Irish universities remain outside the world’s elite when it comes to reputation among global academics, according to the latest rankings.

The president of Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT), Ruaidhrí Neavyn, is unlikely to return to the job after his move to advise on higher education policy was approved yesterday.

A new initiative aims to change the way secondary school students think about their future education and career prospects.

Latest figures on CAO entry-level courses show the slow pace of change, but should not come as a shock.

The number of courses being offered by third-level colleges continues to rise despite plans in 2011 to cut them and help end the Leaving Certificate points race.

Cuts to career guidance in schools have been linked to a sharp rise in the number of college hopefuls failing to list any courses on their CAO applications.

The number of students seeking places in third-level colleges has reached another record high, topping 74,000 for the first time.

Academic staff have welcomed decisions of two institutes of technology not to speed up a planned merger but will still vote on possible industrial action over the move.

Education Minister Jan O’Sullivan says extra funding can only come at a price, writes Niall Murray

More structural changes in the higher education system are needed as well as decisions on who funds it, Education Minister Jan O’Sullivan has told university leaders.

Third-level colleges may not be developing enough of the high-end skills in students that are wanted by employers, a major student survey finds.

Sports Minister Martin Cullen will meet GPA chiefs to discuss inter-county player grants but insists he does not have the €3.5m required for the scheme.

Staff in RTÉ have voted in favour of pay cuts as part of cost saving measures for the station

Politicians across the country are entering their final few days of canvassing ahead of Friday's elections.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair told the US Congress there was no workable alternative to a two-state solution to the long and bloody conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

A third man today admitted his role in Ireland’s largest ever drugs seizure.

Lottery chiefs are expecting to sell up to 1,800 tickets a minute in the run-up to this weekend’s €14m jackpot draw – the fifth largest on record.

Terminally-ill Jade Goody is losing her sight as her cancer takes hold, it was reported today.

St Mirren 1 Celtic 0

The European Central Bank has announced another cut in interest rates today.

A new business link between aircraft engines maker Rolls-Royce and an investment fund based in the United Arab Emirates was approved by the European Commission today.

An Australian judge postponed his ruling on whether to overturn a government decision to revoke the visa of an Indian doctor charged over the failed UK terror attacks.

An Indian doctor released from jail after Australian prosecutors dropped charges linking him to the failed terrorist attacks in Britain gave the thumbs-up sign on arriving in Thailand today.

An Indian doctor will be allowed to leave Australia after prosecutors dropped a charge linking him to the recent failed terrorist bombings in Britain, an official said today.

The Australian government came under mounting pressure today to allow an Indian doctor to return to work in a hospital after the country’s top prosecutor said a charge linking him to failed terrorist bombings in Britain had been a mistake.

Australia’s top prosecutor today dropped a terror charge against an Indian doctor accused of supporting the failed bomb attacks on London and Glasgow Airport.

A decision by Australia’s chief prosecutor to review evidence against an Indian doctor charged over the failed terror attacks in Britain suggests the case is about to collapse, an independent legal expert said today.

Terror suspect Mohamed Haneef told Australian police he knew nothing about the plot to launch attacks in London and Glasgow, and freely admitted he knew two suspects being detained in Britain, according to leaked interview documents.

A third man was today charged in connection with the failed car bomb attacks in London and Glasgow.

Australian police charged an Indian doctor today with providing reckless support to a terrorist organisation by giving his mobile phone SIM card to two of the suspects in the failed British bomb attacks.

Australian police today dropped a request to extend the detention of an Indian doctor over the failed British car bomb terror attacks.

Osama Bin Laden’s number two has warned Gordon Brown that al-Qaida will attack Britain again in retaliation for awarding a knighthood to controversial author Salman Rushdie.

A suspect in the failed London car bomb attacks recently spent several days in a Thai resort before returning to the UK, Thai police said today.

An Arab wanted in connection with the failed bomb plots in London has been deported from Thailand to the UK, news reports said today.

A two-day extension for Australian police to hold a man in connection with the attempted UK car bombings may not be enough to sift through a mountain of potential evidence, they said today.

An Indian imam told today how two brothers suspected over the failed UK terror attacks turned away from mainstream Islam and became more radicalised.

Australian police launched fresh raids today in connection with the failed terrorist plot in Britain, seizing computers and other material from two hospitals in western Australia, the federal police chief said.

Two of the men arrested in connection with car bomb attacks in London and Glasgow had links to a hospital in Cambridge, it was reported today.

A British investigator prepared today to question an Indian doctor arrested in Australia over the failed bombings in London and Glasgow.

The families of two Indian doctors detained in connection with failed terror plots in Britain today insisted that the young men were innocent and had nothing to do with terrorism.

Some of the suspects arrested in connection with the terror plots in London and Glasgow were known to MI5 before the attacks took place, it has emerged.

Police in Australia arrested an Indian doctor in connection with the foiled terror attacks in London and Glasgow as he tried to leave the country and were interviewing a second doctor in the case, officials said today.

An eighth suspect wanted in connection with the terrorist attacks in London and Glasgow was arrested in Australia, a television network reported today.