Paris
Information technologies are valuable education tools, but they must improve access in poor as well as developed nations, the seventh Unesco/non-governmental organisations consultation on higher education concluded last week.
New York
The Ford Foundation has announced a record $330 million ten-year programme for students from under-represented groups worldwide. It will enable 3,500 postgraduates to study anywhere in the world and will provide undergraduate education in selected countries.
Rome
A study by Rome's La Sapienza university has revealed that 75 per cent of Italian males between 25 and 55 who sought psychiatric treatment were accompanied by their mothers or their wives. More than half of Italian female patients went alone. "Women appear to be more courageous than men in the face of psychiatric disturbances," researchers said.
Rio de Janeiro
The 80-year-old Federal University of Rio de Janeiro has won a legal battle to return to its original name, the University of Brazil. Its name was changed in 1965 when the military government decided to rename federal universities, allegedly for administrative purposes.
Bratislava
An academic has written a history of Slovak brewing after Czech prime minister Milos Zeman said the beer spoiled the taste buds and was good only for cleaning dentures. The book by Peter Cabadaj, former director of the Slovak National Library, was produced with the help of the Slovak Beer Producers Association.
Mexico City
Marine archaeologists in the Gulf of Mexico have recovered treasures worth about $500,000 from the Santa Margherita, a Spanish galleon believed to have sunk in 1622. The Australian company that financed the operation said that a 205-piece silver dinner service and a sapphire were among valuables recovered.
Istanbul
University staff defied the law last Friday to join public sector employees on a one-day strike against a 10 per cent government limit on pay increases. Inflation is running at 50 per cent. Striking carries up to a three-year prison sentence.