Hong Kong's most famous foreign correspondent was yesterday urged by a judge to drop her case against the head of a public-relations company, who she claims mishandled her finances.
Judge David-Michael Gill told lawyers representing 94-year-old Clare Hollingworth to mediate her financial dispute with Ted Thomas instead of going ahead with a High Court case.
The judge said it would be "sad" if Hollingworth, a former UK Daily Telegraph reporter famous for scooping the world on the outbreak of World War II, spent her latter years in court.
Hollingworth accuses Thomas, head of the Hong Kong-based Corporate Communications, of withdrawing nearly US$300,000 from her bank account in cash and cheques over a two-year period.
Hollingworth handed Thomas control over her finances in 2003 but says he failed to act in her interests when she was in ill health and has failed to account for more than half of the money.
In a writ filed with the help of her family, she claimed Thomas withdrew nearly US$23,000 from ATM machines using her cash card and a further US$265,000 in cheques. Many of the cheques were made out to Thomas, his companies and his associates.
Thomas last year repaid about half the money, but Hollingworth is seeking the return or accounting for a further US$153,000 that the writ said he has failed "to completely and adequately explain."
The writ lists cheques that included some for sums of up to US$90,000 to Thomas Edward Juson -- 76-year-old Thomas' real name -- made out between July 2003 and May last year.
The action is being brought by Hollingworth with the help of her two grandnephews, Patrick Garrett and Andrew Flude, and two executors who have power of attorney.
Thomas, the author of a book on how to deal with the media entitled I Was Misquoted, has vigorously defended himself against the allegations in the writ.
He says he acted at all times in Hollingworth's best interests and invested her money in ventures she was not aware of because he believed it would earn her more money than leaving it in the bank.
Hollingworth is famed for getting one of the greatest scoops of modern times when she was first to report on the outbreak of World War II.
Aged 27 and a journalist for less than a week, she was on the Polish-German border in 1939 reporting for the Daily Telegraph when she sighted a huge line of troops, tanks and armored cars facing Poland.
Her eyewitness account was the first anyone had heard of the invasion, and it began a journalistic career that would span seven decades and take her to Palestine, Algeria, China, Yemen and Vietnam.
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
EUROPEAN FUTURE? Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama says only he could secure EU membership, but challenges remain in dealing with corruption and a brain drain Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama seeks to win an unprecedented fourth term, pledging to finally take the country into the EU and turn it into a hot tourist destination with some help from the Trump family. The artist-turned-politician has been pitching Albania as a trendy coastal destination, which has helped to drive up tourism arrivals to a record 11 million last year. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also joined in the rush, pledging to invest US$1.4 billion to turn a largely deserted island into a luxurious getaway. Rama is expected to win another term after yesterday’s vote. The vote would
CANCER: Jose Mujica earned the moniker ‘world’s poorest president’ for giving away much of his salary and living a simple life on his farm, with his wife and dog Tributes poured in on Tuesday from across Latin America following the death of former Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics. He was 89. Mujica, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost his battle against cancer after announcing in January that the disease had spread and he would stop treatment. “With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,” Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi wrote on X. “Pepe, eternal,” a cyclist shouted out minutes later,
Myanmar’s junta chief met Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) for the first time since seizing power, state media reported yesterday, the highest-level meeting with a key ally for the internationally sanctioned military leader. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing led a military coup in 2021, overthrowing Myanmar’s brief experiment with democracy and plunging the nation into civil war. In the four years since, his armed forces have battled dozens of ethnic armed groups and rebel militias — some with close links to China — opposed to its rule. The conflict has seen Min Aung Hlaing draw condemnation from rights groups and pursued by the
RSS