From today's UK papers

February 13, 2002

Plan to tax students but restore grants for poor
Tony Blair is on the verge of restoring maintenance grants for poorer students in England as part of an overhaul of the student funding system. But all graduates could be required to pay extra income tax for up to 25 years after leaving university until their tuition fees are repaid, even if they have not received a grant. (Daily Telegraph)

Employers to cut graduate intake
Graduate recruitment by leading employers is set to fall by 1 per cent this year, according to a survey by IDS, the data and research service. In 2001, the intake rose by 6 per cent. "In practice, however, the drop in demand for graduates may turn out to be greater than this, since past experience shows there is often a mismatch between employers' plans early in the year and the eventual outcome," said IDS. (Financial Times)

New diploma planned in exam shake-up
A 1950s-style "matriculation diploma" recording youngsters' achievements between the ages of 14 and 19 could be awarded nationally in 2007, it emerged yesterday, under government proposals that aim to reform the curriculum in England and encourage teenagers to stay on in education. (Guardian, Daily Telegraph, Times)

Woodhead lambasts Morris's policy
"The education secretary fails children by pushing skills at the expense of high culture, which shows them the truth about reality", argues Chris Woodhead. (Daily Telegraph)

England's prison population outstrips China's
England has proportionately more people in prison than China, Saudi Arabia or Turkey, according to world prison population statistics released by the Home Office yesterday. The figures compiled by Roy Walmsley, the research director of World Prison Brief Online, also confirm that England and Wales's rate of 125 inmates per 100,000 population is the second highest in the EU, behind only Portugal. (Guardian)

Atlas of (un)ethical investment
An atlas of countries where multinationals co-exist with regimes inflicting human rights abuse was unveiled yesterday at the launch of a campaign by Amnesty International and the Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum for ethical investment. Seven maps give details of 35 countries where abuses ranging from murder and torture to child and bonded labour had not prevented 129 companies, many of them British, from investing. (Independent)
Details: www.humanrightsrisk.org

Hard-core addicts cost nation £19bn
Drug abuse in England and Wales costs society up to £18.8 billion a year with hardcore heroin and crack cocaine addicts responsible for 99% of the bill, according to Home Office research released yesterday. The figure is far higher than previous estimates and includes the costs to victims of crime, of bringing offenders to justice, and of welfare benefits, as well as the bill to the national health service. (Guardian)

Breast cancer threat to older mothers
Women who delay having babies until their 30s increase their risk of breast cancer, research confirmed yesterday. A study by the Institut Gustave-Roussy, Paris, has found that women who were over 30 before they had their first babies were 63 per cent more likely to develop breast cancer before the menopause, compared with women who had first babies before 22. (Daily Telegraph, Guardian, Times)

Night eating may be an illness
People who raid the fridge in the middle of the night may be suffering from a genuine medical complaint and not just hunger pangs. Scientists from the University of Tromso, Norway, have discovered biochemical differences in the bodies of people who experience uncontrollable urges to eat late at night. (Daily Telegraph)

Experiment shows depth of our envy
Bitter. Twisted. So consumed with envy and malice that they would be prepared to pay to destroy their neighbour's wealth if they could avoid being found out. Recognise the description? That's you, according to researchers from Oxford and Warwick universities. In an experiment, two economists found that anonymous participants in a computerised betting game played with real money were prepared to spend their winnings in order to burn cash won by other players. (Guardian)

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