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The key purpose of learning a language is to communicate with people in other parts of the country, says Venkaiah Naidu, vice president of India 2017-2022. He himself from Nellore in Andhra Pradesh speaks both Telugu his mother tongue, and over the years learned Hindi so that he could talk to people all over India. Even in Europe there are countries with several languages. Switzerland is a land composed of cantons with areas that speak German around Zurich, French Geneva, and Italian around Lugano. Children learn a second language and in German speaking areas children also learn German in both High German and standard German because dialects of German are common.  English is often the chosen language in German speaking areas as the second language after the mother tongue which happens in India. It is a good idea to learn as many languages even if one is not as proficient in all so that one can communciate and travel freely. In India the north has extensive use of Hindi- in the states of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh Hindi is the language used, and even in Gujarat, and north east one can communicate in Hindi, so that a southerner can do well just by learning Hindi to communicate and travel freely in all parts of the country. For a Northerner the challenge remains on which language to learn between Tamil for the Madras region, Telegu for the Hyderabad and Vizag region, Karnataki for the Bangalore region, and Malayalam for the Thiruvanathapuram region. At some point in India's future a common script should be adopted for all Indian languages so that only the language pronunciation and vocabulary not the script itself has to be studied . This would make reading and writing easier once one knows the meaning of words. This is the situation in European Union where the languages can be learned without having to learn a different script and is written in the same script as English is using Latin alphabet. Turkey introduced the Latin alphabet to modernize the country and increase literacy in 1928. In India this would make it possible for northerners to learn a southern language and southerners to be able to learn Hindi without difficulty with the script in reading and writing, and in travel across the country. Venkaiah Naidu says about learning more than 2 languages mother tongue and English- learning another tongue such as Hindi makes it possible to do a lot more. "If you want to grow, if you want to communicate your ideas to a larger section of the people, you must know their language." One does not always get it right the first time, but the effort over the years can lead to so much wider exposure to different ideas in a multilingual world. ...

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It is one of the great twists of history that a dedicated Indian Civil Service Joint Secretary, follower of Mohandas Gandhi,  at a time of transformation through education of India's Madras State in 1954-63 under visionary chief minister K Kamaraj, has shaped the life and thinking of his grand daughter Kamala Harris in profound ways. Gopalan had seen and been part of the huge transformation in India wrought by Gandhi in the 1930's and 1940's. Pictures of Shyamala Gopalan with her parents P. V. and  Rajam Gopalan, and her two daughters Kamala and Maya, shown in the NYT. Kamala Harris was the first child of Shyamala who came to the US from Madras state as a young graduate student in 1954, in one of the first batches of students coming from independent India to the US.  Madras, now Tamilnadu, was being led by one of its most far sighted leaders K. Kamaraj who was chief minister from 1954 to 1963. It was Kamaraj who set up the free school lunch program in Madras state and helped bring literacy to the state and a strong educational system that would support economic development. This is important because Kamala draws her strength from her mother and her mother draws strength from her father P.V. Gopalan, a Indian civil servant in the visionary Kamaraj government in Madras state. Kamala spent time with her grandfather on visits to India which have shaped the way she thinks and her view of life. P.V Gopalan was Joint Secretary Government of India Ministry of Labour, Employment and Rehabilitation, and was sent to Zambia as Director of Relief Measures and Refugees to handle an exodus of refugees from Southern Rhodesia to Zambia. The two experiences as Joint Secretary, and as Director in Zambia, during the period when Kamaraj led Madras State were profound life changing experiences for this young civil servant who shared his understanding of Asia and Africa with his granddaughter in profound ways shaping her views on life, and what it means to be a good Civil Servant in public service to the people. Passing on to a new generation the ideas of public service of Mohandas Gandhi that P.V. Gopalan had witnessed at close range in his lifetime. ...

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Greg Ip of the WSJ provides this exceptional report offering readers remarkable clarity on what the Republican Tax Law does- its high and low points.  High Points 1. It reduces the corporate tax rate to bring it in line with other advanced industrialized countries. The corporate tax rate in Germany and Japan is 30%, in the UK it is 19%. For 5 years businesses can write off capital equipment immediately instead of depreciating over a couple of years. This could boost investment and growth. 2.  The law takes aim at deductions that led to distortions. It limits the mortgage interest deduction, and caps the deduction for state and local taxes. This removes the incentive to pay more for homes that exacerbated the housing crisis in 2008. The Alternative Minimum Tax is largely removed. The Low Points 1. The biggest drawback is that lawmakers did not properly fund the tax cuts. Of the 10 costliest tax breaks nine were not touched, including employer health insurance, retirement savings, capital gains. Only the state and local taxes deduction was reduced. And a new tax deduction  was created, a 20% tax deduction for small business (proprietors and partnerships) paying taxes on their individual tax returns. Taxes on the wealthy or value added taxes, reducing tax breaks, is how other advanced industrialized countries paid for the corporate tax cuts, but did not happen here. Additional economic growth  to generate added tax revenues is the way Republicans in Congress say this is funded. Yet this is a questionable assumption as Britain reduced the corporate tax rate to 19% without seeing a surge in economic growth, as Greg Ip pointed out in an earlier WSJ article. At best the Joint Committee on Taxation estimates $500 billion over a decade in added revenues from added growth leaving $1 trillion to be added to the deficit. The WhartonPenn Budget Model (WPBM) estimates only $140 to $367 bill from the additional economic growth resulting in added tax revenues. Under this model only 0.03 to 0.08 percent added U.S. economic growth per year is expected from the Republican Tax Cuts. Such a situation would be bad  for the U.S. as the gradual improvement in Debt to GDP ratio to 78% following the financial crisis of 2008 would be sharply reversed taking the ratio to 97% by 2027. An unsustainable trajectory which will require tax increases in a few years and hurt investment in education, health and infrastructure into the future. This is what worries many experts most on both sides of the political spectrum today about what the Republican Congress has pushed through for a legislative "victory." This is why experts believe this is not serious tax reform and will require a new effort after 2019.   ...

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Claire Cain Miller points to the high cost of child care in the U.S. and the benefits to society from providing affordable child care. It has a high impact on women's employment and incomes, and ability to pursue opportunities in education and career. The effect on children especially for low income families is enormous. Average cost for child care in the U.S. is by one estimate $16,514. The higher the quality of care in early years the better the outcomes are for children in education, careers, income, and later in life.

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This report in the WSJ shows how Amy Barrett, the new Supreme Court nominee, has managed to combine parenting with her career as a Notre Dame professor and judge on the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. A lot of help from her husband, a flexible workplace, living in a smaller town South Bend, Indiana, and a willingness to go with nonconformity, make it possible. She is up at 4 or 5 am to exercize. Blending different worlds is part of this. She can go from work to run an activity for the children. She also views raising children as the activity that has the "greatest impact on the world," so that her career is seen in a bigger context of life.

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India's External Affairs Minister Jaishankar visits Sri Lanka. He says-  "We felt strongly that Sri Lanka's neighbors must take proactive steps to facilitate its recovery. India decided not to wait for others but to do what we believe is right. We extended financing reassurances to IMF to clear the way for Sri Lanka to move forward."  He emphasized the enormous renewable energy potential of the island nation which India supports. The larger region provides new possibilities for Sri Lanka to get the benefits of scale for energy development. He pointed out that India is " prepared to go the extra mile when Sri Lanka feels the need." India and Sri Lanka share a long history from the period of the first conversion by Mahinda from India of the island to Buddhism.

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Janny Scott's account of the life of Stanley Ann Dunham, President Obama's mother. This gives a glimpse of the period when she lived in Indonesia, where she spent most of her adult life. It describes life in Indonesia at the time for the expatriate American community in Jakarta. It also shows how she believed in her son, how she made great effort to give him the opportunites he needed for the best education, and the formative experiences in Obama's early life.

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What happened to all those bicycles in China, the reintroduction of bicycles after the boom in automobiles, and to bike share schemes worldwide, is the subject of this report in BBC's Future Planet.

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The U.S. economy showed a rebound with the purchasing manager's index for August at 54.7 compared to 50.3 in July. Manufacturing output up to 53.6. Over 50 indicates expansion. Job gains slowed in July. Overall the U.S. economy is recovering but industrial production is still 8.2% less than a year ago level according to the Federal Reserve. Easing of lockdowns overseas help exports. For the eurozone the PMI index is at 51.6 in August from 54.9 in July, as the second wave of pandemic hits service sector there.

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Announcing that he would not attend the COP27 Summit in Egypt and then deciding to go shows a lack of commitment, says Mark Landler of Rishi Sunak's decision to finally attend the climate change meeting. Mr. Johnson is remembered for his clear support at COP26 in Glasgow and he will be attending the meeting in Egypt as a private citizen. The demotion of Mr. Alok Sharma by Sunak after his role in organizing the COP26 Summit in Glasgow also does not help. Mr. Ben Wallace, and Mr. Cleverly hold the Defense and Foreign Ministry positions in Sunak's cabinet and supported Mr. Johnson throughout and after Mr. Sunak withdrew his support leading to Mr. Johnson's resignation, says Landler. During a cost of living crisis, there is also a sense that there is not enough commitment from the Tories to meeting the challenges of ordinary families with support, in addition to problems of climate change remaining unaddressed under Mr. Sunak's leadership.

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Ajla Tomljanovic takes on the challenge of beating Serena Williams in 3 sets at the US Open tennis championships.  Her father is a handball champion who plays for Croatia and wanted his daughter to take up handball. Ajla stuck to tennis and seemed oblivious to the crowds applauding her opponent's every point as she won 6-1 in the last set after a tie breaker in the second set. Ajla plays for Australia at the US Open.

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MP's and others on a panel give their views on the results of the local elections in England, and what this means for the general election. A Greens party MP says taking action on climate change is a clear vote winner. Sewage and water pollution in the rivers is an issue coming up again and again. Communities underfunded and undercared for by the Tories. John McConnell, a former shadow chancellor and MP, says for a decisive victory that helps get the majorities needed to pass legislation for funding investment in the economy, in infrastructure and fighting climate change, the Labor party needs a better result than this one. After a new Labor government is elected by the middle of its term it becomes important that the win in the general election is a big one with an overall majority in parliament. For this Labor needs to do well in Scotland taking back the position in Scotland that it held in 1997 before the emergence of the Scottish National Party.  ...

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This special series in the Guardian called Mother Load looks at the situation of mothers in the U.S. who lack the social protections that are taken for granted in England and other European countries. One mother calls it an ever present mental and emotional stress from the lack of social support such as maternity leave and family leave. The constant stress of parenting and motherhood in America is described here in the first person with the stories of many mothers in different parts of the U.S.

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The impact on families of thousands fentanyl deaths in America each year for the last decade. NYT looks at one such family and the turmoil and struggles of this family in 2025.