London, September 8 : A leading British academic feels that literacy rates in several English-speaking countries have been marred by strict spelling rules.

John Wells, Emeritus Professor of Phonetics at University College London and president of the Spelling Society, says that children should not be compelled to memorise irregular spellings and learn how to use the apostrophe.

“The teaching of literacy in schools is a major worry. It seems highly likely that one of the reasons Britain and other English-speaking countries have problems with literacy is because of our spelling and the burden it places on children,” Times Online quoted him as saying.

London, September 7 : Cops have started to use a branch of forensic science that analyses the electronic trail of evidence left by text messages and e-mails, to trap criminals.

According to a report in the Scotsman, British scientists are pioneering the use of forensic linguistics – the systematic analysis and comparison of patterns of written speech – to identify the authors of electronic messages and written documents.

The technique has earlier helped secure the conviction of the murderers of Essex schoolgirl Danielle Jones and Jenny Nicholl from North Yorkshire, and of al-Qaeda plotter Dhiren Barot.

London, Sept 8 : Want to be a successful flirt? Well, then all you need to do is simply to let your prospective partner know that you find them attractive, according to a new research.

The University of Aberdeen study shows that telling the person "I really like you" is likely to push the chosen target to reciprocate the feelings.

It also revealed that if a person shows someone their feelings, through eye contact, smiling - or simply telling them - they are more likely to return the sentiment.

The new study found that ‘social cues’ - someone''s efforts to show how much they like a person - are of great importance in the blossoming of mutual attraction.

London, Sept. 8 : British MPs have reportedly introduced a proposal to place a cap on the number of immigrants settling in the country with a view to having a more “balanced” immigration policy.

According to The Times, a YouGov poll-cum-report initiated by a new cross-party parliamentary group suggests significant cuts in immigration, a decision backed by most political parties.

The report calls for a balanced migration policy under which immigration is capped in line with the number of emigrants to maintain a stable population.

The reports authors say that ministers should reduce the number of non-EU migrants allowed to settle permanently in Britain.

London, Sept 8: Your basic number sense, or your intuitive maths, can easily tell how well you fared in mathematics in school as far back as kindergarten, say scientists from The Johns Hopkins University.

The researchers say that a good "number sense" at age 14 can be easily linked with higher scores on standardized math tests throughout a child''s life up to that point.

Similarly, a weaker "number sense" at 14 predicts lower scores on those standardized tests.

London, September 8 : China has announced the date for the launch of Shenzhou VII, its third manned space mission, as sometime between 25 and 30 September.

The spacecraft will be launched from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the country’s northwestern Gansu province.

According to a report by BBC News, the Shenzhou VII flight will feature China’s first ever space walk, which will be broadcast live with cameras inside and outside the spacecraft.