Update: 13:20

Employers support skills spending increase
Business leaders today urged the government to help boost productivity by spending more on education and skills and focusing on science and technology. The Engineering Employers Federation said in a submission to chancellor Gordon Brown ahead of his forthcoming spending review that targeted increases in spending would make an important contribution to improving competitiveness.

Report links unemployment to skills gap
Workers in areas of the country with the worst unemployment, including London, often have poor basic skills, new research has showed. A report from the Trades Union Congress shows that London, the Northwest and areas of the Northeast had the highest levels of unemployment as well as poor literacy and numeracy rates.

Bodleian makes £400,000 Islamic acquisition
The Bodleian Library, Oxford, has bought one of the world's most important Islamic scientific manuscripts for £400,000. The Arabic books of celestial and terrestrial maps are dated at late 12th or early 13th century and are said to give a unique insight into how medieval scientists viewed the world and universe.