From today's UK papers

Cholesterol drug hailed as new aspirin
Researchers claimed yesterday that thousands of lives could be saved in Britain if people at risk from heart attacks and strokes took a new type of drug. Rory Collins, professor of medicine and epidemiology at Oxford University, who led the two-year Heart Protection Study, hailed the blood cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins, as the new aspirin. ( Daily Telegraph , Times , Independent , Guardian )

Freedom of Information Act delayed
Ministers angered Labour MPs yesterday when they announced that the Freedom of Information Act would not fully come into force until January 2005, more than two years after campaigners expected. ( Daily Telegraph )

£300m education test-bed axed
The government is to end its £300m public-private initiative designed to provide a test-bed for new ideas in some of the country's toughest schools. Stephen Timms, schools minister, will tell leaders of the 73 education action zones today that they will not be extended beyond their five-year programmes. ( Financial Times )

Turkish dam project on shaky ground
The future of the controversial Turkish Ilisu hydro-electric dam was in doubt last night after Balfour Beatty, the UK civil engineering group, and Impregilo of Italy pulled out of its construction. The two companies said the arguments over environmental and human rights concerns were likely to take years to resolve. ( Financial Times , Guardian , Independent , Times )

Britain faces acute skills shortage
A report by the Department for Education and Skills and the Learning and Skills Council predicts that growth in Britain's skills base lags far behind that of other big industrialised economies. ( Financial Times )

Bush to slash US nuclear arsenal
US President George W. Bush has announced a two-thirds cut in the US nuclear arsenal over the next 10 years in a move aimed at building a new relationship with Russia. ( Financial Times )