World/Nation Briefs July 20, 2011

UK lawmakers grill police

LONDON - One senior journalist worked as a media consultant to Scotland Yard, helping to shape its public message. A second worked as a police interpreter, privy to confidential information. A third allegedly served as a police informant, passing on sensitive material in return for tips.

Across Scotland Yard, more than a dozen current and former employees of Rupert Murdoch's media empire have found work, raising questions about whether the ties were so close that Britain's premier police force shied away from investigating allegations of lawbreaking at his now-closed tabloid News of the World.

Keith Vaz, chairman of the parliamentary committee questioning senior police officers Tuesday about their links to the press, said that officials seemed to treat ex-reporters "almost like a fashion accessory."

FBI: Spy agency spent millions

WASHINGTON - For years, the Pakistani spy agency funneled millions of dollars to a Washington nonprofit group in a secret effort to influence Congress and the White House, the Justice Department said Tuesday in court documents that are certain to complicate already strained relations between the U.S. and Pakistan.

FBI agents arrested Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai, the executive director of the Kashmiri American Council, on Tuesday and charged him with being an unregistered agent of a foreign government. Under the supervision of a senior member of Pakistan's spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence, Fai donated money to political campaigns, wrote newspaper op-eds, organized congressional trips and met with White House and State Department officials.

NATO hands

over security

MEHTERLAM, Afghanistan - NATO handed over responsibility for the security of the capital of an eastern province to Afghan forces Tuesday, the latest step in a transition process that will lead to the withdrawal of all foreign combat troops by the end of 2014.

The U.S.-led coalition has started a process of transferring security in parts of the country where they feel Afghan forces are strong enough to take control, although so far that has largely been restricted to provincial capitals as much of the country remains lawless and unstable after a decade of war.

U.S. forces turned over control of Mehterlam, the capital of Laghman province, but they'll retain responsibility for the other areas in the predominantly Pashtun province that remain under the influence of the Taliban and other insurgent groups.

NATO officials said the handover sent a powerful signal that progress is being made.

"Above all, it is a tangible demonstration to the Afghan people of the growing capacity of this government and its increasing ability to improve citizen's lives," said Lt. Gen. James Bucknall, deputy commander of coalition forces.

Activists criticize Texas Gov. Perry

CONCORD, N.H. - In spite of his thundering speeches against big government, Texas Gov. Rick Perry has a troubled relationship with the tea party, a rift increasingly obvious as he gets closer to a presidential bid.

Tea party groups from New Hampshire to Texas are collaborating to criticize Perry's record on immigration, public health and spending and his former affiliation with the Democratic Party.

"It's real easy to walk into church on Sunday morning and sing from the hymnal. I saw a guy that talked like a tea party candidate but didn't govern like one," said Debra Medina, a Texas tea party activist who challenged Perry in the 2010 Republican gubernatorial primary. "I still don't think he governs like the conservative he professes to be."

Magna Carta copy to reveal full text

WASHINGTON - A painstaking conservation effort to remove old patches and repair weak spots in a 714-year-old copy of the Magna Carta has revealed that the full text of that English declaration of human rights remains intact even though some words are faded and illegible to the eye, the National Archives said Tuesday.

A $13.5 million gift from philanthropist David Rubenstein - owner of the handwritten document - is funding the conservation effort as well preparations for an upcoming exhibit.

Thanks to the gift, the largest cash donation to the National Archives, the copy of the Magna Carta eventually will be shown as a forerunner to the freedoms imagined in the U.S. Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights. Plans call for exhibiting it along with documents showing the struggle for rights of African Americans, women, immigrants and others.

- The Associated Press