From today's UK papers

THE GUARDIAN

After 30 years of stonewalling, the United Kingdom government is finally considering following the lead of 91 other countries and signing the Unesco convention banning the international trade in stolen art and antiquities

75 per cent of UK student slang is about drinking and getting drunk, compared with only 10 per cent on a typical United States campus. According to Tony Thorne of Kings College London this does not mean British students drink more - they just like to talk about it.

Peter Kingston says that thousands of lecturers have not had the national pay rise.

MISCELLANY

MPs are torn between "pro-life" campaigners and medical groups as they prepare for  today's vote on human embryo research ( Independent , Times ).

Scientists from Shizuoka University, Japan, say avocados contain potent chemicals that may prevent liver damage and could be developed into new drugs ( Independent , Daily Mail ).

Southampton University archaeologists are studying a medieval settlement in the Isle of Wight, spotted by an amateur archaeologist after he won a trip in a light aircraft ( Independent , Times ).