The Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation of the wind-pummelled West African archipelago signed the charter of the African Virtual University, or AVU, last month, becoming its 19th member state

Security guards later escorted the woman until she left the campus.

The government has in recent weeks released around 200 detained students and said prosecutors were investigating cases of other detainees. Academics estimate that more than 1,300 students have been detained

. This was announced at the first meeting of the US-Libya Higher Education Task Force held in Washington DC on 13 March

In parallel, a new support strand covering quality assurance and accreditation will be launched.

The second - less publishing system - refers to the production of other (non-British) former colonies (Belgium, France and Portugal) and is characterised by lower publication and weak peer effects

Mouton said four main thematic areas had been identified for the new centre: science, technology and innovation indicators; STI policy for development; human development for STI; and science communication, evaluation and impact.

There have been claims that Professor Peter Nyarango is poorly qualified and ill-experienced to run the medical school

The initiative was announced at a workshop titled "Science Parks and Technology Transfer", held in the Libyan capital Tripoli on 30 March

The computer centres are the cornerstones of a nationwide academic IT network. Funding has been provided by the German foreign office

Harvard, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford and the 25 components of the US National Institutes of Health led the list of the top 200 research institutions from around the world

There is increasing focus on internationalisation in higher education institutions worldwide, with more and more universities opening their doors to peers in other countries, according to the 4th Global Survey of the International Association of Universities, or IAU

Students, who first occupied the legislative chamber on 18 March, started leaving on 10 April

The list includes some prestigious courses, such as oceanography offered by the highly regarded Ho Chi Minh City University of Science. But the most badly affected are fine arts, modern languages and vocational courses taught at degree level by practitioners rather than academics with PhDs.

The measures were proposed recently by the Presidential Council for Science and Education