by Liz McGinn
-UK-

Every year the BBC runs a huge televised fundraising event called Comic Relief. Its aim is to raise as much money as possible for worthwhile causes in the UK and Africa. The fundraising, undertaken by both ordinary people and celebrities, culminates in an evening television extravaganza featuring stories of both the fundraisers and the charities the event supports. This year’s event raised a staggering £17 million ($27 million USD).

by Liz McGinn
-UK-

Northern Ireland is still recovering from its troubled history. Like many countries worldwide it has had to come to terms with being a segregated society, where religion divided, rather than united, communities. The signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 gave Northern Ireland a vision of a shared future where government was at a local level and where Protestants and Catholics could live harmoniously together without fear of sectarianism or violence.

by Liz McGinn
-UK-

My eldest daughter is going to university in 2012. She is academically gifted and wants to study mathematics and French. She has no idea what she wants to do with her degree, but she wants to study subjects she enjoys and is good at. Her choice of degree course should open doors for her in years to come and give her a head start in the working world. Instead, she is heading for a potential lifetime of debt courtesy of the U.K.’s coalition government.

Beginning in 2012, students will be facing rises in tuition fees from £3,290 ($5,187 USD) per year up to a maximum of £9,000 ($14,190 USD). This means that a student on a typical three-year degree course faces tuition fee debt of £27,000 ($42,571 USD).