Today's news

Muslim scholar denied entry to US
An internationally renowned British Muslim scholar was this week refused entry to the US with no explanation, it has emerged. Zaki Badawi, head of the Muslim College in London, flew to New York on Wednesday to give a lecture at the city's Chautauqua Institution. He was denied entry at JFK Airport, detained for six hours and then forced to return home. It makes him the latest in a line of high-profile European Muslims to be refused entry to the US. The US Customs and Border Protection Office said Dr Badawi had been refused entry to the country based on information indicating that he was "inadmissible".
The Guardian

College drops appeal over racism ruling
An Oxford college yesterday dropped its appeal against an employment tribunal ruling that branded it "institutionally racist". Keble College was criticised after Diamond Versi, its former chief accountant, won claims of unfair dismissal and racial discrimination in January. The hearing was told that Roger Boden, the college's bursar, dismissed Mr Versi, 57, because he was Asian. The college had planned to appeal, but yesterday settled out of court. It is thought that Mr Versi had originally sought £250,000 compensation.
The Daily Telegraph

28% of students to qualify for grants
Less than one third of university students will qualify for a full maintenance grant when tuition fees are introduced next year, the Government said last night. Ministers said they expected about55 per cent of applicants to get some financial help, with 28 per cent likely to get the full £2,700. The Government is due to introduce fees of up to £3,000 a year for university courses from September next year. Bill Rammell, the Higher Education Minister, said he was determined that everyone with the ability should have the opportunity to go to university, irrespective of wealth.
The Guardian

Unite benefits from Government's higher education policy
Unite Group, the student accommodation company, said trading was on track thanks to the Government's desire to get more youngsters into higher education. Applications for full-time undergraduate courses were up 8 per cent on a year before, according to figures released by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service in April. This would create demand for its property, Unite said yesterday in a trading statement before entering its closed period.
The Financial Times, The Independent

King's launches war studies e-degree
King's College London is taking its war degree to the world, launching an e-learning masters, war in the modern world, for which, from September, it hopes to have 70 students signed up around the globe. This expeditionary move has been more than three years in the planning and involved writing a completely new degree suited to the internet, said Anne-Lucie Norton, director of the e-learning programme.
The Guardian

Arctic seabirds create pollution hotspots
Toxic faeces from Arctic seabirds may explain mysterious and dangerous levels of pollutants in northern coastal ecosystems, a Canadian team of researchers suggests. The finding could help at-risk native communities create hunting and food-harvesting strategies to reduce the amount of toxic chemicals in their diet. “Seabirds are very efficient concentrators of contaminants. If we can show that these chemicals flow in a predictable pattern, then we can alleviate the human problems just by altering food choices,” said Jules Blais at the University of Ottawa, lead author of the study.
New Scientist, The Guardian

Alzheimer's symptoms reversed in mice
Mice with memory loss have had their condition reversed, a discovery that should help refine the search for a cure for Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. The study also helps clarify the actual cause of dementia, which should give more focus to drug studies. The brains of people with Alzheimer's and some 50 other forms of dementia are known to have certain characteristic features, including messy bundles of fibres in nerve cells called neurofibrillary tangles. But no one has been sure whether the tangles are a cause or a symptom of dementia.
Nature, The Scotsman