Rebel News - Independent News and Analysis

The UK no longer enjoys the competitive advantage of being at the forefront of higher education finance and provision, according to OECD.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) says Britain's standing in terms of higher education has fallen behind countries like Iceland, Slovakia and Poland in Europe, slipping from third to 15th place among the countries that rank their students gaining university degrees.

Israeli academic institutions have dropped in international ranking, moving down to lower places among the top 200 universities in the world.

According to a research conducted by the QS World University Rankings, the three Israeli universities listed among the world's top universities have failed to hold their previous ranking and slipped into lower educational categories.

Vatican has labeled the Florida-based church's decision about torching the Islamic holy book to mark the 9/11 terrorist attacks as an 'outrageous' decision.

"Each religion, with its respective sacred books, places of worship and symbols, has the right to respect and protection," the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue said in a statement on Wednesday, acknowledging that the news has caused "great concern" with the council, AFP reported.

The Sorbonne University is set to grant an honorary doctorate to world-renowned Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami for his lifelong cinematic activities.

The 70-year-old director will be honored during a ceremony on Nov. 10, 2010 at Sorbonne University in Paris, ISNA reported.

The Palestine News And Information Agency WAFA relased a report on Wednesday documenting the Israeli violations against Palestinian Journalists since the start of 2010 until August 31st.

According to WAFA’s report 101 Palestinian journalists were injured during the reported period by Israeli’s military tear gas bombs, rubber-coated steel bullets and sound bombs.

The United Nations says floods have now affected more than 21-million people in Pakistan as advancing floodwaters continue to threaten more towns in the country's south.

The world body made the announcement following more flooding in the southern province of Sindh.

Individuals solely suffering from mental problems such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder are not more vulnerable to violent crime, a new study says.

While being involved in different crimes is more prevalent among individuals with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, substance abuse, rather than mental illness, is responsible for higher crime rate in these individuals.

Mild cognitive impairment, considered a precursor of Alzheimer's disease, is more common in men and is believed to be more likely to develop at younger ages.

"The gender differences were somewhat surprising to us because most people believe that women are at higher risk than men," said lead researcher Ronald Petersen.

Millions of commuters have faced delays during rush hour as the first in a series of London Underground strikes severely disrupts services.

Up to 10,000 LU staff of the Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) and Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) unions walked off the job in two waves on Monday in a dispute over staffing levels and safety, the Vancouver Sun reported.

French-Swiss filmmaker and screenwriter Jean-Luc Godard has refused to receive an honorary Oscar from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Godard is known for challenging the conventions of traditional Hollywood cinema and is considered a prominent figure of the Nouvelle Vague or the French New Wave cinema.