In the past two decades, schools in England and Wales have adopted an increasingly inclusive approach to pupils from a variety of different backgrounds. But there is one group of children whose differences and specific needs are often overlooked – Gypsy traveller children. Gypsies are thought to have arrived on English soil about 400 years […]
Often in the past, reformers have proposed phonetic alternatives to the difficult, apparently arbitrary spellings of English. Usually they have been earnest scholars or radical intellectuals. Nowadays, however, the bards of rap and hip-hop have become the most powerful advocates of alternative systems of orthography. If you are going to be a rebel, then you […]
The history books in Russia may have to be rewritten yet again. President Vladimir Putin has ordered a review of all history textbooks after one controversial book asked students to debate whether he is a dictator running a police state. The Russian president has written to the president of the Russian Academy of Sciences demanding […]
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Fifty-seven bodies of men, women and children have been recovered from the Tigris river in Iraq, police said on Wednesday. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani told reporters the bodies were those of hostages missing in the area. Meanwhile, more than 25 Iraqis and a Turkish truck driver were killed on Wednesday in a string of bloody attacks.
Italy’s Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi announced on Wednesday he will resign and form a new government with a revamped programme in a bid to quell a revolt by key allies in his centre-right coalition. He told the Italian Senate that he will form a new government with the same majority.
Described as staunch by some and rigid by others, the appointment of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as Pope was mostly welcomed in South Africa on Wednesday. Political leaders and church groups hailed his selection, as Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu expressed disappointment.
Free State Premier Beatrice Marshoff has demoted another provincial minister, the provincial government communications and information system said on Wednesday. Local government and housing minister Bennie Kotsoane will return to the provincial legislature as an ordinary member.
A suspected outbreak of dengue fever has hit the Somali capital of Mogadishu, medical workers said on Wednesday. Abdi Ibrahim Jiya, a doctor in Mogadishu, said he believes the disease is dengue, but that doctors have been unable to confirm that because the lawless capital lacks the necessary laboratory equipment.
Two southern Dutch towns have called for the legalisation, under strict conditions, of cannabis production to thwart criminal gangs operating on the border with Belgium and Germany. On Thursday, the mayor of Maastricht, one of the towns, will defend his plan in the European Parliament in a special session dedicated to drugs policies.