News:Liberty attacks new school search powers for phones

By Angela Harrison Education correspondent, BBC News

New search powers being given to schools over mobile phones are more suitable for terror inquiries, human rights pressure group Liberty says.

England's head teachers will be allowed to search for phones without consent in a bid to combat cyber-bullying.
The Education Bill, to be debated in the Commons next week, also allows heads to delete data from the phones.
The government says heads asked for the powers and will be expected to use them sensibly.
In the past, schools were able to confiscate mobile telephones but were not legally allowed to search for them without pupils' consent.more here

News:Garrido 'fit to stand trial' over Jaycee Dugard kidnap

A California judge has ruled that a man accused of kidnapping Jaycee Dugard, a young woman held captive for 18 years, is mentally competent to stand trial.

Phillip Garrido is now due back in court later this month to enter a plea. The judge ruled he was fit for trial after reviewing psychiatric reports.
Mr Garrido and his wife, Nancy, are accused of abducting Ms Dugard in 1991, aged 11, from a street near her home.
Mr Garrido allegedly fathered her two daughters while keeping her captive.
Ms Dugard was discovered and the couple arrested in California in August 2009.
The 18 counts against the couple include kidnapping for sexual purposes, rape, lewd acts on a child, false imprisonment and production of child pornography with the victim, according to the indictment document.
In addition, Mr Garrido is charged under special allegations stemming from a 1977 rape conviction, including being a habitual sex offender.
more here

News:Girl of four died in sat-nav error crash in Blackrod

A four-year-old girl died in a car crash after her parents followed sat-nav instructions which contradicted road signs, an inquest heard.

Ariana Bardhaj was killed when her parents' car collided with another vehicle as they drove along the A6 in Blackrod, Bolton, on 11 September.
Fernando and Trish Bardhaj, of Blackpool, said they had not seen the no right turn signs into Station Road.
Giving a narrative verdict, the coroner said Ariana died of multiple injuries.
The hearing at Bolton Coroners' Court heard that learner driver Mr Bardhaj had just taken over the driving from his wife. more here

Cyber war-rules for engagement

The world needs cyber war "Rules of Engagement" to cope with potentially devastating cyber weapons, Russian and US experts will tell world leaders at a security conference on Friday.

The cyber proposal, seen exclusively by Newsnight, comes from the influential EastWest Institute in New York.
It describes "rendering the Geneva and Hague conventions in cyberspace".
Cyber security is on the agenda at the annual Munich Security Conference for the first time this year.more here

News:Pakistan urged to free schoolboy arrested for blasphemy

Human Rights Watch has called on the Pakistani government to release a teenager who has been charged under the country's controversial blasphemy law.

Muhammad Samiullah, 17, is under arrest in the southern city of Karachi.
He is accused of blaspheming against the Prophet Muhammad in an examination paper. Human Rights Watch called the boy's case "truly appalling".
The blasphemy law has been in the spotlight since a Christian, Asia Bibi, was sentenced to death in November.
She denies insulting the Prophet Muhammad in her Punjab village in June 2009.
In January, a bodyguard of Punjab governor Salman Taseer assassinated him for supporting calls to amend the law, leading to what correspondents say is a climate of fear with few people daring to even mention the legislation.
Critics of Pakistan's blasphemy law say it has been used to persecute minority faiths in Pakistan, and is sometimes exploited for grudges.
more here

News:Mauritania: 'Al-Qaeda men die' as troops fire on car

Mauritanian soldiers have fired on a car packed with explosives outside the capital killing three suspected members of al-Qaeda's North African branch.

The army said several soldiers were also injured in the operation in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
It believes the three men were about to mount an attack in Nouakchott.
An army spokesman said the car was one of three all-terrain vehicles tracked by the security forces since crossing from Mali.
"The car was transporting three terrorists trying to infiltrate the capital by launching a kamikaze attack," Col Mohamed Ould Ahmed told the Associated Press news agency. more here

News:Six exoplanets in close orbit around far-flung star

By Jason Palmer Science and technology reporter, BBC News

A solar system including six planets around a star 2,000 light-years away has been spotted by astronomers.

The planets range between two and four-and-a-half times the radius of Earth, and between two and 13 times its mass.
Five of the planets orbit the star closer than Mercury orbits our Sun.
The find, published in Nature, is the first from the latest data release from the Kepler space telescope - which includes details of more than 1,000 additional exoplanet candidates.
The planets are likely to have atmospheres made of light gases, but also likely to be too hot to support life. more here

News:Discovery rolls out to launch pad

By Jonathan Amos Science correspondent, BBC NewsThe orbiter completed its slow journey to the Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A overnight, Monday into Tuesday.
Every step of the 5.4km (3.4-mile) crawl was bathed in bright xenon light.
Discovery's flight to the space station is scheduled to begin on 24 February. With its crew of six astronauts, the ship will deliver a storeroom to be attached to the 350km-high platform, along with further supplies and spares.
Stacked with its external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters, Discovery took seven hours to complete the roll from Kennedy's vast Vehicle Assembly Building to complex 39A. Many Kennedy employees, along with their families, came to witness the event. more here

A biblical connundrum sorted

For those of you who read the Bible, there is a well known passage that gets people tied up in knots. It occurs at John 1:1 (which is expressed with slight variations depending on the version you have).
Using the King James version (which is printed variously) it is possible to resolve easily.
First, let's read the contents of verse 1:
In the beginning was the Word and the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
This verse varies in different versions. In some it is promoting the church's trinitarian doctrine. In others it is translated differently, however the essential elements are present in practically every case. This version has long been wrongly used to support the trinitarian concept of God. The verse just quoted is an example of it.

So how can we sort out the truth from the dogma?

It isn't very hard if you know one more thing. Simply put, "the Bible interprets itself". I'm not kidding here. So here is where some demand proof of what to many is a surprising statement.

The answer is found in verse 18 of the same chapter. In the original english:"No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the father, he hath declared him."

Having stated that, you probably want an explanation.
All you need is to refer back to the opening statement and ask one simple question. "How many people have seen Jesus?". The answer is obvious isn't it? A great many saw him from the time he was born until he ascended to heaven. Therefore, Jesus could not possibly be part of a trinitarian arrangement or a 3 in one God!
Now do you see how the Bible works?

News:France seizes ex-Tunisia leader Ben Ali's 'family jet'

1 February 2011
The French authorities have seized a private jet said to belong to the family of ousted Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.

It comes after three French NGOs filed a legal case against Mr Ben Ali over allegations of corruption.

Mr Ben Ali and his family built up significant assets during his 23 years in power.

On Monday, EU foreign ministers agreed to freeze his assets in response to a request by Tunisia.

Swiss officials have already frozen tens of millions of francs, and grounded a Falcon 9000 jet in Geneva.

Mr Ben Ali resigned and fled to Saudi Arabia on 14 December after weeks of anti-government protests.

more here

News:Swiss care worker 'sexually abused 114 people'

A Swiss male social worker has confessed to abusing 114 children and disabled adults in care homes, over three decades, prosecutors say.

The unnamed man, who worked in nine care homes, also admitted to eight cases of attempted abuse, most of them taking place in the Bern area.

An investigation was launched after two of his alleged victims reported him.

A Bern police official said evidence against the man included photos and video recording the abuse.

"One of the central questions of this investigation is how such levels of abuse could go undetected for so long," said Gabriele Berger, head of Bern police's special investigations unit.

The man had been investigated over allegations of sexual abuse in 2003 but that inquiry was dropped due to conflicting evidence, she said, adding that it would now be re-opened.more here