News Headlines - 28 January 2011

▽Blair 'distrusted Cabinet on Iraq' - The Press Association
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5hCtxsQgyXMzj43LipChp1TJnMzQA?docId=N0418681296225782588A
Tony Blair failed properly to discuss plans to join the US-led invasion of Iraq because he did not trust Cabinet colleagues not to leak discussions, the UK's top civil servant has said.
And Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell told the Iraq Inquiry such an informal approach meant there were insufficient records to fully examine the decision to go to war.
Sir Gus levelled a number of criticisms at Mr Blair's so-called "sofa government" style as he was quizzed by the Iraq Inquiry, which is shortly to conclude its evidence gathering.

▽Intelligence agencies urged to track social media sites - BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12311900
Sir Gus O'Donnell told the Iraq inquiry that events in Egypt, where protests against the government are escalating, showed the value of "open source" intelligence as a barometer of opinion.

▽Chaos and calm, fury and rejoicing mark Egyptian protests - Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/28/idINIndia-54490620110128
Security forces used batons, tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets against protesters of all ages. Medical sources said at least five protesters died in Cairo on Friday and 870 were wounded.

▽Nelson Mandela's release from hospital calms national alarm - The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/28/nelsonmandela-southafrica
South Africans breathed a collective sigh of relief today when Nelson Mandela was discharged from hospital after treatment for an acute respiratory infection.
Speculation about the frail 92-year-old's health went into overdrive as he spent a second night in hospital while official details of his condition appeared subject to a virtual blackout.

▽Former Labour chief whip makes phone-hacking claim - The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jan/28/labour-whip-phone-hacking-claim
Nick Brown, the former Labour chief whip and a close ally of Gordon Brown, said today he believed his phone had been hacked. He told the Newcastle Journal the police had warned him several years ago his mobile phone might have been illegally accessed.