Two charged over Joss Stone robbery plot in Devon

Two men have been charged with conspiracy to harm and rob the Brit award-winning singer Joss Stone at her Devon home.

Kevin Liverpool, 33, and Junior Bradshaw, 30, from Manchester, were arrested after a suspicious vehicle was seen in the Cullompton area on Monday.
The 24-year-old singer was said to be aware of the arrests and was described as "absolutely fine".
It has not been disclosed if Miss Stone was at the property at the time.
The men face charges of conspiracy to commit robbery and conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm.
Both are due appear before Exeter Magistrates' Court on Thursday.
Miss Stone's publicist said she was being kept informed of developments by Devon and Cornwall Police.

US lawmakers file suit against Barack Obama over Libya

A bipartisan group of US lawmakers has filed a lawsuit against President Barack Obama in federal court for taking military action in Libya without authorisation from Congress.

Ten members of the House of Representatives signed the lawsuit, saying Mr Obama violated the constitution in bypassing Congress.
The War Powers Resolution, passed after US withdrew from the Vietnam War, rules that involvement in combat operations unauthorised by Congress must be terminated after 60 days.
The suit, which also targets Defence Secretary Robert Gates, challenges "policy that any president can take the US to war unilaterally", Democratic lawmaker Dennis Kucinich said.
"We have asked the courts to move to protect the American people from the results of these illegal policies," he added.
Some of the plaintiffs in the suit also include Democratic Representatives John Conyers and Michael Capuano and Republicans Walter Jones, Howard Coble and Ron Paul.
The politicians have said they want President Obama to explain whether he intends to follow the War Powers Act and ask for Congressional approval for continued action in Libya.
The War Powers Resolution rules that involvement in combat operations unauthorised by Congress must be terminated after 60 days and troops must be withdrawn after 90 days. Sunday marks the 90-day deadline.
Last month, White House lawyers were said to be looking at ways US action in Libya can continue without contravening the resolution

Barack Obama makes rare visit to Puerto Rico

US President Barack Obama is making a rare visit to Puerto Rico, marking the first official trip to the island by a sitting US president since 1961.

The visit is being seen by some as an indirect bid for the votes of Puerto Ricans in the swing-state of Florida during next year's presidential poll.
The 3.8 million residents of the US Caribbean territory are US citizens but cannot vote for the president.
During his stay, Mr Obama will attend a Democratic National Committee event.
The president visited the island in 2008 during his campaign for the Democratic nomination, promising to return if elected president.
"Although my hair is a little greyer than during my first visit, I am glad to be able to keep that promise to the people of Puerto Rico," Mr Obama said as he greeted a crowd gathered in an aircraft hanger.
The president is scheduled to meet Puerto Rico's governor on Tuesday to discuss the political status of the territory.
Mr Obama told the crowd on Tuesday that when Puerto Rico had made a "clear decision" on their future political status, "my administration will stand by you".
The Obama administration has asked Puerto Rico to hold two referendums, the first on whether the territory should be independent or part of the US.
A second referendum would then ask Puerto Ricans if they would prefer the island to be independent, a US state, a free association or a commonwealth.

Targeting voters
 
On Tuesday, Mr Obama also spoke briefly about the impact the economic crisis had on Puerto Rico, saying Puerto Ricans and Americans on the mainland shared the same concerns about the economy.
The BBC's Julian Miglierini in San Juan says many people there believe the visit is aimed at courting mainland America's Puerto Rican electorate - and Hispanic voters in general - as they could hold the key to Mr Obama's re-election in 2012.
The president has called for broad reform of the US immigration system, an issue affecting many Hispanics with ties to the 11 million US illegal immigrants.
Meanwhile, roughly 20 pro-independence demonstrators held an all-night vigil in San Juan ahead of the president's visit, calling for the release of three Puerto Rican nationalists imprisoned in the US.

Mobile firms did not contact alleged hacking victims

Two leading mobile phone networks have admitted that they did not contact more than 80 of their customers to warn them their phones may have been hacked into.

Vodafone and Orange/T-Mobile told MPs the police had not asked them to do so and they were worried about prejudicing the inquiry conducted at the time.
They also said the police did not respond to a request for guidance after the case was reopened in January.
Several public figures are taking civil action against the News of the World.
Four alleged victims of phone hacking have already reached out-of-court settlements with the newspaper.
Earlier this month, it agreed to pay actress Sienna Miller £100,000 damages and costs and apologised for the "harassment and distress" it had caused by illegally accessing messages left on her phone.
The Metropolitan Police reopened its inquiry in January into claims that staff at the newspaper had hacked into the phone messages of public figures, including a number of MPs, following criticism of its previous enquiry dating back to 2006.

'Serious risk'

Several of those alleged to have been targeted, including former deputy prime minister Lord Prescott, have called for a public inquiry into the episode.

From some of the conversations with the customers, it would lead you to believe that there were reasons why people may want to get their information”

Adrian Gorham 02

Giving evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee, representatives from four leading phone companies were asked about the earlier police investigation and what they had done upon learning that their customers may have had their messages hacked into.
The head of fraud prevention at Vodafone, the UK's biggest mobile phone network, said it had written to customers in general to remind them of the importance of voicemail security but had not contacted the 40 customers on its network thought to be potential victims.
"We worked closely with the Metropolitan Police and, as in all cases, so as not to jeopardise the police inquiry, we did not contact our customers directly," Julie Steele told MPs.
She said she had "no recollection" of the police ever asking Vodafone to inform its customers.
Everything Everywhere, the company which owns Orange UK and T-Mobile, said it had an "assumption" that it would not contact potential victims - of which there were 45 on its network - in such cases.
"We would never contact customers as part of a police investigation," James Blendis, the company's vice president of legal affairs, said. "Our understanding is that there is a serious risk of prejudicing an investigation if we take an action like that."
Mr Blendis said the operator could not be sure that the person it spoke to owned the phone as many celebrities' phones were also used by assistants and PR people.
But O2 said it had contacted about 40 people which an internal investigation suggested may have been affected, believing there was an "obligation" to do so.
"We made a decision we would contact those customers and tell them the results of the investigation," Adrian Gorham, the firm's head of fraud and security, said.
"On none of the cases did ever I see any evidence they were definitely hacked. From some of the conversations with the customers, it would lead you to believe that there were reasons why people may want to get their information."

Juror admits contempt of court over Facebook contact

 A juror, who contacted a defendant via Facebook, has admitted in the first case of its kind in the UK involving the internet.

London's High Court heard that Joanne Fraill, 40, contacted Jamie Sewart, 34, who had already been acquitted in a drugs trial costing £6m in Manchester.
However, the jury was still considering charges against other defendants and the contact led the judge to discharge the jury, and the case collapsed.
Sewart was found to be in contempt.

She had admitted the contact took place but denied it amounted to an offence.

Facebook comment by Joanne Fraill

The case, brought by the Attorney General, Dominic Grieve QC, was heard by the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, and two other judges.

Sentencing is expected to take place on Thursday.
The maximum penalty for contempt is two years imprisonment but Lord Judge told Sewart, from Bolton, that any prison term imposed on her would be suspended because she has a three-year-old child.
Lord Judge warned mother-of-three Fraill, from Blackley, Greater Manchester, that she faced jail.
But he said he would not be able to decide on the correct sentence for her until a linked appeal against conviction brought by another defendant in the case - who was potentially affected by her actions - was concluded.
At the High Court hearing, Fraill admitted she had made online contact with Sewart and discussed the case with her while the jury's deliberations were continuing.
She also admitted revealing details of the jury's deliberations during that online conversation - contrary to Contempt of Court Act 1981 - and conducting internet research into a defendant whose case she was trying as a juror during the trial.
That was despite the judge reminding all the jurors that they must decide the case solely on the evidence given in court.

'Home and dry'

Fraill was on a jury in a case which had already been halted twice.
On 3 August last year, the judge in the third trial of the alleged drugs gang gave jurors the option of deciding the verdict by a majority rather than unanimously.

Peter Wright QC

But the High Court was told the trial was stopped the following day when Sewart's solicitor informed the court that his client and Fraill had been in contact by Facebook.

The court heard the initial contact came after Fraill went on the social networking website and tracked down Sewart, saying: "You should know me - I've cried with you enough."
Fraill was said by her lawyer to have felt "considerable empathy" for Sewart as the trial ""gathered in momentum and intensity".
"Can't believe they had u on remand," she said in another one of their conversations, a transcript released by the court shows.