Seeking to contain the damage from a long-running controversy, News Corp.'s U.K. newspaper unit said it is apologizing and admitting liability in some civil lawsuits in which the company's racy British tabloid, the News of the World, has been accused of hacking into private voicemail accounts in pursuit of scoops.
News International said Friday it would offer an 'unreserved apology' to some civil litigants and admit liability in cases that meet certain criteria. It also will establish a compensation scheme to process claims against the tabloid.
Two dozen active cases have been filed, but plaintiffs' lawyers say there could be many more waiting in the wings. So far, News International is admitting liability in eight of the 24 cases, which include those brought by actress Sienna Miller and former U.K. government minister Tessa Jowell. Though News International has settled some civil suits in the past related to phone hacking, this is the first time the company is admitting liability.
The move represents News International's first major mea culpa in a story that, for five years, has plagued the U.K.'s dominant newspaper publisher. The company initially said only one reporter was aware of the invasive reporting tactics, an assertion proved untrue by later events.
'[P]ast behavior at the News of the World in relation to voicemail interception is a matter of genuine regret,' News International said in a statement. 'It is now apparent that our previous inquiries failed to uncover important evidence and we acknowledge our actions then were not sufficiently robust.'
'This will begin the process of bringing these cases to a fair resolution with damages appropriate to the extent of the intrusion,' the statement said. News International said it will continue to contest cases it deems meritless or outside the scope of its responsibility. News Corp. is the parent company of The Wall Street Journal.
The development signals the company's hope that it can close a chapter in the episode, which has brought consistent criticism of the tabloid's controversial reporting tactics. It isn't clear, however, how many civil cases News International will be able to settle with plaintiffs─especially wealthy celebrities who may be intent on publicly airing the details of their cases against the company.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Nobel Laureate Must Step Down From Bank
Bangladesh's Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus must step down as head of microlender Grameen Bank, a decision likely to ratchet up diplomatic tensions with the U.S.
The court ruled unanimously to uphold a central bank decision last month that Mr. Yunus, 70 years old, must resign as managing director of Grameen, which pioneered lending small amounts to poor borrowers without collateral.
The central bank found that Grameen had failed to get its approval, as required by a law that formally set up the bank, when it reappointed Mr. Yunus managing director in 1999.
Mr. Yunus appealed, but Tuesday's Supreme Court ruling ended that legal avenue. Nine of Grameen's 12 board members have launched a separate case at the Supreme Court calling for Mr. Yunus's reinstatement, which is likely to be heard Wednesday.
Mr. Yunus has remained at work since the central bank's ruling, but he appears to be running out of legal options to stay.
His ouster, if made final, could dent Bangladesh's international reputation at a time when its textile-driven economy is growing steadily and its moves to clamp down on Islamist extremism have won plaudits.
Some analysts say Mr. Yunus's fame after he shared the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize with Grameen has angered Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and that she increasingly views the bank as a competing power center.
While Bangladesh has lurched between unstable civilian and military governments since it was carved out of Pakistan after a 1971 war, nongovernmental organizations like Grameen have grown in stature. Bangladesh received large amounts of foreign aid following independence, which spawned a huge nongovernment sector.
Grameen, which Mr. Yunus founded in the 1970s, initially was aid dependent but hasn't taken donor money since 1998, as it became more profitable.
The court ruled unanimously to uphold a central bank decision last month that Mr. Yunus, 70 years old, must resign as managing director of Grameen, which pioneered lending small amounts to poor borrowers without collateral.
The central bank found that Grameen had failed to get its approval, as required by a law that formally set up the bank, when it reappointed Mr. Yunus managing director in 1999.
Mr. Yunus appealed, but Tuesday's Supreme Court ruling ended that legal avenue. Nine of Grameen's 12 board members have launched a separate case at the Supreme Court calling for Mr. Yunus's reinstatement, which is likely to be heard Wednesday.
Mr. Yunus has remained at work since the central bank's ruling, but he appears to be running out of legal options to stay.
His ouster, if made final, could dent Bangladesh's international reputation at a time when its textile-driven economy is growing steadily and its moves to clamp down on Islamist extremism have won plaudits.
Some analysts say Mr. Yunus's fame after he shared the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize with Grameen has angered Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and that she increasingly views the bank as a competing power center.
While Bangladesh has lurched between unstable civilian and military governments since it was carved out of Pakistan after a 1971 war, nongovernmental organizations like Grameen have grown in stature. Bangladesh received large amounts of foreign aid following independence, which spawned a huge nongovernment sector.
Grameen, which Mr. Yunus founded in the 1970s, initially was aid dependent but hasn't taken donor money since 1998, as it became more profitable.
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