UK behind in graduate race

BRITAIN is falling behind other industrialised nations in the race to produce the highly skilled graduates needed to remain competitive in the world economy, an international survey of education found yesterday.

Agreement for feasibility study of bridge to Temburong inked

Illustration: BT/Ayi Hermala

The proposed bridge linking Brunei-Muara and Temburong is likely to become one of the Sultanate's must-see landmarks, with an Islamic motif dominant in its design.

Cockroaches could help fight infection

NEWSCORE - Cockroaches could be more of a health benefit than a health hazard, as their brains contain powerful antibiotic properties which could lead to new treatments against superbugs, British scientists said Monday.

4 killed by police in Kashmir

AFP - Four people were killed on Monday when Indian security forces opened fire on alleged stone-throwing protesters during fresh demonstrations against Indian rule in Kashmir, police said.

Teen faces castration after brutal police beating

AFP - A Russian teen is facing castration after being severely beaten by police in the Volga river town of Kstovo, a local non-governmental group against torture said Monday.

US drone strike kills militants

NEWSCORE - A US drone fired two missiles at a vehicle carrying militants in Pakistan's northwestern tribal area, near the Afghan border, killing five rebels, officials said.

World's shortest man is 27 inches tall

NEWSCORE - A Colombian measuring just over two feet tall has been officially recognized as the world's shortest living man by the Guinness World Records, Sky News reported Monday.

Iran blocks UN nuclear inspectors

AFP - Iran is hampering a long-running investigation into its controversial nuclear drive by refusing to allow experienced U.N. inspectors into the country, the UN atomic watchdog said Monday.

Gillard is PM, Australia

NEWSCORE - Labor leader Julia Gillard secured government in Australia with a AU$10billion ($F17.6billion) package for regional areas.

The much-anticipated announcement by independents Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott gave Gillard 76 seats ù enough to form Australia's first minority federal government since 1940, The Australian reported. Earlier, fellow independent Bob Katter said he was backing the Liberal-National Coalition, giving its leader Tony Abbott 74 seats. The two sides had been in deadlock since the August 21 election left neither side in a position to govern.

Songbirds slaughtered for a Frenchman's feast

FORMER French President Francois Mitterrand chose to die in a remote rural spot, hundreds of miles from the Elysee Palace in Paris where he had once dominated French politics.

Here in Landes, in south-west France near Bordeaux, there are only maize fields and pine trees as far as the eye can see; a calm, isolated place to contemplate your life ù as Mitterrand did in his final days, dying of prostate cancer at the age of 79 in January 1996. It's also ideal stopping-off territory for one of France's most charming little birds. The ortolan bunting is a greenish-grey bird about the size of a sparrow ù the males with a handsome pale yellow throat.