Unlike in most other countries, people in China will use only one hand to signify numbers one to 10. This is very useful for bargaining, not least because in China the words for basic numbers vary between regions. Numbers one to five are indicated as normal, the rest as follows:

Express yourself in Arabic by learning a series of hand gestures, from "No" to "Be patient"

How to pronounce our useful phrases for meeting people

Useful phrases for ordering food at a restaurant in Japan

Useful phrases for getting around in Japan

Here is a sneak preview of our exclusive phrasebooks, in the form of a guide to common gestures from around the world

Minister says universities most at risk of extremism have been identified and must work closely with Special Branch officers

Counter-terrorism officers are being stationed in universities at risk of being targeted by extremists, it was reported today.

The universities minister, David Lammy, said a number of institutions had been identified and instructed to work closely with the police.

Lammy told the BBC: "We have identified universities for whom the risk is greater, and they have to work closely with Special Branch. So I think it is a partnership between leadership at universities and the police.

Speculation that the alleged "underpants bomber" Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was radicalised at University College London has raised concerns about campus extremism.

Malcolm Grant, the president of UCL, insisted last week: "We must of course ensure that universities are not converted into hotbeds of radicalisation. But this is a long way from reality."

Lammy said: "We recognise that threat levels have been raised and that this is an extremely serious issue and that there are particular institutions – and those institutions are aware of this because we have brought it to their attention – where the risk is greater. Those institutions are working very closely with the police, and are working closely with Special Branch, and those institutions are present on campus."

Vice-chancellors announced last month they were establishing a panel to look at how universities can take action to prevent violent extremism while protecting freedom of speech.

Abdulmutallab was the focus of a major terror investigation on both sides of the Atlantic after allegedly attempting to detonate a powdery substance on a flight from Amsterdam as it prepared to land in Detroit with 280 people on board on Christmas Day.

Lammy declined to name the institutions in question, saying he did not think that would be "helpful" and refused to be drawn on whether university Islamic societies should be monitored more closely. Abdulmutallab is a former president of the Islamic Society at UCL.

• Student politics
• Students
• Higher education
• Police

A report out today says education and training programmes should be an integral part of time served in prison and should be included in the sentencing process

In any walk of life skills are the key to economic and social success. Which without any shadow of a doubt is one of the main reasons our prisons are so full. Official statistics show that 52% of male offenders and 72% of female offenders have no qualifications whatsoever. Almost half of all prisoners have literacy skills at or below level 1 and nearly two thirds have the same difficulties with regard to numeracy skills. It also seems pertinent to me that 67% were unemployed at the time of their imprisonment. While I agree there is no excuse for causing harm or distress to others, the fact that the skill levels of so many of those who inhabit our jails are so low has to have some relevance in determining what it is that drives their offending and, equally importantly, their re-offending. Almost 90% of prisoners under the age of 21 and nearly two thirds of adult prisoners re-offend within two years – and the economic cost to society remains in the region of £11bn per annum. Surely somebody needs to answer for this mind-bogglingly expensive failure of such a valuable social institution?

A little help is at hand from today, in a report entitled, Doing Things Differently, which is launched this afternoon by the National Skills Forum, led by Gordon Marsden MP and Jacqui Henderson. The NSF began its inquiry into the economic and social costs of skills deficiency last year, focusing on three socially excluded groups: black and minority ethnic people, offenders/ex-offenders and disabled people. Though the needs of the three groups and the way they identify themselves are clearly different, the impact of their lack of access to skill development programmes is pretty much the same. The discrimination they suffer too is the same, according to the report, due to, "stereotypical assumptions, which stifle potential by perpetuating low aspiration".

There are many recommendations in the report which, if taken up and worked upon, will make huge inroads towards making our society a more inclusive and successful environment for all the groups. But the recommendations that, I think, have the greatest potential – and which happen to be the simplest — are those directed at the Ministry of Justice. The reports suggests that ways should be explored for including education and training programmes in the sentencing process. There should be a culture change in the prison system so that education and training are integral elements of time to be served. Careers information and advice services in prisons should be aware of the full range of opportunities available and should promote their availability to prisoners. There should be an expansion of the "virtual campus" and perhaps, which would have the most impact of all, there should be more contact with prospective employers, using "exemplar employers" such as the National Grid or Timpsons, the shoe manufacturer that has a workshop in Wandsworth prison, to give others the confidence to take on those who have offended.

If the MoJ wants to make prisons more effective for victims, potential future victims and for offenders who really want to change their lives for the better, then this report should not be ignored.

• Prisons and probation
• Further education

The number of pupils trying to cheat in their GCSEs and A-levels has shot up, with many smuggling their mobile phone into the exam hall

A leap in the number of pupils trying to cheat in their GCSEs and A-levels by smuggling in mobile phones saw the penalties for exam malpractice rise by 6% last year, according to official statistics out today.

More than 4,400 penalties were issued to students, and there was a jump of 29% in the number handed out to staff at exam centres.

Penalties to staff were up from 68 to 88, according to exams regulator Ofqual, with those for helping students cheat increasing from 45 to 58.

The most common type of cheating by pupils was bringing in unauthorised material – mainly phones and other electronic communication devices they could use to access the internet or look up stored information.

Other banned items being sneaked into the exam hall included calculators, dictionaries or study guides. Some 1,897 penalties were given in this area - up 8% on the year before.

The number of penalties to school or other exam centres was up 35%, from 52 to 70, with much of the increase caused by actions such as opening question papers early, allowing candidates to sit an exam at an incorrect time and lack of appropriate invigilation. In 20 cases, the school or college concerned had given help to students.

Ofqual pointed out that cheating remained extremely rare, with the number caught only equivalent to 0.03% of all the exams sat by candidates. Last year the figure was 0.02%.

In almost half of cases students lost marks, and in one in six cases they lost the chance to gain a qualification. In over a third of instances, candidates were issued a warning.

Ofqual chair Kathleen Tattersall said: "As regulator it is our role to ensure that fair systems are in place and that these are followed correctly.

"These figures provide invaluable information regarding the examination season and allow us to check that the systems put in place to protect learners are followed."

• Schools
• GCSEs
• A-levels

Ros Asquith on the steps parents will take to get their children into a good school