UN human rights chief backs Apple in FBI encryption row

Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, high commissioner for human rights at the United Nations, has warned that a "Pandora's box" will be opened if Apple co-operates with the FBI.

The FBI has ordered the tech giant to assist it with unlocking an iPhone used by San Bernadino gunman Syed Farook. 

Prince Al Hussein said the law enforcement agency "deserves everyone's full support" in its investigation.

However, encryption was essential in the interests of freedom, he added.

"There are many ways to investigate whether or not these killers had accomplices besides forcing Apple to create software to undermine the security features of their own phones," he said in a statement.

"It is potentially a gift to authoritarian regimes, as well as to criminal hackers.

"Encryption and anonymity are needed as enablers of both freedom of expression and opinion, and the right to privacy. Without encryption tools, lives may be endangered."

Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife Tashfeen Malik killed 14 people and left 22 injured when they opened fire at his place of work in California in December 2015.

The FBI has asked Apple to disable a feature that means the data on an iPhone is erased after 10 incorrect attempts at the four-digit password. It also wants to be able to run software that could go through the 10,000 possible combinations to unlock the gunman's handset quickly.

Apple says agreeing to the request would set "a dangerous precedent".

Tech support

A number of major tech firms have also pledged their support for Apple's refusal to circumvent its own security.

Two groups of tech giants have now filed an amicus brief, which allows parties not directly involved in a court case, but who feel they are affected by it, to give their view.

They include Twitter, AirBnB, eBay, LinkedIn, Reddit, Amazon, Microsoft, Snapchat and Yahoo.

However, a lawyer representing a group of Farook's surviving victims said he would file similar legal paperwork on their behalf in support of the FBI.

"They were targeted by terrorists, and they need to know why, how this could happen," said Stephen Larson, a former judge.

He declined to say how many of the victims he was representing, but did add that he would not be charging them a fee.

Google’s Newest Trick Will Delight Animal Lovers

Google knows a lot of stuff: What time the Super Bowl is, what the weather’s like outside, and who Martin Van Buren’s vice president was.

Now it knows what sound the dog makes, too.

A new update brings a handful of animal sounds to the search engine, as spotted by The Huffington Post. Simply type a question like “What sound does a humpback whale make?,” and you’ll be treated to a small sampling of magnificent whalesong.

There’s also a cat’s meow, horse’s neigh and more. Sadly, there’s no answer for “what does the fox say?” — but we already have that answer anyway.

Snow, Sleet And Rain Set To Move Southwards

Wintry showers are expected continue to cause dangerous road conditions over the weekend, forecasters have warned.

After snow blanketed parts of the North of England, sleet and heavy downpours are set to spread southwards into Saturday.

The Met Office has issued two yellow weather warnings for ice and snow in Scotland and the South East until 9am today, as clear skies this evening will see temperatures plunge below freezing.

The mercury will slowly rise above freezing across England, before peaking at around 6C by midday.

In the far south, brighter spells throughout the morning will see temperature highs of 8C.

In the Midlands, wet snow is likely to create adverse driving conditions well into this afternoon.

The Met Office warned motorists to allow extra time for journeys because of hazardous road conditions.

On Friday, more than 50 schools in Oldham, Greater Manchester, up to 50 schools in East Lancashire, 28 in West Yorkshire and eight in Leeds were closed.

Leeds Bradford Airport was also temporarily shut as crews worked to clear the runway.

Sky News Weather Presenter Nazaneen Ghaffar said: "The wintry outbreaks will slowly spread to central and southern England as well as the North East.

"However, East Anglia and the South East should stay dry, as well as Ireland, but Scotland and the north and west of England and Wales will see some rain and snow showers.

"On Saturday the rain, sleet and snow showers will continue moving slowly eastwards across England.

"The rest of the UK and Ireland will see some wintry showers in between some bright or sunny spells. 

"Sunday will be mainly dry and bright, but some showers are expected across coastal areas and it will continue to feel cold."

Strong, northeasterly winds and wintry showers in many places will ensure temperatures remain below normal at least until the middle of next week.

Forecasters are predicting more settled, spring-like weather after that.

Armed Guards Surround Sick Hatton Garden Raider

has condemned the armed police guard around Hatton Garden heist ringleader Brian Reader as he lies seriously ill in hospital.

A short video sent to Sky News shows three gun-toting officers guarding bedridden Reader, 76, as he is wheeled through a corridor after a cancer scan.

His lawyer Hesham Puri said: "We accept there must be some security around him, but that level is quite inappropriate.

"He is very ill and this is not helping him get better. We've asked for the security to be reduced, but had no response from the police."

A witness said: "Why on Earth does a sick, old man like that need to have armed policemen? Do they really think he's going to try and escape? He looked unconscious to me.

"He also had a heavy chain wrapped round his arm and connected to a pole on the bed. It was sad and pathetic."

The witness was in a waiting area for cancer patients when armed police suddenly appeared at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woolwich, on Monday night.

She said: "There was no warning, no explanation and it was really frightening for all of us waiting to go in. I still get tearful thinking about it now."

Reader is one of seven gang members waiting to be sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court next week.

His legal team do not know whether he will be well enough to attend court and may ask to have his hearing postponed.

Reader and three others - Danny Jones, Terry Perkins and John Collins - pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit vault over the Easter weekend last year.

The gang drilled through a concrete wall and stole £14m worth of jewellery, gold and cash, most of which is still missing.

For their guilty pleas, the ringleaders should get a third off the maximum 10-year jail sentence and they will have to serve only half of the time.

With another 10 months deducted for time served since their arrest, they could be freed in little more than two-and-a-half years.

But they are likely to spend many more years in jail because of penalties under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

At a later hearing they will be asked to pay back the missing £10m and if they don't, they could be jailed for up to another 14 years, with no remission, on top of the burglary sentence.

Former chief prosecutor Nazir Afzal said: "There is a lot of stolen property missing and the judge will ask them to give it back. If they don't, they will get hit really hard. They could spend 17 years in prison."

Two other men - Carl Wood and William Lincoln - who pleaded not guilty but were convicted of two charges could get even longer sentences.

Plumber Hugh Doyle, 48, who was convicted of laundering the stolen loot after letting the gang use his workshop forecourt to transfer bags of jewellery between vehicles, said he was hoping to be given a time-served sentence and walk free from court.

Armed Guards Surround Sick Hatton Garden Raider

has condemned the armed police guard around Hatton Garden heist ringleader Brian Reader as he lies seriously ill in hospital.

A short video sent to Sky News shows three gun-toting officers guarding bedridden Reader, 76, as he is wheeled through a corridor after a cancer scan.

His lawyer Hesham Puri said: "We accept there must be some security around him, but that level is quite inappropriate.

"He is very ill and this is not helping him get better. We've asked for the security to be reduced, but had no response from the police."

A witness said: "Why on Earth does a sick, old man like that need to have armed policemen? Do they really think he's going to try and escape? He looked unconscious to me.

"He also had a heavy chain wrapped round his arm and connected to a pole on the bed. It was sad and pathetic."

The witness was in a waiting area for cancer patients when armed police suddenly appeared at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woolwich, on Monday night.

She said: "There was no warning, no explanation and it was really frightening for all of us waiting to go in. I still get tearful thinking about it now."

Reader is one of seven gang members waiting to be sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court next week.

His legal team do not know whether he will be well enough to attend court and may ask to have his hearing postponed.

Reader and three others - Danny Jones, Terry Perkins and John Collins - pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit vault over the Easter weekend last year.

The gang drilled through a concrete wall and stole £14m worth of jewellery, gold and cash, most of which is still missing.

For their guilty pleas, the ringleaders should get a third off the maximum 10-year jail sentence and they will have to serve only half of the time.

With another 10 months deducted for time served since their arrest, they could be freed in little more than two-and-a-half years.

But they are likely to spend many more years in jail because of penalties under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

At a later hearing they will be asked to pay back the missing £10m and if they don't, they could be jailed for up to another 14 years, with no remission, on top of the burglary sentence.

Former chief prosecutor Nazir Afzal said: "There is a lot of stolen property missing and the judge will ask them to give it back. If they don't, they will get hit really hard. They could spend 17 years in prison."

Two other men - Carl Wood and William Lincoln - who pleaded not guilty but were convicted of two charges could get even longer sentences.

Plumber Hugh Doyle, 48, who was convicted of laundering the stolen loot after letting the gang use his workshop forecourt to transfer bags of jewellery between vehicles, said he was hoping to be given a time-served sentence and walk free from court.

Armed Guards Surround Sick Hatton Garden Raider

has condemned the armed police guard around Hatton Garden heist ringleader Brian Reader as he lies seriously ill in hospital.

A short video sent to Sky News shows three gun-toting officers guarding bedridden Reader, 76, as he is wheeled through a corridor after a cancer scan.

His lawyer Hesham Puri said: "We accept there must be some security around him, but that level is quite inappropriate.

"He is very ill and this is not helping him get better. We've asked for the security to be reduced, but had no response from the police."

A witness said: "Why on Earth does a sick, old man like that need to have armed policemen? Do they really think he's going to try and escape? He looked unconscious to me.

"He also had a heavy chain wrapped round his arm and connected to a pole on the bed. It was sad and pathetic."

The witness was in a waiting area for cancer patients when armed police suddenly appeared at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woolwich, on Monday night.

She said: "There was no warning, no explanation and it was really frightening for all of us waiting to go in. I still get tearful thinking about it now."

Reader is one of seven gang members waiting to be sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court next week.

His legal team do not know whether he will be well enough to attend court and may ask to have his hearing postponed.

Reader and three others - Danny Jones, Terry Perkins and John Collins - pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit vault over the Easter weekend last year.

The gang drilled through a concrete wall and stole £14m worth of jewellery, gold and cash, most of which is still missing.

For their guilty pleas, the ringleaders should get a third off the maximum 10-year jail sentence and they will have to serve only half of the time.

With another 10 months deducted for time served since their arrest, they could be freed in little more than two-and-a-half years.

But they are likely to spend many more years in jail because of penalties under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

At a later hearing they will be asked to pay back the missing £10m and if they don't, they could be jailed for up to another 14 years, with no remission, on top of the burglary sentence.

Former chief prosecutor Nazir Afzal said: "There is a lot of stolen property missing and the judge will ask them to give it back. If they don't, they will get hit really hard. They could spend 17 years in prison."

Two other men - Carl Wood and William Lincoln - who pleaded not guilty but were convicted of two charges could get even longer sentences.

Plumber Hugh Doyle, 48, who was convicted of laundering the stolen loot after letting the gang use his workshop forecourt to transfer bags of jewellery between vehicles, said he was hoping to be given a time-served sentence and walk free from court.

Harvard Law School Drops 'Slavery' Crest

Harvard Law School has announced it will scrap its official emblem because of its links to an 18th century slaveholder.

The shield, which says "Veritas" and shows three sheaths of wheat, was modelled on the family crest of plantation owner Isaac Royall.

The prestigious Massachusetts school set up a committee in November of staff, students and alumni to review the crest, amid protests by student campaigners.

The panel announced on Friday it had recommended 10 to two that the shield be axed.

Harvard Law School graduates celebrate. File pic

"We believe that if the law school is to have an official symbol, it must more closely represent the values of the law school, which the current shield does not," the committee said in a report.

A bequest from Royall endowed the first chair of law at Harvard and the crest was adopted as the law school's symbol in the 1930s.

He was the son of an Antiguan slaveholder known to have treated his slaves with extreme cruelty, including burning 77 people to death, the law school said.

Dean Martha Minow endorsed the departure of the crest.

"Its association with slavery does not represent the values and aspirations of the Harvard Law School," she said in a message to campus.

Last week Harvard also retired use of the title "house master" to denote staff who lead undergraduate residences.

They will refer to them instead as "faculty deans" after students protested the old term had undertones of slavery.

Harvard Law School is the alma mater of a number of prominent US politicians and lawyers, including President Barack Obama.

There have been demonstrations about race on campuses in the US and the UK.

In January campaigners were angry when Oxford University's Oriel College refused to remove a statue of 19th century imperialist Cecil Rhodes.

Rhodes, who founded Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, endowed the Rhodes Scholarship, whose alumni include former US President Bill Clinton.