Business
Transfer test: Children from Belfast low income families to be given free tuition
Sebastian GriffithsBBC News NI
PA MediaSome children, from low-income families in Belfast, are to get free transfer test tuition from a new centre aiming to “level the playing field”.
The new Foodstock Education and Empowerment Centre, aims to improve outcomes for children from disadvantaged backgrounds across the city.
It will provide free, high quality tuition and wellbeing support for primary pupils in years six and seven.
One of those backing the centre is former world champion boxer Carl Frampton who spoke at the centre’s launch.
PA Media“My own child is going through the test and I know how stressful it can be,” Frampton told BBC News NI.
“There are kids that have ability but just need a bit of help. It’s stressful for me and I am lucky to be comfortable financially but there are others struggling so much – this is just about giving kids who are able opportunities.”
Frampton also praised the cross-community aspect of the centre and the importance of the facility being situated in the city centre.
“You know what this place is like – it can be very tribal, and people maybe don’t want to go here or there or whatever,” he said.
“But to have a central location willing to help anybody that needs their help, I just think it’s an amazing thing.”
‘Removing barriers when it comes to education’
The new centre will provide weekly small group tuition in English, Maths and reasoning to prepare children for the Schools’ Entrance Assessment Group (SEAG) tests.
More than 60 post-primary schools across Northern Ireland use the test to decide which pupils to admit into year eight.
A paper by Queen’s University in 2022 claimed that academic selection perpetuated division in wider society in Northern Ireland and “disadvantages the already most disadvantaged”.
Foodstock founder Paul Doherty said it will “tackle the longer impacts of poverty through education” and will “empower people to better their lives”.
“A lot of people say because of financial difficulties they cannot afford additional tuition and they are pulling their child out of the transfer test,” he said.
“We talk about removing barriers when it comes to hunger through breakfast programmes – this is removing other barriers when it comes to education”.
One to one support will also be provided for children facing particular challenges.
Eligibility will be for pupils that need it most such as those from areas of high deprivation or low income families.
Foodstock said private tuition doubled the likelihood of attending a grammar school, but disadvantaged children were less able to finance it.
Its tuition programme will help “level the playing field for children across Belfast”, it said.
Foodstock’s director of strategy Ciaran Toman said he believed the centre will “reach people right across the city regardless of community” with the overall aim to “benefit as many children as possible”.
He added that it could help give “equal opportunity to those who are less fortunate and that the centre can plug that gap for disadvantaged children”.
Business
Airlines must offer 60% seats free from April 20, DGCA says amid row over seat selection charges – The Times of India
Passengers flying within India will be able to choose a larger share of seats without paying extra from April 20, after aviation regulator DGCA directed airlines to offer at least 60 per cent of seats on every flight free of charge.The move follows concerns over airlines charging steep fees for seat selection, with the civil aviation ministry announcing on March 18 that it had asked the regulator to ensure fairer access for passengers.
New rule raises free seat quota from 20% to 60%
Acting on the ministry’s direction, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued an amended Air Transport Circular on March 20, which will come into force 30 days later, effectively from April 20.Under the revised rules, airlines must ensure that at least 60 per cent of seats on any flight are available for selection without any additional charge. At present, only around 20 per cent of seats are generally offered free, while the rest attract a fee.The DGCA has also told airlines to keep their seat allocation policies transparent and clearly show the availability of free seats, along with any applicable conditions, on their booking platforms.“Airlines should maintain transparent seat allocation policies and clearly communicate the availability of free seats and applicable conditions on their booking interfaces,” the regulator said in the revised circular dated March 20.
Families on same booking should be seated together where possible
The regulator has further said that passengers travelling on the same PNR (Passenger Name Record) should, as far as practicable, be seated close to one another, which would ordinarily mean adjacent seats in the same row.An official cited by news agency PTI said that airlines are now preparing to implement the new directive.Seat selection charges currently range from Rs 200 to Rs 2,100, depending on factors such as front-row placement and extra legroom.
Airlines object, warn of possible fare hikes
The new rule comes against the backdrop of growing criticism over airlines levying hefty charges for add-on services, especially seat selection.However, the move has faced strong resistance from carriers. As per PTI, IndiGo, Air India and SpiceJet objected to the decision last week, arguing that forcing airlines to make at least 60 per cent of seats free would hurt revenues and could eventually push up airfares.In a letter sent to the civil aviation ministry on March 20, the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), which represents the three carriers, urged the government to withdraw the decision.
Other optional service charges must also be clearly shown
Apart from seat selection, the DGCA has also directed airlines to display all charges for optional services such as carrying sports equipment or musical instruments in a clear and unambiguous manner on websites and booking portals.The regulator said airlines must also disclose any liability conditions in case of damage linked to such items.The change comes at a time when Indian airports are handling more than five lakh passengers daily, underlining the wide impact the new rule could have across the country’s fast-growing aviation market.DGCA chief Faiz Ahmed Kidwai recently said the regulator is trying to simplify rules for airlines while also protecting passenger rights. Speaking at the Indian Chamber of Commerce Aviation and Tourism Summit, he said the aim is to strike a balance between supporting airline growth and safeguarding travellers.“India’s aviation market is one of the fastest-growing in the world, but airlines are currently dealing with several operational hurdles,” Kidwai said, as quoted by news agency IANS.
Samantha Hutchison, the council’s assistant director of community services, said the classes offered “a fantastic opportunity for people to come together, share skills, experience different cultural cuisines and improve both their health and community wellbeing”.
Business
Logan Paul sold a Pokémon card for more than $16 million. Here’s why investors are watching
Pokémon cards aren’t just childhood collectibles anymore.
Some owners are increasingly treating the popular 1990s and 2000s trading cards like alternative assets, with some of the rarest cards outperforming traditional benchmarks like the S&P 500 in recent years.
During key periods like the pandemic boom and another surge in 2025, trading card indexes tracking Pokémon sales posted gains that far exceeded the S&P 500’s long-term average annual return of 10% to 12%, according to trading card valuation tool Card Ladder. The comparison isn’t perfect — stock data spans decades, while trends in trading card values are shorter and more volatile — but the outperformance in certain windows is still striking.
The jump in prices come down to scarcity, grading and a surge of deep-pocketed buyers chasing a limited supply of top-tier assets.
At the high end, that dynamic is clear. A rare Pikachu Illustrator card, owned by influencer and wrestler Logan Paul, sold for more than $16 million in February, which set a record for the most expensive trading card ever sold at auction.
“There are certain individuals trying to acquire the rarest, highest-grade cards and taking them off the market for as long as they can,” said auctioneer Ken Goldin, whose online marketplace, owned by eBay, consigned and sold Paul’s rare Pokémon card. “It’s possible you may never see that card come up for sale again in our lifetime.”
Rare Pokémon card designed by Atsuko Nishida.
Courtesy: Goldin
That supply squeeze helps explain why prices can surge and why a small slice of the market is driving most of the gains.
The condition of a card in particular, which drives its grade on a scale of up to 10, can make or break value, Goldin added.
“You can have a card graded a 10 [perfect score] and nobody cares if the underlying card isn’t important,” Goldin said. “But when you have the right card, the condition become critical — especially in Pokémon, where there’s a massive premium for a 10.”
That premium can be extreme, Goldin said. A perfect condition $100,000 card evaluated by Professional Sports Authenticator, the premier authentication and grading company, might only get 1% or 2% of that value in a much lower condition.
Outside the most rare handful of cards, retail investors and collectors are flipping back open their dusty collection books from 20 or more years ago and hoping to strike gold. The boom in card sales accelerated during the pandemic as stimulus money and interest in alternative assets surged. Spending on non-sports trading cards, including Pokémon, jumped 350% between 2020 and 2025, according to market research firm Circana. At the same time, celebrities like Post Malone, Steve Aoki and Kevin O’Leary fueled mainstream attention.
“We are seeing people use this as an alternative asset and allocation of wealth,” said Goldin. “Whether that becomes more institutional over time is still to be determined.”
But risk remains for hopeful investors in the market. The same forces driving gains also create risk. Prices are volatile, heavily influenced by hype, and card prices lack the stability and track record of traditional markets.
Still, some highly sought after Pokémon cards continue to outperform the market.
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Airlines must offer 60% seats free from April 20, DGCA says amid row over seat selection charges – The Times of India
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