UK Announces Social Media Ban for Under 16s
Asserting that, ‘Social media is making children unhappy’, the UK’s Prime Minister has announced an ‘Australia Plus’ social media ban on under-16s accessing harmful social media apps- following a consultation on online safety that ended on May 26. Whilst details of the planned legislation have not yet been released, the ban should come into force by Spring of 2027. A broad range of apps are expected to be banned, including TikTok, Snapchat, X, Instagram and Facebook. This radical policy proposal is a response to a steady drumbeat of pressure from safety campaigners for increasing restrictions, despite scepticism from some of them that the ban will be unenforceable. However, 9 out of 10 parents who participated in the consultation, supported a ban.
Social media to be banned in UK for under-16s, Starmer announces
War Fallout for Schooling in Middle East
The current conflict in the Middle East, spanning the Mediterranean to the Caspian Sea, has affected 52 million school students aged between 5 and 17 according to research by Save the Children. This includes schoolchildren in Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, State of Palestine, and the United Arab Emirates. These disruptions have varied from forced displacements, schools being used as shelters, moving to online learning, with the culmination of the cancellation of public exams across the region. Other countries such as Egypt and Pakistan have closed schools as a fuel-saving measure as a result of fallout from closure of Straits of Hormuz.
At least 52 million children facing disrupted education due to Middle East and wider region conflict
Pope Leo’s Encyclical on AI
Emphasising that he was not opposed to technological change, Pope Leo XIV devoted his first major theological text, over 42,000 words long, to warn about the growing power of AI and to call for stronger regulation. Asking what constitutes humanity and stressing the centrality of human dignity, justice and labour, he warned against the erosion of human agency, the deepening of inequality and the shifting of critical decisions out of human hands. Above all he stressed the importance of retaining a fundamental social role for all human beings. While emphasizing that “technology should not be considered, in itself, as a force antagonistic to humanity,” he wrote that “the pursuit of greater profits cannot justify choices that systematically sacrifice jobs.”
Pope Leo Warns of Risks From A.I. in 42,300-Word Encyclical – The New York Times
Encyclical Letter of His Holiness Leo XIV Magnifica Humanitas (15 May 2026)
Attitudes Towards University Slide in UK
The proportion of the general public in England who believe a degree is not good value for money has hit a record high, while fewer people think graduates are better off in the long term than non-graduates, according to a recent British Social Attitudes survey. released on June 2nd. Most people also support a cap on the number of international students that UK universities are permitted to enrol. A report on the public’s views produced by the National Centre for Social Research shows that the value of higher education is increasingly being called into question, with 34 per cent of respondents saying university education “isn’t worth the amount of time and money it usually takes”. UK Attitudes to University Survey
Global Justice Report
This World Inequality Lab report offers a set of bold policy proposals, including hefty wealth taxes on billionaires, sharp reductions in working hours, a change in diets and a shift of investment from materially intense sectors, such as industry and mining, to education and health. If these and other measures are taken, the report says, the incomes of 89% of the world’s population would double by 2100 and global heating would be kept below 2C above the preindustrial average. The authors say their vision provides a positive alternative to the grim projections from far-right techno extractivists, nationalists and billionaires. “There’s a huge cultural, intellectual, political battle that is going on. And we all have a role to play,” said Thomas Piketty, co-director of the WIL and professor at the Paris School of Economics.
The Global Justice Report: A Plan for Equality & Prosperity Within Planetary Boundaries
US International Student Decline of 20%
Foreign student enrollment at U.S. universities for the 2026 spring semester fell by 20% from last spring, according to a new report by organizations which surveyed 149 U.S. schools. Around 62% of those institutions reported lower international student enrollment in both undergraduate and graduate programs compared to last year. At the graduate level, U.S. universities recorded an average fall of 24%. Meanwhile, universities in Asia and Europe are reaping the benefits. Around 82% of institutions in the Asia-Pacific region—excluding Australia—and 47% of institutions in Europe surveyed saw growth in their undergraduate enrollment of international students, according to the new report.
As US enrolls fewer international students, universities in Asia are going the other direction
Manchester University Wants Practical Experience for All
Manchester university has pledged to offer all of its undergraduate students work placements, regardless of the subject of their degree . The Vice Chancellor stated that “every single student [should] have a chance to put their learning into context – an internship, a placement, a joint project or an exchange”and “It doesn’t matter if you’re a history student or a chemical engineer.” Whilst welcoming this as a ‘brilliant initiative’ the head of the Higher Education Policy Institute raised concerns over the feasibility given the 32,000 undergraduate students enrolled at Manchester.
Manchester University to offer work placements to all undergraduates
Best USA Public Schools Ranked by State
Recent data ranking USA public schools by state, saw the North East of the country clearly leading the way with New York (1st), Connecticut (2nd), Massachusetts (3rd), and New Jersey (4th) ranking among the states with the best public schools. Top-ranked states tend to combine strong academic performance with high levels of school funding, lower student-to-teacher ratios, and consistently safe learning environments. The four states with the weakest public school systems in the country were Oklahoma (47th), Nevada (48th), Alaska (49th), and Arizona (50th). Lower-ranked states often struggle across multiple areas at once, including test performance, funding levels, teacher retention, and access to educational resources.
Public School Rankings by State 2026
Princess Royal Visits Reggio Emilia
The Princess Royal’s recent visit to Reggio Emilio put a spotlight on this remarkable region of Italy and its world-changing philosophy of early years education. As the Patron of several early years charities in the UK, the Princess visited the Loris Malaguzzi International Centre, which is the hub for the Reggio Children philosophy. This views children as competent, curious and capable individuals who are active constructors of their own learning journey. Following the visit she said, ‘Over the past two days in Reggio Emilia, I have seen first hand the power of nature and creativity that put human connection at the centre of a child’s world. Our collective work in early childhood must be to protect and nurture the connections that form the foundations of life-long wellbeing.”
Italian City, Unused to Celebrity Visits, Welcomes Princess of Wales
Shrinking Job Market in USA for international Graduates
The Trump administration up-ended the H-1B program, a skilled-worker visa sought by many international students, by imposing a $100,000 fee on new applicants and introducing a new lottery based on wage levels whilst also indefinitely pausing the processing of visa applications for people from 39 countries. Most graduating students have up to five months to find a job. Interstride, a global job search platform, said that over the past year, it had seen a nearly 25 percent drop in the number of U.S. positions that were open to international talent. This could block a crucial talent pipeline. In 2025, nearly half of the PhD. and Masters degrees in STEM went to international students. Since 2000, more than one-third of American Nobel Prize winners in chemistry, medicine and physics have been immigrants.
‘It’s Getting Unfriendlier’: International Students Race to Find Jobs – The New York Times
