News

With youth unemployment at its highest for decades, and student debt increasing by the year, students and graduates are finding more and more novel ways to make money. One such student is LSE Second Year Jason Ting (above), who has come up with the idea of ‘selling time'.

With student loans hanging over him, the Economics student decided that the best way to make that extra bit of cash, was to come up with his own business idea. That idea was MinutesForSale.com. In Jason's own words: "I thought of selling something I wish I always had more of... time".

Buying Time

Basically, his website is a brand new and unique way of advertising online. For each minute of the day, one business, website or blog is displayed on Jason's site, before the next minute ticks over, and the next site appears. Anyone can buy any number of minutes, and they will then appear on the site at their chosen time every single day. With the 1440 minutes in a day representing 1440 opportunities for businesses to advertise, Jason works on the principle that every little bit of cash helps.

The world-famous annual Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge universities was held on the River Thames this weekend and turned out to be one of the most dramatic ever. Firstly, the race had to be restarted after a swimming protestor was almost hit by the boats, then the Oxford team broke an oar and Cambridge won, before a member of Oxford had to be rushed to hospital at the end of the exhausting race.

The Oxford Cambridge boat race (known as just the Boat Race) is one of the best known British traditions. For over 150 years, the two universities have battled it out on the Thames in a rowing race that today attracts up to 300,000 spectators. However, the 158th race, held on Saturday, has to be one of the most eventful ever.

Swimmer Stops Race

The drama first started ten and a half minutes in to the race, when a man appeared in the middle of the Thames, right in front of the two boats which were side by side. After spotting him in the water, race umpire John Garrett quickly stopped the race, later explaining:

"I wasn't sure if he was going to get out of the way in time, it was quite clear he was waiting for the boats to come across him, so I just had to stop the race."

After the huge success of the viral video Kony 2012 last month, the charity Invisible Children have released Part II. Called 'Beyond Famous' it looks at the success of the first video and how it has changed things. 

This is how they describe the video on YouTube:

"KONY 2012: Part II -- Beyond Famous offers a closer look at the LRA and explores the solutions put forward by leaders of the currently-affected areas of CAR, DRC, and South Sudan, where local communities continue to live under the constant threat of LRA violence. This generation has responded to the call to make Joseph Kony famous. Now we need to dig deeper and turn awareness into informed action. That starts with sharing this film and continues with participating in Cover the Night, the advocacy and awareness event taking place worldwide on April 20th."

What do you think?

Amy is an Taiwanese student currently studying at Kingston University in London. She recently won a tour of Scotland as part of a ForeignStudents.com competition, and here she describes her experiences from the trip. 

"Before I headed to Scotland, I knew nothing about the country. All I knew was that I wanted to search for the Loch Ness Monster, Nessie. On my way to Edinburgh, I saw the view from the window was rapidly changing. I could really tell it was a whole new country and it was so different from London.

I have to say that Scotland is very beautiful. One moment that summed it up for me, was being on top of a mountain that overlooked the landscape of the Isle of Skye (below). It was breathtaking. It is unspoilt natural beauty and marvellous mountain splendour. The waterfall, castles and loch were all stunning, especially when the sun came out, reflecting on to the water and the land. I was speechless.

The four-day Easter weekend is coming up, and we have some brilliant suggestions for things to do in London. Whether you prefer to go back to your childhood with an Easter Egg hunt, go to a church service, or have a big night out clubbing, we've got the perfect thing for you.

Kew's Mayan Chocolate Adventure

Where? Kew Gardens, West London
When? Daily until Sunday 15th April, 9.30am-7.30pm
How Much? £11.90