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Principal’s tuition fees warning

Prof Downes is the principal at Dundee University

A university principal is warning that political promises to keep tuition free for Scottish students may have to be broken after the Holyrood election.

Prof Pete Downes, who runs Dundee University, believes higher education will need more money than the next Scottish government can afford.

The SNP, Labour and the Liberal Democrats all say any funding gap can be filled without ending free tuition.

The Conservatives are calling for a graduate contribution.

Prof Downes told BBC Scotland a charge of between £3,000 and £4,000 for each year would be “quite reasonable”.

He said that without that, Scottish universities might need an extra £200m a year to stay competitive when English institutions start charging top-up fees.

That estimate is more than double what the last Scottish government said would be needed.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Thunderstorm numbers calculated

By Richard Black

The new research used a global network of monitoring stations

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The Earth sees about 760 thunderstorms every hour, scientists have calculated.

The figure, unveiled at the European Geosciences Union meeting in Vienna, is substantially lower than numbers that have been used for nearly a century.

The new research uses a global network of monitoring stations that detect the electromagnetic pulses produced by major bolts of lightning.

It confirms that thunderstorms are mainly a tropical phenomenon – and the Congo basin is the global hotspot.

Thunderstorms also track the passage of sunlight across the world, with sunny conditions producing greater convection in the air.

“The monitoring stations might miss some bolts of lightning, but we think we’re getting the big ones – and that’s enough to tell you where the thunderstorms are,” said Colin Price, head of the Geophysics and Planetary Sciences department at Tel Aviv University in Israel.

“And so with this global network we’re able to improve on numbers that have been in standard use since the 1920s.”

The first attempt to estimate thunderstorm numbers is thought to have been made by CEP Brooks in 1925.

At that time, it was customary for weather stations to note days when thunderstorms occurred nearby.

Collecting records where he could, the British climatologist calculated there were around 1,800 per hour on average across the world.

But his research suffered from incomplete data and mistaken assumptions – including that storms were equally distributed over land and sea, whereas the vast majority occur over land.

In the 1950s, OH Gish and GR Wait flew over the top of 21 thunderstorms in the US in aeroplanes carrying equipment capable of measuring voltages and currents in the air.

Extending their readings to the rest of the world, they came up with a global figure of 2,000-3,600 per year.

More recently, satellites have been deployed – but they do not see the whole world.

The new research uses a completely different technique, with more than 40 stations around the world geared up to detect electromagnetic pulses produced by strong lightning bolts.

Triangulating from groups of stations enables the World Wide Lightning Location Network (wwlln.net) to pinpoint flashes.

When they are clustered, a computer algorithm is deployed to assign flashes to their separate parent storms.

Analysing this data for September 2010 produced the average hourly figure of 760.

Each continent shows peaks during its daytime – and globally, the peak time is around noon GMT.

Thunderstorms cluster in the centre of continents in the tropics, with the Congo basin standing out.

“That’s perhaps because it’s drier there than in the Amazon, for example – thunderstorms seem to form more easily in drier conditions,” Dr Price told BBC News.

The network is looking to add new observation points to improve results, and recently initiated a programme to detect explosive volcanic eruptions via the lighning flashes that occur in the ascending plumes of hot ash.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

London digital TV switch date due

Some 12 million viewers are set to be affected by the digital switchover in London

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Plans to switch off analogue television in London are to be announced later.

A third of UK homes have already switched to digital TV but next year’s switchover in London is set to be the biggest and most complex.

Some 12 million viewers will be affected in London and organising body Digital UK estimates that four million analogue sets need to be converted.

Viewers in the Midlands, Yorkshire and East Anglia will switch to digital in the next few months.

BBC media correspondent Torin Douglas said: “TV’s digital switchover has gone pretty smoothly so far.

“Nine out of 10 homes have at least one digital set and eight-and-half million homes have had their analogue signal switched off.”

Stressing the importance of a smooth switchover in London, our correspondent added: “With the London Olympics and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee next year, the timing will be crucial if viewing is not to be disrupted.”

The announcement regarding the move to digital-only TV comes 75 years after the first regular TV service began in London.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Nottingham sets £9,000 fee level

The university said its graduates were among the most sought after in the country

The University of Nottingham has announced it intends to charge the maximum £9,000 a year in tuition fees.

Professor David Greenaway, the university’s vice-chancellor, said financial packages would be available to ensure the best students applied.

The university is facing a £12m cut in government funding for 2011/12, on top of a £4m for 2010/11.

The Office for Fair Access (Offa) must now confirm universities’ fees and access programmes, expected in July.

Prof Greenaway said: “We are currently investing £90m in teaching and learning, to ensure that our students continue to enjoy the very best facilities during their studies at the University of Nottingham.

“For our students, a degree from the University of Nottingham represents an investment in their future.

“This is reflected in the fact that when they graduate, they are among the most sought-after in the country.”

The university will offer students from lower-income families support in the form of bursaries and, for some, fees could be waived.

A spokesperson added: “Our broad and progressive package of financial aid will include direct support for students with their living costs and additional provision will be targeted towards foundation year students, local students with disabilities, those who are carers and students formerly in care.”

Nearby Loughborough and Leicester Universities set their fees at the same level last week, while Derby University said it planned to charge fees between £6,995 and £7,995.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Company share issues fall sharply

The extended break between Easter and the Royal Wedding in London will prolong the slump, PwC said

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The number of initial public offerings (IPOs), where companies list their shares on the stock market for the first time, fell in Europe at the beginning of this year, a report says.

There were 94 IPOs completed in Europe in the first three months of 2011 compared with 129 in the fourth quarter of 2010, accountants PwC said.

Political upheaval was causing stormy market conditions, PwC said.

The amounts raised by the flotations that did go ahead also fell.

The 94 floats in the first quarter raised just under 3bn euros ($4.3bn; £2.6bn); the 129 in the previous quarter raised more than 10bn euros.

PwC said that wary investors were proving uncompromising on their pricing expectations.

They added that in London the extended break between Easter and the Royal Wedding would prolong the slump in activity.

“Q4 2010 seemed to promise a return to health but current market conditions are significantly more uncertain against a backdrop of challenging worldwide political and economic conditions,” said Richard Weaver, capital markets partner at PwC.

“Market conditions are still difficult, but the IPO window remains open. April and May are traditionally two of the busiest months in the IPO calendar but lingering volatility, coupled with the prolonged holiday period, leaves companies with a tough decision to make.”

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Toyota and Microsoft to team up

Workers give the final check to Toyota cars

Toyota hopes the technology will be available to all its customers by 2015

Microsoft and Toyota have announced plans to work together to bring internet services to Toyota vehicles.

The world’s biggest carmaker and the world’s biggest software company are investing $12m (£7.3m) in Toyota Media Services, a Toyota unit which handles digital information services.

The aim is to provide features like GPS, power-management and multimedia services.

Toyota’s 2012 hybrid vehicles will be the first to get the services.

The carmaker hopes to be able to offer them to customers worldwide by 2015.

The services will use Microsoft’s “cloud computing” – the remote storage and handling of data – system called Azure.

“This new partnership between Microsoft and Toyota is an important step in developing greater future mobility and energy management for consumers around the world,” Toyota president Akio Toyoda said.

Microsoft has been involved in the auto industry for several years but has so far focused on working with Ford.

It designed Ford’s Sync entertainment system, which was rolled out in 2007 and allows drivers to make phone calls, listen to text messages and use GPS.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

VIDEO: Stalemate in the battle for Brega

Rebel fighters in Libya are struggling to try and gain control of the oil town of Brega, with no sign that forces loyal to Col Gaddafi will give up their fight.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Canada coins mark royal wedding

The mint plans to release more royal coins ahead of the couple’s visit to Canada in the summer

The Royal Canadian Mint has unveiled collectors’ coins to mark the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

A 20 Canadian dollar ($20.86; £12.78) silver coin has a sapphire-coloured crystal inlay, meant to symbolise the ring the prince gave Ms Middleton.

And a 25-cent coin features a colour portrait of the couple.

Mint chief executive Ian Bennett called the wedding later this month “a priceless opportunity to celebrate Canada’s pride in royal tradition”.

The coins “will give Canadians, royal watchers and collectors everywhere exceptional keepsakes by which to remember this historic event”, he said in a statement.

The coins will be sold at Mint shops in Ottawa, Winnipeg and Vancouver, online, and elsewhere.

The couple are to marry on 29 April and plan to travel to Canada two months later, on their first official overseas trip as a married couple.

They will visit Alberta, the Northwest Territories, Prince Edward Island, Quebec and the capital, Ottawa.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

VIDEO: How much cash does Portugal need?

Portugal’s caretaker Prime Minister Jose Socrates has said that he has asked the European Union for financial assistance.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Toxic fish kill 14 in Madagascar

Samples of the sardines have been sent for analysis

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At least 14 people have died in Madagascar after eating toxic sardines.

Officials say more than 120 people remain seriously ill after the incident in the south-western town of Toliara.

The government sent its condolences to the victims’ families, promising to foot the medical bills of those being treated in hospital.

Samples of the sardines have been sent for analysis. In previous incidents, researchers said the contaminated sardines had eaten poisonous seaweed.

They say seaweed has proliferated among Madagascar’s coral reefs as global warming changes the sea conditions.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Portugal seeks bail-out from EU

Jose Socrates: “We have reached the moment where the country is at too much risk”

Portugal’s caretaker Prime Minister Jose Socrates has said that he has asked the European Union for financial assistance.

Mr Socrates said the country was “at too much risk that it shouldn’t be exposed to”.

The government has long resisted asking for aid but last week admitted that it had missed its 2010 budget deficit target.

Portugal follows Greece and the Irish Republic in seeking a bail-out.

“I always said asking for foreign aid would be the final way to go but we have reached the moment,” Mr Socrates said.

“Above all, it’s in the national interest.”

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said in a statement that Portugal’s request would be processed “in the swiftest possible manner, according to the rules applicable”.

He also reaffirmed his “confidence in Portugal’s capacity to overcome the present difficulties, with the solidarity of its partners”.

Mr Socrates did not say how much aid Portugal would ask for. Negotiations will now be underway and the BBC’s business editor Robert Peston said rescue loans could amount to as much as 80bn euros ($115bn; £70bn).

Mr Socrates was speaking after Finance Minister Fernando Teixeira dos Santos said it was necessary to resort to financial aid from the EU.

Earlier, the government raised about 1bn euros after tapping the financial markets in order to repay loans, but will have to pay a higher interest rate to lenders.

The country’s cost of borrowing has risen sharply since the minority Socialist government resigned last month after its proposed tougher austerity measures were defeated in parliament.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Man held in Ronan Kerr inquiry

Forensics officers examine garage where arms were found

Forensics officers examined a garage where arms were found in Coalisland, County Tyrone

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A 26-year-old man arrested in Scotland in connection with the murder of Constable Ronan Kerr has been brought to Northern Ireland.

Mr Kerr, 25, was killed when a car bomb exploded in Omagh on Saturday.

The man was detained in Dumbartonshire on Wednesday afternoon and will be questioned by detectives investigating the murder of the PSNI officer.

Police have said the arrest is linked to a weapons find in the Coalisland area of east Tyrone on Tuesday evening.

Assistant Chief Constable George Hamilton of Strathclyde police said the arrest was made at the request of the PSNI.

“Needless to say we were acting in support of them at their request, and given the tragic circumstances leading up to this, we were happy to do this, and to make the arrest on their behalf under the terrorism act,” he said.

Speaking at a news conference at police headquarters in Belfast, Assistant Chief Constable Drew Harris said the man was arrested in Renton, West Dumbartonshire, and brought back to Northern Ireland.

He said the weapons were found on Tuesday night inside stolen cars in a garage at Mountjoy Road in Coalisland.

The weapons included four rifles, detonators, component parts for rocket launchers, incendiary bombs and explosives, possibly Semtex.

Analysis

Police have confirmed that the arms found in Coalisland will be forensically examined to establish whether there is a direct link to the Ronan Kerr murder or to the wider activities of dissident republicans.

It has been a significant length of time since the police have uncovered an arms haul of this quantity and variety.

If it turns out that the explosives found were Semtex it will raise questions about whether dissidents have a new supply line or have access to explosives which formerly belonged to the Provisional IRA.

“Everyone in Northern Ireland is very much safer today because these munitions have been taken out of circulation,” he said.

ACC Harris said the find was “the most significant in recent years”.

The arms found were:

• Four Kalashnikov rifles

• Six loaded ammunition magazines

• Timer power units

• Detonators

• Incendiary bombs

• Components for rocket launchers and other explosive devices

• Quantity of explosives, possibly Semtex

Police said the items were being “fast-tracked for forensic examination” and formed one line of inquiry in the Ronan Kerr murder investigation.

Assistant Chief Constable Drew Harris announced details at a press conference

“The seizure was made in a garage unit on the Mountjoy Road. Inside the unit, police officers uncovered a number of stolen vehicles and inside those vehicles, a significant amount of arms and munitions,” ACC Harris said.

“This investigation into Ronan’s murder will continue in the coming days and weeks with the same determination and professionalism which resulted in last night’s discovery.”

Anne Murphy lives near to where the explosives were found, and said there had been a major police operation.

“It really took off about six o’clock on Tuesday evening,” she said.

“I’ve never seen anything like it before, in the amount of resources that have been in the area.

“There have been jeeps, there have been mini-buses, large vans, with possibly forensic vehicles included.

“They’ve been here continuously, manning the place. The area’s been blocked off.”

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Scores missing off Italian coast

The BBC’s Emma Wallis in Rome: “Coastguards are not giving up on the missing people yet”

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A search is under way for 150 migrants missing in the Mediterranean after their boat capsized in rough seas off the Italian isle of Lampedusa.

Italian rescue vessels and a helicopter saved 48 refugees from the boat, which had been carrying about 200 people.

The boat was found some 70km (40 miles) from Lampedusa, which has struggled to cope with thousands of migrants from Tunisia this year.

Rescuers have spotted 15 bodies at the scene, the AFP news agency reports.

The Italian Coast Guard responded to a distress call from the boat at about 0400 local time (0200 GMT) on Wednesday.

Three Coast Guard vessels are involved in the search, along with two planes and a helicopter.

Italian officials say the rescue was initially hampered by the darkness and bad weather, with strong winds gusting in the area.

The Lampedusa port authority says the migrant boat probably came from war-torn Libya, judging from its position south-west of the tiny island, Italy’s Corriere della Sera newspaper reports. The migrants’ nationalities have not yet been established.

The rescue is being co-ordinated with the Maltese authorities.

Italy and Tunisia agreed measures on Tuesday to stop large numbers of illegal immigrants arriving on Lampedusa from Tunisia, which has been in turmoil since a revolution in January.

Italy says it will give six-month residency papers to some 20,000 migrants already in Italy, but new arrivals will be deported.

The accord followed talks between Italy’s Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Tunisian ministers in Tunis on Monday. Mr Berlusconi also visited Lampedusa last week and pledged to tackle the island’s migrant influx.

Italy has moved many migrants from Lampedusa to the mainland, because the migrants on the island outnumbered locals and overwhelmed the holding facility there. Unhygienic conditions, with dozens of migrants sleeping rough outdoors, created a health risk.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Parents pay tribute to their son

Christopher McKee was described as “intelligent” and a “pleasure to work with”

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The parents of a student from Northern Ireland who died of suspected meningitis have paid tribute to their son.

Christopher McKee, 21, from Ballymena, was studying sports journalism at Sunderland University.

He was found dead in a flat in the Pallion area on 26 March.

His parents, Anna and Samuel McKee said they were “absolutely devastated” and “shocked” by their son’s death.

“Christopher was a quiet and considerate young man, who never made a fuss and was incredibly close to his family,” his parents said.

“He had a huge respect for people of all ages.

“It had always been his dream and ambition to become a sports reporter, he had such an encyclopaedic knowledge of sport and everyone used to joke that he would be the next Jackie Fullerton, the famous Northern Ireland television journalist, when he headed off to university.

“He was a huge Manchester United and Rangers fan and loved playing football socially.

“We will always be very proud of Christopher and what he had achieved throughout his life.”

Neil Farrington, lecturer in BA Sports Journalism at the university, said: “Our thoughts are with his family.

“We are devastated for them and for his friends.

“Chris was very well-liked and a pleasure to work with. He had a remarkable maturity for a first-year student.

“He was a big Northern Ireland fan. He was also a Rangers fan and there were a few Celtic supporters in class who enjoyed some good banter with Chris.”

A University of Sunderland spokesperson said: “We have been informed that the meningococcal infection may have been involved in Christopher McKee’s death.

“We are all deeply saddened by Christopher’s death and have been offering our support to his family, friends and fellow students.

“He was very popular with his peers and his lecturers. He was an intelligent student who had a bright future ahead of him and it is tragic that his life has been cut short.”

His friends are being offered antibiotics as a precaution, the university has confirmed.

A spokeswoman for the university said staff were working closely with the Health Protection Agency to give students advice and support.

She said only people who had had prolonged contact with someone with meningitis were at risk.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Celtic 3-1 Hibernian

Celtic return to the top of the Scottish Premier League with a comfortable win against Hibernian in Glasgow.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.