SCO summit strengthens Azerbaijan–China partnership
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit opened in Tianjin on 31 August, gathering leaders from across Eurasia and the Global South....
Prince Harry’s prolonged legal battle against Rupert Murdoch’s British newspaper group took an unexpected turn on Wednesday when the Duke of Sussex settled his case over allegations of unlawful information gathering just before the trial was set to begin.
The 40-year-old duke had sued News Group Newspapers (NGN)—publisher of The Sun and the now-defunct News of the World—alleging that journalists and private investigators employed by the outlets had targeted him and his family from 1996 to 2011.
David Sherborne, Harry’s barrister, told London’s High Court that NGN “offers a full and unequivocal apology to the Duke of Sussex for the serious intrusion by The Sun between 1996 and 2011 into his private life, including incidents of unlawful activities carried out by private investigators working for The Sun.”
Sherborne, reading a full statement on behalf of the defendant, said NGN also apologized to the Duke of Sussex for the phone hacking, surveillance, and misuse of private information conducted by journalists and private investigators working for News of the World.
“NGN further apologizes to the duke for the impact on him of the extensive coverage and serious intrusion into his private life as well as the private life of Diana, Princess of Wales, his late mother, particularly during his younger years,” Sherborne stated.
The publisher also acknowledged the distress caused to Harry and the damage inflicted on his relationships, friendships, and family. NGN agreed to pay the duke substantial damages, while noting “without any admission of illegality” that its response to the 2006 arrests and subsequent actions were regrettable.
Former Labour Party deputy leader Tom Watson, a co-claimant in the case, also settled. Watson alleged that the tabloids engaged in unlawful information gathering and phone hacking between 2009 and 2011, coinciding with his investigations into the Murdoch newspapers during a high-profile phone hacking scandal.
That scandal led to the 2011 closure of News of the World and a public apology from Murdoch for phone hacking.
Sherborne added that NGN apologized to Watson for the “unwarranted intrusion into his private life during his time in government by News of the World between 2009 and 2011.”
The trial had been set to begin on Tuesday but faced repeated delays following requests from lawyers on both sides.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
A powerful eruption at Japan’s Shinmoedake volcano sent an ash plume more than 3,000 metres high on Sunday morning, prompting safety warnings from authorities.
According to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), a magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck the Oaxaca region of Mexico on Saturday.
The UK is gearing up for Exercise Pegasus 2025, its largest pandemic readiness test since COVID-19. Running from September to November, this full-scale simulation will challenge the country's response to a fast-moving respiratory outbreak.
A Polish Air Force pilot was killed on Thursday when an F-16 fighter jet crashed during a training flight ahead of the 2025 Radom International Air Show.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 31th of August, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin on Sunday for a regional security summit, Chinese and Russian state media reported.
China’s largest city and global financial hub, Shanghai, has set a new heat record, state media reported on Saturday. Temperatures in the city exceeded 35°C (95°F) for 25 consecutive days, breaking the previous record set in 1926.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Japan on Thursday to meet his Japanese counterpart, Shigeru Ishiba, with trade and security high on the agenda.
Spain has condemned the U.S. decision to revoke visas for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other officials, calling it “unacceptable” and urging the European Union to take a leading role in defending Palestinian representation at the UN.
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