Today's news

August 3, 2005

Ministers 'hampering' overseas student recruitment
University bosses yesterday accused the government of hampering efforts to recruit overseas students to British institutions. Government plans to increase visa fees and overhaul the immigration system is putting students off applying to UK universities and depriving institutions of valuable overseas income, said Universities UK, which represents vice-chancellors.
The Guardian
 
'Life is simply not for me'
A talented student found dead at the foot of cliffs on the eve of leaving home for Oxford University took the reason for her suicide to the grave, an inquest was told. Alice McGovern, 18, was due to start a chemistry degree course at New College, Oxford, after gaining four grade As in her A levels. But with everything to live for she drowned in the sea near Beachy Head, East Sussex, leaving her motive a mystery.
The Times , The Guardian , Daily Telegraph
 
Petition calls for total ban on primate experiments
Campaigners dressed as monkeys in pinstripe suits were at Downing Street yesterday to hand in a petition calling for a total ban on primate testing in Britain. Carrying briefcases and umbrellas, and wearing bowler hats on top of huge monkey heads, they delivered 163,000 signatures to Tony Blair. The cumbersome outfits proved too much of a security risk and police made the protesters wait outside the gates to Downing St, leaving the task of delivering boxes of signatures to the Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker.
The Guardian

Shuttle crew go on spacewalk to tackle repairs
Armed with a simple hack-saw, an astronaut on board the space shuttle Discovery was set to attempt an unprecedented in-flight repair during a space-walk on Wednesday in an effort to ensure the crew’s safety when the craft returns to Earth on Monday. Astronaut Stephen Robinson was to be manoeuvred into position underneath the shuttle by the craft’s 18m robotic arm, where he would attempt to remove dangling ceramic-coated cloth. “I’ll have to be careful but the task is very simple,” Robinson said before the mission.
Financial Times

Hidden fingerprint key to beating fraud
A unique natural "fingerprint" on documents, plastic cards and packaging could be used to combat fraud, it was claimed yesterday. Scientists at Imperial College London and Durham University have developed a system to read microscopic imperfections on paper and other surfaces. The signature structure is still recognisable even after being submerged in water, scorched, scrubbed or scribbled on.
The Scotsman

Woolf's lighthouse to shine on
The lighthouse which inspired Virginia Woolf's most famous novel is to remain lit after a campaign by fishermen and sailors against its closure. Proposals to extinguish the beacon at Godrevy, near St Ives in Cornwall, by 2010 led to a campaign by Woolf aficionados to preserve its status as the most iconic maritime safety device in English literature.
The Independent , The Times , Daily Telegraph

University challenged
Article on how Sussex University is trying to expand its campus.
The Independent

Exams must be a real test of character
Anne Widdicombe commenting on the rise in student cheating.
Daily Express

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