Update: 13:00

Campus gun battle leaves 18 dead
The Nsukka campus of the University of Nigeria has been closed following a gun battle between rival student cults that left at least 18 people dead. The attackers drove on to the campus in stolen cars before opening fire on students from the engineering faculty, according to local reports. Most of the dead were students, but bystanders and lecturers were also among the victims.

Euro conference tackles dropout rates
Reducing dropout rates among disadvantaged students is the theme of the 11th annual European Access Network conference as it gets under way today. The conference, dedicated to former EAN executive director Maggie Woodrow who died last October, is designed to share best international practice on student recruitment and retention. It is being held in Prato, Italy, and is supported by Monash University. It finishes on Saturday.
Details: www.wmin.ac.uk/ean

Twinning could help bridge global HE gap
Brian Lang, principal of St Andrews University, has suggested that universities in developing countries could be twinned with those in the richest countries to help bridge the higher education gap. Dr Lang was speaking at the World Bank Group's third annual conference in Washington DC.