Saudis Confirm Detention of Blogger RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — An outspoken Saudi blogger is being held for “purposes of interrogation,” the Saudi Interior Ministry confirmed Tuesday. Gen. Mansour al-Turki, an Interior Ministry spokesman reached by telephone, said the blogger, Fouad al-Farhan, was “being questioned about specific violations of nonsecurity laws.” Mr. Farhan’s blog, which discusses social issues, had become one of the most widely read in Saudi Arabia. Mr. Farhan, 32, of Jidda, was arrested Dec. 10 at his office, local news sources reported. Two weeks before his arrest, he wrote a letter to friends warning them that it was imminent. www.nytimes.com 'Surge' thrown 'under the bus' DETROIT — Resist the urge to say you will “wordsmith” your list of New Year's resolutions rather than write one. And don't utter, “It is what it is” when you fail to meet your first goal. Those are two of the 19 words or phrases that appear in Lake Superior State University's annual List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-Use, Over-Use and General Uselessness. The school in Michigan's Upper Peninsula released its 33rd list Monday, selecting from about 2,000 nominations. Among this year's picks are “surge,” the term for the U.S. troop buildup in Iraq. “Give me the old days, when it referenced storms and electrical power,” Michael Raczko of Swanton, Ohio, said in nominating the word. www.theglobeandmail.com Wikipedia founder starts search project NEW YORK — The founder of Wikipedia says taking the online encyclopedia's collaborative approach into the field of search won't dethrone Google Inc. or another major search engine - at least not soon. After months of talk and a few weeks of invitation-only testing, Wikia Search is to open to the general public next week. www.theglobeandmail.com MPs say losing computer data should be made a crime Recklessly or repeatedly mishandling personal information should become a criminal offence, a committee of MPs urges today in the wake of the child benefit fiasco. A report from the justice select committee says there is evidence of a widespread problem within government and expresses concern that further cases of data loss are still coming to light, adding that concerns about systemic failings were raised two years ago by the man now in charge of the government's review of security. The committee says that companies should be obliged to report information losses. politics.guardian.co.uk