IDP and British Council, two partners of IELTS, the world's most popular high-stakes English language test, have announced today that British Council will sell its IELTS business in India to IDP.This means that all IELTS tests in India will be delivered by IDP.Under the terms of the agreement, IDP will acquire 100 per cent of British Council's India IELTS business for £130 million on a debt free, cash free basis.The terms also outline that British Council employees working on IELTS in India will become part of the IDP team. The transaction is subject to customary conditions with completion ex

Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his criticism of the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination process. The Union Minister attacked the Wayanad MP and stated that he should refrain from petty politics during the fight against COVID. Goyal, in a tweet, informed that 12 crore vaccine doses will be available in July which is separate from the supply to private hospitals. "12 crore vaccine doses will be available in July - separate from supply to private hospitals. States have been informed about supply 15 days back. Rahul Gandhi should understand that petty poli

Residents of a BC village that set a Canadian high-temperature record of 49.6 Celsius this week were ordered to evacuate their homes last night due to a wildfire that spread quickly. The majority of Lytton has been burned by a fast-moving wildfire, and a number of locals are missing. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth says the majority of homes and infrastructure in the village have been destroyed, including the RCMP detachment and local ambulance station. Farnworth says in addition to the damage done, some residents have not been accounted for. "Their location is currently being investigat

In BC 62 wildfires and 29,000 lightning strikes have been reported in B.C. in just past 24 hours. At a last-minute news conference hosted by Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth in Vancouver and B.C. Premier John Horgan in Victoria, they addressed wildfires currently burning across the province, and a wildfire tearing through the village of Lytton. Premier Horgan told the province has had 62 wildfires started in just 24 hours and requested people to avoid any activities that can result in a wildfire. He further added that that province has requested for help from the federal govt. and Prime M

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he and his family will spend Canada Day having conversations about why many Indigenous Peoples are not celebrating this country today. He used his Canada Day message to outline what we can do to make the country a better place for everyone. Some communities have cancelled or scaled back their Canada Day celebrations following the recent discoveries of hundreds of unmarked graves near former residential schools in BC and Saskatchewan. This is a very unusual Canada Day. Many festivities are cancelled or scaled back not only by the COVID-19 pandemic, but by the

Residents of a BC village that set a Canadian high-temperature record of 49.6 Celsius this week were ordered to evacuate their homes last night due to a wildfire that spread quickly. Mayor Jan Polderman of Lytton issued the order, saying residents and structures were threatened by the blaze in an area where two other fires are already burning. Chief administrative officer Scott Hildebrand of the local regional district says it's tough finding shelter for people who had to scramble to escape the smoke as some homes were burning. Provincial fire information officer Erica Berg says resources wer

Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar on Thursday set a target of creating additional 2 billion carbon sequestration by 2030.While briefing the media, Javadekar said, "India has taken a target of creating additional 2 billion tonnes of carbon sequestration by 2030. In last 7 years of the Narendra Modi government, the tree cover with forest and outside forest has grown by 15,000 sq km.""I am very sure that we will restore 26 million hectares of degraded land, which contribute to carbon sequestration. We will restore such lands using various means, one of the

BC's chief coroner says at least 486 sudden and unexpected deaths have been reported to the agency during the extreme heat wave in the province. Lisa Lapointe says that's a 195 per cent increase over the approximately 165 deaths that would normally occur in the province over a five-day period. Lapointe says it's still too early to determine the exact cause of death but it's believed likely that the increase is attributable to the extreme weather BC has been experiencing. She also says the number of sudden deaths is preliminary and will increase as coroners enter death reports into the system.

British Columbia's top doctor is encouraging people to continue wearing masks in all indoor places, even as they're no longer mandatory starting Canada Day. Dr. Bonnie Henry says masks remain an important layer of protection until more people have immunity from two doses of vaccine, which nearly 31 per cent of residents aged 12 and over have received. Dr. Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix say in a joint statement that 44 new cases of COVID-19 have been diagnosed, for a total of nearly 148,000 cases. Of the 816 active cases, 108 people are hospitalized, and 34 of them are in intensive care.