world

You hear odd stories on the internet all the time, but it seems as though this week they have gone in to overdrive. Every day something strange has appeared, each story more unusual than the last. Here we have a round-up of some of the more bizarre news stories of the week.

Speed of Sound Skydive

An Austrian adventurer has decided it is a good idea to jump out of a hot air balloon 36.5km above the earth, on the edge of space (pictured above). Felix Baumgartner yesterday attempted to break the world record for the highest ever skydive, as well as becoming the first human to reach the speed of sound unaided by a vehicle.

Him and his vast team of scientists were all set to go in Roswell, Mew Mexico yesterday afternoon, but unfortunately weather conditions were too windy. The specially designed balloon that will take him up to such heights cannot cope with even the lightest of winds due to how thin the material is. The team are hoping that they will be able to attempt it again tomorrow.

The latest world university rankings have been released by Times Higher Education, showing some unexpected trends. Whilst US and British universities still dominate the top 200, Asian universities are noticeably beginning to gain ground. The rankings measure 13 different attributes of an institution which encompass its teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook.

At the top the list, California Institute of Technology (above) takes the number 1 spot for the second year running, with the University of Oxford following close behind in joint second with Stanford University. The top ten is made up exclusively from US and UK universities, with Cambridge coming in seventh and Imperial College London in eighth. Indeed, of the top 200, over half are from one of the two countries; the US claiming 76 and UK 31.

The latest world university rankings have been released by higher education organisation QS. The annual table is one of the most respected global rankings, and this year places an unexpected university at the coveted number one spot.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT- above) has taken top place from the University of Cambridge, rising up from fifth spot just two years ago. The US university specialises in science and technology and was placed first in 11 out of 28 subject tables published in June. Cambridge drops down to second, and is joined by UCL (4th), Oxford (5th) and Imperial (6th) for British universities in the top ten.

The rankings are based on a number of different factors, including research quality, graduate employability, teaching and how international the staff and students of the institution are. It is on this last point that MIT has improved greatly on in the last couple of years, with a newly international staff helping it reach top spot.

Where do you think the best city to study is? Are certain places a student's paradise and others a student's hell? Well, a new survey hoping to answer those questions has placed London as the second best city in the world for students. Only Paris beat the UK capital after cities were judged on affordability, quality of life and the number and reputation of their universities.

Higher Education organisation QS carried out the survey predominantly with international students in mind, with hundreds of thousands currently considering where to study. Over 500 cities were considered, with anywhere with a population of over 250,000 and at least two universities qualifying.

The sheer number of London's top quality universities (think Imperial, UCL, King's, SOAS) gave it the edge over Paris, but the city was let down by being far more expensive than the French capital. Whilst international students in London will expect to pay up to £20,000 each year in tuition fees, that figure drops to just £1,000 at Paris universities. Ben Sowter, the lead researcher, explained:

Across the world people are showing their love for one another today as part of Valentine's Day. Whilst here in Britain these days it is simply the case of couples buying each other chocolates and flowers and going for a romantic meal out, there are some slightly more unusual traditions in other cultures. Here we look at some of the best current and historical traditions enjoyed on Valentine's Day:

Britain: Valentine's Day in the UK hasn't always been such a boring, commercialised celebration. Traditionally, it has been considered the day on which birds chose their mates, and in parts of the county of Sussex, it is still referred to as the Birds' Wedding Day. On the theme of birds there are also some very unusual superstitions surrounding the day. If a woman saw a sparrow flying overhead, it meant she would marry a poor man but be happy, or alternatively if she saw a goldfinch then she would marry a rich man. If she saw a robin then it meant she would marry a sailor...apparently.