Latest news with #English‑speaking
Newsweek
5 days ago
- Business
- Newsweek
Trump's Immigration Plan Pushes College Students Admissions Elsewhere
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. President Donald Trump's hard‑line immigration policies are prompting a growing number of international students to bypass the United States for universities in the United Kingdom, Asia and beyond — a shift that could cost U.S. colleges billions. The administration has urged American universities to cut their dependence on foreign enrollment while ramping up scrutiny of student visa applicants. This spring, the government sought to deport international students for participating in pro‑Palestinian activism and abruptly revoked the legal status of thousands of others — some for minor infractions like traffic tickets. After reversing course, the administration froze new student‑visa appointments and began screening applicants' social media accounts. An Emirati student arrives at the building of the University of Wollongong in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Dec. 28, 2009. An Emirati student arrives at the building of the University of Wollongong in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Dec. 28, 2009. Associated Press The impact is already being felt. In China, wait times for U.S. visa interviews are so long that some students have given up. Hong Kong universities report hundreds of transfer inquiries from foreign students in America. And applications to British undergraduate programs have surged. The U.S. remains the top choice for many, but institutions abroad are seizing the moment. The NAFSA: Association of International Educators projects new international enrollment in the U.S. could fall 30 to 40 percent this fall — a potential $7 billion hit to the economy. With many foreign students paying full tuition, the drop could deal a sharp blow to college finances. Britain, the second‑most popular destination for international students, appears well placed to gain from America's loss. Despite new limits on post‑study visas under the Labour government, the U.K. is still considered the most welcoming of the major English‑speaking destinations. Undergraduate applications from China rose 10 percent this year, while those from the U.S. jumped 14 percent — a 20‑year high. Graduate program acceptances climbed an estimated 10 percent, driven by business and management courses. "The American brand has taken a massive hit, and the U.K. is the one that is benefiting," said Mike Henniger, CEO of Illume Student Advisory Services. In Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, demand from Chinese students is rising quickly, said Will Kwong, managing director of AAS Education. Many Western universities have branch campuses in Asia that are cheaper and easier to access than schools in the U.S. or U.K. "Opting for study in Asia has been a trend since the easing of COVID‑19," Kwong said. "But obviously it's been exacerbated by the change of administration in the U.S." Chinese student Alisa, who is heading to the University of California, Berkeley for an exchange program, still hopes to earn a master's in the U.S. But she is exploring backup options "just so I could still go to school if the extreme scenario occurs." Hong Kong's leader John Lee has openly invited students barred from the U.S. to enroll there, and local universities are seeing record applications. Countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Kazakhstan are also benefiting by hosting satellite campuses of Western universities. Dubai's American Academy for Girls principal Lisa Johnson said more graduates are staying close to home. "Every student wants and dreams to go to Harvard," she said, "but as college options increase in the United Arab Emirates, more and more students are staying." "All of a sudden U.S. colleges are asking how to provide diversity, provide access," said Daniel Palm, who helps American universities set up campuses abroad, "because you have students who want to come to the U.S. and can't." This article includes reporting by the Associated Press.
Metropolis Japan
30-07-2025
- Business
- Metropolis Japan
English‑Speaking Babysitters and Housekeeping in Tokyo
Trusted care and help around the home for families in Tokyo By Metropolis From September 2025, Tokyo's local government is waiving daycare fees for firstborns. But for busy families, having reliable English‑speaking support is the best way to make daily life less chaotic. Our guide here rounds up top services in Tokyo offering babysitting, housekeeping and elderly care to help you quickly find quality help you can trust. CareFinder Best for: Flexible nannying or tutoring CareFinder connects families with nannies, tutors and babysitters in Tokyo who speak English, French, German and Chinese. Create a profile, then post a job like evening care, weekend support or after-school tutoring. The platform lets you browse through sitter profiles, read reviews and directly message and hire someone who fits your needs. It supports government childcare subsidies, offers flexible membership options and lets each caregiver set their own rates, so you can find part-time or full-time care that fits your schedule and budget. Phone: 03‑6721‑9708 (Ginza office) Address: 6‑13‑16‑7F Ginza Wall Bld, Ginza, Chuo‑ku Website: Pricing: Sitters set their own rates Chez Vous Best for: Long-term service Chez Vous links you with English-speaking housekeepers, cleaners and babysitters in Tokyo and Yokohama. The agency recruits, screens and trains every staff member and maintains long-term relationships with many clients who prefer consistent service over the years. With service tiers starting at ¥7,700 for four hours, Chez Vous gives you the option to book routine cleaning, occasional childcare or expert-level house care handled by professionals familiar with each household's preferences. Phone: 03‑5766‑6630 (Weekdays 9 am–6 pm) Address: 4‑3‑6‑3F Shibuya Aoyama K Heights, Shibuya‑ku Website: Services: Babysitting, regular house cleaning, House Cleaning‑Pro Pricing: From ¥7,700 for four hours; ¥11,000 for eight hours Staff: Half of staff from the Philippines; certified and bilingual Poppins Best for: Child and elderly care Poppins provides English-speaking childcare, elder care and home support. The caregivers include certified nursery teachers, elderly caregivers, trained housekeepers and babysitters in Tokyo who pass strict background checks and complete internal training before working with families. You can request flexible scheduling for short-term, overnight or recurring care and receive services based on specific household needs, with pricing that reflects the caregiver's role and time commitment. Phone: +81-3-3447-2100 Address: 5‑6‑6‑5F Hiroo Plaza, Hiroo, Shibuya‑ku Website: Services: In‑home babysitters, nannies, housekeeping, senior care Pricing: Depends on role and schedule; call to inquire Mamy Tokyo Best for: Emergency coverage and 24/7 care Mamy Tokyo offers 24/7 babysitting and household help in English, including regular daytime care, emergency coverage, overnight stays and weekend support. Caregivers also assists with your laundry, light cleaning, grocery shopping and cooking and the service builds custom packages to match each family's schedule and home responsibilities. If you need last-minute babysitters in Tokyo, long-term caregivers or someone to manage both childcare and light chores, Mamy Tokyo provides dependable and flexible support for busy households. Phone: 0422-38-6314 Website: Availability: Daytime, nights, weekends Pricing: Call for details; flexible packages for care and domestic hel p Planning to do the laundry yourself? Here's a guide on how to do your laundry in Japan. Sunny Maid Service Best for: Fast and heavy cleaning Sunny Maid Service sends two-person teams across Tokyo to clean homes with speed and consistency, completing tasks like dusting, vacuuming, bathroom and kitchen cleaning and general tidying in under one hour. Each visit includes the same team members, which helps build trust and ensures they understand the layout and preferences of your home. Starting at ¥9,900 per month, Sunny Maid offers basic English communication, customizable cleaning routines and reliable scheduling that fits into your daily life. Phone: 0120-32-2017 Address: 2‑9‑3F Kanda Surugadai, Chiyoda‑ku Website: Pricing: From ¥9,900/month for two cleaners Tokyo Filipino Helpers & Babysitters Best for: Flexible and all-around services The Tokyo Filipino Helpers & Babysitters Facebook Group connects families in Tokyo with dependable Filipino professionals who offer practical in-home support. Many of the helpers come highly recommended by other members, creating a strong sense of community and reliability. The group offers a convenient way for busy households to manage daily tasks while feeling confident their homes and loved ones are in good hands and with over 3,600 members, it also serves as a space where people share experiences, post job openings and build connections. Group Link: Services: Babysitting, house cleaning, pet watching Tokyo Babysitters Best for: 24/7 services The Tokyo Babysitters group helps families in Tokyo find English-speaking babysitters, nannies and domestic helpers for both short-term and long-term childcare needs, including after-school care, weekend support and occasional help during holidays. It's an active and growing community where parents post detailed requests, share honest reviews and connect with trustworthy caregivers who understand both local customs and international expectations. With thousands of members, frequent updates and a strong reputation for reliability, the group gives busy parents a faster, more flexible way to secure dependable help without language barriers or complicated agency procedures.
Time of India
14-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
How AI agents are replacing traditional roles in Indian startups
Live Events On a hot April afternoon in Bengaluru, the customer‑care floor of a booming food‑delivery start‑up stands eerily quiet. Row after row of swivel chairs sit empty, the faint aroma of masala chai hanging in the air. Last year, 200 agents juggled phones and crib sheets here; today, a dozen bot‑ops engineers monitor dashboards while large‑language‑model (LLM) chatbots settle the same flood of complaints. Scenes like this are now common across India's startup belt, and they raise a blunt question: what happens when software agents begin doing the jobs that once defined early‑stage career success?• Cheap, English‑speaking graduates accepted ₹3–6 lakh starting salaries.• Rapid scaling discouraged process investment; founders solved for gaps by adding headcount.• Compliance chores like GST, KYC, and labour registers created constant paperwork.• Investors prized topline metrics (GMV, MAU) over operational result: young firms became people‑heavy service factories that looked tech‑savvy on the surface but ran on manual effort AI agent is more than a macro or a script. It senses, thinks, and acts without waiting for a human to press 'run'. A smart speaker hears you (sense), figures out intent (think), and switches on the light (act). Over the past two years, LLMs have learned to call databases, robotic‑process‑automation (RPA) bots, and voice engines, letting a single agent jump from answering a chat to reconciling a ledger. Autonomy, not mere speed, is the real the example of a quick‑commerce startup. Its dispatch centre once relied on night‑shift supervisors who called riders about late orders. Today, an agentic system ingests traffic data, inventory, and GPS pings, reshuffling routes automatically and only pinging a rider if their timely delivery promise is at risk. In hiring, a pharmaceutical major has replaced phone screens for shop‑floor roles with an AI recruiter that conducts two‑minute vernacular interviews and grades accent, attitude, and availability before a human picks up the aren't disappearing in theory; they're vanishing on production floors across India every will still stay in the loop, but fewer fit inside it each quarter.• Code & DevOps: Copilots write boilerplate and spin up test environments.• Design: Generative video and 3D asset builders handle early creative.• Compliance: Regulatory‑tech agents compile routine filings for MCA and likely that obstacles will persist with hallucinations, messy Tier 2 address data, and regulatory sign‑offs, but they'll only slow, not stop the a ten‑person neo‑bank where specialised agents onboard customers, underwrite loans, resolve disputes, and reconcile books. Add to that warehouse drones and sidewalk bots, once safety and unit economics line up. Yet regulators will still demand a human signature for high‑risk calls in credit, health, and law.• Data Privacy: The Digital Personal Data Protection Act mandates impact assessments for 'significant' AI use.• Infrastructure: GPU shortages could slow pilots, though fresh cloud CAPEX promises relief.• Languages: Accuracy plunges outside the top dozen tongues, keeping human reviewers is vital.• Liability: If a bot misfiles GST, who pays - the founder, the vendor, or the algorithm's creator?Nuanced apologies, complex negotiations, and strategic trade‑offs will stubbornly remain human. Emotional intelligence, institutional memory, and accountability offer insulation no algorithm can yet agents are already trimming payrolls, and the scissors will only grow sharper. Yet India's youthful workforce is not automatically doomed. If companies funnel savings into up‑skilling and policymakers enforce smart guardrails, the same agents that displace routine jobs could free millions to tackle higher‑order problems. The startup of the 2030s may run on half the people, but the humans it keeps will be twice as strategic - and hopefully twice as fulfilled.
Economic Times
14-05-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
How AI agents are replacing traditional roles in Indian startups
iStock An AI agent is more than a macro or a script. It senses, thinks, and acts without waiting for a human to press 'run'. On a hot April afternoon in Bengaluru, the customer‑care floor of a booming food‑delivery start‑up stands eerily quiet. Row after row of swivel chairs sit empty, the faint aroma of masala chai hanging in the air. Last year, 200 agents juggled phones and crib sheets here; today, a dozen bot‑ops engineers monitor dashboards while large‑language‑model (LLM) chatbots settle the same flood of complaints. Scenes like this are now common across India's startup belt, and they raise a blunt question: what happens when software agents begin doing the jobs that once defined early‑stage career success? Why India Scaled on People First • Cheap, English‑speaking graduates accepted ₹3–6 lakh starting salaries.• Rapid scaling discouraged process investment; founders solved for gaps by adding headcount.• Compliance chores like GST, KYC, and labour registers created constant paperwork.• Investors prized topline metrics (GMV, MAU) over operational efficiency. The result: young firms became people‑heavy service factories that looked tech‑savvy on the surface but ran on manual effort beneath. What an AI Agent IsAn AI agent is more than a macro or a script. It senses, thinks, and acts without waiting for a human to press 'run'. A smart speaker hears you (sense), figures out intent (think), and switches on the light (act). Over the past two years, LLMs have learned to call databases, robotic‑process‑automation (RPA) bots, and voice engines, letting a single agent jump from answering a chat to reconciling a ledger. Autonomy, not mere speed, is the real breakthrough. The First Roles on the Firing Line (2025‑27) Take the example of a quick‑commerce startup. Its dispatch centre once relied on night‑shift supervisors who called riders about late orders. Today, an agentic system ingests traffic data, inventory, and GPS pings, reshuffling routes automatically and only pinging a rider if their timely delivery promise is at risk. In hiring, a pharmaceutical major has replaced phone screens for shop‑floor roles with an AI recruiter that conducts two‑minute vernacular interviews and grades accent, attitude, and availability before a human picks up the aren't disappearing in theory; they're vanishing on production floors across India every will still stay in the loop, but fewer fit inside it each quarter. What Gets Hit Next (2028‑30) • Code & DevOps: Copilots write boilerplate and spin up test environments.• Design: Generative video and 3D asset builders handle early creative.• Compliance: Regulatory‑tech agents compile routine filings for MCA and likely that obstacles will persist with hallucinations, messy Tier 2 address data, and regulatory sign‑offs, but they'll only slow, not stop the trend. The Longer Horizon (2030‑35) Picture a ten‑person neo‑bank where specialised agents onboard customers, underwrite loans, resolve disputes, and reconcile books. Add to that warehouse drones and sidewalk bots, once safety and unit economics line up. Yet regulators will still demand a human signature for high‑risk calls in credit, health, and law. India‑Specific Guardrails and Challenges • Data Privacy: The Digital Personal Data Protection Act mandates impact assessments for 'significant' AI use.• Infrastructure: GPU shortages could slow pilots, though fresh cloud CAPEX promises relief.• Languages: Accuracy plunges outside the top dozen tongues, keeping human reviewers is vital.• Liability: If a bot misfiles GST, who pays - the founder, the vendor, or the algorithm's creator? What Will Humans Still Do Better Nuanced apologies, complex negotiations, and strategic trade‑offs will stubbornly remain human. Emotional intelligence, institutional memory, and accountability offer insulation no algorithm can yet match. What This Means for Founders, Workers, Investors Conclusion: The Balanced OutlookAI agents are already trimming payrolls, and the scissors will only grow sharper. Yet India's youthful workforce is not automatically doomed. If companies funnel savings into up‑skilling and policymakers enforce smart guardrails, the same agents that displace routine jobs could free millions to tackle higher‑order problems. The startup of the 2030s may run on half the people, but the humans it keeps will be twice as strategic - and hopefully twice as fulfilled. The author is an entrepreneur, board member, and Harvard alumnus. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this column are that of the writer. The facts and opinions expressed here do not reflect the views of
