Author: Grace Johnson

South Korea has passed a law banning smartphones and other smart devices during school hours. The country joins a growing list of nations limiting phone use to protect students’ learning and wellbeing. The law will take effect in March 2026. Lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties supported the measure. They say it is necessary to curb smartphone addiction, which research increasingly links to harmful effects. Parents and lawmakers push for action Supporters argue phones disrupt lessons and harm academic performance. Children spend too much time scrolling instead of studying or socialising. Parents worry devices stop their children from building…

US President Donald Trump has announced plans to dismiss Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook immediately. The decision marks a dramatic escalation in his clash with the central bank. Trump alleged Cook made false claims on mortgage documents and insisted the constitution gives him authority to remove her. Cook swiftly rejected the claim, stressing that the president lacks such power. She declared she would not resign. No American president has ever attempted to fire a Federal Reserve governor. Trump’s action comes after months of criticism of the Fed and its chair Jerome Powell, whom he blames for not cutting rates fast…

Vintage once ruled the wine world In wine, the vintage has always been king. Every bottle of red, white, or rosé almost always carries the year of harvest on the label. Non-vintage still wine, which blends grapes from several years, has long been seen as cheap and undesirable. It is also far less common. But climate change is now shaking this tradition. Heatwaves, droughts, and extreme weather push winemakers to seek consistency. A small but growing group of respected wineries now release non-vintage bottles. They argue blending ensures quality when nature brings chaos. Napa Valley feels the heat Chris Howell,…

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker strongly rejected President Donald Trump’s plan to deploy troops to Chicago. He called the move an abuse of power. Pritzker argued no emergency justifies the National Guard entering Illinois. He accused Trump of fabricating a crisis to justify federal intervention. Trump has already sent about 2,000 troops to Washington DC. The capital’s Democratic leadership opposes the measure. Trump portrays the deployment as part of a wider fight against crime in American cities. On Friday, he said Chicago and New York could face the same approach. Chicago mayor warns of dangerous fallout Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said…

US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick announced on Friday that Washington will purchase a 10% stake in Intel. “This historic agreement strengthens American leadership in semiconductors. It will grow our economy and protect our technological edge,” Lutnick wrote on X. He shared the post with a photo of himself alongside Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan. President Donald Trump confirmed the deal earlier in the Oval Office. He called it “a great deal for them.” Shares of the Santa Clara-based chipmaker gained more than 5% on Friday. Intel confirmed that the US government will inject $8.9bn (£6.6bn) into its common stock. Grants…

Elon Musk and his company X have agreed to a settlement with former staff. The employees had sued for $500 million in unpaid severance. The agreement appeared in a court filing on Wednesday. Both sides asked the San Francisco appeals court to delay a hearing. They said more time was needed to finish the paperwork. Dispute triggered by mass layoffs The lawsuit followed Musk’s decision in 2022 to cut about 6,000 jobs. That accounted for more than half of the workforce. Many of those dismissed took legal action over the severance packages. So far, X representatives and the employees’ lawyers…

Sony announced it will raise the cost of the PlayStation 5 in the US by about $50 starting Thursday. The Japanese company struggles with rising production costs and a slowing gaming industry. Sony executive Isabelle Tomatis wrote in a blog post that the company faces a “challenging economic environment.” All three versions of the console will be affected. The Pro edition will now carry a retail price of $749.99. Tariffs increase financial strain The price hike comes after tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on several trade partners, including Japan. These policies have sparked fears of higher consumer costs. Tomatis…

The Kremlin has rejected speculation about a near-term summit between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky. At the same time, Donald Trump repeated his call for both leaders to meet and try to end the war in Ukraine. The idea of direct talks gained attention after Trump met Putin in Alaska last week. On Monday, he hosted Zelensky and seven European leaders at the White House. Trump admitted the war would be difficult to resolve. He also warned that Putin might have no interest in stopping hostilities. “We’re going to find out about President Putin in the next couple of weeks,”…

An Australian court has fined airline giant Qantas 90 million Australian dollars for unlawful sackings during the Covid-19 crisis. The company had dismissed more than 1,800 ground staff in 2020. Australia’s Transport Workers’ Union welcomed the decision. It called the fine the largest in history for breaches of industrial relations law. Court delivers a clear warning Federal Court Justice Michael Lee said the penalty must serve as real deterrence. He stressed that employers must know such conduct has consequences. Qantas accepted the ruling and announced it will pay the fine. The company admitted it caused harm to its workers. “We…

A US senator has begun investigating Meta. A leaked internal document reportedly showed that the company’s artificial intelligence allowed “sensual” and “romantic” conversations with children. Internal rules raise questions Reuters reported the document was titled “GenAI: Content Risk Standards.” Republican Senator Josh Hawley called its contents “reprehensible and outrageous.” He demanded full access to the paper and the related product list. Meta dismissed the accusations. A spokesperson said: “The examples and notes in question were erroneous and inconsistent with our policies.” They underlined that Meta enforced “clear rules” on chatbot responses. These rules “prohibit content that sexualizes children and sexualized…