If a child scoring in the 60th percentile took the same test at 40°C instead of 30°C, the heat alone could lower their effective performance to the 40th percentile. In our system, where a few marks determine admission to professional colleges, half a standard deviation is all the difference in securing a college admission. (HT Archive)
Regional and plurilateral associations — whether BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation or the African Union — perform an important function. They are expressions of the same indispensable fact that shared problems require shared institutions. (AFP)