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MONDAY, 26 JANUARY 2026, 11:07

Top Stories

Great news for the South African rand

Today at 10:59 AM, via Newsday

South Africa’s commodity-linked rand strengthened in early trade on Monday, edging closer to a 16-per-dollar level thanks to record gold prices.

Business

Rand breaks through R16 to the dollar

Today at 10:55 AM, via BusinessTech

The rand has broken through R16 to the dollar, with the local currency benefiting from the US dollar weakness.

Education

Schools in England should be phone-free all day, education secretary says

Today at 10:20 AM, via The Guardian

Bridget Phillipson says pupils should not use mobiles at any point, as Ofsted prepares to inspect compliance

Schools should be phone-free throughout the entire day, the education secretary has told headteachers in England, stressing that pupils should not use the devices even as calculators or for research.

Bridget Phillipson wrote to schools to underline updated guidance issued by the...

Education

New £1.5m awards scheme launches to celebrate UK visual art education

Today at 09:00 AM, via The Guardian

Freelands Foundation will give £100,000 to three projects every year ‘against the backdrop of 15 years of cuts’

A new £1.5m awards scheme has been launched to recognise and celebrate visual art education in the UK – with £100,000 being awarded to three organisations a year for the next five years.

The Freelands Foundation announced the award on Monday for recent or ongoing projects...

Science/Tech

Is Google Prioritizing YouTube and X Over News Publishers on Discover?

Today at 10:34 AM, via Slashdot

Earlier this month, the media site Press Gazette reported that now Google “is increasingly prioritising AI summaries, X posts and Youtube videos” on its “Discover” feed (which appears on the leftmost homescreen page of many Android phones and the Google app’s homepage). “The changes could be devastating for publishers who rely heavily on Discover for referral traffic. And it looks set to...