Tim Berners-Lee started the web to help scientists communicate

Governments and companies should limit the snooping they do on web users.

So said Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the world wide web, who said that growing oversight of browsing could have a pernicious effect.

A greater part of the value of the web lay in the lack of constraints on what people could do with it.

He also warned that attempts to censor what people could say or what they could do online were ultimately doomed to failure.

Open triumph

“When you use the internet it is important that the medium should not be set up with constraints,” he said.

The internet, said Sir Tim, should be like a blank piece of paper. Just as governments and companies cannot police what people write or draw on that sheet of paper so they should not be restricted from putting the web to their own uses.

“The canvas should be blank,” he said

While governments do need some powers to police unacceptable uses of the web; limits should be placed on these powers, he said.

It’s a wonderful experiment and I hope it will have consequences for the way TV is produced in the future Russell Barnes, Digital Revolution producer Find out more about Digital Revolution

If people know that where they go online and the terms they look for are under scrutiny it could have all kinds of pernicious effects, he warned.

Repressive regimes, such as China and Iran, that work hard to limit what people can do online would struggle to maintain that control over time, he said.

“The trend over the years is that the internet in the end goes around censorship and openness eventually triumphs,” he said. “But it is by no means an easy road.”

Sir Tim made his comments during a speech at an event that helped to launch the BBC Two series Digital Revolution.

The four-part series aims to explore the history of the World Wide Web and generate debate about how it is changing the way people live their lives. It aims to debate how the web is changing the nation state, how it affects identity, freedom and anonymity.

Over the next eight months as the programme is being produced, viewers will be encouraged to get involved by sending in questions for interview subjects and being able to produce their own clips using the rushes generated during filming.

Social media researcher and broadcaster Aleks Krotoski will present the series of programmes.

Vaccination teams have been unable to reach many troubled areas

The continuing conflict in Pakistan has left more than a million children at risk of contracting polio.

Vaccination programmes earlier this year were compromised by opposition from militants and by violence, which has made many areas inaccessible.

Pakistan is one of four countries which still see annual outbreaks of polio.

The first few months of the year are crucial for vaccination teams who try to reach children before the polio virus starts to circulate.

This year, their campaigns have been badly disrupted.

‘Challenge’

In some places, Taliban extremists have intervened and stopped programmes, calling them un-Islamic.

The conflict will create a cluster of children, a cohort, who are susceptible to the virus Dr Khalif Bile Mohamud, World Health Organisation

Some militants have opposed the vaccine, describing it as dangerous and part of a Western plot to harm Muslim children.

But perhaps the biggest obstacle has been the fighting.

Since the start of the military offensive against the insurgents, many areas, including much of Swat and parts of the tribal areas, have become inaccessible to health teams.

Dr Khalif Bile Mohamud, the World Health Organisation representative in Pakistan, says more than a million children, trapped inside the conflict zone, have been missed.

“Pakistan was the country closest to interrupting the virus. Now we have a challenge - the conflict will create a cluster of children, a cohort, who are susceptible to the virus,” he said.

Health teams are trying to vaccinate as many children as possible who have emerged from the conflict zone because their families fled the violence.

They have already treated about half a million. The aim is to create a firewall of immunity - so, if there are outbreaks they can be contained.

So far this year 20 cases have been confirmed - seven of them from north-west Pakistan.

But this is just the start of the polio season. Most cases are usually reported in late summer and autumn.

And accurate information may be hard to come by. The surveillance system is also being compromised by the insecurity.

Chronic cough affects about 10% of the UK population

Scientists have discovered a protein molecule on the surface of nerve cells that makes people cough when irritated.

They hope the findings could lead to new drugs to treat chronic cough, which affects about 10% of the UK population.

Coughing is the symptom for which medical advice is most commonly sought and it accounts for more than half of new patient consultations to a GP.

The University of Hull study was presented to a British Pharmacological Society meeting.

If a successful blocker of this new receptor can be developed, it would be an excellent treatment for coughs Dr Keith Prowse British Lung Foundation

Lead researcher Professor Alyn Morice said: “Chronic cough can be socially isolating and disabling and people come from all over Europe to my cough clinic because the cough is ruining their lives, yet current treatment options are limited with remedies little better than honey and lemon.”

Research has already focused on protein receptors which sit on the surface of nerve cells, and enable them to pass on signals.

One particular receptor - TRPV1 - generated excitement after it was shown to produce a cough reflex when stimulated by capsaicin, an extract of chilli peppers.

A number of companies produced potential drugs to block the receptor, which helps the body to sense heat, and to register pain.

However, their work was stymied by the revelation that patients in which the receptor was blocked not only had an impaired ability to detect heat, but also developed a higher body temperature.

Cinnamon extract

The Hull group instead focused on a different type of receptor, called TRPA1, which is more concerned with the ability to sense coldness.

They showed it produced a cough reflex when it was stimulated by a cinnamon extract.

They went on to clone the receptor in order to study its chemistry more closely.

Professor Morice said it would take several years for his work to yield new drugs to block cough, even if the work proceeded well.

But he said: “The TRPA1 receptor that we have identified as a cough receptor and recently cloned is more interesting because it is set off by a much wider range of substances.”

The Hull team is carrying out large-scale patient studies to try to identify agents to block the newly-identified receptor.

Their goal is to restore the cough reflex to normal levels, rather than to stop it completely.

Professor Morice said: “When people have a cough they have a heightened sensitivity.

However, we don’t want to eliminate cough in patients because it is vital to keeping people well - it stops us getting pneumonia - so a return to normal sensitivity is the goal.

British Lung Foundation vice-president Dr Keith Prowse described the study as interesting.

“We now need to find out what exactly stimulates this receptor and how it can be blocked,” he said.

“If a successful blocker of this new receptor can be developed, it would be an excellent treatment for coughs which affects millions people in the UK and especially those with respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) and asthma.”

Reynolds is currently starring in The Proposal

Ryan Reynolds has been cast as the Green Lantern in a new comic book adaptation, according to Hollywood industry magazine, Variety.

Reynolds, 32, recently played the character Deadpool opposite Hugh Jackman in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

If the new deal goes ahead, it would make Reynolds the only actor to have played heroes for comic rivals Marvel and DC.

Reynolds married actress Scarlett Johansson in 2008.

He is currently starring opposite Sandra Bullock in The Proposal, which topped the US box office.

Bradley Cooper, who stars in The Hangover, and music star Justin Timberlake also did a screen test for the role of the superhero who is armed with a magical ring.

The film is being directed by Martin Campbell, who was at the helm of 2006’s Casino Royale.

A spinoff movie for Reynold’s Deadpool character is also in development.

Iran’s nuclear power plant at Bushehr is close to going online

Iran’s government says it is preparing a new package of proposals to put to the West.

Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said it would concern “political, security and international issues”.

He was speaking in Tehran hours after G8 leaders said they were appalled at Iran’s disputed presidential election.

US President Barack Obama said global leaders were also “deeply troubled” by Iran’s nuclear programme. Iran denies it is trying to build a nuclear bomb.

Mr Mottaki played down international concerns, saying there had been “no new message from the G8″.

“We are going to present our package which will be a basis to negotiate all regional and international issues,” he told a news conference in Tehran, without giving further details.

“The package can be a good basis for talks with the West.”

The US has threatened tough sanctions if Iran rejects offers of engagement over its nuclear programme.

Iran says its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes, but has been accused by Western countries of seeking nuclear weapons.

Maybe I can keep the robes… ‘I’ve sweated in them’

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan can now call himself “doctor” after being honoured in the United Kingdom for his contribution to arts and culture.

Bedfordshire University conferred the doctorate upon him at a ceremony in London on Friday night.

Khan said he aimed to use the award to help educate underprivileged children.

The actor, who has starred in dozens of films, already has his own waxwork at Madame Tussaud’s and has previously been honoured in France and Malaysia.

‘Top’ award

Khan was able to joke about becoming a doctor after frequent surgery in the past few years, most recently on his shoulder five months ago.

“Interestingly my kids don’t understand this doctorate and believe I will be awarded a stethoscope,” he joked at the degree ceremony.

The star was awarded the doctorate at a top London hotel instead of on university premises north of London because of the summer break.

The university received his nomination from Routes 2 Roots, an NGO that works towards people-to-people contact across the subcontinent, especially India and Pakistan.

Accepting the honour, Khan said he had received numerous awards as an actor but being given an honorary doctorate was the top achievement.

The actor left one of Delhi’s top schools with the best student award - but never finished a masters degree.

So how did he feel about receiving the honour?

“I get the feeling that I should further the cause of those underprivileged children who don’t get the opportunity to educate themselves,” he said, quickly adding that he should perhaps begin with his own children who are “highly uneducated as of now”.

The 43-year-old also added he was most scared of mathematics as a child, and intended to make sure his children were good at the subject.

Khan also joked that he might get to keep his university robes: “I have sweated in them - [they] can’t be returned unless I dry clean them.”

The ceremony was also attended by the famously barefoot Indian painter MF Hussain and British film maker Gurinder Chadha.

Other Indian stars to have been given honorary doctorates in the UK include Amitabh Bachchan, Shilpa Shetty, Akshay Kumar and AR Rahman.

Jackson’s children appeared at his televised memorial concert

A hearing to decide who will take care of Michael Jackson’s three children is to be delayed by a week, says his mother’s lawyer.

Katherine Jackson and her son’s ex-wife Deborah Rowe joined on Friday to ask the judge for a delay to the hearing. The case has been delayed once already.

Ms Jackson will remain the temporary guardian of her son’s three children, whose ages range from seven to 12.

The two sides are believed to be trying to broker an out-of-court settlement.

‘Privately and amicably’

In a statement to the Associated Press news agency, L Londell McMillan, a lawyer acting for Ms Jackson, said the delay would “allow us to privately and amicably resolve this most important matter in a dignified manner for the benefit of the children first and all involved”.

Lawyers for Ms Rowe, who was married to the pop singer from 1996 to 1999, have declined to comment.

She is the mother of Jackson’s two oldest children, 12-year-old Prince Michael, and 11-year-old Paris Michael Katherine Jackson.

The surrogate mother of Jackson’s youngest child, seven-year-old Prince Michael II, has never been identified.

In his will, Michael Jackson stated he wanted his mother to care for his children if he died. As an alternative, he named singer and friend Diana Ross.

Fifteen UK soldiers have lost their lives in Afghanistan in the last 10 days

Foreign Secretary David Miliband has insisted fighting in Afghanistan is key to ensuring UK security, after eight soldiers were killed in 24 hours.

Some 184 service personnel have died there since 2001, more than the 179 killed during the war in Iraq.

But Mr Miliband dismissed calls for UK forces to withdraw, saying they were stopping Afghanistan becoming “a launch pad for attacks” by terrorists.

“This is about the future of Britain,” he added.

Fifteen soldiers have died in 10 days in southern Afghanistan as UK troops continue Operation Panchai Palang, or Panther’s Claw.

This major assault against the Taliban in Helmand aims to improve security ahead of next month’s Afghan elections.

Lt Col Nick Richardson, in Afghanistan, told the BBC it had resulted in more casualties because troops had been “taking the battle to the enemy”.

“It’s the only way to secure a future for Afghanistan and ultimately eliminate the risk posed to the international community that the Taliban and insurgents there bring,” he said.

BBC defence and security correspondent Rob Watson When British troops were first deployed to southern Afghanistan three years ago the then defence secretary expressed the hope that they would complete their mission without a shot being fired. It has instead been the most high intensity fighting British troops have faced since the Korean War in the 1950s. To critics, the ferocity of the fighting is proof of how ill thought out the whole mission has been all along. Defenders of the operation, however, say it was always bound to be difficult and that the casualties while regrettable have been suffered in a worthwhile and winnable cause. Certainly the deployment to Afghanistan of around 10% of Britain’s army has proved a real strain on manpower, equipment and finances. For now at least though, Britain remains firmly committed to staying the course.

“We ask people to remember 9/11 and 7/7 and ask themselves whether they thought trying to prevent this from happening would be a worthwhile cause.”

The Stop the War coalition has announced an emergency protest in London on Monday, calling for British troops to be withdrawn from Afghanistan in light of the heavy losses.

A group spokesman said: “The troop surge which was meant to pacify Helmand province has become a nightmare for the British army.

“This unwinnable war must stop now.”

However, Mr Miliband said troops were there to “ensure that Afghanistan can not again become an incubator for terrorism and a launching pad for attacks on us”.

“This is about the future of Britain because we know that the borderlands of Afghanistan and Pakistan have been used to launch terrible attacks, not just on the US but on Britain as well,” he added.

Britain’s mission in Afghanistan would not be over until the country was secure, he said.

Mr Miliband refuted claims by Conservative leader David Cameron that those fighting on the front line were not properly equipped - particularly with helicopters.

Equipment pledge

The foreign secretary told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the government had spent £10bn on equipment for force protection - including 1,200 new vehicles - in the last five years.

Former defence secretary John Hutton told the BBC it could be time to “tilt the balance” away from funding high-tech equipment for conflict between nations, towards resources for counter insurgency operations.

And Chancellor Alistair Darling said the government would always ensure that front-line troops were well-resourced.

FROM THE TODAY PROGRAMME More from Today programme

“You can’t send troops into the front line and not be prepared to see it through in terms of the equipment, the resources that they need,” he added.

BBC defence correspondent Caroline Wyatt said many on the front line talked about helicopters being in short supply.

But she added: “Some say they have better personal kit than they’ve had before.

“They do complain about the sheer weight of it. It was 45C there two weeks ago… it’s physically absolutely exhausting.”

On Friday in Helmand, five soldiers from the 2nd Battalion The Rifles were killed in two separate blasts near Sangin, while a member of the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment died near Nad Ali.

A day earlier, a soldier from 4th Battalion The Rifles was killed in a blast near Nad Ali while another from Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment, attached to 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, was killed fighting insurgent forces near Lashkar Gah.

Col Richard Kemp, who commanded troops in Afghanistan between 2003 and 2004, said: “You develop immense bonds of comradeship between all ranks, and therefore if one of your number is killed or even seriously wounded… it hits you hard.”

But he added that the Taliban were suffering casualties “in the region of a hundred enemy dead for every one of our dead”, which were not being reported.

Jane Ford, whose son Pte Ben Ford, of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, died in an explosion in Afghanistan in 2007, backed the UK’s mission.

“We’ve got to say to these lads: ‘You’re doing a good job’,” she said.

“We are sorry they’re losing their lives, it’s awful. But if we pull out now, that bully [the Taliban] has won.”

BRITISH CASUALTIES IN AFGHANISTAN MARCH 2006 - JULY 2009 1: Highest monthly toll with 19 dead including 12 killed when a RAF Nimrod crashes in Afghanistan. 2: British death toll reaches 100. Among the 13 fatalities in June is the first British female soldier. 3: British casualties surge as major offensive against Taliban begins in the south. Many are lost to powerful Improvised Explosive Devices.

Merchant Taylors’ is one of the leading private schools in north west England

A teacher at a top Merseyside private school has been charged with abusing her position of trust.

Hannah McIntyre, 24, was suspended from her position at Merchant Taylors’ Boys’ School in Crosby in January after allegations of sexual misconduct.

The alleged incident involved sixth form students off the school site.

Miss McIntyre has been charged under section 16 of the Sexual Offences Act and is due to appear at South Sefton Magistrates’ Court on 28 July.

The classics teacher, who took up a position at the £2,727-a-term school in September 2007, was arrested and bailed in January.

The school will continue to co-operate fully with the appropriate agencies David Cook, head teacher

The misconduct was alleged to have occurred more than a year ago outside of school hours.

Although sixth form pupils are above the age of consent, it is against the law to have a sexual encounter with someone under 18 if there is a relationship of trust.

David Cook, head teacher, said: “Merchant Taylors’ Boys’ School can confirm that a member of its senior school teaching staff has been charged by Merseyside Police.

“This relates to an incident of alleged misconduct which took place some 18 months ago away from the school site and outside school hours, involving sixth-form students.

“As this is now a matter for the courts, the school cannot comment further.

“The school will continue to co-operate fully with the appropriate agencies, as our first priority remains the safeguarding of all our students.”

Merchant Taylors’ enjoyed a 100% GCSE pass rate last year and counts former Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie among its former pupils.

Oil prices are far from the peak of $147 a barrel seen last July

The price of oil has fallen below $60 a barrel, as concerns persist about the state of the world economy.

Crude oil for August delivery slipped 54 cents to $59.87 a barrel, having fallen as low as $58.72. In London Brent crude fell 60 cents to $60.50.

Persistent concerns about the state of the world economy, following poor economic data, have sent oil prices lower recently.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts demand to fall 2.9% in 2009.

The IEA said as developing nations recover economically, this will help boost the price of oil but it predicts demand will not rise until 2010.

Oil prices had started to recover recently, from a low of around $30 a barrel, but have slipped again amid signs that demand for oil will remain low for some time.

Last July, oil peaked at around $147 a barrel.

Corporate earnings

“All the focus is on demand,” said Christopher Moltke-Leth, head of sales trading at Saxo Capital Markets.

North Americans have reduced their overall spending, including how much they spend on petrol, as they drive less.

Shares in energy firms fell on Friday after Chevron said its refining margins dropped in the second quarter, which will cause its earnings for the three-month period to fall sharply below the same period a year ago.

By close of trade in London, BP was 0.8% lower, Royal Dutch Shell declined 1%, BG Group shed 1.5% and Tullow Oil declined 1.2%

In addition to hopes about an imminent recovery being dashed, fears about the pending second quarter earnings have also added to market jitters.

“The second quarter earnings season is going to be very important for crude [oil],” said Mr Moltke-Leth.