woensdag 26 mei 2010

250,000 to miss university places this year

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/education/10156398.stm

University leaders are forecasting that almost 250.000 people will not get a place at a university this year. In 2008 the number of applicants not getting into a university was 120.000, increasing the year after to 158.000. These statistics estimate that the amount of people getting denied acceptance to the university will double in a two-year span. This is due to the spending restrictions, because this is stopping the university expansion. Professor David Green of the University of Worcester states, "Many highly-qualified young people with good A-levels will not get a place at University." However, had these same students applied 2 years ago, they would have been accepted. This will lead to unnecessarily ruined future plans for thousands of people.

My opinion:
It is hard to believe that so many people will get denied acceptance to a university this year. I don’t know if this will happen to applicants in the Netherlands as well, but I feel very sorry for the people who cannot get the education they want. I am worried for what will happen in the future as well. If there are going to be less people with a degree, there will be less people that can handle certain jobs. This might lead to a shortage in different job areas. Hopefully, the number of well-educated students being rejected will start to decrease soon.

'Slow' response from public in Zoe Nelson murder probe

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/10164696.stm

Detectives ask the public for help by the investigation of the murder of 17-year-old Zoe Nelson. They found her body in woodland in Wishaw. After they saw her for the last time at her mother's house, on Saturday, they spotted a fire in the area where her body was found the next day. There are up to 60 police officers working on this investigation. So far, they have interviewed Zoe’s family, friends, and boyfriend. They have now created an e-mail address and text number, which makes it easier for people to get in touch with the police. Hopefully, this will make it possible to catch Zoe’s murderer.

My opinion:
I think the police made a good decision by opening up a new e-mail address and phone number for anyone who knows anything about the investigation. Hopefully they will catch Zoe’s murderer soon, especially for Zoe’s family. It is so cruel what this murderer has done, and I don’t think they can grieve properly before they have found out who did this to the person they all loved dearly. I would like to know what his reasons were for doing this, if there even was a reason for why this person did this. Hopefully they will find him soon so that he can get the punishment he deserves.

maandag 24 mei 2010

Two boys guilty of attempted rape charges in London

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/8692223.stm

An eight-year-old girl got almost raped in a field in London in October 2009 by two boys aged ten back then. The boys both denied that they had raped this girl. According to them they had only been playing a game. Both of them were given bail. Ten out of the twelve jurors found the boys guilty of attempted rape, and they got registered as sex offenders. Later, the girl told that she had been untruthful about some of her evidence, but Mr. Justice Saunders did not believe her because she had been telling all adults the exact same story.

My opinion:
I was so shocked when I read this article. I cannot believe that children that age are already thinking about those kinds of things. This must have been a very traumatic incident for this eight-year-old girl, but also for the two boys. This case will follow them the rest of their lives. It is hard to imagine how difficult this case must have been for the jurors, considering the children’s age. I believe they made the right decision, because if they do not get punished now, they will never differentiate right from wrong.