plus 4, Wiggans to stay in governor's race despite lawsuit - Tri-City Herald

Wiggans to stay in governor's race despite lawsuit - Tri-City Herald
M.J.’s death tops ’09 Yahoo queries - Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
Honor Roll: Central Middle School - HometownAnnapolis.com
Wiggans to stay in race - Topeka Capital-Journal
Could London lose 'libel capital of the world' crown? - YAHOO!

Wiggans to stay in governor's race despite lawsuit - Tri-City Herald

Posted: 04 Dec 2009 11:24 PM PST

TOPEKA, Kan. Prominent Kansas Democrats rallied Friday behind their presumed nominee for governor despite his recent settling of a lawsuit that led a top aide for the leading Republican hopeful to label him "a fraud."

An adviser to Democratic candidate Tom Wiggans said the former pharmaceutical company executive would stay in the race. In an e-mail to supporters, Wiggans described U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback's campaign as a "smear machine."

Brownback is the presumed Republican nominee and his campaign has attacked Wiggans over a federal lawsuit filed by shareholders in Connetics Corp., a Palo Alto, Calif., firm Wiggans once led. In October, a judge approved a settlement in which Wiggans, the company and others agreed to pay nearly $12.8 million, plus interest.

Documents filed in federal court in San Francisco said the settlement was not an admission of wrongdoing. The defendants denied the allegations, and Kansas Democrats suggested Friday that such lawsuits are not unusual for businesses.

"Tom is 100 percent committed to the governor's race. No reconsideration," Wiggans adviser Amy Jordan Wooden said in an e-mail.

Wiggans is the only Democrat actively campaigning for the party's nomination in the August 2010 primary. Brownback faces only token opposition in the Republican primary.

News reports about the lawsuit were first posted online Thursday, and Brownback's campaign manager, David Kensinger, discussed it with reporters Friday. Connetics and executives, including Wiggans, were accused of misleading investors and making false statements in public and in federal regulatory filings.

"Tom Wiggans is a fraud," Kensinger said. "His candidacy is a fraud. The Democratic Party is attempting to perpetrate a fraud on the people of Kansas."

Asked whether Brownback would cite the lawsuit in television ads, Kensinger said, "Count on it."

But Wooden said Brownback's record on ethics is suspect. Among other things, she noted that in 2002, Brownback's campaign was required to pay the federal government $19,000 for over-the-limit campaign contributions.

"Sam Brownback's campaign calling someone else a 'fraud' is like Britney Spears criticizing someone's parenting skills," she said.

Kensinger replied: "When you're caught defrauding retired teachers and others out of 13 million bucks, I guess the best you can do is try and change the subject."

Prominent Democrats said they don't expect the lawsuit to stick as an issue.

"There's plenty of people in politics who've been involved in businesses that have had lawsuits," said Kansas House Minority Leader Paul Davis, a Lawrence Democrat. "I expect that this will be a bump in the road and he'll be just fine."

The lawsuit, filed in 2006, alleged Connetics, Wiggans and other executives hid problems with an acne-fighting gel the firm was developing as a major product.

Wiggans was president from July 1995 to February 2005 and later served as chairman of the board of directors. The lawsuit alleged the firm had "a culture of deceit" with leaders who "engaged in massive financial fraud."

Kansas Democratic Party Chairman Larry Gates said the lawsuit was only a "raw allegation" and the GOP attacks, "cheap shots." Gates, an attorney, said he knew about it before Wiggans announced his candidacy last month and didn't see it as a problem.

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The lawsuit is Fishbury Limited, et. al., v. Connetics Corp., et. al., No. 07-cv-02940 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

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M.J.’s death tops ’09 Yahoo queries - Fort Wayne Journal Gazette

Posted: 04 Dec 2009 11:53 PM PST

SAN FRANCISCO – Michael Jackson's stunning death made him Yahoo's biggest star this year.

The quest to find out what happened to Jackson in his final hours June 25 and celebrate his legacy elevated the late entertainer to the top of the Internet company's annual breakdown of the most frequent online search requests.

The self-proclaimed King of Pop ended singer Britney Spears' four-year reign atop Yahoo's search rankings.

The list is meant to provide a reading on our cultural pulse. It might not be the best barometer, given that Yahoo Inc. ranks a distant second to Google Inc. in Internet search. Google plans to release its own list of popular searches this month.

As usual, people using Yahoo's search engine in 2009 seemed to be most interested in celebrities and other diversions, even against the sobering backdrop of the worst recession in 70 years.

Besides Jackson, other new entrants on Yahoo's Top 10 list this year were: No. 2, "Twilight," the vampire story that has spawned two movies; No. 4, Megan Fox, the actress in "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen"; No. 8, Kim Kardashian, part of a family in a reality TV series; and No. 9, NASCAR.

The other half of the list consisted of 2008 holdovers. They were: No. 3, WWE, or World Wrestling Entertainment; No. 5, Spears; No. 6, Naruto, a character created for the Japanese art form known as anime; No 7, top-rated TV series "American Idol"; and No. 10, RuneScape, an online video game.

President Obama made the list in 2008 as a presidential candidate, but fell off after he took office in 2009.

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Honor Roll: Central Middle School - HometownAnnapolis.com

Posted: 04 Dec 2009 11:24 PM PST

SIXTH GRADE: Mason Baird, Emily Balzano, Julia Blandford, Philip Blevins, Brandon Blonder, Madeleine Bowcutt, Benjamin Brown, Travis Bucknall, Olivia Bunting, Madison Callahan, Gabriel Campbell, Braydan Carew, Kaitlynne Carter, Molly Coyle, Caroline Davis, Erica DeVito, Gregory D'Onofrio, Abigail Doud, Mathew Egley, Ethan Falsone, Jake Flaherty, Lauren Graupman, Meagan Griffith, Tyger Hanback, Rebecca Hollamon, Casey Jackson, Eric Janowitz, Megan Keller, Kaitlyn Kelly, Nicholas Koziolek, Jonathan Kruger, Benjamin Lammers, Camille Lee, Kelly Longo, Hannah-Rose Lunsford, Abigail Manning, Victoria Marinzel,

Jacob Mastrounni, Ryan McCaffrey, Madison McQueeney, Nicole McVay, Jacob Mondoro, Connor Monroe, Meghan Montgomery, Keri Mulligan, Hannah Mulvaney, Annabelle Mundon, Maria Osborn, Lauren Page, Abigail Parks, Nicholas Perkins, Kyle Pessagno, Lillie Peterson, Zachary Peterson, Emily Proctor, Conor Reinold, Isaac Richard, Jonghyun Roh, Joseph Rostock, Jacqueline Rudisill, Mason Schiappa, Liam Scott, Gianna Segnatelli, Mitchell Shelton, Eric Sieber, Alicia Sondberg, Nicholas Spaguolo, Jason Spalding, Mitchell Spalding, Loren Suite, Daniel Sutton, Keaton Taliaferro, John Taylor, Emily Thomas, Nichole Thompson, Alexandra Turano, Kaitlyn Turner, Francesca Vertucci, Kathryn Wellington and Karley White.

SEVENTH GRADE: Katherine Adair, Sarah Alley, Matthew Anderson, Maria Arellano, Zoe Barnes, Ryan Bergamini, Jakob Bevard, Savannah Boyd, Peyton Brooks, Lea Carter, Nathaniel Chester, Alexandra Conway, Christina DePietro, Zachary Dickson, Agnes Donnelly, Jane Donnelly, Kelsey Duswalt, Logan Fraser, Elizabeth Frenaye, Jasmine Fuhrmann, Thomas Galvin, Alexandra Gilbert, Caraline Gunther, Hailey Hardesty, Steven Herrera, Ryan Howe, Haley Kuffler, Zachary McLean, Thomas O'Farrell Jr., Kady Palmer, Caitlin Pierson, Amanda Rocker, Abigail Rose, Emily Saari, Rachel Sanford, Anna Sappington, Lacey Schenck, Amanda Speciale, Maeve Story, Brooke Szachnowicz, Gabrielle Ulery, Katrina Vaitkus, Kayla White, Amelia Williams, Elizabeth Wink and Anna Wolfe.

EIGHTH GRADE: Gavin Baird, Trevor Baird, Abigail Baker, George Baldwin, Rachel Bergamini, Michael Biondi, Olivia Blandford, Nicole Bowcutt, Carly Bunting, William Cave-Hawkins, Zachary Chester, Ryan Collins, Katherine Creveling, Zoe Cyphers, Carly Dickerson, David Donnelly II, Maryam Ermin-Sinanovic, Shannon Flaherty, John Garrison, Julia Grounds, Jasmine Hall, Kelsey Harman, John Haugen, Blake Hearn, Haley Janowitz, Jhalyn Johnson, Naomi Johnson, Spencer Kleinrichert, Matthew Long, Lauren Manning, Kristine Mar, Robbie Najjar Jr., Candice Nice, Danielle Peterson, Rachel Pierson, Alexandria Preston, Meghan Preston, Chase Rudisill, Alyse Saliba, Christopher Seidel, Taylor Smith, James Sorrells, Angela St. Jean, Emma Stephenson, Kristin Stolzenberg, Anna Taylor, Zachary Thomas, Autumn Thompson, Christy Tull, Olivia Walther, Gabriella Winsky, Ashley Wray, Katherine Wray and Calli Yancey.

The following students made the honor roll for the first marking period:

SIXTH GRADE: Kevin Adair, Sally Albright, Jenna Barber, Caleb Barone, Luke Bausum, Joshua Berger, Kirby Bilyeu, Gavin Blair, Robert Blandford, Kyle Boston, Randall Bowers, Danielle Bowersox, Julianna Brown, Alexis Brownlee, Amanda Brownlee, Sarah Bryant, Nicholas Buonassisi, Andrew Burton, Olivia Callahan, Gabriel Campos, Dominic Cass, Andres Castillo, Jade Chaney, Neha Chawla, Alexandra Coclough, Taylor Cooper, Alexis Corcoran, Courtney Cox, Patrick Cox, Alexander Creswell, Gwenyth Crew, Geneva Croteau, Breia Cummings, Kaycee Cun, Holly Cunard, Cole Daitch, Sarah DeVol, Kevin Dewey, Sean Dewey, Meredith Dillon, Karynne Doherty, Kelly Dougherty, Robert Dover, Christian Drescher, Dylan Duckett, Sydney Eisinger, Nicole Ellis, Hannah Elswick, Steven Emminizer, Sarah Erteschik, Tully Ervin, Anthony Facchina, Kali Ferguson, William Ferguson, Tea Figgs, Austin Fisher, Scarlett Francis, Kelly Furstenberg, Madison Galiber, Abigail Geiman, Joseph Gibbs, Sarah Gillogly, Robert Gilman III, Brindi Griffin, Belinda Hardesty, Douglas Hatch, Kaleb Hayward, Julia Heck, Benjamin Heinzman, Abigail Heller, Savana Herndon,

Charles Hollamon, Jesseca Hoover, Edmund Horsch III, Gwendolyn Inman, Megan Johnson, Clark Jones, Jason Jones, Loretta Jorden, Reed Klimoski, Kyle Krampf, Nikita Kulick, Nicholas Lambden, Sara Leckinger, Lauren Liening, Kristy Lindblom, Ayia Lindquist, Shane Lowery, Henry Maloof, Jacob Mandish, John Mansager, Shannon Martin, Ashley Mattero, William Mayhew, Benjamin McDougall, Amber McLain, Katherine McMorrow, Madeleine McNeal, Haley Miller, Raelyn Moreland, Trevor Moreland, Marissa Morris, Katharine Moser, Arianna Muller, Brianna Nagy, Teresa Natoli, Egan O'Brien, Gregory Ogorek Jr., Patrick O'Hara, Andrew Osterhouse, Lauren Pazienza, Mickey Peake, Jackson Pearl, Lauren Peffers, Shanna Pellegrin, Brittany Pennell, Arthur Perez, Francis Perzanowski, Vanessa Pessoa, Karissa Pierce, Madeline Piper, Steven Pollock, Samuel Prenatt, Daniel Ricci, Aaron Richardson, Tamara Rivera, Dakota Robey, Lauren Ryder, Daniel Scheib, Emma Schwartz, Philip Seidel, Katherine Sherbert, Patrick Shields, Skylar Simmers, Brianna Simmons, Brittany Simmons, Ashley Smith, Nicholas Smith, Alexandra Snyder, John Sood, Nathan Spadaro, Christina St. Jean, Jacob Stanton, Megan Stevens, Kelsie Sutherland, Christopher Svitak, Madeline Szanyi, Katarina Tarabella, Alicia Tate, William Thompson, Ray Tischio, Jordan Toro, Casey Troxler, Nicholas Veres, Paris Walker, Patrick Watson, Jesse Wayne, Payton Weaver, Eric Weigt, Franklin Wheeler, Celia Whisman, Jonathan Williams, Tyler Williams, Ajna Wilson, Taylor Witles, Noah Woelfel, Kristin Wolf, Hanna Wood and Michael Zundel Jr.

SEVENTH GRADE: Samuel Anawalt, Alex Andrade, Eric Andrade, Aaron Anthony, Alexander Arita, Joaquin Arrossi, Albert Artemov, Keith Atchison, Heather Augustine, Thomas Bach Jr., Jason Baker, Jared Baldwin, Morgan Barkdoll, David Beans, Timothy Beck, Leighton Bjorn, Gabrielle Bobel, Bridget Boles, Ethan Brown, Marissa Brown, Donta Butler, Nicole Cantrell, Madison Carter, Kobe Chaney, Craig Chick, Luke Church, Devin Comba, Jack Constable, Elizabeth Cook, Griffin Cosgrove, Ryleigh Cox, Stephanie Cupp, Danielle Davis, Kali Dawson, Anna Deans, Annalise Dietz, Alexa Dillahay, Stephen D'Onofrio, Robert Dozier III, Grant Drohat, Daniel DuBeau, William Easten V, Kaylin Edwards, Bethany Eisenstein, Taylar Elliott, Molly Fait, Michael Fohs, Clare Foley, William Folks, Cian Foran, Alice Ford, Daniana Ford, Riley Ford,

Alexandrea France, Braden Froble, Matthew Gallatin, Abigail Garland, Carlie Garofolo, Matthew Garufi, Tyler Garvett, Sean Gavin, John Gernatt, Shawn Gibbs, John Gilbert Jr., Tyler Giovinazzo, Kayla Givens, Robert Givens, Isabelle Gobert, Nicole Gonzalez, Kellie Gough, Emily Graffam, Madison Graham, Joseph Graziano, Jacob Hampshire, Connor Haxton, Caitlyn Hayden, Sean Healy, Montana Herndon, Courtney Hincks, Charles Holm IV, Lindsay Hopkins, Morgan Huffer, Rocco Jack, Emily Jacobsen, Joshua James, Christopher Jennings, Hunter Jennings, Jenna Jensen, Courtney Johnson, Jennifer Jones, Kyla Kellogg, Liam Kelly, Madison Kiessling, Austin King, Jarred King, Wesley King, Hunter Koester, Brady Kolson, Stephan Kulick, Rebecca Langham, Alyssa Lawson, Taylor Lee, Samuel Leone, Drew Leutner, Marlena Lewis, Anna Lilly, Briana Lowe, Tara Mahoney, Grant Maloof, Dylan Manning, Dylan Mansur, Madeline Marcellino, Madison Margas, Mariah Markland, Madison McCrackin, Colin McGee, Samantha McIntire, Nicholas Miller, Richard Mioduszewski, Christopher Mylod, Khorey Neiswonger, Jake Nelson, Sophie Nolan, Joshua Olshaw, Andy Ordonio, Anastasia Orlov, Regan Owens, Paul Packett, Daniel Palumbo, Erica Partner, Forrest Petty, Britney Pieraldi, Kirk Pierce, Charles Place, Alyssa Pleffner, Kevin Pollock, Giavanni Powell, Erik Prough, Paul Reiman, Yessica Reyes, Yeny Rodriguez,

Zachary Rowe, Alyssa Ruleman, Madelyn Salem, Mitchell Scheffer, John Schimoler, Hannah Schlegel, Kaitlyn Sears, Christopher Simmons, Dashown Simms, Keeley Smith, Nathaniel Smith, Victoria Solis, Michayla Sommer, Andrew Sorrells, Griffin Specht, Sierra Spies, Justin Stacey, Scott Stanich, Nathaniel Straser, Gabrielle Sutphin, Emily Szachnowicz, Lauren Taylor, Desirae Thompson, Travis Thorne, Alyssa Turner, Stephanie Turner, Griffin Vermillion, Martin Vermillion, Karina Villatoro, Natalie Wachowiak, Daphne Warner, Mia White, Ryan Williams, Samie Williams, Isajah Wilson, Meredith Wilson, Turner Wilson, Nicholas Woodall, Katherine Zafiriou, Claire Zellin, Zachary Zepko and Madeline Zinkl.

EIGHTH GRADE: Madison Aho, Connor Anderson, Mackenzie Austin, Kathleen Barkdoll, Katie Barnes, Evan Batten, Diamond Battle, Danielle Beach, Alexander Beal, Brittany Bergendahl, Robert Burkhart, Lauren Butler, Connor Callahan, Kyle Canavan, George Carneal, David Carr, Emily Carter, Aaron Ceroy, Jeffrey Chandler, Hannah Coffin, Marissa Colea, Amanda Connolly, Liam Cox, Brooke Coyle, India Creek, Jaime Cruz, Amber Curles, Cassidy Cutlip, Gilberto De Hoyos, Nathan Deans, Sean DeMoreland, Nicholas DePietro, Joseph DeVito Jr., Alysson Dillner, Jacob Donaldson, William D'Onofrio, Benjamin Downing, Madalyn Dredger, Kaileigh Ducharme, John Ebner, Brooke Edwards, Thomas Edwards,

Nicholas Egley, Tyler Elliott, Evan Elsmo, Addie Elswick, Thomas Falsone, Anthony Fidyk, Jessie Filippelli, Cormac Foran, Katlyn Garrison, Kathryn Goetzke, Charles Goodman, Thomas Gough, Rachel Gregory, Christopher Gruner, Carson Guarino, Adrian Gusky, Colin Hall, Brandon Hanback, Amber Hayden, Graham Hays, Matthew Hayward, Kaitlyn Heck, Zachary Hubbard, Brooke Hutchison, Casey Jackson, Megan Jager, Wyatt Johnson, Paige Jones, Jessie Karnes, Ross Klimoski, Tatyana Kulick, Andrei Kuriatnikov, Michael Labs, Tyler Ladd, Danielle LaDue, Marlana Lauer, Amber LeBow, Kimberly Lee, Connor Livingston, Kacie Longo, Angela Louck, Haley Lowman, Dylan Lowndes, Heather Manderson, Siena Manoogian, William Mateosky, Allie Matheu, Julia Maugeri, Emily Mayhew, Jillian Mayhew, Jacob McCoy, Sean McDonough, Nicole McFee, Nicholas McGrath, Ronald McMorrow, Andrew Mendez, Andrew Mergler, Carly Miele, Patrick Mitchell II, Andrew Molloy, Ian Monroe, Erin Moren, Justin Morris, Victoria Mosley, Tyler Mossburg, Christopher Mudd, Tye Muffley, Paige Mulligan, Alyssa Nelson, Benjamin Newsom, Olivia Nootenboom,

Sarah Norris, Hannah O'Brien, Angelica Ogorek, William O'Hara, Patricia Ohrvall, Nathan Olson, Christopher O'Neill, Emma Osborn, Nikolas Ostis, David Overbay, John Owens, Joshua Owens, Nicholas Palacios, Hailey Palmer, Grace Palumbo, Jeffrey Patterson, Sandra Peake, Joseph Perzanowski, Joseph Pettey, Sharon Phillips, Courtney Pierce, Mason Piper, Nicholas Platek, Natalie Poknis, Lucas Porter, Michael Pounds, Megan Prass, Gianella Quintana, Diana Rapine, Henry Reith, Ana Ricker, Sarah Roderick, Joseph Salamy, Garrett Sauls, Mackale Scheffer, Daniel Schemmel, Michael Scott, Kristen Sears, Richard Sheridan Jr., Tiffany Simms, Dylan Smith, Kaitlyn Smith, Nathan Smith, Zoe Sparer, Matthew Spears, Rachel Stevens, Mary Sullivan, James Sumpter, Corey Taylor, Lehn Thomas, Breanna Thompson, Emma Thompson, Alexis Thorne, James Thornton, Courtnie Tinsley, Madalyn Ulery, Dekker Vance, Tabitha Varga, Douglas Veres, Luc Vermeulen, Anna Wagner, Amber Wallis, Michael Ward, Angela Wayne, Madison Webb, Connor Wellington, Colin White, Krystal White, Kaitlyn Whiting, Katherine Wilborne, Erin Williams, Zachary Williams, Austin Wilson, Bailey Wilson, Corianne Wilson, Nicholas Wilson, Zachary Wilson, Travis Wood, Patrick Woods and Summer Young.

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Wiggans to stay in race - Topeka Capital-Journal

Posted: 04 Dec 2009 10:41 PM PST

Prominent Kansas Democrats rallied Friday behind their presumed nominee for governor despite his recent settling of a lawsuit that led a top aide for the leading Republican hopeful to label him "a fraud."

Brownback is the presumed Republican nominee, and his campaign has attacked Wiggans over a federal lawsuit filed by shareholders in Connetics Corp., a Palo Alto, Calif., firm Wiggans once led. In October, a judge approved a settlement in which Wiggans, the company and others agreed to pay nearly $12.7 million, plus interest.

Documents filed in federal court in San Francisco said the settlement wasn't an admission of wrongdoing. The defendants denied the allegations, and Kansas Democrats suggested Friday that such lawsuits aren't unusual for businesses.

"Tom is 100 percent committed to the governor's race. No reconsideration," Wiggans adviser Amy Jordan Wooden said in an e-mail.

Wiggans is the only Democrat actively campaigning for the party's nomination in the August 2010 primary. Brownback faces only token opposition in the Republican primary.

News reports about the lawsuit were first posted online Thursday by The Topeka Capital-Journal, and Brownback's campaign manager, David Kensinger, discussed it with reporters Friday. Connetics and executives, including Wiggans, were accused of misleading investors and making false statements in public and in federal regulatory filings.

"Tom Wiggans is a fraud," Kensinger said. "His candidacy is a fraud. The Democratic Party is attempting to perpetrate a fraud on the people of Kansas."

Asked whether Brownback would cite the lawsuit in television ads, Kensinger said, "Count on it."

"Sam Brownback's campaign calling someone else a 'fraud' is like Britney Spears criticizing someone's parenting skills," she said.

Prominent Democrats said they don't expect the lawsuit to stick as an issue.

The lawsuit, filed in 2006, alleged Connetics, Wiggans and other executives hid problems with an acne-fighting gel the firm was developing as a major product.

Kansas Democratic Party chairman Larry Gates said the lawsuit was only a "raw allegation" and called the GOP attacks "cheap shots." Gates, a lawyer, said he knew about it before Wiggans announced his candidacy last month and didn't see it as a problem.

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Could London lose 'libel capital of the world' crown? - YAHOO!

Posted: 04 Dec 2009 09:37 PM PST

LONDON (AFP) – The world's rich and powerful have long chosen London to defend their interests in court, but pressure is mounting for an overhaul in the English laws that saw it named "libel capital of the world".

Lawyers, freedom of speech campaigners and even members of the government are questioning whether legislation designed to protect people's reputations is now being used to silence criticism, especially by scientists.

"What concerns me is that the current arrangements are being used by big corporations to restrict fair comment, not always by journalists but also by academics," says Justice Secretary Jack Straw.

English libel laws are widely viewed as some of the toughest in the world, a fact blamed for a stream of foreign claimants who come here to sue for defamation, prompting the press to dub London the world's "libel capital".

Concern about this so-called "libel tourism" and the law more generally have grown as it emerged that scientists are also being targeted.

Cardiologist Peter Wilmshurst is facing legal action here from US firm NMT Medical about comments he made on some of their research two years ago.

Meanwhile science writer Simon Singh is being sued by the British Chiropractic Association for a 2008 newspaper article in which he questioned the use of spinal manipulation in various childhood conditions.

NMT Medical and the BCA both argue they are not stifling debate but are fighting libellous remarks.

Their cases, which have yet to be resolved, have been taken up by campaigners as an issue of freedom of speech.

The British Medical Journal has warned that suing scientists for raising concerns could harm patient care.

"People whose scientific claims are questioned are turning to the law to attempt to silence their critics rather than engaging in open scientific debate," it said in an editorial.

It added: "Weak science sheltered from criticism by officious laws means bad medicine."

Leading barrister Lord Gordon Barrie has also argued: "Scientists, other scholars, medical experts are becoming increasingly wary of challenging dubious claims... because of the chilling effect of the various aspects of libel law."

A defining feature of English libel law is that while claimants must only prove the comments made about them were defamatory, the defendant must show they were either true, 'fair comment' on an issue or in the public interest.

"The defendant carries the burden of proof," said a report published last month by two freedom of speech charities, Index on Censorship and English PEN, which have demanded widescale changes.

"The English approach to libel therefore suggests that the reputation of the claimant is more important than the free speech of the defendant."

Campaigners argue that foreign claimants eager to benefit from this tough approach are suing in English courts, which accept their cases simply because the offending item could be viewed or purchased online in Britain.

This has caused concern in the United States, where a bill passed the House of Representatives in June that would make English libel rulings invalid there.

"Libel tourism threatens the principles of free speech because foreign courts often don't place as difficult a burden on plaintiffs in libel cases," the US bill's co-author, Congressman Steve Cohen, said at the time.

The legislation was sparked by proceedings brought in London against US academic Rachel Ehrenfeld by Saudi businessman Khalid bin Mafouz over allegations in her book, "Funding Evil".

Neither party lived in London but the English court accepted jurisdiction because 23 copies of the book were brought in Britain over the Internet.

However, Paul Tweed, an Irish libel lawyer who has acted for US singers Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez, denied either that change was required or that "libel tourism" was a problem.

He said most claimants sued here not because it was easy but because they had a reputation to defend here or had been libelled by a British publication.

In the Wilmshurst case, NMT Medical said it sued in England because the comments related to its research here involving British patients and doctors.

And Tweed said English libel laws provided a useful check on the media.

"The broadsheets (newspapers) in Britain are in my view among the most credible in the world simply because of our libel laws," he told AFP.

He added: "Most of my clients, their priority is to get an apology and a retraction as opposed to damages, but they need the leverage of the damages to get the former."

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