UK universities seek quantity, quality Pity the poor British professor. Once upon a time in the halcyon 1960s, his students were a privileged few, an academic elite drawn from the top 4 per cent of the population. New university arrivals were literate and numerate; crimes against grammar were the exception rather than the rule. Water forum opens with warning over shortages An international summit on global water supplies opened on Thursday with world leaders calling for solutions to shortages and inequalities in the most basic of commodities. Baby boomers click onto online dating Susan Gladstone's moment came when she turned 50. Divorced, with two children, she was getting tired of asking friends to fix her up and being told they just couldn't think of anyone. And so, she turned to online dating. Newsman Mike Wallace to retire at 87 NEW YORK: Legendary US newsman Mike Wallace has announced his retirement after nearly 40 years with the pioneering "60 Minutes" weekly newscast, where he made his reputation as a hard-hitting interviewer. Rice: Possible Iran talks to be limited to Iraq Any possible dialogue between American diplomats and Iranian officials on stabilizing Iraq will not cover Teheran's nuclear ambitions, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Friday. US-led forces press on with Iraq assaults US-led forces on Friday pressed on with an offensive against suspected guerrilla targets near the northern Iraqi town of Samarra in their latest bid to weaken a raging insurgency, witnesses said. Chirac seeks to calm students' anger French President Jacques Chirac urged on Friday immediate negotiations between the government, students and unions to defuse escalating anger over a new labour law that sparked nationwide marches and clashes with police. Blood tests: Milosevic not poisoned The UN war crimes tribunal said on Friday that preliminary results of blood tests showed no indication that Slobodan Milosevic's death by heart attack was caused by poisoning. Planet Kaleidoscope Germany 'It's all work at office parties' IN BRIEF (Page: 7, Date: 03/18/2006) |