Latest news

Teacher training places increase
The Teacher Training Agency has announced plans to allocate 1,900 more teacher training places next year. This is the highest increase for a decade, bringing the total to 32,000 in England. Ralph Tabberer, TTA chief executive, said that enquiries from potential student teachers were up 25 per cent on last year.

Two killed during Congo riot
Two students were killed on Saturday in a clash with police in the southeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo when police opened fire on a demonstration involving an estimated 500 university students who were protesting at a rise in tuition fees.

Ghana declares u-turn on fees
Ghana's minister of education has announced that the government is to stop state universities and other tertiary institutions levying full student fees.

Rome plays host to Balkan reunion
The rectors of the universities of Belgrade and Sarajevo meet today for the first time since the Balkan conflict, in Rome, at the Italian offices of the European Parliament. Marija Bogdanovic of Belgrade and Boris Tihi of Sarajevo were brought together within the South East Europe University Cooperation Programme organised by Rome's La Sapienza University in conjunction with the Italian foreign and defence ministries and the United Nations.

Festive star does heavenly twist
A team of Scottish and French astronomers have discovered a festive star that does the twist. Researchers at St Andrews University and the Observatoire Midi-Pyrenees, Toulouse, found the new phenomenon during Christmas observations in Australia. This twisting behaviour has been predicted by some theories of the way in which stars generate their magnetic fields, but until now it has never been directly observed.