I have some advice for CoffeeHousers hungry for the latest evidence about the guy who tried to blow up the Amsterdam-to-Detroit flight: go to the American press and their websites.  They are 100% free to pursue these stories: the press in Britain isn't. Not any more. The suspect suffering second degree burns in hospital, named by the US authorities as a Nigerian called Farouk Abdul Mutallab, may have been living in London. This is, alas, no surprise. It fits with Britain's reputation as Europe's no1 incubator of terrorists  - let's remember that the 7/7 bombers were home-grown. And it raises huge questions which a free press should be pursuing.

But this is a subject where the British press are not free. You'll get the confirmed details, and the UK press will work as hard as they can to give you all the rest of the details. But to publish the results of any investigative work is far, far more risky here than in America. The reason for this is the notorious British libel laws, at their most pernicious when used to pursue journalists investigating Islamic terrorism.

In this case, the would-be bomber appears to be in hospital, thwarted by fellow passengers (and, from the sounds of it, candidates for heroism decoration). But these guys never act alone. What about his accomplices? After 7/7 the US press were free to name men identified by the US intelligence authorities as prime suspects. British publications repeating these names were sued by the people in question. In Britain, even convicted terrorists have successfully sued for defamation. Other aspects of a terror attack - family, friends, social networks, supportive organisations - will be in the American press far sooner than the British press. If a journalists's "security sources" won't testify in court (most won't) then it's not for use. Make no mistake: lawyers will be working overtime in Fleet St today, to cut and censor information that is written in good faith and in the public interest. This is what we all have to do now - magazines, newspapers, blogs, the lot.  It is precisely at moments like this, when journalists struggle to present a fuzzy picture as best they can to their readership, that the libel lawyers start dialling 118 and start asking those named if they'd like to try their luck and sue. 

Since Ukraine gained independence from the USSR in 1991, the ancient tradition of singing kolyadki - traditional carols and songs - has been slowly revived. While many of the songs have their roots in the Orthodox Christian faith, others are much older - hinting at the pagan winter festival from which they originally came.

Before Communism, on Christmas Eve in Ukraine groups of young people would move from house to house singing kolyadki and wishing the residents health and happiness. In return, the householders would offer small gifts of coins and food.

Japan's weather agency said Friday it would stop giving forecasts for the start of the cherry blossom season, an annual rite which sees millions of people flock to picnic under the delicate pink petals.

The start of the spring cherry blossom season is an excuse for drunken revelry across Japan but an annual headache for the Meteorological Agency, which has been trying since 1955 to predict when the trees will bloom.

Weather forecasters have been left red-faced in the past for miscalculating the start of the blossom season. In 2007, Japan's chief weatherman was forced to bow in apology after a computer glitch resulted in the wrong forecasts.

With a number of private weather agencies now giving similar information, the government agency has decided to end its service.

Since the economic collapse of 2008, the controversial novelist and philosopher has emerged as a leading intellectual on the right - and she's been dead for nearly 30 years.

Rush Limbaugh touts Rand as a prophet of sorts. "Ayn Rand, she wrote `Atlas Shrugged,' " he told his listeners. "The sequel, `Atlas Puked,' we're in the middle of it." At the tea parties that swept the nation last spring, protesters waved signs claiming "Ayn Rand was right" and warning "Read `Atlas Shrugged' before it happens."

The fresh appeal of 'Atlas Shrugged'

Consider this: "Atlas Shrugged," Rand's most famous novel, is set in a dystopian future America, where a socialist government has brought the country to the brink of ruin. Fleeing punitive regulations and crushing taxation, the country's top industrialists and executives have gone on strike, virtually shutting down the economy.