From today's UK papers

Free museums bring visitors flocking back
Attendance of national museums and galleries has doubled in the month since the abolition of admission charges, figures released by the government indicate today. Independent , Times , Daily Telegraph , Guardian

Payout rise is wake-up call to employers
A record amount of compensation to victims of discrimination in 2000 should send a "wake-up call" to employers who pay insufficient attention to equal opportunity laws, it will be claimed today. New figures published this morning by the Equal Opportunities Review show that payouts reached £3.53 million in 2000, a 38 per cent rise on 1999. Independent

Architect of 'Third Way' attacks government
Tony Giddens, an architect of Tony Blair's "Third Way" strategy has criticised new Labour's "failures" in important areas and urged the government to shelve its plans to raise taxes to boost health spending. Giddens, director of the London School of Economics and Mr Blair's most influential intellectual influence, has issued a frank "checklist" of Labour's successes and failures since 1997 in his new book. Independent

Bright sixth-formers dropping out
Growing numbers of bright sixth-formers are dropping out of A-level courses because a government drive to cut the number of 16-year-olds leaving school has focused careers advice on low-achieving students, research by the National Foundation for Educational Research suggests. Independent

Private cash sought for doctor training
The health secretary, Alan Milburn, is considering asking the private sector to contribute to the cost of training hospital doctors. The move would be part of his drive to force a closer long-term relationship between the NHS and the private sector. Guardian

Britain open to tropical diseases
Britain faces an increasing threat from tropical diseases due to tourism and immigration. Liam Donaldson, the chief medical officer, will warn this week there are almost no safeguards in place against virulent illnesses such as Ebola, yellow fever and cerebral malaria. Daily Mail

Keeping the crunch in cornflakes
The days of the soggy cornflake could be numbered. Monsanto, the controversial biotechnology company, is embarking on a multi-million-pound research and breeding programme to create a strain of maize that resists moisture. Daily Telegraph

Snoring linked to round heads
If your home resonates to nightly snoring, it could be because your family inherited a round-shaped head. Round-headed people tend to interrupt sleep with snoring more than those with long, thin faces, says a study at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Daily Telegraph

Being bored helps make a child brighter
Children are becoming less imaginative because parents insist on filling their leisure time with structured activities, researchers from the University of East Anglia warn. They suggest that periods of 'boredom time' spent away from music lessons, sport, television and computer games can make youngsters brighter. Daily Mail

Smokers ignore warning cough
Three-quarters of smokers are unaware that a persistent smoker's cough can be an early warning sign of potentially fatal lung disease, a study by the British Thoracic Society has found. Although one in five smokers suffers from a chronic cough, the vast majority have never asked their doctors to check it. Daily Telegraph

Historian apologises for copying war author
America's best known and most popular historian, Stephen Ambrose, has admitted copying sentences and phrases from another historian's work for his latest best-seller, The Wild Blue , about second world war bomber pilots. Daily Telegraph

Business schools aim to catch them young
Conventional wisdom has it that students should be or 28 before studying for an MBA. Now the myth is exploded. Financial Times

Strathclyde links with Sweden
In another move towards increasing its international presence, the University of Strathclyde Graduate School of Business has formed a strategic alliance with Sweden's Jonkoping International Business School. Financial Times

LBS gets £2m research gift
London Business School has received a gift of £2 million from Adecco, the human resources solutions organisation, to fund a chair in economics. Financial Times