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SUNDAY, 01 FEBRUARY 2026, 18:46

Top Stories

BUSINESS REFLECTION: Elon Musk, SpaceX and a lesson in world domination

Today at 17:59 PM, via Daily Maverick

Following news that Elon Musk might be taking SpaceX public at a possible valuation of $1.5-trillion, commentators hauled out their calculators to determine if it was worth it. Yes, when you consider that SpaceX entirely owns almost all space infrastructure. And traditionally, any monopoly on infrastructure (rails, roads, ports) is where the trillions lie.

Sport

‘So far, so good’ for Furlong to face France

Today at 18:28 PM, via BBC News

Ireland assistant coach Simon Easterby says every member of the panel was available to train on Sunday as the squad continues preparations for their Six Nations opener away to France on Thursday night.

Sport

Clare outclass Antrim while Down fall to Wexford

Today at 17:53 PM, via BBC News

Clare made it two wins from two in hurling’s Division 1B, powering to an impressive 2-30 to 1-19 win over Antrim in Cushendall, but Down’s fightback against Wexford fell just short.

Sport

Tragic news: Stellenbosch FC youngster dies

Today at 17:53 PM, via The South African

Prosport International have announced the sad passing of their client Jeandre Gaffoor, the Stellenbosch FC DStv Diski Challenge midfielder-cum-defender.

Education

Ministers on lobbying blitz to avoid Labour rebellion over Send changes

Today at 18:00 PM, via The Guardian

Government has ‘learned lesson’ of botched welfare overhauls but MPs say they will not back cost-saving measures

Ministers have “learned the lesson” of botched welfare changes and are on a sustained lobbying blitz of Labour MPs over an overhaul of special educational needs, Labour MPs told the Guardian, as they said they would not back measures aimed at saving money.

The changes will raise the...

Education

Texas vs. Plato: Censorship in the Academy

Today at 16:00 PM, via New York Times

Readers respond to a guest essay about the state’s effort to bar “officially disapproved ideas” from its university classrooms.

Education

The long-term cost of high student debt in the UK is not just for graduates | Heather Stewart

Today at 13:51 PM, via The Guardian

Labour’s changes to the student loan system have turned frustration into full-blown fury, which its opponents are likely to reap at the ballot box

Student loans: ‘My debt rose £20,000 to £77,000 even though I’m paying’

“It is not right that people who don’t go to university are having to bear all the cost for others to do so,” Rachel Reeves remarked this week, amid the increasingly angry...

Science/Tech

Microbes In Space Mutated and Developed a Remarkable Ability

Today at 17:34 PM, via Slashdot

“A box full of viruses and bacteria has completed its return trip to the International Space Station,” reports ScienceAlert, “and the changes these ‘bugs’ experienced in their travels could help us Earthlings tackle drug-resistant infections…”Scientists aboard the space station incubated different combinations of bacteria and phages for 25 days, while the research team led by biochemist Vatsan...

Science/Tech

Catch a falling star: cosmic dust may reveal how life began, and a Sydney lab is making it from scratch

Today at 16:00 PM, via The Guardian

Recreating cosmic dust may help answer questions about how meteorites hitting Earth came to contain the organic matter that they do

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How does one acquire star dust? One option, as the Perry Como song suggests, is to catch a falling star and put it in your pocket, so to speak: thousands of tonnes of cosmic dust bombard the Earth each...

Health

A Predictor of a Good Social Life? Your Parents.

Yesterday at 12:02 PM, via New York Times

A decades-long study suggested that close relationships with family members during teenage years could lead to a rich network of friendships in adulthood.