Latest news

Lib Dems hint at education tax policy change
The Liberal Democrats may drop their long-standing policy of a penny on income tax to pay for education reforms such as the abolition of undergraduate tuition fees and the restoration of grants. Party Treasury spokesman Matthew Taylor said that the policy might go if the government found enough money in the forthcoming budget and comprehensive spending review to meet his party's education demands.

Harvard appoints Rubin to governing board
Former US Treasury secretary Robert Rubin is to join the governing board of Harvard University, the university announced. Mr Rubin, a Harvard alumnus, served in the Clinton administration from 1995 to 1999.

Californian students show Palestinian solidarity
Pro-Palestinian students in California have declared today a national day of solidarity to demand US university disinvestment from Israel.
Details: www.justiceinpalestine.org

Australian CMO delivers lesson on patient safety
Doctors must change the way they educate trainee medics if patient safety is to be improved, Australia's chief medical officer warned today. Richard Smallwood, delivering the Lilly Lecture at the Royal College of Physicians in London, urged the royal medical colleges to move beyond focusing on the knowledge and technical skills of individual trainees.

Environmentalists assess 'bushmeat' problem
Poor people living in West and Central Africa will continue to hunt and eat wild monkeys, gorillas, chimpanzees, reptiles and birds unless there is a move to tackle social and economic problems in the region, UK environmental groups warned today. The University of Oxford's Wildlife Conservation Unit and the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust are in Nigeria and Cameroon to assess how crucial "bushmeat" is to the 34-million population.