Media organisations including the Guardian yesterday challenged a demand unprecedented in modern times – that witnesses at a forthcoming murder trial should be heard in secret, for “national security” reasons.
Such a trial would breach the common law principle of open justice and the principle of freedom of the press enshrined in the European human rights convention, Gavin Millar QC told an Old Bailey judge.
– The Guardian
Senior British police officials are talking to the FBI about an international database to hunt for major criminals and terrorists.
The US-initiated programme, “Server in the Sky”, would take cooperation between the police forces way beyond the current faxing of fingerprints across the Atlantic. Allies in the “war against terror” – the US, UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand – have formed a working group, the International Information Consortium, to plan their strategy.
Biometric measurements, irises or palm prints as well as fingerprints, and other personal information are likely to be exchanged across the network. One section will feature the world’s most wanted suspects. The database could hold details of millions of criminals and suspects.
– The Guardian
MySpace, the News Corp-owned social-networking site, will implement several security measures to protect users from sexual predators as part of a new agreement that state regulators in the US hailed as a potential model for the burgeoning industry.
The agreement was announced yesterday after nearly two years of contentious negotiations. Among other measures, it calls for MySpace to create an e-mail registry that would allow parents to bar their children from the site, and allow users under 18 to keep their profiles private from older users.
– The Financial Times
A Taleban suicide squad broke into the only luxury hotel in Kabul last night, killing at least seven people, including an American and a Norwegian journalist, and forcing hundreds more to take shelter in a basement as a firefight raged in the lobby.
– The Times
President Bush backed his political rhetoric against Iran yesterday with the promise of a $20 billion arms deal to boost the military clout of Washington’s key allies in the Gulf.
The deal, which could still be blocked by Congress, would see weapons, including Patriot missiles and precision-guided bombs, parcelled out to Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, to counter Iran. The announcement was timed to coincide with Mr Bush’s arrival in Riyadh, where he sought further support from King Abdullah for his continuing campaign against the Islamic Republic.
– The Times
