Scandal hit UK tabloid axed as arrest expected

LONDON — Media mogul Rupert Murdoch has been recorded saying wrongdoing by his British newspapers was “next to nothing” and apparently acknowledging that his reporters paid police officers for information. In a tape published in transcript by the ExaroNews journalism website and broadcast Wednesday on Channel 4 News, Murdoch is heard saying, “it’s the biggest inquiry ever, over next to nothing.”

LONDON — A top counterterrorism detective was found guilty Thursday of trying to sell information to a Rupert Murdoch tabloid, becoming the first person to be convicted on charges related to Britain’s phone-hacking scandal since a police investigation was reopened in early 2011. Detective Chief Inspector April Casburn was charged with misconduct for phoning the News of the World and offering to pass on information about whether London’s police force would reopen its stalled phone-hacking investigation.

Britain’s Prime Minister, David Cameron, defied the Sri Lankan president and traveled to the north of the country Friday to meet Tamil victims of the civil war after criticizing the “appalling” and “chilling” crimes allegedly committed by the Sri Lankan government. Friday, Mr Cameron became the first foreign world leader to visit Jaffna, in the north of Sri Lanka, where he is expected to meet Tamil refugees. His actions are in contrast to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who is boycotting the summit to protest the rights abuses.