Stephen Hawking warns over making contact with aliens

Mr Hawking says it is 'perfectly rational' to believe in aliens

Aliens almost certainly exist but humans should avoid making contact, Professor Stephen Hawking has warned.

In a series for the Discovery Channel the renowned astrophysicist said it was "perfectly rational" to assume intelligent life exists elsewhere.

But he warned that aliens might simply raid Earth for resources, then move on.

"If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didn't turn out well for the Native Americans," he said.

Prof Hawking thinks that, rather than actively trying to communicate with extra-terrestrials, humans should do everything possible to avoid contact.

He explained: "We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn't want to meet."

The real challenge is to work out what aliens might actually be like Stephen Hawking

In the past probes have been sent into space with engravings of human on board and diagrams showing the location of our planet.

Radio beams have been fired into space in the hope of reaching alien civilisations.

Prof Hawking said: "To my mathematical brain, the numbers alone make thinking about aliens perfectly rational.

"The real challenge is to work out what aliens might actually be like."

The programme envisages numerous alien species including two-legged herbivores and yellow, lizard-like predators.

But Prof Hawking conceded most life elsewhere in the universe is likely to consist of simple microbes.

In the recent BBC series Wonders of the Solar System, Professor Brian Cox, a physicist from the University of Manchester, also suggested life may exist elsewhere within our solar system.

He said organisms could be present under the ice sheet that envelops Europa, one of Jupiter's moons.

Professor Cox added: "Closer to home, the evidence that life could exist on Mars is growing.

"We will only know for sure when the next generation of spacecraft, fine-tuned to search for life, are launched to the moons of Jupiter and the arid plains of Mars in the coming decades."

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Commentary

Statistically speaking, no one knows the probability of life on other planets and every model tried to justify such a claim has no evidence to back it's claim.

Many of the inputs in these models are, to be blunt, guesses. So yes when you input a guess, instead of scientific data, you get a weak answer.

~~~~~~~~~

I've said this a million times in real life and I'll say it again:

"It's not about how many planets or how much space there is in our universe. Space cannot support life, not all planets can support life. It's about how many potential planets are out there that can support life.

Stars cannot support life, galaxies cannot support life. Only potential planets."

So when you tell me there are a trillion planets, for instance, and that the large amount of them means there must be life, I laugh.

There is no correlation or even bell curve between total planets and planets that are inhabitable. No one knows how many Earth's there are, and so far we have yet to find even 1 Earth, not that we've looked that far anyways.

The fact of the matter is:

• 1) If Earth was just 5% closer or 5% further from the sun, we wouldn't be here right now.
• 2) If Earth was twice as large, we wouldn't be here right now.
• 3) If Earth had no moon, we wouldn't be here right now
• 4) If Earth's Sun was much bigger, we wouldn't be here right now
• 5) If Earth lacked water, we wouldn't be here right now.
  

There are literally 100's of reasons why Humans might not have made it on earth, and yet you see that our world is like the Goldilocks effect: not too big, not too small, but just right.

Such worlds, are not inevitable Stephan Hawking. Such worlds have never been statistically computed to a definitive scientific standard. Such worlds have never been documented.

Yet you, as a scientist, a man of observation, are quick to jump to an insane conclusion of Aliens being inevitable?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There may be a chance that microbes on another planet are indeed inevitable, but no such evidence, that can withstand scientific scrutiny, has ever been documented.

I will then act as scientists should on the subject, and not jump to conclusions. It's this jumping to conclusions that leads to a scientists downfall.

'Mass illness' hits Afghan schoolgirls in Kunduz

Scores of schoolgirls in the Afghan province of Kunduz have fallen ill over the past week, in what authorities allege is mass poisoning by insurgents.

On Sunday, 13 girls were taken ill. This follows two separate incidents earlier in the week when about 70 girls complained of dizziness and nausea.

An inquiry has already begun, health officials told the BBC.

The Taliban - which oppposes female education - denies carrying out an attack, the Reuters news agency says.

The girls said they noticed a strange smell in class before the onset of their symptoms, but health officials said the gas remains unidentified.

None of the symptoms experienced by the girls are reported to to be serious.

The incidents all involved different schools.

In May 2009, Afghan authorities launched an investigation after about 90 schoolgirls fell ill in Kapisa province.

Although officials suspected deliberate poisoning, the results of the inquiry were inconclusive.

In recent years there has been an increase in attacks on schoolgirls in Afghanistan, mainly in the south and east of the country where several acid attacks on schoolgirls have been reported.

Girls were banned from attending school during the rule of the Taliban, who were overthrown in the American-led invasion of 2001.

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Commentary

The daughter of the Prophet of Islam was known to be a teacher of a girls school, and the Prophet would have seen her teaching her young students.

This inherent contradiction between Religion and the Taliban is not the first. The Taliban hold no banner but their own. They do not follow a religion because none condone their actions.

They merely use the power of religion to incite fear and submission in people.

If one truly had time they could state 100 ways in which the Taliban break the code of Islam.
Mentioning the contradiction of instructing girls and allowing girls to go to school, should suffice for now.

For 1,400 years Girls were being educated by Muslims, one of those teachers being the Daughter of the Prophet. The Taliban will never be able to erase that strong a proof of history.

What is a life without sex like?

By Finlo Rohrer BBC News Magazine The recent scandal over the handling of child abuse in the Catholic church has again focused attention on celibacy. But away from the arguments, what is it actually like to lead a life without having sex? This is, we are told, a highly sexualised society. HISTORY OF CELIBACY "The roots of celibacy are in all major religions except Judaism and Islam, and even these religions insist on pre-marital virginity, at least for women," says Elizabeth Abbott For the Catholic Church, celibacy grew up for three reasons In interpretations of the Scriptures, celibacy was more perfect and desirable in God's eyes Celibacy allowed priests/nuns and other devotees to consecrate their lives and thoughts to God Celibate priests were not a financial drain on the church There have been notable examples of Catholic clergy who did not abstain from sex, eg Pope Alexander VI Source: Elizabeth Abbott, A History of Celibacy In the 21st Century UK, indeed in almost all of the West, sexual imagery can be found in many places, and many young people expect to have a number of sexual partners before eventually settling down. This perhaps may explain why the idea of a celibate lifestyle, as practised by the clergy of the Catholic Church, as well as adherents of other religions, causes a great deal of puzzlement among non-believers. "In our sex-dominated society, people tend to view celibacy as a form of sexual anorexia - a sad and lonely state at best, unnatural at worst," says Elizabeth Abbott, author of A History of Celibacy. Jimmy O'Brien was a priest for the best part of a decade before deciding he had to leave his vocation. He has now been married for 20 years to a woman he met while still a priest, and he has two children. Born in Tipperary, Ireland, he started his training at 18. From a Catholic background, he completely accepted the idea of celibacy. But after several years as a priest in the south of England he began to change his mind. Entering a life of celibacy - ordination of new priests at St Peter's Basilica, Vatican "Accepting it was one thing and living it was another. Four or five years into it, it's only then the implications of the decision you made were questioned. "It isn't so much the celibacy aspect, it is the loneliness. At 28 or 29 a lot of my friends were settling down and having children, my older brothers and sisters were having children. There was no significant other there for you." By the time he was 34, Mr O'Brien felt he had to leave to preserve his "own personal sanity". Although he says he did not break his vows while a priest, he had already met his future wife by the time he left. "By this stage I had kind of got myself into a relationship with a woman and was having to make that decision. It was a friendship that developed. When I did leave, the relationship I was in went onto a different level." MEANING OF CELIBACY Derived from Latin, meaning unmarried, so a life without marriage As sex outside marriage is discouraged in traditional Christianity, this also means a life without sex Hence the modern secular usage of a long-term, self-imposed abstention from sex Even in slightly more conservative times, there have always been many for whom celibacy was not easily understood. Former nun Mel Baird encountered many baffled people in the late 1960s and 1970s. "People thought I was completely mad," she notes, and there were some who made wild allegations - that she was just odd, a lesbian, or even not celibate at all. "Some people couldn't understand it was possible to be fulfilled and to enjoy what you were doing without being sexually active. It didn't mean I wasn't a sexual being." But the times were certainly different when Mrs Baird began training to be a nun in 1965. No imposition "We are actually looking at quite a different climate. I had been brought up in a Catholic home in a Catholic school, educated by nuns. "I never saw celibacy as a deprivation. I never denied my femininity. I was still a woman with the same feelings. It doesn't mean I wasn't interested in men or interested in having children. "I saw my choice to become a nun as part of what I needed to do to achieve the whole. I didn't see it as an imposition." There are practical aspects to celibacy - you can get up at three in the morning to visit someone in hospital without worrying about how this will affect your marriage Fr Stephen Wang Read Fr Wang's article on why he chose a celibate life And while the non-believer might be preoccupied with the idea of a constant battle against multifarious temptation, Mrs Baird had support. "You had the whole back-up of a [convent] community, unlike priests." When the nuns were tempted they were encouraged to "pray or to go and do something positive - it is about channelling that energy". But Mrs Baird decided before taking her final vows that she was not destined to be a nun for life. "I was beginning to wonder whether I was in the right place. At 26 I wasn't the same person I was at 18. I had experienced life. I had grown up. I no longer found it fulfilling. "I would have become miserable. There is such a thing as a temporary vocation." Human intimacy Serving priest Fr Stephen Wang - who has written on the subject - does not see celibacy as a privation. "There are struggles. Times of loneliness; sexual desires; dreams about what marriage and fatherhood would be like. I don't think most of this is about celibacy - it's about being human." Fr Wang sees practical arguments for celibacy, but is more moved by the idea that as a single person, Jesus and the parishioners have a central place in his life. And, most importantly, he is happy. I don't think you would want to commit someone to living their life in a fish bowl Jimmy O'Brien Former priest "You need affection and human intimacy. I've got some wonderful friends. I get home to see my family every couple of weeks. I escape to the cinema now and then. And I pray. Not to fill the gaps, because some of them can never be filled, but because the love of Christ is something very real and very consoling. "I'm aware that it gives me a freedom of heart that is a unique gift. It helps me stay close to Christ, and draws me closer to the people I meet each day." Neither Mrs Baird nor Mr O'Brien left their vocation to pursue a hedonistic lifestyle. Both married and had children. Both are in professions that represent a continuity from the caring side of their previous calling - Mrs Baird has pursued a career in psychiatric nursing, while Mr O'Brien has worked with vulnerable children and now runs children's homes. Both are still active and dedicated Catholics. Neither were condemned by fellow Catholics for the decision they made. Mrs Baird does believe that those in a religious community, monks and nuns, should have to accept celibacy, or leave as she did. But she says priests should have a choice about whether to be celibate, at least in part to stop the church losing otherwise devoted clergymen. For Mr O'Brien there is an argument for married priests as there is an argument for women priests, but from a personal point of view he would not necessarily have stayed as a priest were he allowed to marry. "From a personal choice I don't think you would want to commit someone to living their life in a fish bowl." Source ~~~~~~~ Commentary A life of celibacy was never mandated on Christians. The bible's closest link to it says that only certain people endowed with this gift, should take advantage of it. The belief the pope must be celibate, which leads to his cardinals and priests, is a myth if you consider Peter, largely considered the first pope, whom was not celibate and had a family. Celibacy is unnatural and saying society is over sexualized, does not justify the fact that even an undersexualized society still has needs and still can not condone celibacy. These first hand accounts show that priests and nuns are struggling to mend their religion and their lives. Also the most religious Christians, who become celibate, never pass on their divine light to their children. By divine light I mean their devotion to God and their morals and ethics. That leaves only the worst Christians to propagate the earth. Is that really what Christianity wants? The worst Christians to survive, have kids, and pass on their morals? Of course not. Catholicism is incorrect here when it comes to celibacy.

Indonesia hosts world's biggest geothermal energy forum

By Karishma Vaswani BBC News, Jakarta

Indonesia wants to use the energy created by its volcanoes

Indonesia is hosting what is being called the world's biggest geothermal energy conference.

The congress in Bali is an attempt to look at how to better develop geothermal power as an environmentally friendly fuel for the future.

Geothermal power is energy extracted from the heat stored in the Earth, and environmentalists say it could be the key to using cleaner forms of fuel.

Representatives from 80 countries are attending the talks.

Expensive endeavour

It is often dubbed volcano power but the correct scientific explanation for geothermal energy is power extracted from the heat stored in the Earth's core.

Indonesia has ambitious plans to tap geothermal power and in particular the energy created by its volcanoes.

The archipelago of more than 17,000 islands sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" - one of the most active regions in the world for volcanic activity.

Indonesia does not have the resources to be able to provide a consistent supply of electricity to all of its population, so finding an alternative source of energy is critical for south-east Asia's largest economy as it rapidly expands.

This will be one of the major talking points at the world geothermal congress in Bali this week.

Scientists say that in theory the planet's geothermal power is enough to supply mankind's energy needs and could certainly help to solve Indonesia's fuel problems.

But the issue is cost. While environmentally friendly, the harnessing of geothermal power is also a very expensive endeavour.

Indonesia currently uses mostly coal as a source of power, which is cheap but is also considered harmful to the environment.

It is thought that a geothermal plant could cost about twice as much as a coal one and take many more years to build.

It is being reported that Indonesia is keen to raise more than $1bn (£650m) in investment as a result of this conference so that it can develop geothermal energy as a source of power for its future.

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New York passers-by leave good Samaritan to die

At least 25 people walked past Alfredo Tale-Yax, police say

A homeless man in New York City who was stabbed after coming to a woman's aid was left to die while passers-by ignored him, CCTV footage has shown.

Police said that at least 25 people walked past Hugo Alfredo Tale-Yax as he bled to death on a pavement in Queens.

The 31-year-old from Guatemala was repeatedly stabbed by a man as he intervened during the attack last week.

The footage shows it was an hour and a half before somebody tried to rouse him and contacted the emergency services.

In the security camera video, a woman is followed by a man, who then appears to attack her.

"How can you walk past somebody when see you them lying there in need of help"

Mr Tale-Yax walks toward them. Off-camera he is stabbed several times while trying to help the woman.

The camera captures the apparent attacker running away.

Mr Tale-Yax gives chase but collapses. He is seen lying in the street fatally wounded, as several people walk past him.

Relatives of Mr Tale-Yax said he had recently lost his job and his home.

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Blue stork surprises German villagers

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A blue stork is proving to be a tourist attraction in a German village, puzzled bird watchers are unsure how it got its distinctive colour.

Imtiaz Tyab reports.

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Sony to stop selling floppy disks from 2011

The first floppy disk was introduced in 1971 by IBM

Sony has signalled what could be the final end of the venerable floppy disk.

The electronics giant has said it will stop selling the 30-year-old storage media in Japan from March 2011.

Earlier this year Sony stopped selling the disks in most international markets due to dwindling demand and competition from other storage formats.

The slow death of the "floppy" or "diskette" began in 1998 when Apple decided to not include a floppy drive in its G3 iMac computer.

Since then various other firms have stopped support for floppy disks, including computer giant Dell in 2003.

Computing store PC World stopped selling them in 2007.

However, Sony has continued to sell the disks, and continues to ship them in the millions.

Now, the firm - which claims to have produced the first 3.5in (9cm) disks in 1981 - has decided to halt sales completely faced with competition from online storage and portable USB drives.

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Teacher Peter Harvey 'beat pupil while shouting die'

Peter Harvey denies a charge of attempted murder in July 2009

A science teacher beat a pupil around the head with a dumbbell while shouting "die, die, die", a court heard.

Peter Harvey, 50, hit the 14-year-old boy with a 3kg weight at All Saints' Roman Catholic School, Mansfield, a jury heard.

He denies attempted murder and causing grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent, but has admitted a charge of GBH.

Nottingham Crown Court was told students were filmed calling Mr Harvey a "psycho" moments before the attack.

Another pupil was filming as Mr Harvey tried to restore discipline.

The injured schoolboy, whom Mr Harvey confronted for misbehaving in class, suffered a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain.

At the time the blows were being struck Mr Harvey was only heard to say one thing... 'die, die, die' Stuart Rafferty QC

Stuart Rafferty QC, prosecuting, said Mr Harvey was sent home from the school in December 2008 after telling an education adviser he might harm somebody.

He returned to the classroom in April 2009.

Mr Harvey was "happy" and "positive" on the morning of the attack, the court heard.

But, after a girl with behavioural difficulties started being disruptive it was alleged he kicked her, Mr Rafferty said.

He added: "She left the classroom in a state of tears and some of the class took exception to the way she had been treated and started calling him a psycho.

"He didn't seem to respond to that and told the class to get on with their work."

'Chased round classroom'

The schoolboy victim then started waving a wooden metre rule and a metal Bunsen burner about in "high jinks" before he was attacked, the court heard.

Mr Harvey chased him round the classroom and the boy swore at him, the jury was told.

Mr Rafferty said: "That seems to have lit the blue touch paper because Mr Harvey grabbed him by his collar and started dragging him out of the classroom.

"He threw him to the ground and armed himself with a 3kg dumbbell and began to hit the boy about the head with it.

"He struck at least two blows to the head which caused serious injury, really serious injury.

"At the time the blows were being struck Mr Harvey was only heard to say one thing.

"What he was saying was 'die, die, die'."

'Felt no emotion'

The court heard that one pupil tried to drag Mr Harvey off the boy, who was lying on his back looking "frightened and confused".

The teacher was kneeling above him, raising the dumbbell to shoulder height for each of the blows.

Mr Rafferty said: "No-one can say for one moment what happened to this boy was deserved or justified.

"What he [Mr Harvey] did was grossly disproportionate to the wrong inflicted on him by the boy or other members of the class."

The court heard that Mr Harvey later told police he felt like he was watching himself on television.

He said he was not feeling any emotion and "couldn't think at all".

'Mental breakdown'

The jury was told one 15-year-old girl, who was in the class when the attack happened, claimed she confronted Harvey about his behaviour moments before the attack.

In an interview given to police, she said: "I said to him, 'Sir, I think you are having a mental breakdown' because people were scared of him. He started murmuring something about killing me."

Describing the attack, the girl added: "He grabbed him by the neck and forced him out into the corridor. The class ran out and he got him to the floor.

"By this time he was doing something to him. He grabbed a weight and hit him on the head constantly. He didn't stop and blood was everywhere.

"Everyone was screaming and then two people went and got teachers."

The trial continues.

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Shops agree to £20m pay-out over 'toxic sofas'

Yvonne Dalton, speaking in 2009: "The skin just started peeling away"

A number of High Street chains have agreed to pay up to £20m ($31m) to 2,000 people who received chemical burns from anti-fungal agents in sofas.

The victims are expected to get £1,200-£9,000 each plus other expenses for loss of weddings, holidays and wages.

The group that owns Argos and Homebase, furniture chain Walmsleys and other smaller firms had admitted liability for selling the Chinese-made sofas.

Some Land of Leather customers will not get a pay-out, after an earlier ruling.

'Swift compensation'

Richard Langton, solicitor for law firm Russell Jones and Walker, said: "People's lives were put on hold. Some people thought that they were dying, that they had skin cancer.

"Their doctors couldn't tell them what was wrong, a lot of psychological symptoms.

"Some cases were not so severe, fortunately, but for many people they say it was the worst period of their lives ever."

Mr Justice MacDuff was told in court that a "claims handling agreement" had been reached that did not resolve the whole of the litigation, but would "open the way to swift compensation for many hundreds" of people.

Mr Langton said there would be another hearing on 21 May when 2,500 further cases would be considered.

The £20m figure includes legal costs, as well as compensation.

Burned through clothes

Up to 100,000 of the sofas were sold with "highly sensitising" fungicidal chemical dimethyl fumarate (DMF) inside.

The substance was designed to stop the furniture, manufactured by Chinese companies Linkwise and Eurosofa, going mouldy in storage.

When the sofas went into people's homes the solid sachets turned into gas that burned through clothes and on to skin.

Chemicals used to protect the sofas caused burns

The claimants were said to have suffered severe skin or eye complaints, breathing difficulties or other medical conditions.

Solicitors said the EU had now banned the use of DMF after consumers in at least five European countries suffered skin burns and breathing problems.

Another High Court judge previously ruled more than 300 customers were not entitled to compensation from Land of Leather's insurers Zurich, after the furniture firm went into administration in January 2009.

That decision is expected to be challenged in the Court of Appeal.

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'Why I burnt my Nigerian friend's house down'

By Caroline Duffield BBC News, Jos

The first night of the January riots in the Nigerian city of Jos took Umar D'Adam by surprise and as the gunfire and burning began, the 20-year-old - known as "D-Boy" - fled.

It was the beginning of a spiral of brutality in central Nigeria that has left hundreds dead.

My mum, she cooked for him. He used to come here to sleep, my mum would give him a key Umar D'Adam or "D-Boy"

As he sheltered in the army barracks, someone handed D-Boy a phone. It was his close friend, Vincent Alaibe, a Christian.

"I just heard his voice telling me, it's my house, that he's burned it," remembers D-Boy.

"He was shouting. He showed other people my house, and they burned it, including him.

"He thought I was dead. I told him: 'I am alive.'"

Months later, the family home in the Anglo-Jos district is still in ruins: A blackened fridge, the melted remains of a TV, and once-treasured belongings crunch underfoot.

Berom Christian men attacked the area with guns, cutlasses and petrol-bombs

"My mum, she cooked for him. He used to come here to sleep, my mum would give him a key," D-Boy says softly.

He has been in contact with Vincent, and offers to take us to meet him.

They know he is my friend. That is why they forced me to do it Vincent Alaibe

The cycle of killing and revenge has changed the identity of whole neighbourhoods in Jos and arranging a simple meeting is not easy.

The young friends can only meet outside the neighbourhood; there is difficulty talking.

Slight and fresh faced, barely out of their teens, they sit awkwardly, eyes to the ground.

"If I don't do it, they are going to kill me," says Vincent, slowly.

'Forgiveness'

He describes how a gang of ethnic Berom Christian men were attacking the area, armed with guns, cutlasses and petrol-bombs.

Vincent - one of few Christian residents - was singled out, and made to go with them, to point out D-Boy's house.

"They know he is my friend. That is why they forced me to do it. They knew that I am a Christian, and he is a Muslim.

"I am looking for forgiveness," he chokes.

D-Boy stares straight ahead, listening.

"Don't do it again," he bursts out.

"If this thing happens again, don't put your hand in it. I know you are a good person."

D-Boy's parents have forgiven Vincent, and would like to see him again at the family home.

But violent threats of revenge, and fear of arrest, have forced him to move away.

"If I enter the area, they will kill me," he says.

Broken pacts

North of the city, people in the tiny Christian enclave of Chwelnyap, in Congo-Russia district, were also taken aback by the riots.

"There was an agreement," insists Chief Ibrahim Choji-Dusu.

His community is surrounded by four almost exclusively ethnic Hausa Muslim neighbourhoods.

Our people are being killed any time they pass in that area Chief Ibrahim Choji-Dusu

The day before, he sat down with his Muslim neighbours to discuss the hostile mood.

"The agreement was, there should never be anybody from any of the communities that should attack anybody," Chief Choji-Dusu says, again and again.

But on morning of 17 January, 170 homes in Chwelnyap were torched.

Chief Chiji-Dusu and others recognised those they had spoken with the previous day among the attackers.

"We spoke: 'Ah! You! We made an agreement yesterday. Why do you attack us now?'"

"They said: 'No matter how used you are to your chicken, it will not stop you slaughtering it.'

"That is the slogan they use," he says.

The BBC contacted community leaders in those neighbouring areas.

Some said they had never attended the peace meeting on 16 January.

Others claimed that residents of Chwelnyap attacked first, breaking the agreement.

Others admitted that they had lost control of their own youths, as rioting spread elsewhere in the city.

Five people from Chwelnyap were killed - a number Chief Choji-Dusu considers a lucky escape.

'Silent killings'

Three months later, he says the people of Chwelnyap are ready to forgive. But the atmosphere has changed, and there has been virtually no exchange about what happened.

Because of the crisis, the Christians dare not come, and the Muslims are playing poker by themselves Youth worker Emmanuel Nanle

"Our problem is, how do we come and sit together?" he asks.

"We can't go there. Our people are being killed any time they pass in that area.

"Once you go, you never come back. You will be a missing person."

The police and military continue to recover corpses dumped inside the city limits and in rural villages outside.

Victims of the so-called "silent killings" - both Berom Christians and Hausa Muslims - are being discovered every week.

"Rather than coming together, people are moving apart," observes Emmanuel Nanle, a Christian youth worker.

Beer parlours and Bible sellers

Jos - once a balmy holiday retreat enjoyed by British colonials - is being carved up into exclusive neighbourhoods.

Armoured military vehicles squat on the interfaces.

On the Christian side, beer parlours and Bible-sellers jostle for space.

JOS, PLATEAU STATE Deadly riots in 2001, 2008 and 2010 City divided into Christian and Muslim areas Divisions accentuated by system of classifying people as indigenes and settlers Hausa-speaking Muslims living in Jos for decades are still classified as settlers Settlers find it difficult to stand for election Communities divided along party lines: Christians mostly back the ruling PDP; Muslims generally supporting the opposition ANPP No end to Nigeria cycle of violence Q&A: Jos violence

Women in brightly coloured hijabs and the ornate woven caps common in the north mark out the Hausa Muslim side.

"The whole of this street - Ajayi Street - used to be a poker street," explains Mr Nanle, smiling.

"You would find Christians and Muslims playing poker together, whiling away time after work.

"But now, because of the crisis, the Christians dare not come, and the Muslims are playing poker by themselves."

Areas of Jos that were once ethnically and religiously mixed - Dogon Dutse, Genta Adamu and Nassarawa Gwom - are now becoming exclusive.

Chief Choji-Dusu believes the shifts in geography are barring local discussion of what has happened.

"The truth is, we need to rub minds, and reason," he says.

"We, the Christians, we don't want to fight. But if we are destabilised in Plateau State, it will affect the country. It will shake the country.'"

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