| Scotland ‘will need 20,000 migrants' every year
It is a more pessimistic picture than the more recent figures published in October by the Registrar General for Scotland, which said the current population of 5.12 million would rise to 5.37 million by 2031, with births peaking then at 57,600. However, the ESRC report says the recent net annual increase in population may be a blip ahead of a long-term decline. For the first time, it examines the reasons why Scottish birth rates are the lowest in the UK. It found that Scotland is becoming a nation of small families. Although Scottish mothers start having children earlier, they have much larger gaps between births. They are most likely to stop when they have two children, compared with English women who go on to have three or four. The report found that Scottish women often wanted bigger families, but kept them small because of the demands of work or worries about their finances and living conditions.
ORU alumni support sought
Uncertainty remained Saturday about what effect Richard Roberts' resignation as president will have on Oral Roberts University, but some observers said it was a step toward improvement.
"I think people are going to be waiting and watching: OK, can it survive without a Roberts at the helm?" said Donald R. Vance, professor of biblical languages and literature.
Vance said he thinks alumni need to support ORU as it undergoes this transition, after being led for 42 years by a Roberts. ORU professors are committed to the school's evangelical Christian mission, but that might not be obvious without a TV minister as president, he said. Christian colleges across the country are led by non-ministers -- "it will just be different for us."
ORU leaders have not addressed what role, if any, Roberts will have at the university.
Casting Complete for Hemingway World Premiere, The Fifth Column, at ...
Casting is complete for the world premiere of Ernest Hemingway's The Fifth Column, which is scheduled to begin performances at the Mint Theater Company Feb. 26. The Fifth Column the only full-length Hemingway drama which never produced in its original version will star James Andreassi, Heidi Armbruster, Kelly AuCoin, Ryan Duncan, Ronald Guttman, John Hayden, Joe Hickey, Carlos Lopez, Ned Noyes, Maria Parra, Joe Rayome, Nicole Shalhoub and Teresa Yenque. Mint Theater Company artistic director Jonathan Bank will stage the world premiere. The creative team for The Fifth Column includes set design by Vicki R. Davis, costume design by Clint Ramos, lighting design by Jeff Nellis and sound design by Jane Shaw. Set during the Spanish Civil War, The Fifth Column, according to press notes, "is the dramatic, sexy and surprisingly funny story of the private and political passions of Philip Rawlings, a counter-espionage agent working for the Republic during the Spanish Civil War.
Eric Halvorson's Blog
Today, in our 5 o'clock newscast we offered some ideas for enjoying a "green" Christmas. In that case, the Natural Resources Defense Council offered ideas comparable to others I heard earlier in the day from the Sierra Club. A spokesman for the club says, between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day, we generate an extra five million tons of garbage - and a lot of it is probably wrapping paper that can't be recycled. That's why the NRDC and the Sierra Club encourage alternatives to wrapping paper. For certain people, old maps would be a great idea. (My dad, for example, would probably enjoy the map as much as the gift inside it.) A member of the Sierra Club says you might try something like butcher paper and have kids draw something on the paper. Club members also suggest making the wrapping part of the gift - such as in a scarf or a decorative box that can be re-used in some way.
A Gold Mine Worth LE 23 Billion (and counting)
An Egyptian-Australian family is set to start extracting gold from an ancient Pharaonic mine — and could revolutionize Egypt's economy in the process.SAMI EL-RAGHY'S visit to Egypt in 1992 had nothing to do with gold exploration — at least not at first. A 1962 graduate of the University of Alexandria, El-Raghy had been living in Australia for nearly three decades, successfully working the mining areas of the country's Western reaches, where he pioneered the exploration and exploitation of key finds.By Cache Seel - Read more .
Where you turn: Online
ORU weekly e-mails checked: The 2004-06 postings are purportedly to Richard Roberts from his political adviser and sister-in-law.
7. E-mails show political aspirations: The messages allegedly were sent as advice to ORU's Richard Roberts.
8. College cuts Friday classes to save students' gas: With gasoline prices hovering around $3 a gallon, an Oklahoma college is eliminating Friday classes to help reduce commuting costs.
9. Family calls mistaken death of son ‘a miracle': What may have been a mistake at a Texas hospital is being called a miracle by the parents of a Frederick man who was critically injured in an all-terrain vehicle accident.
10. Appeals court finds OKC pit bull policy violates state law: Oklahoma City's policy of not allowing pit bull terriers to be adopted from its animal shelter violates state law, an appeals court has ruled.
'Enough evidence' to charge Zuma
Making his first speech as ANC leader, the former deputy president - sacked by Mr Mbeki in 2005 - said no Zuma-Mbeki split could be allowed to emerge. "None of us is bigger than the organisation or the ANC," he told delegates at the party's conference. Mr Mbeki's spokesman on Thursday denied rumours that the president was now considering stepping down before the end of his term in 2009. In his speech, Mr Zuma laid out his vision for the ANC and for South Africa, stressing that the organisation remained committed to "broad-based black empowerment", and to a reduction in crime levels. 'Cloud' The BBC's Will Ross, at the conference in Polokwane, says the timing of the prosecutor's announcement has come as a surprise to many people. .
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