In Britain, phone-hacking scandal focuses on police corruption and Cameron, while threat grows in the US (+ analysis); Surprise result in Euro bank stress tests; 1,000 Syrian troops with tanks surround rebel town; Yemeni al-Qaeda reaching into Somalia; UN tells Thailand and Cambodia to pull their heads in; and more

Top of the Agenda: Phone-Hacking Scandal Threatens British PM

Sir Paul Stephenson, commissioner of the UK's Metropolitan Police, commonly known as Scotland Yard, resigned (DailyTelegraph), following revelations that he had employed former News of the World editor Neil Wallis as a personal advisor. Wallis was arrested last week on suspicion of phone-hacking while at the newspaper, though Stephenson claimed that Wallis was not involved in the scandal while working for him in 2009.

Stephenson said he had not told Prime Minister David Cameron about Wallis's employment so as not to "compromise" Cameron (FT), whose former communications chief, Andy Coulson, was also arrested for phone-hacking activities at News of the World.

Stephenson's resignation followed mounting criticism that reporters at British conglomerate News International's now-closed News of the World bribed UK police officers (WashPost) for information on phone-hacking victims.

The scandal has threatened to bring down News International's parent company: media mogul Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Two of the company's most senior executives (Bloomberg)--former News International CEO Rebekah Brooks and former Dow Jones CEO Les Hinton, who presided over News International during the height of the phone-hacking abuses--resigned last week. Brooks was arrested (Guardian) in London on Sunday. Murdoch and his son, James, will testify before the UK Parliament on Tuesday.

At the same time, News Corp. faces a potential fallout in the United States (WSJ), as the FBI investigates whether the phones of 9/11 victims and their families were hacked by any News Corp. publications.

Analysis:

David Cameron's friendship with Rebekah Brooks and employment of Andy Coulson puts him at the center of the phone-hacking story, writes the Daily Telegraph.

The Guardian's Duncan Campbell says the Metropolitan Police is at the heart of the phone-hacking scandal, and calls on former police chief Stephenson to tell his story.

News Corporation looks likely to weather its scandal. But it may end up becalmed--and lose some crew to boot, argues the Economist.

 

PACIFIC RIM: UN Orders Thailand, Cambodia to Withdraw Troops

The United Nations' International Court of Justice ordered Thailand and Cambodia to withdraw troops from a disputed border area (BBC) near the ancient Preah Vihear temple, following bouts of deadly fighting between the two nations.

China: Chinese officials lodged a formal complaint with the US embassy in Beijing over President Barack Obama's private meeting with the Dalai Lama (WSJ), saying bilateral relations had been damaged ahead of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit to China next month.

 

ELSEWHERE:

- Syria Forces Descend on Eastern Town
- Yemeni al-Qaeda Aided Somali Militants
- Spain, Italy Boosted by Stress Tests

 

 

 

This is an excerpt of the CFR.org Daily News Brief. The full version is available on CFR.org.