How children torment teachers with smartphones – by one who has been a victim
Will Yates in The Independent
For Education Secretary Gillian Keegan to "claim" a "purported 'ban on phones' in schools" is "some coup for child discipline" is "a sleight of hand so lazy, it could have been generated by a year 10 on ChatGPT", writes Will Yates in The Independent. The proposal is unlikely to be "anything more than beefed-up statutory guidance with no enforceability". Until the government provides "widespread, long-term investment in young people's futures", says Yates, students will continue being "drawn into the murky world of fleeting thrills that their phones provide".
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MAGA Wouldn't Be Such a Threat if the Electoral System Worked
Jamelle Bouie in The New York Times
"The Trump crisis may never have materialized if not for specific institutions, like the Electoral College," says Jamelle Bouie in The New York Times. No US president can "publicly say that the system he presides over has serious flaws that undermine its integrity. But it does." And "if anyone is aware of this, it has to be Biden". Americans should think "in a collective and deliberate manner" about how "structural reforms" could "make our democracy more resilient or even to realize it more fully in the first place".
Axing HS2 in Manchester is further proof Tories are not fit to run the country
Voice of the Mirror
"Derailing" the HS2 line between Birmingham and Manchester is "a historic levelling down that betrays the North", says the Daily Mirror. "Weak, incompetent and out of touch", Rishi Sunak "will never be forgiven – whenever he plucks up the courage to make the announcement". The Tories "will need to be replaced by Keir Starmer and Labour quickly if broken Britain is to get its future back".
The politics of bubble tea: at last, Taiwanese food is getting the recognition it deserves
Clarissa Wei in The Guardian
"Because it belongs to an island nation whose right to sovereignty is contested", Taiwanese cuisine has "long struggled to define itself on the international stage", writes Clarissa Wei in The Guardian. "From bubble tea to baos", the island nation's delicacies are "often lumped under the broad umbrella of Chinese cuisine". But its relatively recent "popularity" across the world has "coincided" with "carefully crafted soft power initiatives by the Taiwanese government". Taiwanese food is "getting the recognition it deserves".
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Pope Leo wants to change the Vatican’s murky financesThe Explainer Leo has been working to change some decisions made by his predecessor
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October books: an academic analysis of Taylor Swift and the solution to your digital addictionThe Week Recommends This month's new releases include ‘Taylor’s Version’ by Stephanie Burt, ‘Enshittification’ by Cory Doctorow and ‘Minor Black Figures’ by Brandon Taylor
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Auto loans: Trouble in the subprime economyFeature The downfall of Tricolor Holdings may reflect the growing financial strain low-income Americans are facing
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Israel, Hamas agree to first step of Trump peace planSpeed Read Israel’s military pulls back in Gaza amid prisoner exchange
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Israel and Hamas meet on hostages, Trump’s planSpeed Read Hamas accepted the general terms of Trump’s 20-point plan, including the release of all remaining hostages
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US tipped to help Kyiv strike Russian energy sitesSpeed Read Trump has approved providing Ukraine with intelligence for missile strikes on Russian energy infrastructure
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Netanyahu agrees to Trump’s new Gaza peace planSpeed Read At President Trump's meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, they agreed upon a plan to end Israel’s war in Gaza
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Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
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Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
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The dark history of myths about immigrants eating swans and petsIn the Spotlight Nigel Farage has mimicked Donald Trump and peddled tropes and rumours that have long been used to ‘dehumanise’ immigrants
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What would happen if Israel lost America’s support?Today’s big question Loss of US backing could be a ‘catastrophe’ for Israel
