Generation

• France will become the first European nation to implement a social media ban for users under 15 starting September 1. • Similar restrictions are being drafted by 10 other EU countries, including Spain, Sweden, Greece, and Portugal, as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pushes for EU-wide regulations. • These bans force brands to urgently rethink their marketing strategies and find new ways to reach the youngest generation of consumers.

• The European Commission has launched a call for the establishment of seven "gigafactories" designed to train and develop next-generation AI technologies. • This initiative aims to create "sovereign" AI infrastructure, reducing the European Union's digital dependency on foreign technology providers. • The project is strategically timed to ensure that these high-capacity computing facilities become fully operational by mid-2028.

• Disillusioned Indian youth have launched the "cockroach" protests, a satirical online movement criticizing a broken education system and lack of employment opportunities. • The movement is driven by students who feel that governing institutions have failed to provide jobs or take responsibility despite students following all academic and professional rules. • Analysts, including Sanjay Kumar and Prof Chandra, note that the protests stem from a perceived government insensitivity toward youth concerns and a lack of respect for their time.

Such technology solves problem of longer, thinner, energy-saving wings not fitting in airports around the worldAirbus has said it will test folding wings for the next generation of its bestselling planes, as the world’s largest planemaker races to work out the shape of future commercial aircraft by the end of the decade.Longer, thinner wings made of light but strong composite materials offer the promise of energy savings but present a problem for manufacturers because they will not fit in airports around the world, many of which are already at or near full capacity. Continue reading...

• A new generation of youth in India is fundamentally altering the country's political landscape by redefining how elections are campaigned and how discourse is conducted. • Young voters and activists are forcing established parties, including the Indian National Congress, to recalibrate their strategies to address modern concerns like corruption and bribery. • This shift is characterized by the rise of unconventional movements, such as the Cockroach Janta Party in Tamil Nadu, and is mirrored by similar Gen Z-led protests in neighboring Nepal.

Analysis of 12 indicators including asthma, obesity and vaccination finds child health is ‘national embarrassment’Children in the UK will grow up to be one of the unhealthiest generations in decades, with child health outcomes having declined or stalled completely across all areas, a group of leading paediatricians has said.Reduced vaccination rates alongside rising hospital admissions for asthma and mental health disorders are all contributing factors to the UK’s record on children’s health, which should be seen as a “national embarrassment”, their analysis has found. Continue reading...

Nearly a quarter of market traders now hold master’s degree, PhD or medical doctorate, research showsOne in five young market traders now holds a master’s degree, PhD or medical doctorate, according to exclusive figures shared with the Guardian, in a sign of how Britain’s markets are attracting an unexpected new generation of highly educated entrepreneurs.Separate data from Kerb, the street food collective behind some of London’s best-known food markets, points in the same direction. Almost three-quarters of its founders have university degrees, including one in four with postgraduate qualifications. About 95% work in their businesses full-time rather than treating them as weekend side hustles. Continue reading...