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A 95-year-old sprinter, knitted royalty and some naked sledging. It’s the week’s weird and wonderful video stories in Newsbeat’s Odd Box with Dominic Byrne.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
A scholarship will be created in honour of the St Andrews University graduates St Andrews will be brought to a standstill later as crowds are expected to gather to catch a glimpse of Prince William and his fiancee Kate Middleton.
The couple, whose relationship blossomed when they studied in the Fife town, will return for the university’s 600th anniversary celebrations.
St Andrews has created a scholarship in their honour, as a wedding gift.
The prince and Miss Middleton carried out their first official engagement as a couple on Thursday, in Wales.
They attended a ceremony at Trearddur Bay Lifeboat Station on Anglesey, where Prince William is currently based as an RAF rescue helicopter pilot and where the couple will set up their first home.
The pair, who are to marry on 29 April, met at St Andrews university and both graduated in 2005.
Prince William graduated with an honours degree in Geography and Miss Middleton with an honours degree in History of Art.
They return to Scotland’s oldest university to launch a fundraising campaign to raise £13m for new scholarships and student support.
“This will be the first scholarship of its kind at St Andrews ”
Professor Louise Richardson St Andrews University Principal
The scholarship created in their honour, which will have a value of up to £70,000, will be open to applicants from all nationalities.
It will be awarded annually to a student who without such financial support would be unable to attend St Andrews.
The scholarship will meet the costs of tuition, if payable, accommodation and living expenses for a four-year undergraduate degree in science, arts, medicine or divinity.
Professor Louise Richardson, the university’s principal and vice-chancellor, will present the gift.
She said: “This will be the first scholarship of its kind at St Andrews and a reflection of this university’s commitment to ensure that we find, attract and support the most gifted students from anywhere in the world.
“It will guarantee that a high quality Scottish higher education can be available to any citizen of the world, that a lack of means need not be a barrier to study and that bright students who might otherwise have been unable to go to university can fulfil their potential.
You can follow the royal visit with up-to-the-minute tweets from Peter Hunt on his Twitter feed
“We were very pleased to make the offer of this scholarship as a wedding gift to Prince William and Miss Middleton and absolutely delighted that they have graciously accepted.”
Hundreds of staff and students will greet the couple in St Salvator’s Quadrangle, where Prince William will unveil a plaque to mark the launch of the 600th anniversary.
During the visit, the couple will attend a reception at University House and visit its museum, where they will be shown the Papal Bull from Pope Benedict XIII which conferred full university status on the institution in 1413.
The visit will be Prince William’s first in his role as patron of the anniversary fundraising campaign and the couple’s first official engagement in Scotland.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
The Forensic Science Service is to be wound down gradually There is a serious mismatch between the government’s aim to commercialise forensic science and the requirement of courts for openness, according to a top forensic expert.
Peter Gill told the BBC that UK courts would not accept forensic tests whose details are kept secret due to commercial confidentiality issues.
He said this would prevent proper scrutiny of forensic techniques.
Professor Gill also warned the National DNA Database needed upgrades urgently.
And that without them, the UK resource would fall behind comparable systems used in other countries.
Late last year, the government said the Forensic Science Service would be wound up, adding that as many of its operations as possible were to be transferred or sold off.
The Home Office, the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) agreed to set up a working group to ensure a “smooth transition” as the Forensic Science Service (FSS) was wound down.
Now based at the University of Oslo, Norway, Peter Gill helped develop the DNA fingerprinting technique used widely by crime scene investigators – along with Sir Alec Jeffreys at the University of Leicester.
“Courts will not accept secret tests that have not been subject to rigorous peer review and challenge,” Professor Gill has said in his submission to the House of Commons science committee’s inquiry into the closure of the Forensic Science Service (FSS).
A new genetic marker system has been recommended for DNA databases “The public will not accept sub-standard tests being used in any laboratory.”
He added: “An exploratory framework is needed to discover whether laboratories are providing sub-standard results.”
Professor Gill cited one recent court case where the judge criticised the FSS for using an internally developed “commercial in confidence” database.
“This case… demonstrates that a serious mismatch exists between the government’s aspiration to privatise forensic science, versus the court requirement for openness, disclosure, and scientific peer review,” said Professor Gill.
“It is easily demonstrated, therefore, that the framework to utilise forensic science in the UK, where the market is entirely privatised, is already fatally flawed.”
The FSS analyses evidence from crime scenes in England and Wales, but has been losing about £2m a month.
It employed 1,600 people and handled more than 120,000 cases each year.
“The NPIA, ACPO and Home Office will continue to work with the Forensic Science Service to ensure that transition arrangements are in place to manage the wind-down of their forensic services,” said a joint statement from ACPO and the NPIA.
The government wants private enterprise, which currently makes up 40% of the market, to fill the gap left behind by the FSS.
However, many experts are sceptical that this can work and point out that the UK’s private forensics sector is shrinking.
There are also concerns that an over-emphasis on profits could threaten the quality of science.
At the time of the government’s announcement, Crime Reduction Minister James Brokenshire said private sector competition for police contracts was enabling forces to achieve greater efficiency.
He said that the Forensic Science Regulator should ensure that quality standards are maintained.
Professor Gill said the UK’s National DNA Database was already out of date, and in urgent need of upgrades to bring it in line with standards rapidly being adopted elsewhere in the European Union.
He said there was no timescale or coherent strategy for the adoption of these standards in the UK.
“Being locked in the past, the inevitable consequence is that casework is carried out with less efficiency than would otherwise be the case elsewhere in the EU. Cases will effectively be ‘lost’ – i.e. they will fail to provide probative results in laboratories not equipped with the latest technology,” said Peter Gill.
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Loggerhead sea turtles are able to navigate oceans when still hatchlings. Until now, how species such as loggerhead sea turtles manage to migrate thousands of miles across oceans with no visual landmarks has been a mystery.
Now researchers from the University of North Carolina believe they have found the answer.
Loggerhead sea turtles appear to be able to determine their longitude using two sets of magnetic cues.
It is the first time this ability has been shown in any migratory animal.
This research is published in the journal Current Biology.
“This not only solves a long-standing mystery of animal behaviour but may also be useful in sea turtle conservation”
Dr Kenneth Lohmann University of North Carolina
Although several species of turtles are known to use magnetic cues to determine latitude, it was believed that this wasn’t possible for longitude.
However, the loggerhead turtles have managed to surprise researchers by developing a method that involves using the strength and angle of the Earth’s magnetic field.
Nathan Putman, the lead author of the research emphasised that “the most difficult part of open-sea navigation is determining longitude or east-west position”.
“It took human navigators centuries to figure out how to determine longitude on their long-distance voyages”.
Loggerhead hatchlings, however, are able to mange this feat as soon as they reach the sea from their nests.
On reaching the sea, the hatchlings are able to establish the correct course to the open ocean.
The young loggerheads then spend several years successfully navigating complex migratory routes over thousands of miles of ocean.
Loggerhead Sea Turtle
Scientific name: Caretta carettaLoggerheads in the North Atlantic cover more than 9,000 milesLoggerheads are found in the Atlantic, Pacifica and Indian oceans.Considered “endangered” by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
To carry out the research loggerhead hatchlings from Florida were placed in circular water containers and tethered to electronic tracking systems to monitor their swimming direction.
The hatchlings were then exposed to magnetic fields which replicated the fields they would come across in two locations on the same latitude but different longitude along their migratory route.
The turtles reacted to each magnetic field by swimming in the directions that would, in the real location, take them along their circular migratory route.
The researchers say this shows that the hatchlings are able to determine longitude using information from the magnetic field.
Nathan Putman explains that “along the migratory route of loggerheads, nearly all regions are marked by unique combinations of intensity (field strength) and inclination angle (the angle that field lines intersect the surface of the Earth)”.
“Thus, turtles can determine longitudinal position by using pairings of intensity and inclination angle as an X, Y coordinate system”.
Dr Kenneth Lohmann, director of the laboratory where this research was carried out, said the research “not only solves a long-standing mystery of animal behaviour but may also be useful in sea turtle conservation”.
The research might even have a role to play in the development of human navigational technologies, according to Nathan Putman.
“There may be situations where satellite might not be available, where this system of using two aspects of a magnetic field could be very useful”.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
How have new media and a vigorous political culture helped create and shape the revolutions in the Middle East?
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The space shuttle Discovery has launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in the US for the last time.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
British citizens returning from Libya, are telling how they feared for their lives as the country spirals out of control.
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UK households are to be asked how satisfied they are with their lives in survey measuring happiness.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
AIG received a total bail-out of about $182bn during the financial crisis American International Group (AIG), the troubled giant US insurer, has said it earned $11.18bn (£6.93bn) in the fourth quarter, compared with a year-earlier loss of $8.87bn.
But taking out gains from asset sales it lost $2.21bn on an operating basis, from a $1.34bn loss a year previously.
It also said it was to look at a further sale of its shares this year.
The Treasury currently owns 92% of AIG, after stepping in to bail out the firm and prevent its collapse in 2008.
The total bail-out package has amounted to $182bn.
“We completed several key restructuring milestones in the quarter,” AIG’s chief executive, Robert Benmosche, said in a statement.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Toyota is recalling 2.17m vehicles in the US over reports that accelerator pedals could become stuck in floor mats and carpets.
The company has now recalled more than 14m vehicles globally since 2009 over safety concerns.
The US government recently cleared the company after an inquiry into reports its electronic throttle system had led to unintended acceleration.
The Japanese company is one of the best-selling carmakers in the US.
In a notice on Thursday, the company announced a voluntary recall of several model years of its Highlander, GS, RX, 4Runner, Lexus LX 570 and RAV4 models.
It warned that if the floor carpet surrounding the accelerator pedals were not placed properly, the pedals may become stuck in a depressed position rather than returning to idle.
Toyota and Lexus dealers will fix or replace the carpets at no charge to vehicle owners, the company said.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
A suicide bomber kills at least eight people in the Iraqi city of Ramadi, reportedly wounding the deputy governor of Anbar province.
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Protesters have been consolidating gains in cities in the east Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi has told state TV that Osama Bin Laden and his followers are to blame for the protests wracking his country.
In a phone call from the town of al-Zawiya played live on TV, Col Gaddafi said young people were being duped with drugs and alcohol to take part in “destruction and sabotage”.
Col Gaddafi is battling to shore up control of Tripoli and western areas.
Protesters have been consolidating gains in cities in the east.
The telephone call was said to be an address to the people of al-Zawiya, 50km (30 miles) west of the capital, where there has been renewed gunfire reported in the streets.
Col Gaddafi said the protesters had no genuine demands and were being dictated to by the al-Qaeda leader.
He said that Libya was not like Egypt and Tunisia, which have seen their leaders deposed, because the people of Libya had it in their own hands to change their lives through committees.
“This is your country and it is up to you how to deal with it,” he said.
He called on families to rein in their sons, saying many of the protesters were underage and beyond the reach of the law.
But he also vowed that those carrying out violent protests should be put on trial.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Traders worry that much bigger oil suppliers in the Middle East may soon be affected Oil prices have continued to climb, hitting their highest levels in two-and-a-half years, amid fears the unrest in Libya could spread to larger oil producing nations.
Brent crude rose by more than 2% to $113 a barrel in Asian trade, while US light crude was up about 1% at $99.19.
The last time prices were this high was back in October 2008, and analysts said more gains may be on the way.
The high oil price weighed on Asian stock markets, and trading was mixed.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 index lost 0.9% while South Korea’s KOSPI shed 0.7%. Indexes in Singapore, Australia and India also declined.
Markets in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Taiwan posted modest gains.
“It’s not a very good day,” said Jackson Wong, vice president at Tanrich Securities in Hong Kong.
“The market is still trending down because of high oil prices, high commodity prices because of the Middle East unrest,” added Mr Wong.
Oil prices have been rising for months, but the uprising in Libya has caused a sharp increase in crude costs.
Libya is the world’s 12th-largest exporter of oil, with the majority of its output going to Europe.
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Supply concerns were amplified after French oil giant Total said it has started to shut down its oil operations in Libya.
Other oil companies have made similar moves in recent days.
Barclays Capital estimates that so far about 1 million barrels per day of production has been shut down.
“The futures market may be forced to price in a major loss of Libya’s output for at least a few weeks,” Ritterbusch & Associates said in a report.
The report also predicts that continuing instability in the Middle East will probably keep pushing prices up into the spring.
“This still feels like a market that is far from achieving a top,” Ritterbusch & Associates said.
The International Energy Agency and Saudi Arabia have promised to increase supplies in order to cover any shortfalls.
However, that has not eased the tensions in the oil markets.
Analysts say is oil prices keep climbing, it could push up the cost of fuel and food.
That would hit consumers in the pocket and would result in slower economic growth and weaker corporate earnings.
“It would nail the economy,” said Mark Zandi of Moody’s Analytics.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Fighting has erupted in western Ivory Coast, breaching the six-year ceasefire between ex-rebels and government troops, the United Nations says.
A UN spokesman told the BBC there were clashes in the village of Teapleu in the early hours of Thursday morning.
He said given the political stalemate, the reports were very “worrying”.
Tensions have been rising since President Laurent Gbagbo’s refusal to hand over to Alassane Ouattara, widely seen as the winner of November’s poll.
“This is a very serious issue because it would be the first time the ceasefire is broken in six years,” Hamadoun Toure, the spokesman for the UN mission in Ivory Coast, told the BBC’s Newshour programme.
“It will also change the nature of the tension because so far we’ve been witnessing violence between civilians and the army – but now if we have two armies face to face it will be very very complicated.”
He said details of the fighting were sketchy.
Meanwhile, the clashes between rival supporters in the main city of Abidjan have claimed up to 20 lives since Monday.
An armed rebellion in 2002 split the world’s largest cocoa producer between the north, held by New Forces rebels, and the government-controlled south.
November’s presidential vote was supposed to reunify the West African nation.
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Health experts warn that a rise in bedbug infestations in Scotland is becoming a “major public health issue”.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.