Libya’s UK ambassador Omar Jelban, who met the Queen in 2010, was expelled on 1 May
Two more Libyan diplomats have been expelled from the UK because of “unacceptable” behaviour.
Foreign Secretary William Hague said the diplomats and their families now had a week to leave the country.
The Libyan ambassador to the UK was expelled on 1 May after an attack on the British embassy in Tripoli.
Mr Hague is taking part in a meeting in Rome to discuss the Libya crisis, and ways to help the rebels fighting Col Muammar Gaddafi’s regime.
“I ordered the expulsion of the two diplomats on the basis that their activities were contrary to the interests of the UK”, the foreign secretary said in a statement.
He added: “I judged that the behaviour of these individuals had become unacceptable, and that they should therefore be declared persona non grata.”
The Foreign Office did not give details of the behaviour which led to the expulsions, but said there had not been any immediate threat to UK security.
Mr Hague said the status of the Libyan Embassy and its staff was kept under “constant review”.
Libya’s ambassador to the UK Omar Jelban was ordered to leave because of an attack on the British embassy in Tripoli, which left it burnt out. The Foreign Office said the Libyan regime had a duty to protect embassies.
“UK Armed Forces have continued to make a significant contribution to NATO’s Operation Unified Protector”
Maj Gen John Lorimer Chief of the Defence Staff spokesman
Angry crowds attacked several foreign missions in the Libyan capital after reports a Nato air strike had killed one of Col Gaddafi’s son’s.
Saif al-Arab Gaddafi was reported to have died at his villa in the Bab al-Aziziya compound.
Nato said it had hit a “known command-and-control building” in the area, adding that it did not “target individuals”.
Downing Street described the expulsion of the diplomats as an example of increasing the pressure on Col Gaddafi.
A spokeswoman said: “We have upped the diplomatic pressure by expelling two Libyan diplomats. We have got to keep up the military pressure and the economic pressure.”
William Hague is in Rome to meet members of the Libya Contact group, which includes Nato members, Arab states and international organisations.
The group is looking at ways to finance the Libyan rebels, either through loans or the sale of oil from rebel-held areas.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called on the international community to step up the isolation of Col Gaddafi’s regime, including by refusing to receive his envoys.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defence has given more details of the military role which Britain has played in Nato’s Operation Unified Protector over Libya.
The MoD says that on Tuesday, RAF aircraft attacked two multiple rocket launchers near the town of Sirte, and destroyed an armoured personnel carrier and two artillery pieces which were attacking Misrata.
On Wednesday, a Tornado and a Typhoon jet attacked two surface-to-air missile launchers near Tripoli.
“UK Armed Forces have continued to make a significant contribution… to protect Libyan civilians under threat of attack”, said Maj Gen John Lorimer, spokesman for the Chief of the Defence Staff.
He said RAF support aircraft, including VC-10 tankers and Sentinel, Sentry and Nimrod R1 surveillance aircraft, had continued to provide “invaluable support” to both British and international military jets.
The Royal Navy says HMS Brocklesby, a specialist mine-clearance ship, has destroyed a mine laid by pro-Gaddafi forces in the approaches to the port of Misrata.
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Students are staging a sit-in at London Metropolitan University in a protest over planned cuts.
Claire Locke, president elect of the students’ union, said up to 70 students were occupying the graduate centre in Holloway Road, north London.
Ms Locke said they were fighting “to maintain the value of our degrees”.
She said the sit-in, which began on Wednesday afternoon, was expected to last all night, with demonstrations planned for Thursday.
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More than 90 people have cast invalid votes after the wrong ballot papers were delivered to polling stations in Stockport.
Stockport Council said people in Heatons North had voted for candidates in Heatons South and vice versa, between 0700 and 0710 BST.
The mistake was discovered at 0710 BST and correct papers were delivered by 0900 BST, the local authority said.
The council said it was trying to reach people to ask them to vote again.
It said it would provide transport to get people to polling stations if they needed it and advised them to get in touch.
Deputy Returning Officer Laureen Donnan said: “We apologise to everyone who was inconvenienced in Heatons North and Heatons South early this morning.
“We spotted the error very quickly, and we are taking all steps possible to ensure the situation is rectified.”
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Despite his win in Shanghai last time out, McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton is keeping his expectations in check ahead of the Turkish Grand Prix.
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The cocoa trade in Ivory Coast has been hit badly by the recent political crisis
The poor quality of leadership in Africa risks squandering the continent’s rapid economic growth, former UN chief Kofi Annan has warned.
Addressing a World Economic Forum meeting in South Africa, he criticised African leaders for clinging onto power rather than developing their economies.
Africa-wide growth rates of 5.5% were impressive, he said.
But he said a “leadership deficit” meant little was being done to create jobs and lift millions out of poverty.
“Those who have served two or three terms should make plans for their future out of government”
Kofi Annan
The former UN secretary general, who is from Ghana, criticised what he called “low-quality growth” – the over-reliance on unprocessed commodities and insufficient investment in manufacturing and infrastructure.
He lamented that leaders failed to develop their economies by harnessing resources to deepen trade between African nations and said economic growth must lead to new jobs for young people.
He also pointed to the revolutions in North Africa, saying it was “supreme arrogance” for leaders to seek to stay in power for 30 years.
“Those who have served two or three terms should make plans for their future out of government,” he told the BBC.
Mr Annan said the wave of unrest reminded him of the days of decolonisation.
“When one country becomes independent, another wants it. I see no reason why people now won’t want to do the same.”
The BBC’s Karen Allen in Cape Town, where more than 900 leaders are meeting at the World Economic Forum, says Mr Annan also singled out South Sudan.
Earlier this year the region voted in a referendum to split from northern Sudan – and in July it will become Africa’s newest nation.
It is one of the least developed regions in the world after several decades of civil war.
Mr Annan said the new country will need attentive leadership so that the potential of its substantial agricultural and mineral wealth is fully realised.
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Music mogul Simon Cowell breaks into the Sunday Times music rich list top 10 for the first time with an estimated fortune of £200m.
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Claude Choules celebrated his 110th birthday with family in March
The world’s last known combat veteran of World War I, Claude Stanley Choules, has died in Australia aged 110.
Known to his comrades as Chuckles, British-born Mr Choules joined the Royal Navy at 15 and went on to serve on HMS Revenge.
He moved to Australia in the 1920s and served in the military until 1956.
Mr Choules, who had been married to his wife Enid for 80 years, was reported to have died in his sleep at a nursing home in his adopted city of Perth.
He is survived by three children and 11 grandchildren. His wife of eight decades, died three years ago.
Mr Choules’ 84-year-old daughter, Daphne Edinger, told the Associated Press news agency: “We all loved him. It’s going to be sad to think of him not being here any longer, but that’s the way things go.”
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Nearly half of England’s traditional orchards are in a neglected condition, a study of aerial photographs suggests.
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The prince was greeted by Supreme Court associate justice Stephen Breyer
The Prince of Wales is in Washington for a two-day official visit to the US, during which he will meet for talks with US President Barack Obama.
Prince Charles attended a Marshall Scholar alumi reception at America’s Supreme Court on Tuesday.
The prince is due to meet President Obama at the White House on Wednesday.
A Clarence House spokesman said the trip had three main themes – education, environmental sustainability and co-operation between UK and US forces.
“It’s only three or four days since we were transfixed with the royal wedding so to have him here is a special treat”
William Coquillette Association of Marshall Scholars
The Prince and the president’s meeting comes ahead of President Obama’s state visit to the UK later this month.
The prince, who is an honorary patron of the Association of Marshall Scholars, met former beneficiaries of the scholarships during a visit hosted by Supreme Court associate justice Stephen Breyer, who studied under the scheme at Oxford University’s Magdalen College.
The British project, established by an act of parliament in 1953, funds Americans to study at UK universities in recognition of the post-war European recovery programme, known as the Marshall Plan.
William Coquillette, president of the Association of Marshall Scholars, said it was “very significant” to have the prince’s presence, particularly just a few days after millions of American TV viewers tuned in to watch the wedding of his eldest son Prince William.
He said of Prince Charles: “Obviously he’s a very prominent figure in the public eye and to have his attention and support is very important.
“It’s only three or four days since we were transfixed with the royal wedding so to have him here is a special treat,” he said.
Charles will attend a reception to celebrate the work of a British body and its US counterpart which organise morale boosting events for troops. The prince will also meet injured US servicemen and women.
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Former US child star Jackie Cooper, who went on to direct, produce and play the Daily Planet editor in four Superman movies, dies aged 88.
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There are calls for a single system of regulation for all types of university
Private universities in England, expected to grow in a shake-up of higher education, should be subject to the same regulations as public universities, a think tank has said.
The Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) report said the quality of all types of institution should be tested to “robust” common standards.
The regulatory system needs to be more “coherent”, said the report.
A government spokeswoman said students needed “wider choice and good value”.
HEPI director Bahram Bekhradnia said of the institute’s report: “Private universities are here to stay – and there are going to be more of them.”
International trends and a government sympathetic to more private institutions meant that this sector was going to grow.
As such, he said there needed to be legislation setting out a single, over-arching system of requirements for both private and public universities.
Anthony McClaran, head of the Quality Assurance Agency – the UK’s higher education standards watchdog – welcomed the report.
He said many steps had already been taken towards a common framework of regulation.
The government is preparing a White Paper on reforming higher education, which is expected to make it easier for private and overseas universities to operate in the UK.
BPP University College is one of the small number of private universities with degree-awarding powers
It has already been announced that students at private universities will have access to student loans up to £6,000 per year.
But the report from HEPI, written by Robin Middlehurst and John Fielden, says an increase in new providers needed to be regulated by an integrated system of standards.
The study highlights how there has already been an expansion in specialist private higher education institutions, of which there are now about 670 in total.
Five of these institutions have their own degree-awarding powers.
But the report argues that regulations about providing information and quality assurance should not make distinctions between public and private institutions.
Instead it suggests that scrutiny should be proportionate to risk – with well-established universities requiring fewer checks.
As part of the White Paper, ministers are believed to be considering whether the standards watchdog has sufficient “teeth” to protect the consumer interests of students.
With fees in England set to rise to up to £9,000 per year, there will be much greater attention to the quality of information available to students about the courses on offer.
QAA chief executive, Mr McClaran, said that he was “very sympathetic” to the idea that a more diverse university system should be regulated by a common framework.
Degree-awarding powers for universities are already subject to the same scrutiny for public and private universities – but there are differences for subsequent audits.
“We urgently need tougher regulation of for-profit companies if we are to protect quality and standards”
Sally Hunt UCU lecturers’ union
The QAA is in the process of introducing a more user-friendly way of grading institutions and presenting information from its audits in a more accessible way to students.
Mr McClaran says that the views of students will also be more significant in assessing standards.
The watchdog also wants to increase the public visibility of its inspection findings – including when it gives a “limited confidence” rating or launches an investigation in response to complaints.
Carl Lygo, chief executive of the private BPP University College, backed calls for a single framework with “robust guidelines” which would provide a “level playing field”.
“We welcome a strong, independent regulatory framework that will help to maintain consistent high standards for all students – regardless of the organisation,” he said.
But Sally Hunt, leader of the UCU lecturers’ union, warned: “We urgently need tougher regulation of for-profit companies if we are to protect quality and standards in our higher education system.”
A spokeswoman from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said: “The future regulatory regime for all providers of higher education is a key issue in the forthcoming White Paper, which will lead to a Higher Education Bill in 2012.
“The government wants to encourage a diverse and dynamic higher education sector with a range of providers offering high quality and innovative teaching, wider choice and good value for students.”
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