In brief: British phone hacking inquiry could come to U.S.

London – The British phone hacking scandal that resulted in scores of arrests and the July closing of the popular tabloid News of the World could spread to the United States, a media lawyer who represents several victims said Thursday.

Attorney Mark Lewis said inquiries by British police into illegal phone interceptions by the tabloid were widening and he would be seeking documentation in the U.S. on behalf of three of his clients, who he said were victims of illegal phone interceptions.

The tabloid is owned by News International, the British branch of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.

“The cases I am pursuing were by the News of the World against people who were in the U.S. at the time they were hacked or were U.S. citizens,” he said in an email to the Los Angeles Times sent while he was en route to the airport.

“The scandal is not just confined to the United Kingdom or U.K. companies,” he told the BBC, “but this goes to the heartland of News Corp. and we will be looking at the involvement of the parent company and in terms of claims there and that is something that I think will be taken more seriously by investors and shareholders in News Corp.”

Military actions prompt concerns about coup

Bissau, Guinea-Bissau – The military here took control of the national radio station Thursday night and raided the headquarters of the country’s ruling party, raising fear that another coup is unfolding in West Africa.

Witnesses reported residents running in the streets as gunfire and mortar rounds went off in the capital’s downtown district, where electricity had been cut off. There were rumors that former Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Jr., who was expected to be elected president later this month, had been arrested. Soldiers were seen occupying his house in Bissau, according to reports.

The apparent coup followed one three weeks ago in Mali – a nearby country that had been seen as relatively stable. Guinea-Bissau, in contrast, has had several coups since a 13-year war for independence from Portugal ended in 1974.