Australia’s social media ban for under 16s has had little impact on teenagers’ scrolling habits, researchers said Thursday in one of the first evaluations of the world-leading measures. Australia in December banned under 16s from the likes of Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, in a crackdown designed to protect children from online bullying and “predatory algorithms”. But there is little evidence to suggest…

The Iran war is showing why the Philippines can’t afford to neglect its farmers
A war thousands of kilometers away is beginning to ripple through something as basic as the Filipino dining table. The conflict involving Iran has pushed oil prices higher, disrupted key shipping routes, and strained global supply chains—especially for fertilizer, a critical input for food production. Farmers are already feeling the pressure. Fertilizer prices have surged by as much as 30% to 40%,…