox 11.
So if you have add-ons built with earlier versions of the SDK, you’ll need to repack them using this version of the SDK.At the same time, Mozilla is easing some of the pains of traditional add-ons. It’s now possible for some add-ons to be installed or updated without requiring a browser restart, and Mozilla is marking add-ons as compatible by default with future versions of Firefox since most of them don’t actually break with Firefox updates.
Mozilla is making deeper changes to Jetpack, too, according to a recently posted Jetpack 2012 road map.
A problem led to the changes: Mozilla had geared Jetpack for two audiences that it now believes aren’t actually likely to use it.
The first of those are programmers looking to develop sophisticated extensions, but Mozilla now believes they’re more likely to make full-on Web apps. The second are those who want to use the Greasemonkey technology to modify Web pages as they load, but Jetpack is too heavy and complicated for them, Mozilla believes.
The new road map said this about the change:
With shallow-integrators having better options coming in the form of apps, and the Jetpack project never really satisfying the Greasemonkey-scripters properly, we are proposing that we now turn our focus to the “Deep-Integrators.”
Deep-integrators are the backbone of Firefox’s add-on community. They are the developers who have made Firefox unique among browsers. While the SDK is still useful to them in its current state, we can make it an excellent toolset for them that offers a better platform than the traditional tools have.
The spotlight of this change will be “chrome mods,” the ability to change the browser’s user interface. (Chrome here refers to the frame around the Web pages in a browser, not to Google’s browser.)
“With a new focus on deep integrators we want to investigate what kinds of modifications we can allow SDK developers to make to the desktop UI [user interface],”
Mozilla’s chrome-mods wiki page states. “Chrome mods should allow the developer to easily alter Firefox chrome in a manner that is very similar to page-mods with the exception that the chrome being altered must first be properly identified before the developer can alter that element.”
Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cnet/tcoc/~3/gZyCTN9t6QQ/
Live
Stockport council will be meeting at 7pm on Thursday – and you can follow it live here.
Reporter Jennifer Williams will be filing live updates from the council chamber.
Click on the grey box below to follow the meeting, or if you are using a mobile device
click here
.
Article source: http://menmedia.co.uk/stockportexpress/news/politics/council_meetings/s/1486157_live---stockport-council-meeting?rss=yes
Tragic M60 dad Vinny Derrick ‘may have been killed in hit and run accident’
Tragic dad Vinny Derrick may have been the victim of a hit and run road accident, experts believe.
After a seven-hour post mortem examination yesterday the cause of death of the dad-of-one who disappeared eight years ago has not been clearly established.
But a Home Office pathologist has concluded Mr Derrick’s injuries are consistent with him being involved in a road traffic accident or possibly falling to his death.
Bones found near the Cheadle junction of the M60 last week were confirmed as his remains.
Mr Derrick, from Partington, vanished after a night out in Manchester city centre in the early hours of August 30th 2003.
He left the Jabez Clegg nightclub in the early hours and never turned up at his boss’s house in Heald Green, where he was due to spend the night.
His family made numerous appeals to find him – most recently in the M.E.N in December, when his widow Vicky pleaded for information about his whereabouts.
Detectives are now to review the original search for the 28-year-old whose remains were found not far from where he was last seen.
Police said his body had remained hidden from view because there was dense undergrowth in the area beneath a motorway bridge where he was found. But there was no suggestion that he had been buried.
Detective Chief Inspector Sara Wallwork, of Stockport CID, said: “This remains a difficult and complex inquiry and the result of the post mortem examination was never going to change that.
“The pathologist concluded that, while we cannot categorically confirm a cause of death, the injuries are consistent with a fall. However, there is also a possibility that he may have been involved in a collision with a vehicle.
“Vinny’s family have been informed of the result and we are continuing to provide them with support and will continue to update them.
“I am continuing to ask that anyone who has any information that could be of assistance to this investigation to please call us.”
Meanwhile, families of missing people, are on the verge of a vital victory, thanks to an M.E.N. campaign supported by Mr Derrick’s widow.
People who vanished without a trace would be declared ‘presumed dead’, despite their fate remaining unknown, under new laws being discussed by MPs.
The move would give people more control when a relative disappears – so they can tie up financial loose ends without resorting to costly court action.
Last year we launched a crusade to gain more rights for the relatives of missing people.
High profile campaigners,including Vicki Derrick, told how mountains of red tape made their ordeal even more agonising.
Our crusade for more rights for relatives has already spurred ministers into making the anguished families ‘victims of crime’ – entitling them to far more support.
And now MPs on the Justice Select Committee have called for another change in the law within a year – meaning missing people would be legally presumed dead, mirroring the current system in Scotland.
Vicki said: “I’m very happy with the outcome, which reflects the hard work that myself and many others have dedicated to this cause.”
She told how she was made a single mum ‘overnight’, leaving her unable to change her mortgage and facing repossession.
Stockport MP Ann Coffey, whose all-party parliamentary group for missing people held its own inquiry into this area of the law last year, said: “Vicki’s tireless campaigning on behalf of all families will ensure a lasting legacy.”
The report’s recommendations will now be considered by justice ministers.
Article source: http://menmedia.co.uk/stockportexpress/news/s/1486172_tragic-m60-dad-vinny-derrick-may-have-been-killed-in-hit-and-run-accident?rss=yes
Mulbury Homes secures £1m deal from Arcon Housing Association
Affordable housing developer Mulbury Homes has secured a contract for a £1m scheme in Greater Manchester.
Mulbury, based at Lymm, Cheshire, has been appointed by Arcon Housing Association to develop nine family houses across two sites on Derbyshire Avenue, Stretford.
The development, funded by a grant from the Homes and Communities Agency, will feature five, three-bedroom properties on one site and four on the other, 100 yards away. It is expected to be completed by early next year.
The sites have been vacant for several years following the demolition of run-down properties.
Mulbury director Greg Mulligan said: “This scheme will deliver energy-efficient family homes and bring these two neglected parcels of land back into use.”
Article source: http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/business/s/1486273_mulbury-homes-secures-1m-deal-from-arcon-housing-association?rss=yes
MJ Gleeson Group quadruples profits
Developer MJ Gleeson Group has quadrupled its profits after pursuing a strategy of building affordable homes for first-time buyers in urban areas of northern England and expensive family houses in the countryside in the south.
The regeneration specialist said pre-tax profits in the six months to December 31 soared from £100,000 to £400,000, despite a fall in revenues from £24m to £18.8m.
During the period, Gleeson’s regeneration and homes division boosted its activities in the north, opening eight sites with a further 10 due to open before the end of its financial year.
In Manchester, Gleeson is working on three projects.
At Grove Village in Ardwick, where it has already built and sold 300 homes, the developer is working to build 250 more houses, while it is also on site in Newton Heath, where it is building 34 properties.
In Beswick, it is approaching the end of phase one of a development which contains around 200 homes. The second stage will include another 175 houses.
Gleeson is also developing three sites in Liverpool, two in Burnley and one in Nelson, Lancashire.
Chief operating officer and group finance director Alan Martin said: “We are wanting to expand our operations in the north west, and Greater Manchester is a prime area to be in.”
Chairman Dermot Gleeson said: “Against the background of a housing market that has remained generally stable, Gleeson regeneration and homes has continued to increase the scale of its operations in the north of England.
“There has also been an encouraging increase in both site visitors and private development sales.
“The board remains confident that the group’s focus on low-cost brown field developments in the north of England and the promotion and sale of high-value green field sites in the south will provide a strong and sustainable improvement in the group’s performance.”
Article source: http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/business/s/1486260_mj-gleeson-group-quadruples-profits?rss=yes
Travis Perkins weathers the storm
A 25 per cent slide in the size of the UK’s DIY market since its pre-recession peak in 2007 left its mark on profits at Wickes.
Owner Travis Perkins said its retail division, which includes 200 Wickes and 107 Tile Giant stores, saw profits slip by £14m to £45m in 2011 as consumers cut back on buying kitchens and bathrooms.
Travis said conditions remained tough but impressed investors with an overall 37 per cent jump in profits to £297m after strong trading at its merchants arm and following a deal to buy plumbing and heating firm BSS.
The group said its retail market was 25 per cent smaller than its peak, while its trade markets have shrunk 30 per cent.
And it warned conditions were set to deteriorate further in 2012 amid rising unemployment and the weak housing market, with its retail business set to bear the brunt of the pain.
Its retail arm saw like-for-like delivered sales fall 1.4 per cent in 2011, while its performance worsened to a 3.1 per cent decline in the first seven weeks of 2012.
Like-for-like sales across he group were up six per cent over the year, boosted by a strong performance by its builders’ merchant arm, which outperformed smaller independent stores. Group revenues increased 52 per cent to £4.8bn, helped by the £558m acquisition of the BSS business. Shares rose after it announced a 33 per cent hike in its dividend.
Kevin Lapwood, an analyst at Seymour Pierce, said: “In 2011, Travis Perkins held up remarkably well and gained market share. We expect this to continue.”
He expects the group to make profits of £319m in 2012.
The group earlier this year announced a £24m deal to buy the 70 per cent of the 100-store strong retailer ToolStation that it does not already own.
It said it was surprised that the Office of Fair Trading had raised concerns about the proposed acquisition because its agreement with the Somerset-based business had created a robust competitor.
Article source: http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/business/s/1486297_travis-perkins-weathers-the-storm?rss=yes
Pirate Bay vows to go underground
22 February 2012
Last updated at 13:02
The Pirate Bay plans new evasion tactics
File-sharing site The Pirate Bay has said that it will adapt rather than die as it faces legal blocks in the UK.
On Monday the High Court ruled that the site facilitates copyright infringement.
It will decide in June whether ISPs must block UK customers from accessing the site.
In response, The Pirate Bay said it would use other methods for distributing content which would make it harder for its “enemies” to track.
The content industries, both film and music, have been taking a noticeably tougher line on pirates in recent months as they continue to lose profits because of those determined to get content free.
In November, the creative industries wrote to the UK’s major ISPs asking them to block access to The Pirate Bay, following the successful closure of movie distribution site Newzbin 2.
Magnets
In response, The Pirate Bay said it would be moving to new methods of file distribution from the end of the month.
“The 29th February is the last day we offer torrents in its current form. Then it will be all magnets, which works pretty much the same,” it said on its official Facebook page.
“Please understand that it’s a necessary move in the saga known as The Pirate Bay. Not having torrents will be a bit cheaper for us but it will also make it hard for our common enemies to stop us.”
Independent analyst Mark Mulligan explained the new method. “This means nothing in terms in legality, it is all about evasion and a more secure way of encrypting the sources of the file. Magnets send information about the file rather than its location,” he said.
The Pirate Bay does not host illegal files but allows users to search and access copyrighted content including movies, games and TV shows.
Set up in 2003, the site has been subject to many legal actions. In 2009 the Swedish courts found the founders guilty of helping people circumvent copyright controls although the site continued to function.
Search engines
New distribution technologies will have little effect if the court decides that ISPs must block access to the site, although that in turn will not mean an end to piracy.
“The Pirate Bay may have outlived its piracy lifespan but is a small task to mirror the site or to copy the indices. Even if The Pirate Bay is closed down people will just have to type ‘torrent’ into Google to find page after page of links,” said Mr Mulligan.
He believes that the content industries are likely to turn their attention to search engines in their ongoing battle to cut down on pirated content online. UK rights holders have already called for illegal content to be “forcibly demoted” in web searches.
“If the content industries get Google on board the problem disappears from the mainstream overnight,” he said.
The UK government has signalled its intention to look again at how it can stop search engines linking to pirated content in its new Communications Act. The US is also planning similar legislation in its controversial Stop Online Piracy Act.
Political point
Blocks, even at search engine level, are unlikely to deter the hardcore users of sites such as The Pirate Bay, which is becoming more politicised.
The site has already spawned political parties in Sweden and the UK and maintains a loyal fanbase who seem more than prepared to go the extra mile in order to carry on getting content for free.
For many, doing so is seen as an act of defiance against what they regard as state-led attempts to censor free content.
Meanwhile the authorities continue to tighten the net on piracy.
Last week the UK’s Serious Organised Crime Agency shut down music site RnBXclusive while officials in the US recently closed down Megaupload, one of the net’s largest file-sharing sites.
Article source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/technology-17125905
Million homes ‘need TV filters’
22 February 2012
Last updated at 15:36
The 4G signal will be used by the next generation of smartphones and tablets
Almost a million UK homes will need to have filters installed to prevent TV interference from 4G mobile signals – at a cost of £108m.
A smaller number of homes – about 10,000 – will need to switch to satellite or cable TV services in order to avoid degraded picture quality.
Homes that cannot receive these alternative platforms will receive up to £10,000 each to “find a solution”.
Costs will be met by the winner of a spectrum auction later this year.
Consultations are currently being held into how spectrum – which is used by analogue television – will be offered to mobile operators once airwaves are freed up by the switch to digital.
These airwaves are crucial to mobile operators to create next-generation mobile services.
The winning bidder, or bidders, will be required to pay for the costs of making sure viewers of digital terrestrial television (DTT) will not be affected by the changes.
Unwanted noise
In a consultation document released in August last year, media regulator Ofcom estimated that about 760,000 homes could be affected.
However, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) told the BBC that further research had suggested that number was likely to be closer to 900,000.
Homes falling within a certain range of transmitter towers will automatically have a filter issued, while a helpline will be set up to deal with interference cases outside of the predicted areas.
The filter, which is fitted to a digital TV box, blocks out unwanted noise from the 4G signal.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote
If you give £10,000 to a lady in Cumbria and say: ‘You need to fix it’ – I don’t think it’s enough”
End Quote
Saverio Romeo
Industry analyst
It can be fitted without the help of an engineer – but over-75s and disabled people will be given assistance if needed.
The DCMS said that in a very small number of homes, the filters would not be sufficient. A platform change – to satellite or cable – will be required, the cost of which will also be covered by the mobile operator.
It is estimated that about 10,000 homes may need to take this measure.
It is also predicted that about 500 homes affected by interference will be unable to receive satellite or cable services.
In these cases, expected to be in rural areas, up to £10,000 per household will be provided to fund alternative solutions to receiving television – such as having fibre cabling installed.
The DCMS said it predicted that small groups of affected houses would be able to pool their funding in order to pay for bigger investments like additional relay transmitters.
‘Disruptive’
Without the preventative measures, television picture would become unclear and fragmented, warned Saverio Romeo, an industry analyst from Frost Sullivan.
“The LTE [Long Term Evolution] spectrum, particularly on 800Mhz, overlaps part of the DTT spectrum,” he said.
Culture Minister Ed Vaizey said 4G technology would give the UK an economic boost
“The closer you are to a base station, the more disruptive the interference.”
He said that in addition to the £10,000 fund for the severely disrupted homes, education should be provided in order to help people understand what options were available.
“If you give £10,000 to a lady in Cumbria and say: ‘You need to fix it’ – I don’t think it’s enough.
“You need to help people understand new technologies. It’s not enough to give subsidies.”
A spokesman for the DCMS said added advice would be given to those receiving the financial help.
Culture Minister Ed Vaizey said adoption of 4G would provide a boost to the UK’s digital economy.
“Next-generation mobile services are essential for economic growth. They will bring an estimated benefit of £2-3bn to the UK economy.
“There will be some interference when 4G services are rolled out but we will have the solutions in place to eliminate the disruption to television viewers.”
Article source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/technology-17125468
EU court to rule on Acta legality
22 February 2012
Last updated at 13:03
Protesters assembled across Europe in opposition to the agreement
The European Union’s highest court has been asked to rule on the legality of a controversial anti-piracy agreement.
The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (Acta) has been criticised by rights campaigners who argue it could stifle free expression on the internet.
EU trade head Karel De Gucht said the court will be asked to clarify whether the treaty complied with “the EU’s fundamental rights and freedoms”.
The agreement has so far been signed by 22 EU member states.
The European Commission said it “decided today to ask the European Court of Justice for a legal opinion to clarify that the Acta agreement and its implementation must be fully compatible with freedom of expression and freedom of the internet”.
Several key countries, including Germany and Denmark, have backed away from the treaty amid protests in several European cities.
Acta is set to be debated by the European Parliament in June.
While countries can individually ratify the terms of the agreement, EU backing is considered vital if the proposal’s aim of implementing consistent standards for copyright enforcement measures is met.
As well as the 22 European backers, which include the UK, the agreement has been signed by the United States, Japan and Canada.
‘Misinformation and rumour’
Mr De Gucht told a news conference on Wednesday: “Let me be very clear: I share people’s concern for these fundamental freedoms… especially over the freedom of the internet.
“This debate must be based upon facts, and not upon the misinformation and rumour that has dominated social media sites and blogs in recent weeks.”
However, he went on to say that the agreement’s purpose was to protect the creative economy.
“[Acta] aims to raise global standards for intellectual property rights,” he said, adding that the treaty “will help protect jobs currently lost because counterfeited, pirated goods worth 200bn euros are currently floating around”.
Acta’s backers face strong opposition within the EU. Viviane Reding, the commissioner for justice, fundamental rights and citizenship, took to Twitter to outline her worries on the treaty.
“For me, blocking the Internet is never an option,” she wrote in a statement.
“We need to find new, more modern and more effective ways in Europe to protect artistic creations that take account of technological developments and the freedoms of the internet.”
Article source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/technology-17125469