Friday, December 31, 2010

Faces of the year 2010 - the men



Left to right: Kiki, Wayne Bridge, Carlos Slim Helu, Tony Hayward (top), Danny Alexander, Nicholas Mahut, Julian Assange, Gareth Williams (middle), Walter Kasper, Luis Urzua, Edward Woollard, Eddie Afekafe (bottom)

Some of the men who have made the headlines in 2010, left to right: Kiki, Wayne Bridge, Carlos Slim Helu, Tony Hayward (top), Danny Alexander, Nicholas Mahut, Julian Assange, Gareth Williams (middle), Walter Kasper, Luis Urzua, Edward Woollard, Eddie Afekafe (bottom). The women who were in the news were featured on Thursday.

JANUARY

Kiki (Picture: Matthew McDermott/Polaris/Eyevine)

An eight-year-old boy name Kiki provided one of those heart-rending moments that so often give relief from the misery of natural disasters.

He was pulled from the ruins of a two-storey building that had been flattened in the earthquake that struck Haiti.

In testimony to the strength of the human body and spirit, he emerged some seven-and-a-half days after being buried in the rubble with a broad grin and his arms outstretched towards his mother.

FEBRUARY

Wayne Bridge

Manchester City footballer Wayne Bridge suffered a rift with former Chelsea colleague and friend John Terry with the revelation that the Chelsea captain had allegedly had an affair with Bridge's former partner, and mother of his son, Vanessa Perroncel.

Bridge announced his retirement from England duty, thereby ruling himself out of the World Cup. It was suggested in the media he couldn't face being holed up with Terry for the duration of the competition.

John Terry lost the England captaincy as a result of the episode. Perroncel has denied anything untoward happened.

MARCH

Carlos Slim Helu

Mexican businessman Carlos Slim Helu, 67, was finally "crowned" the world's richest person.

According to the Forbes List, this son of a Lebanese immigrant has accumulated a fortune worth $50bn (£32.4bn), partly as a result of buying a majority stake in the Mexican state phone company prior to its privatisation.

His Telmex Company has a virtual monopoly of landlines and represents 7% of Mexico's entire economic output.

APRIL

Tony Hayward

When an explosion on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico threatened an environmental disaster, it was left to Tony Hayward, the much-criticised British chief executive of BP, to face the music.

His company faced scathing criticism from all quarters including the US Congress.

Hayward didn't help himself when he made a remark about wanting his "life" back. The explosion killed 11 men.

MAY

Danny Alexander

Following the sudden resignation of David Laws, Liberal Democrat MP Danny Alexander found himself appointed as chief secretary to the treasury, a key role in managing the budget cuts.

As Nick Clegg's chief of staff during the election campaign, he had branded the Conservatives untrustworthy and "economically illiterate".

He rose to prominence as part of the Lib Dem negotiating team that brokered the agreement to enter into a coalition with the Tories.

JUNE

Nicholas Mahut

Spare a thought for Nicholas Mahut, the 28-year-old Frenchman who was the loser in the world's longest ever tennis match.

After a titanic battle on Wimbledon's Court 18 that lasted more than 11 hours and which ended 70-68 in the final set, Mahut was a picture of total dejection.

An extraordinary 103 aces were not enough to defeat the US's John Isner.

However, both players were given special trophies to mark their extraordinary achievement.

JULY

Julian Assange

When thousands of secret US military documents were first leaked to the Wikileaks website, its founder, Australian Julian Assange, was little known.

By the end of the year, after more and more revelations had appeared causing fury in governments, Assange had become a household name.

The issue of press freedom raised by the Wikileaks affair was complicated by Assange's subsequent legal battle against extradition to Sweden to answer sex crime charges that he claims are part of a conspiracy to silence him.

AUGUST

Gareth Williams

Conspiracy theories abounded after the mysterious discovery of the naked body of a 30-year-old MI6 worker, Gareth Williams, inside a padlocked sports bag in his flat in London.

He was last seen alive eight days earlier. Williams was a GCHQ code-breaker believed to have helped thwart a terror campaign in Britain by intercepting phone calls involving British jihadists at a training camp.

Toxicologists found no evidence of drugs, alcohol or poisons in his body.

SEPTEMBER

Walter Kasper

Cardinal Walter Kasper caused something of a stir when he commented to a German magazine: "When you arrive at Heathrow you think at times that you've landed in a Third World country."

The comment came ahead of the Pope's visit to Britain. He felt no need to apologise for the seeming slight and his personal secretary explained that he was merely remarking on the prevalence of so many cultures, religions and races in the country.

It was just as well the cardinal hadn't landed during December's cold snap.

OCTOBER

Luis Urzua

The last of the 33 Chilean miners to be winched to safety after 69 days trapped underground was the shift foreman Luis Urzua who was credited with keeping them safe.

After the mine's collapse, Urzua instituted a set of rigid rules and regulations crucial for the men's survival such as rationing the mine's emergency food consignment into minimal portions and organising the miners' work, sleep and sanitary areas.

He kept each man on a 12-hour shift schedule.

NOVEMBER

Edward Woollard

A sixth-form classics student, Edward Woollard from Dibden Purlieu near Southampton admitted throwing a fire extinguisher from the roof of the Conservative party HQ in Millbank during student protests in London against the raising of tuition fees.

The extinguisher landed near a group of police officers, one of whom said he was "six inches from death".

Woollard, who was released on bail, could face up to five years in jail when he is sentenced next year.

DECEMBER

Eddie Afekafe

A community project manager from Moss Side in Manchester, Eddie Afekafe, gave an inspirational speech during England's presentation as part of its unsuccessful bid to host the 2018 World Cup.

Afekafe told how he escaped a world of gang crime when given the backing by the Prince's Trust for an FA coaching scheme.

"Football changed my life," he told delegates, as he explained how he qualified for his level two coaching badge and became a key member of Manchester City's community programme.

Compiled by Bob Chaundy



Faces of the year 2010 - the women



Left to right: Iris Robinson, Amy Williams, Kathryn Bigelow, Peppa Pig (top), Sarah Ferguson, Anna Chapman, Sue Sim, Mary Bale (middle), Justine Thornton, Gamu Nhengu, Rachel Chandler, Lady Justice Hallett

Some of the women who have made the headlines in 2010, left to right: Iris Robinson, Amy Williams, Kathryn Bigelow, Peppa Pig (top), Sarah Ferguson, Anna Chapman, Sue Sim, Mary Bale (middle), Justine Thornton, Gamu Nhengu, Rachel Chandler, Lady Justice Hallett (bottom).

JANUARY

Iris Robinson

Democratic Unionist MP Iris Robinson, 59, tried to take her own life, according to her husband, Northern Ireland's First Minister Peter Robinson, after he discovered she had had an affair with a teenage man.

Mrs Robinson had broken parliamentary codes of conduct for failing to report a £50,000 donation from two property developers for her lover Kirk McCambley to buy a cafe.

Before the revelations emerged, Iris Robinson announced her retirement from politics and public life on mental health grounds.

FEBRUARY

Amy Williams

Amy Williams slid her way to becoming only the ninth British Winter Olympic gold medallist in 86 years and the first solo gold medallist for 30 years.

Her victory came in the Games at Whistler in Canada in the women's skeleton event on a trusty sled she calls Arthur.

Nicknamed "Curly Wurly" because of her frizzy hair, Williams' performance was all the remarkable since Britain doesn't possess a full skeleton track apart from a dry concrete push track in Bath.

MARCH

Kathryn Bigelow

They called it the Battle of the Exes. In the red corner for the Oscars' best director award was James Cameron for his sc-fi blockbuster Avatar.

In the blue corner was his former wife Kathryn Bigelow for her low-budget, independent movie The Hurt Locker.

Bigelow triumphed with her film about an American bomb-disposal team in Iraq.

She became the first woman to win the best director award and described her triumph as "the moment of a lifetime".

APRIL

Peppa Pig

It was a case of a piggy in the middle of a controversy when a Channel Five children's cartoon character named Peppa Pig pulled out of a Labour Party election campaign stunt.

Peppa was due to attend the unveiling of Labour's mini-manifesto for families.

But E1 Entertainment, the company that licenses Peppa, said, "In the interests of avoiding controversy, we have agreed she should not attend."

Lord Mandelson accused the BBC of "stirring up trouble" by blocking Peppa's appearance by leaning on E1. The BBC denied the claim.

MAY

Sarah Ferguson

Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, became the latest victim of the News of the World's "fake sheikh" sting operations.

The veteran investigations editor Mazher Mahmood caught her on camera apparently agreeing to provide access to her former husband, the British trade envoy Prince Andrew, in return for £500,000.

"That opens up everything you would ever wish for," she told the reporter.

Later the Duchess apologised for a "serious lapse of judgement" and admitted that her financial position was "under stress".

JUNE

Anna Chapman

The glamorous form of 28-year-old Anna Chapman found itself on the front pages of newspapers around the world when she was unmasked as a Russian agent by the FBI in the US.

Chapman was part of a ring of so-called "deep sleeper" agents from American suburbs paid to penetrate US policy-making circles.

She was previously married to an Englishman in London before moving to the US after divorcing him.

Prosecutors described her as a "highly trained agent" and a "practised deceiver".

JULY

Chief Const Sue Sim

Chief Constable Sue Sim became the public face of the police hunt for the Northumberland killer Raoul Moat.

Each day Chief Con Sim, who was in temporary charge of Northumbria Police, faced the media and read out statements in a slow, enunciated style.

She drew praise for the human way she dealt with members of the public, especially those living in areas affected by the manhunt.

But she also made headlines for a minor gaffe, when she mistakenly uttered that every stone would be left unturned in the search for Mr Moat, although some commentators detected sexism in what they thought was an unnecessary focus on her appearance.

AUGUST

Mary Bale

Forty-five-year-old bank worker Mary Bale became the subject of a worldwide hate campaign when CCTV footage of her throwing a cat into a wheelie bin was posted on YouTube by the cat's owners anxious to find the culprit.

After she'd been identified, Bale apologised for her action: "It was a split second of misjudgement that has got completely out of control."

The RSPCA pressed charges and she was fined £250.

SEPTEMBER

Justine Thornton and Ed Miliband

From geek to chic went Justine Thornton's public image after her partner Ed Miliband's election as Labour leader thrust her into the media spotlight.

The heavily pregnant Ms Thornton sported a maternity dress patterned with blue and red hearts accompanied by a blue bolero jacket and a cropped haircut to match, in contrast to her previously less glamorous style.

The 39-year-old environmental lawyer, who began her career as a child actress, gave birth to Samuel, the couple's second son, in November.

OCTOBER

Gamu Nhengu

After suffering the disappointment of being voted out of The X Factor, teenage singer Gamu Nhengu faced the prospect of being deported to her native Zimbabwe.

Her widowed mother breached visa conditions by wrongly claiming £16,000 in tax credits.

A member of the House of Lords, the Earl of Clancarty, asked the UK Border Agency to reconsider Gamu's case.

At first they insisted the decision was correct but later agreed to reconsider her case. Their decision is still pending.

NOVEMBER

Rachel Chandler

After being held hostage by Somali pirates, Rachel Chandler and her husband Paul tasted freedom once more after 13 months in captivity.

The couple from Tunbridge Wells in Kent were handed over to local officials after the payment of a ransom thought to be in the region of $1m (£649,326).

Though they both received a beating for showing defiance to being separated, they were released in good health.

The couple held out, according to Mrs Chandler, because "we are survivors".

DECEMBER

Lady Justice Hallett

Having refused a legal challenge to hold some closed sessions of the 7 July bombings inquest, the coroner and appeal court judge Lady Justice Hallett earned much praise for her handling of the hearings.

Giving short shrift to testimony by authorities she found unsatisfactory, she displayed a contrasting humanity and sympathy for victims who related their experiences.

"You are amazing, you sound amazing, you look amazing," she told one survivor.

"You've reduced us to silence," she told another.

Compiled by Bob Chaundy


Wednesday, December 29, 2010

20 ways to personalise your wedding


1
Get a monogram or rubber stamp designed with both your initials, and use it to stamp the invites and envelopes for a sweet personal touch.

2
Take the time out for guests who make a difference to your lives. To make relatives and close friends in attendance feel welcome, send handwritten personal notes along with the invite, telling them exactly how much their presence would mean to you!

3
At a sit-down reception dinner, instead of having random tables, give each table a name based on what matters most to both of you. It could be the name of your favourite restaurant, the place he proposed, or your favourite movie. Leave a little note at every table explaining the importance of the name so every guest understands why you have it.

4
Have a guestbook at the entrance for each person to sign. Let them fill it in with messages congratulating you. It's great to keep as a memento for when you're looking back at your wedding.

5
Have two champagne glasses custom made for your first toast as Mr and Mrs. Have your names and the date engraved on the glasses to make it about just the two of you. Save these glasses as memorabalia.

6
Borrow a tradition from other cultures. Raise toasts at your reception. Have your close friends and family give speeches recounting incidents from when you were courting. Word of caution: make sure it's only a chosen few, too many long speeches will take away from the intimacy of the idea.

7 If you're taking the sit-down dinner route, leave an easy-to-use camera at every table for the guests to take their own pictures. They may not be as professional as what a photographer produces, but will add some great memories to your big day.

8
Have the wine labels custom-made with a picture of both of you along with the date and venue. They are budget-friendly when produced in bulk and a cute touch.

9
Emerald Energy event planner, Nayika Sayal, advises being in constant touch with your wedding planner at every step of the planning process. "Always try and incorporate your ideas and keep giving feedback so the end product reflects your style and choices.

10
Take the time out to try and incorporate vows or just a public declaration of your love and commitment to each other. They have a different meaning when they are said out loud in the presence of everyone important to both of you and really help solidify your bond.

11
Hand-write some of your wedding cards. The ones going out to close family and friends can be hand-written by you so it shows you took the time out and really care.

12
Do a first dance as a newly married couple and choose a song you first danced to or something that is significant to the both of you.

13
Personalise your wedding card. Try and do it differently, write a poem or add a picture in the card: something that reflects your bond.

14
Wedding planner Gita Samuel advices to plan your wedding based on a favourite dream theme. Recreate your favourite city. "We created Venice for people who wanted to get married there but couldn't for many reasons. The choice of theme really reflects your union, says Samuel.

15
Event co-ordinator Jay Mehta advises personalising your vehicle. "Most brides leave the wedding in a fancy car and that's not leaving much to the imagination. Try and rent a mode of transport that has significant meaning for you as a couple.

16 Ratika Bhatnagar of Mudramax Events Management Company advices delivering cards personally. "For a chosen few close family and friends, try and deliver the card yourself. It shows you've taken the time out to acknowledge the relationship you share with them.

17
Personalise your menu by including food items you both love or you both ate on your first date. The less fancy the better, it'll seem more real.

18
Have a little gig at home. "Family performances that reflect the quirks and idiosyncracies of friends and family on stage go a long way in adding a personal touch to a wedding and adds some humour to the evening, says Samuel.

19
At the venue, screen a video montage of pictures of the two of you over the years with close friends and family.

20
According to Samuel, it's best to stay clear of imitating. Apeing what someone else did at their wedding makes it less personal. Instead, if you have seen a wedding that inspired you or was planned well, borrow an idea from them and tweak it to suit your own needs and requirements.


Wednesday, December 15, 2010

10 Commandments for good wives


1. Be careful when your husband is angry. At this point, do not be no fun, no grumpy - smiled and said softly.

2. Do not make your husband wait for food. Hunger - the father of anger.

3. Do not wake him when he sleeps.

4. Be careful with his money. Do not hide from him his financial affairs.

5. Keep it secret. If he brags, and keep it a secret.

6. I do not approve of his enemies and not hate his friends.

7. I do not mind him and do not claim that your advice is better than him.

8. Do not expect the impossible.

9. If you will be attentive to his request, he will be your slave.

10. Do not say anything that would hurt him. If you're going to treat him like a king, he will treat you like a queen.


Thursday, December 2, 2010

Sex Moves Every Woman Should Try Once


Slip into something unexpectedly sexy.

Sure, sexy lingerie is, well, sexy. But another surprisingly sexy sight to guys is you—freshly showered, no makeup, says relationship expert Lainie Speiser, author of Hot Games. Who can resist a woman who's just soaped, shaved and shampooed herself to perfection? If you live with your guy, take your time and make a ritual out of your shower. Leave the bathroom door cracked so he can catch a glimpse of you slathering lotion on your body. If you're dating, greet him at the door just out of the shower, with your hair loosely tied back, and wear something feminine like a clingy spaghetti-strap slip.

Give him goose bumps.

Vixenish back scratching is best left to romance novels and porn; a better way to stimulate your guy is with a light touch. The next time you've having sex, wrap your arms around him and gently drag your nails across his back, butt or thighs from top to bottom, applying as little pressure as possible. The slight touch will send shivers down his spine…and enhance the feeling of everything else.

Sneak in double entendres.

Want to get your guy's attention? Try using suggestive words—the kind with dual meanings—mixed into normal conversation, says relationship expert Steve Santagati, of badboysfinishfirst.com. Whether it's your first or your 90th date, it's a great way to get your guy thinking about sex. Ask him for a back rub because your neck is stiff. Or have him help you fill in a crossword puzzle that's too hard. We know—it sounds like a ridiculous plan, but if you can get over the giggle factor, it could really pay off. "You may not understand why men like this kind of talk, but trust me, it will wake us up and get the juices flowing for foreplay," Santagati says.

Add an element of mystery to your date.

Next time you're out to dinner or at a bar with your man, pretend to be someone else. Act like a would-be secretary at a job interview and say, "Thank you so much for taking the time to meet with me. I feel I would get a lot of benefits from working under you," suggests Speiser. He may laugh first, but he'll eventually play along…and get turned on. Another option: When you return from the bathroom, purposely bump into him and pretend you've never met. Flirt with him as if it's the first time you've laid eyes on each other. "It will arouse the both of you and breathe a new kind of excitement into a regular Saturday night," she adds.

Create unconventional handcuffs.

Straddle your guy during your next bedroom session and begin to pull off his shirt. As it reaches his wrists, stop pulling. Grab the shirt with one hand (grasp the part in the middle between his arms) and use it to pin his wrists back to the bed like makeshift handcuffs. The more confident you are about doing it, the better. You'll be in control, and he won't have a clue what hit him. But he'll like it.

Talk but don't touch.

Straddle your guy during your next bedroom session and begin to pull off his shirt. As it reaches his wrists, stop pulling. Grab the shirt with one hand (grasp the part in the middle between his arms) and use it to pin his wrists back to the bed like makeshift handcuffs. The more confident you are about doing it, the better. You'll be in control, and he won't have a clue what hit him. But he'll like it.

Try a champagne kiss.

Remember that bottle of champagne you've had chilling in the fridge since New Year's Eve? Now's the time to use it—pour two glasses and sip casually. Then turn up the heat by straddling him, taking a gulp of bubbly and leaning over and kissing your man. As you do, "let a tiny amount of champagne trickle into his mouth," says Tracey Cox, author of Supersex. The fizzy texture and cool temperature will take your kiss to a new level of sexy.

Practice delayed gratification.

Next time you feel like snapping a naughty photo of yourself, don't e-mail or text it to your man right way. Wait until you're in the same room, restaurant or building and then go ahead and hit Send—it's so unexpected that way! "It's more effective than you would think because he'll know he can't do anything about it," says Santagati. "The act of sex is best when anticipated and held off for a bit."

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Top 25 Universities Of The World



25. Kyoto University, Japan
Kyoto University rated as 25th best university in World University Rankings. Founded in 1897, Kyoto University has deeply considered its traditions of liberal and academic freedom, educating many. We continue to actively maintain these principles, which are the foundation of academic freedom. Kyoto University places top priority on basic research, develops advanced technology leading to the acquisition of intellectual property, and then returns this knowledge to society through education, social cooperation, and the opportunity for lifelong education. Kyoto University has 3 campuses nestled in a basin, which forms the main part of Kyoto, a city which in tradition and culture of which Kyoto University is a part. 24 More universities after the break...
24. University of Hong Kong
University of Hong Kong rated as 24th best university in World University Rankings . The University of Hong Kong is the territory's oldest university, and with a history that stretches back more than 90 years, it has grown with and helped shape the city from which it takes its name. The University of Hong Kong, as a pre-eminent international university in Asia, seeks to sustain and enhance its excellence as an institution of higher learning through outstanding teaching and world-class research so as to produce well-rounded graduates with lifelong abilities to provide leadership within the societies they serve.  HKU has won a proud reputation as a world-class comprehensive research university.  It offers internationally recognized qualifications and it is renowned for its academic and research excellence worldwide.  As an English-medium university in China, HKU also offers researchers unique opportunities to bridge cultures and continents, and to explore more on China-related studies.

23. King's College London

King's College London rated as 23rd best university in World University Rankings. King's College London is a constituent college of the University of London in the United Kingdom. The college was founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and its royal charter is predated in England only by those of Oxford University and Cambridge University.. There are currently more than 19,000 students in nine Schools of study based at our five London campuses. We offer a vast range of undergraduate programmes, and whichever programme you choose to pursue, you will work with academics who are often national or international leaders in their field. As an undergraduate at King's, you will become part of a vibrant and intellectually stimulating community. You will be inspired by researchers, discoverers and inventors who are pushing the boundaries of knowledge and will mix with students from across the UK, Europe and almost every country in the world. King's has played a major role in many of the advances that have shaped modern life, such as the discovery of the structure of DNA. It is the largest centre for the education of healthcare professionals in Europe and is home to five Medical Research Council Centres â€" more than any other university.

22. University of Tokyo

University of Tokyo rated as 22th best university in World University Rankings. The University of Tokyo abbreviated as Todai, is a major research university located in Tokyo, Japan. The University has 10 faculties with a total of around 30,000 students, 2,100 of whom are foreign. Its five campuses are in Hongo-, Komaba, Kashiwa, Shirokane and Nakano. It is considered to be one of the most prestigious universities in Japan.
21. University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh rated as 21st best university in World University Rankings. The University of Edinburgh was founded in 1583, making it one of Scotland's ancient universities. The University offers over 600 first degree programmes, which includes over 300 joint degree combinations, spread across some 100 academic disciplines. More than 22,000 students study here, from all over the world and from a variety of backgrounds. The University has 22 Schools in three Colleges: Humanities & Social Science, Medicine & Veterinary Medicine, and Science & Engineering. World renowned and well respected, a degree from the University of Edinburgh will be recognised wherever you go. The University of Edinburgh's success is not limited to Scotland, or even the UK. We have a well-deserved international reputation for excellence, as demonstrated in our partnerships with other key institutions worldwide, such as our work with Stanford University on Informatics. Many of our degree programmes offer the opportunity to spend some time studying abroad. Perhaps this international dimension helps explain why we have the largest proportion of international students of any Scottish university.


20. ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology)
ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) rated as 20th best university in World University Rankings. ETH Zurich's 16 departments offer Bachelor, Master and Doctoral programmes in engineering and natural sciences. The language of instruction in the Bachelor programmes is German, whereas English is the prime language on the graduate level. All degree programmes provide a solid scientific foundation combined with outstanding all-round skills, equipping ETH graduates with the abilities and flexibility needed for a career in industry, business or the public sector, as entrepreneur or scientist.

19. University of Michigan, United States
University of Michigan rated as 18th best university in World University Rankings. The University of Michigan, one of the world's leading public universities, has 26,000 undergraduate and 15,000 graduate/professional students from all 50 states and 117 countries. Students may choose from over 200 undergraduate majors, over 90 master's programs, and over 100 doctoral programs. Numerous research and study abroad opportunities are offered at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. A wide variety of social, cultural, and athletic activities are available. There is something for everyone here. The University is located in the culturally rich and exciting community of Ann Arbor. Distinct yet closely integrated with the University, Ann Arbor offers its own array of social and cultural offerings, to which University students are enthusiastically welcomed. The city is home to numerous parks and athletic facilities, and boasts an excellent public transportation system.


18. Mcgill University, Canada

Mcgill University rated as 18th best university in World University Rankings. Innovative research programs and cutting-edge facilities including our brand new Life Sciences Complex attract internationally respected faculty. Our faculty excel at research; in 2008, McGill professors Nahum Sonenberg and Charles Taylor took home, respectively, the Gairdner International Award and the Kyoto Prize, two of the world's top research prizes. McGill's faculty are committed to excellence in teaching, too, bringing their cutting-edge breakthroughs into the classroom. McGill's 21 faculties and professional schools offer degrees in more than 300 fields of study. McGill offers a full range of bachelor's, master's, and doctoral programs as well as professional degrees in law, dentistry, business and medicine. The world-renowned Faculty of Medicine has four affiliated teaching hospitals and graduates more than 1,000 health care professionals each year.

17. Australian National University

Australian National University rated as 17th best university in World University Rankings. The Australian National University is one of the world's foremost research universities. Distinguished by its relentless pursuit of excellence, ANU attracts leading academics and outstanding students from Australia and around the world. The primary educational objective of ANU is to become the university of choice for talented students locally, nationally and internationally by offering a unique range of research-led degree programs. Graduate education continues as one of the major focuses of the University and about one quarter of the total enrolment is undertaking post-graduate study. Regardless of whether those students are enrolled in the Institute of Advanced Studies or the Faculties, the full resources of both and of University Centres are available to them through the Graduate School.


16. Stanford University, United States
Stanford University rated as 16th best university in World University Rankings. Stanford University, founded in 1885, is recognized as one of the world's leading research and teaching institutions, with one of the most renowned faculties in the nation. Stanford students  men and women of all races, ethnicities and ages are distinguished by their love of learning and desire to contribute to the greater community. Stanford University offers its students a remarkable range of academic and extracurricular activities. We are committed to offering an education that is unrivaled among research universities.


15. Cornell University, United States
Cornell University rated as 15th best university in World University Rankings. Once called "the first American university" by educational historian Frederick Rudolph, Cornell University represents a distinctive mix of eminent scholarship and democratic ideals. Adding practical subjects to the classics and admitting qualified students regardless of nationality, race, social circumstance, gender, or religion was quite a departure when Cornell was founded in 1865. Today's Cornell reflects this heritage of egalitarian excellence. It is home to the nation's first colleges devoted to hotel administration, industrial and labor relations, and veterinary medicine. Both a private university and the land-grant institution of New York State, Cornell University is the most educationally diverse member of the Ivy League.
14. Duke University, United States
Duke University rated as 14th best university in World University Rankings. Duke University was created in 1924 by James Buchanan Duke as a memorial to his father, Washington Duke. The Dukes, a Durham family that built a worldwide financial empire in the manufacture of tobacco and developed electricity production in the Carolinas, long had been interested in Trinity College. Trinity traced its roots to 1838 in nearby Randolph County when local Methodist and Quaker communities opened Union Institute. The school, then-named Trinity College, moved to Durham in 1892. In December 1924, the provisions of James B. Duke's indenture created the family philanthropic foundation, The Duke Endowment, which provided for the expansion of Trinity College into Duke University.


13. Johns Hopkins University, United States
Johns Hopkins University rated as 13th best university in World University Rankings. The Johns Hopkins University, founded in Baltimore in 1876, was the first university in the Western Hemisphere founded on the model of the European research institution, where research and the advancement of knowledge were integrally linked to teaching. Its establishment began a revolution in U.S. higher education. The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university located in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Johns Hopkins also maintains full-time campuses elsewhere in Maryland, Washington, D.C., Italy, China, and Singapore. Johns Hopkins University has an affiliated hospital and medical school. It is one of fourteen founding members of the Association of American Universities.


12. University of Pennsylvania, United States
University of Pennsylvania rated as 12th best university in World University Rankings. The University of Pennsylvania (commonly referred to as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and is one of several institutions that claims to have been the first university in America. Penn is a member of the Ivy League and is one of the Colonial Colleges. University of Pennsylvania has been committed to excellence in scholarship, research and service. From its highly regarded undergraduate, graduate and professional schools to its wide-ranging program of interdisciplinary research and scholarship, Penn takes pride in being a place where students and faculty can pursue knowledge without boundaries, a place where theory and practice combine to produce a better understanding of our world and ourselves.


11. Columbia University, United States
Columbia University rated as 11th best university in World University Rankings. Columbia University is one of the world's most important centers of research and at the same time a distinctive and distinguished learning environment for undergraduates and graduate students in many scholarly and professional fields. The University recognizes the importance of its location in New York City and seeks to link its research and teaching to the vast resources of a great metropolis. It seeks to attract a diverse and international faculty and student body, to support research and teaching on global issues, and to create academic relationships with many countries and regions. It expects all areas of the university to advance knowledge and learning at the highest level and to convey the products of its efforts to the world.


10. California Institute of Technology (caltech)
California Institute of Technology (caltech) rated as 10th best university in World University Rankings. The mission of the California Institute of Technology is to expand human knowledge and benefit society through research integrated with education. We investigate the most challenging, fundamental problems in science and technology in a singularly collegial, interdisciplinary atmosphere, while educating outstanding students to become creative members of society.

09. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (mit), United States
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (mit) rated as 9th best university in World University Rankings. The Institute is committed to generating, disseminating, and preserving knowledge, and to working with others to bring this knowledge to bear on the world's great challenges. MIT is dedicated to providing its students with an education that combines rigorous academic study and the excitement of discovery with the support and intellectual stimulation of a diverse campus community. We seek to develop in each member of the MIT community the ability and passion to work wisely, creatively, and effectively for the betterment of humankind.The mission of MIT is to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century.

08. PRINCETON University, United States

PRINCETON University rated as 8th best university in World University Rankings. Princeton is the fourth-oldest college in the United States. As a research university, it seeks to achieve the highest levels of distinction in the discovery and transmission of knowledge and understanding, and in the education of graduate students. At the same time, Princeton is distinctive among research universities in its commitment to undergraduate teaching. The University provides its students with academic, extracurricular and other resources — in a residential community committed to diversity in its student body, faculty and staff — that help them achieve at the highest scholarly levels and prepare them for positions of leadership and lives of service in many fields of human endeavor.

07. University of CHICAGO, United States

University of CHICAGO rated as the 7th best university in World University Rankings. The University of Chicago was founded in 1890 by the American Baptist Education Society and oil magnate John D. Rockefeller. The University of Chicago has had a profound impact on American higher education; curricula across the country have been influenced by the emphasis on broad humanistic and scientific undergraduate education. The University also has a well-deserved reputation as the teacher of teachers.

06. University of OXFORD, United Kingdom
University of OXFORD rated the sixth best university in World University Rankings. Oxford is the oldest university in the English-speaking world and lays claim to nine centuries of continuous existence. As an internationally renowned centre for teaching and research, Oxford attracts students and scholars from across the globe, with almost a quarter of our students from overseas. More than 130 nationalities are represented among a student population of over 18,000. Oxford is a collegiate university, with 39 self-governing colleges related to the University in a type of federal system. There are also seven Permanent Private Halls, founded by different Christian denominations. Thirty colleges and all halls admit students for both undergraduate and graduate degrees. Seven other colleges are for graduates only; one has Fellows only, and one specializes in part-time and continuing education.

05. IMPERIAL College London

Imperial College London, rated the fifth best university in the world for. Imperial College London is a university of world class scholarship, education and research in science, engineering and medicine, with particular regard to their application in industry, commerce and healthcare. The College has over 3,000 academic and research staff and almost 14,000 students from over 120 different countries. Our reputation for excellence in teaching and research in science, engineering, medicine and business attracts students and staff of the highest international calibre. Imperial College staff are frequently consulted by governments, and also act as members of professional bodies, advise industry, and offer informed comment to the media.


04. UCL (University College London)

UCL (University College London) rated the fourth best university in World University Rankings. UCL is a multidisciplinary university with an international reputation for the quality of its research and teaching across the academic spectrum, with subjects spanning the sciences, arts, social sciences and biomedicine. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) UCL was rated the best research university in London, and third in the UK overall, for the number of its submissions which were considered of world-leading quality. The university is located on a compact site in the very heart of London and is surrounded by the greatest concentration of libraries, museums, archives, cultural institutions and professional bodies in Europe.


03. Yale University, United States
Yale University rated as third best university in the World University Rankings. Yale University is one of the most famous schools in the United States, with a long history of service and an alumni list that reads like a "Who's Who" of successful people. Yale University is the fulfillment of a European vision of intellectual freedom that is aimed at the service of the community and country. It has championed over history and survived the most destructive calamities such as the American Revolution. Since then, the university has continually grown and progressed to a center for high quality education that is recognized by the global community. The university is considered one of the oldest institution of higher education in the US. It was founded in 1701 and is a proud member of the prestigious Ivy League.

02. University of Cambridge, United Kingdom

University of Cambridge rated the second best in World University Rankings. The University of Cambridge is one of the oldest universities in the world and one of the largest in the United Kingdom. Its reputation for outstanding academic achievement is known world-wide and reflects the intellectual achievement of its students, as well as the world-class original research carried out by the staff of the University and the Colleges. Its reputation is endorsed by the Quality Assurance Agency and by other external reviewers of learning and teaching, such as External Examiners. These high standards are the result of both the learning opportunities offered at Cambridge and by its extensive resources, including libraries, museums and other collections. Teaching consists not only of lectures, seminars and practical classes led by people who are world experts in their field, but also more personalised teaching arranged through the Colleges. Many opportunities exist for students to interact with scholars of all levels, both formally and informally.

01. Harvard University, United States

Harvard University rated as the number one university in World University Rankings. Harvard is America's oldest institution of higher learning, founded 140 years before the Declaration of Independence was signed. The University has grown from nine students with a single master to an enrollment of more than 18,000 degree candidates, including undergraduates and students in 10 principal academic units. An additional 13,000 students are enrolled in one or more courses in the Harvard Extension School. Over 14,000 people work at Harvard, including more than 2,000 faculty. There are also 7,000 faculty appointments in affiliated teaching hospitals.

 
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