Fee waiver would apply across EU

Scotland wants solution to mackerel crisis
EDINBURGH, Scotland, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- The Scottish Government wants to reach a multilateral deal with the European community on the future of the mackerel stock, a Scottish secretary said. European lawmakers have complained that Iceland and the autonomous Danish Faroe Islands are exploiting European accomplishments in the management of mackerel stocks. Iceland walked away from mackerel talks with Europe in November and a delegation from the Faroe Islands left the negotiating table in mid Decembe...

Officials: Colleges aren't producing graduates with skills for available jobs
Despite the harsh economy and the 9 percent Unemployment rate, there are plenty of jobs available education officials and business leaders said Friday. The problem is the state's colleges aren't graduating enough people with the skills to fill them. "We have jobs in the state available but we don't have the requisite people to fill these positions," Sen. Gary D. LeBeau, D-East Hartford and co-chairman of the legislature's Commerce Committee, told the audience at Manchester Community College. ...

In first, China buys salmon from Scotland
EDINBURGH, Scotland, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- The Chinese Government, for the first time, reached an agreement to import Atlantic salmon from Scotland, the fisheries secretary said from Edinburgh. Chinese demand for salmon and salmon products is more than Scotland produces in a year. China is one of the largest Seafood markets in the world and the Scottish Government said it expected demand for Atlantic salmon to increase. Scotland is the third-largest producer of Atlantic salmon in the world. "The Scot...

Amazon To Expand Enterprise in Scotland with 950 Jobs
BOSTON and GLASGOW, Scotland, Jan. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading online retailer Amazon is to create 950 jobs across two Scottish sites, First Minister Alex Salmond said today. The Company will create a Fulfilment Centre at Dunfermline, creating over 750 new jobs and an additional 200 posts will also be created at its existing fulfilment facility in Gourock, which packs and ships items for Amazon customers. The Company is also expected to create a further 1,500 temporary jobs during peak peri...

Are the Liberal Democrats staring into the abyss?
A Protester outside the Liberal Democrat conference in September last year. Photograph: Rii Schroer/Rex Features Tomorrow morning, people in the north-western seat of Oldham East and Saddleworth will start voting in a byelection that is 2011's first proper bit of political drama: a real page-turner, which has brought all three Party Leaders up north. Even before the campaigning started, what sparked the contest was a Soap Opera in itself. Having lost at last year's General Election by o...

Oldham and Saddleworth
First and most importantly, the coalition's Economic Policy is wrong. It is wrong to over-egg the allegedly parlous state of the public finances, blame this on the "mess" left by Labour, and use it as an excuse for cuts in the public services which are clearly ideologically driven by the Tories, along with a rise in the most regressive of taxes. Public service pump-priming should be the order of the day until recovery is assured and the Private Sector responds sufficiently so that, between them,...

Politics live blog - Thursday 13 January
Voters go to the polls in the Oldham East and Saddleworth byelection today. Photograph: Stephane Gautier/SAGAPHOTO.COM //Alamy 8.32am: Voting has already started in Oldham East and Saddleworth, where the first byelection of this parliament is taking place. According to a Twitter post from Labour's Douglas Alexander, who is in the constituency delivering leaflets, it's drizzling. As Nicholas Watt explains in the Guardian today, the election is a key test for Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg. I'll b...

Nick Clegg puts clear yellow water between Lib Dems and David Cameron
Nick Clegg and David Cameron ushered in a new era of co-operation when they launched their coalition in the Downing Street garden last May. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images We all know the feeling. You find yourself swept away in a surprising and exciting romance which ends as quickly as it started. Then, at a moment of despair, another love comes along. Amid the renewed excitement commitments are made which, a few months down the line, appear a little rushed and rather too deep....

EU ban on Icelandic mackerel hailed
An EU ban on landings of Icelandic mackerel at all European ports was hailed tonight as the right response to end a damaging stalemate over catch quotas. EU Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki confirmed the ban at talks in Brussels, and was urged to go even further if the move does not break the deadlock threatening the Scottish fishing fleet's most valuable stock. In the absence of a fish quota deal with the EU last year, Iceland unilaterally upped its mackerel quota six-fold - absorbing th...

Simon Hughes: Tuition fees damaged Lib Dems
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 12 January 2011 21.15 GMT Nick Clegg, left, in Oldham with Liberal Democrat Candidate Elwyn Watkins, centre, and Lib Dem deputy leader Simon Hughes. Photograph: Dave Thompson/PA The Liberal Democrats have been damaged by their failure to explain the U-turn on Tuition fees, the party's deputy leader, Simon Hughes, admitted on the eve of tomorrow's byelection in Oldham East and Saddleworth. The criticisms highlight nerves among Lib Dems who are convinced they stand a...

Zimpher talks about SUNYs role in reviving state economy on CNBC
State University of New York Chancellor Nancy Zimpher talked on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” this morning about how much the 64-campus system’s state funding has been cut over the last three years—about 30 percent—and efforts to convince elected officials to allow SUNY to establish public-private partnerships, set its Tuition without needing state approval and reduce regulations it considers onerous. “I think all of my colleagues in Higher Education expect that...

Takeover of student loans
This is a bit old news, but still not widely understood. Education loans: The Sweeping Federal Takeover You May Not Know About. One quote: ...perhaps the most troubling aspect of this new federal intrusion in the Higher Education marketplace is its underlying assumptions about the best way to control college costs. Whether it has been efforts to increase Pell Grants, or now this Student Loan fix, President Obama and his allies in Congress, drive...

Public universities can read the writing on the wall
With polling evidence suggesting that people are willing to accept some cuts in Higher Education funding, the only question for public universities and community colleges is how bad will it be? “I think all of us felt as though we were making real progress for Higher Education in Texas after the 2009 session. Now, it looks like a lot of those gains will be lost,” said state Rep. Joaquín Castro, a San Antonio Democrat and vice chairman of the House Higher Education committee. Public commun

Can Maryland afford in-state tution for illegal aliens now?
State Sen. Victor Ramirez (D-MD) says he will introduce a bill to provide immigrant Students in-state Tuition rates for Higher Education. He was the lead sponsor of the Legislation when it passed the House of Delegates in 2007. Ramirez’ office made the announcement in a Dec. 27 Press Release. A request sent that same day for details of the bill were ignored. When introduced, the proposal would grant in-state Tuition to Students that have attended and graduated from Maryland High Schools an...

Want to go to college? Not in California
California’s Budget Crisis will now be handled by adults according to newly-minted and former California Governor Jerry Brown. Nothing is off the table Brown said- except those who have Collective Bargaining contracts. That grown-up Budget conversation came at the expense of the state’s coveted higher-education programs. The billion-dollar cuts shocked college administrators and prompted warnings to High School seniors it will get a whole lot tougher to attend a University California...

Political, legal fights will arise out of Sandovals plan
There are few surprises left in the Sandoval administration’s Budget the Governor will propose in his State of the State address Jan. 24. But as Brian Sandoval’s solution to the state’s Budget cataclysm — a math answer with all minuses and no pluses — comes into focus, so, too, is opposition and outrage forming, a black cloud on Gov. Sunny’s horizon. This may not be surprising — raising taxes generally sends into apoplexy only the Grover Norquist wing of the GOP, bu

SUNY advocates fear Cuomo will propose tuition increase
ALBANY (AP) — Legislative leaders and advocates expect Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo will propose Tuition increases for New York’s public universities following years of funding cuts and a Tuition hike. Cuomo will present his Budget Feb. 1 and must address more than $10 billion in Deficits. Assembly Higher Education Committee Chairwoman Deborah Glick also fears the Budget could reduce Student Financial Aid and fail to provide adequate funding. Senate Higher Education Chairman Kenneth LaVall...

Bill would block illegal aliens from Commonwealth higher education
Two bills left over from last year’s Virginia General Assembly session have piqued the interest of Richmond-watchers this week. One, HB 1465, would prohibit aliens who are unlawfully present in the United States shall from admission to public institutions of Higher Education in Virginia. The bill is pending in the House Courts of Justice Committee. Rep. Chris Peace’s (R- Mechanicsville) bill has brought anything but peace. The proposal will “encourage gang recruiting and deny u...

What really won Oldham East and Saddleworth for Labour?
Labour Candidate Debbie Abrahams celebrates last night (Photo: Getty) Ed Miliband should be satisfied this morning. He won well enough, but not too well. The swing of 10 per cent confirmed what the national polls have been saying - Labour has got back the voters it lost in the long slide of unpopularity after Iraq. For all the talk of local factors and the Liberal vote holding up, Oldham East and Saddleworth went as the nation went. It strengthens Ed that real votes cast by real people ...

What you will hear after the Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election result
Cameron canvasses votes in Oldham East and Saddleworth (Photo: Reuters) Polls put Labour on track to win the by-election in Oldham East and Saddleworth. This, despite the weather and agreed line (from Labour and the Lib Dems) that it’s too close to call. What, though, will the lasting meaning of this by-election be? Let’s look at the possible scenarios, in ascending order of likelihood. 1. The Impossible The Tories gain the seat. Eric Pickles claims the credit for a lo-fi, cheap...

UK WARNING: OIL PRICES MAY KILL ECONOMY AND THE COALITION...
NICK Clegg earlier this week made a pitch for the hearts of “alarm clock Britain”: those who “come rain or shine are busy making Britain tick”. He was right to identify working people as being in need of support, having been taken for granted during the Labour years. But what is the point in supporting people when they are emerging bleary-eyed from under their duvets if you are then going to kick them in the teeth when they go outside and get into the car? Fuel prices yesterd...

Scottish FA rejects Dundee appeal
The Scottish Football Association has rejected Dundee's appeal to have a 25-point penalty overturned. The Scottish First Division club was handed the penalty by the Scottish Football League for going into administration for a second time. The Dark Blues failed with an appeal to the SFL at Hampden in December but were confident that a second appeal, heard by the SFA, would prove fruitful. But Friday's ruling means Dundee slip from second to bottom in the league. The appeal was heard at Hampden...

Iranian crude oil imports soar for Italy
ROME, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- Imports of Iranian oil surged by more than 90 percent during the past year despite Western economic pressure on Iran's energy sector, an Italian company said. Italian industrial group Unione Petrolifera announced that oil imports from Iran were up 92 percent during the past year, Iran's state-funded broadcaster Press TV said. The United States and European Union last year targeted Iran's energy sector with sanctions as punishment for a Controversial Nuclear Program. Severa...

Foxx reiterates desire to hold hearings on student loan reform, though repeal unlikely
U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), chairwoman of the House Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness, told The Chronicle of Higher Education recently she aims to hold hearings to examine Student Loan reform, which became law in 2010 with the goal of ending Federal Government subsidization of private loan companies. The desire to roll back reform made Foxx the subject of a segment on MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show. Now, in a recent interview with Inside Higher ...

Univ. Confirms It Was Responsible For Tucson Memorial T-Shirts Criticized By Conservatives
As TPM was first to report Wednesday, Conservatives found themselves up in arms about T-shirts that were given out during the Tucson memorial for Victims of last Saturday's shooting. Some said the T-shirts, which read "Together We Thrive: Tucson & America," were an inappropriate political statement orchestrated by the White House, since President Obama spoke at the memorial. TPM reported Wednesday that the memorial, including the T-shirts, was organized by the University of Arizona. Now, the...