The concern over education agencies selling language school courses “based on what makes us the same, not what makes us different”, was an argument pitched against standardisation of language study booking in the Big Debate at the IALC Workshop last week. Thiago Espana explains ALTO’s plans to the audience of IALC member schools and agencies. Photo: IALC Amy Baker is a Read More

The Odd-even Phase 2 is all set to debut in the national Capital on Friday. However, the acid test is expected to be from Monday onwards after the city get backs to routine after the weekend hangover. This extended weekend – beginning with Ambedkar Jayanti and Ram Navami – has seen all of Delhi’s and central government offices closed. Markets Read More

“The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention … has confirmed that the Zika virus causes severe birth defects,” BBC News reports. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has concluded that “a causal relationship exists between prenatal Zika virus infection and microcephaly”, where babies are born with unusually small heads and brains. The media coverage explains that despite Read More

Sanjeev Gupta’s Liberty House is touted as possible saviour, but there are doubts as to whether it has resources to buy steelworks Sanjeev Gupta has met with the business secretary, Sajid Javid, to discuss a potential deal for Tata’s UK steel business. Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters The Indian metals tycoon who has emerged as a potential saviour of Tata’s UK steel Read More

Reddit has deleted a so-called “warrant canary” from its website, suggesting that it has received a user surveillance request from the US government. Websites are typically banned from revealing that they have been ordered to hand over user information, so some sites use a warrant canary to get round this. They post a notice on their site saying they have Read More

I used to wake up full of doubts about being a student again, but running has taught me to pace myself and stay focused ‘I’ve learned to embrace the freedom that my PhD provides, using it to my advantage.’ I used to have a normal job, with set working hours, drinks with colleagues on a Friday night and a desk Read More

“You can die of a broken heart, study indicates,” The Guardian reports. The study found that people who lost a partner – especially if the death was unexpected – had an increased risk of developing an irregular heartbeat up to a year after the death. The study specifically looked at a type of heart condition called atrial fibrillation that causes an Read More

Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority has asked 20 banks and other financial firms to check if they have any ties to Panama law firm Mossack Fonseca, the regulator said on Thursday. A massive leak of documents from the firm released this week detailed how the world’s rich skipped through loopholes to park cash in low-tax jurisdictions. “We have written to the Read More

The European Union’s executive has proposed clear separation of research and trading costs to inject more transparency into the fees that asset managers charge customers. The European Commission published long-awaited draft rules on Thursday to flesh out a key section of the bloc’s reform of securities markets, known as MiFID II. It has decided largely to back advice from the Read More

“Vitamin D can produce ‘amazing’ improvements in heart function,” claims The Independent about the results of a recent study, while BBC News reported suggestions the results were “stunning”. However, the study in question, which involved giving people with heart failurevitamin D supplements, did not result in better exercise capability. Heart failure is caused by the heart failing to pump enough blood around the Read More