Pregnancy vaccine reduces baby hospital admissions for RSV by 80% A study confirms the vaccine gives excellent protection for babies against life-threatening chest infections.

Vaccines are humanity’s greatest scientific achievement.

'Universities will also be banned from using non-disclosure agreements to silence victims of campus misconduct. Staff pressured to sign such agreements will be able to seek redress through the complaints scheme.'

The one good thing about this scheme.

But they have also argued that it was President Trump’s decision to attack Iran that entangled their country in a destructive conflict whose effects may not be over, some of the officials said. Emirati officials told the U.S. officials that if the U.A.E. runs short of dollars, it may be forced to use Chinese yuan or other countries’ currencies for oil sales and other transactions, some of the officials said.

Emiratis are threatening to use petroyuans.

www.wsj.com/world/middle...

Voters have just today left to register to vote for the local elections taking place across England on 7 May. Anyone who wants to take part must register before 11.59pm tonight.

Registering takes minutes at gov.uk/register-to-vote. Just need name, address & National Insurance number. Pass it on.

Please note the belief requirements point. The OfS set out its view last summer, in a paper on free speech, stating it would be improper to ask for evidence of a commitment to EDI in hiring or promotions processes. This would discriminate against those opposed to equality, diversity and inclusion.

The coming global food crisis Hunger and even famine are foreseeable consequences of the war on Iran. Now the world must act to shield the poorest from effects that will continue long after the fighting stops

‘Famine and widening food insecurity are the foreseeable consequences of military aggression in the Gulf. That reality ought to weigh heavily on a world that has largely understood this war through the narrow lens of oil-price instability’
www.ft.com/content/3634...

Trump says Iran talks will resume, threatens power plants and bridges if no deal The president accused Iran of violating the ceasefire as ships reported attacks in the Strait of Hormuz but said U.S. representatives would be back at the table this week.

Breaking news: President Trump says U.S. seized Iranian cargo ship trying to bypass American blockade of Strait of Hormuz.

The operation marks the first ship boarding by U.S. forces since the naval blockade took effect Monday.

Claude Monet, Fishing Boats at Sea, 1868

‘I feel like I’m losing her’: the families torn apart by older relatives going far right It starts with a ‘back in my day’ nostalgic meme – then suddenly your elders are sharing AI-generated ‘boomerslop’ and repeating conspiracy theories …

'Sara Wilford, an associate professor and specialist in computer ethics at De Montfort University in Leicester, has been trying to chart the online waters in which her own demographic now swims (she’s 61)...[through] Smidge...an EU-funded research project'. 1/3

US forces turn 23 vessels back to Iran, enforcing blockade, military says Since the ​United States ‌imposed a blockade ​on ​Iranian ports and ⁠coastal ​areas, 23 ​ships have complied with ​U.S. ​forces orders to ‌turn ⁠back toward Iran, the ​U.S. ​military ⁠said on ​Saturday.

US forces turn 23 vessels back to Iran, enforcing blockade, military says reut.rs/48tDysn

Middle East crisis live: Iran says it has closed the strait of Hormuz; tanker reports being attacked In a statement carried by Iranian media, the Iranian military’s operational command said the strait had ‘reverted to its previous state’

Revolutionary Guard Corps gunboats have fired on a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran's foreign minister says passage of vessels via Hormuz Strait is open during ceasefire Iran's foreign minister said ​on Friday that ‌passage for all commercial vessels through ​the Strait ​of Hormuz is declared ⁠completely open ​for the remaining period ​of ceasefire, in line with the ceasefire ​in Lebanon.

Iran's foreign minister says passage of vessels via Hormuz Strait is open during ceasefire reut.rs/3OAhkhg

A bright coral red graphic with black and white Yugoslavian stamps accross the bottom. Text in the centre reads Cold War Socialism, Non-Alignment and Anti-Colonialism in the Yugoslav Press, 1961 - 1979. With University of Exeter. Uncover fresh insights into Cold War socialism and anti-colonialism from a Yugoslav perspective, centering on the largely unexamined Joint Translation Service (JTS) bulletins. Deadline Tuesday 5 May.

Applications now open for a fully-funded PhD studentship exploring Yugoslavia’s multifaceted role during the Cold War, co-supervised with @exeter.ac.uk .

This is one of a number of studentships available as part of AHRC’s Collaborative Doctoral Partnership scheme.

Find out more: link.bl.uk/q95

Check out these events organised by Northwestern Qatar:

This is the best Allbirds knock down I’ve seen

Half of universities fear being sanctioned under new visa rules Home Office clampdown already causing steep drop in UK recruitment numbers, survey of institutions finds

'The survey showed 82 per cent of universities reported a decline in enrolments from Pakistan, with numbers down by up to three-quarters, while 66 per cent reported declines from India, and 65 per cent from Bangladesh.' 1/2

Lebanon humanitarian disaster 'beyond comprehension', says UNHCR chief UNHCR's high commissioner told Sky's Yalda Hakim that there must be an end to the war and a lasting peace

Lebanon humanitarian disaster 'beyond comprehension', says UNHCR chief

University of Exeter and University of Cambridge Libraries & Archives - Collections Connections Communities

Fantastic PhD studentship opportunity - Spitting Image: political satire in Britain in the 20th and 21st centuries.

Working across @exeter.ac.uk and @theul.bsky.social in partnership with the @camglamresearch.bsky.social and drawing on the Roger Law archive.

#PhDsky

Longtime Immigration Court Interpreter Arrested by ICE at South Texas Airport The state’s only licensed Hindi, Punjabi, and Urdu legal interpreter is now languishing in a Raymondville detention center. She’s lived in America for 35 years.

Texas' only licensed Hindi, Punjabi, and Urdu legal interpreter is now languishing in a Raymondville detention center. She’s lived in America for 35 years: www.texasobserver.org/immigration-...

Wonderful to see this in print! I wrote the chapter on decolonisation in Interrogating the Global Social Challenges, a collective effort by @uomsociology.bsky.social showcasing the breadth of our research and its political urgency.

So terrified are Labour ministers of being thought of as “anti-car” that their belated acknowledgement that sharing transport is a good idea was buried in a blink-and-you-miss-it “strategy” document.

🧵1/3

Trying to explain St Augustine to the pope, the former head of the Augustinian order, who wrote his doctoral thesis on Augustine, on his way back from celebrating mass at the Basilica of St Augustine in Annaba, Algeria, overlooking the site where Augustine lived is peak Adult Catholic Convert.

We’re looking for a writer We’re hiring a writer who can make the world’s largest problems understandable to our large Our World in Data audience.

Please help share what must be one of the best jobs ever. We are looking for a writer to join @ourworldindata.org to work with our fantastic team including @maxroser.bsky.social and @hannahritchie.bsky.social. £80k - £120k / ideally full time / location flexible
ourworldindata.org/hiring-write...

Mahmood’s migration changes will deliver fraction of claimed savings, data suggests Exclusive: Analysis of government figures indicates public finances will gain £600m not £10bn if migrants’ access to benefits is reduced

The 'earned settlement' changes will only deliver a fraction of claimed savings, according to the Government's own data.

This totally undermines the Gov's own rationale for going ahead with the disastrous plans.

Thanks to a FOI request by @jdportes.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

New ‘Visa Brake’ Bars Talented Students From War-Torn Countries Novara Media spoke to a student from Myanmar who was accepted on to a prestigious PhD programme at LSE - only to have the offer immediately rescinded as the result of a harsh new visa policy that spec...

The UK is actively preventing students from #Myanmar (among other war-torn countries) to begin their (PhD) studies in the UK although they have been accepted by universities. This is shameful as it destroys a person's future (and potentially endangers them at home!)
novaramedia.com/2026/04/13/n...

Burundi investigates illness that has caused five deaths The health authorities in Burundi, with support from the World Health Organization (WHO), are carrying out investigations to determine the cause of an illness that has led to five deaths and sickened ...

🇧🇮 Burundi investigates illness that has caused five deaths

Ebola, Marburg, Rift Valley fever, yellow fever and Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever ruled out, "further investigations are ongoing to determine the cause of the disease"

www.afro.who.int/countries/bu...

Staunch Trump Supporters Are Now Asking If He's the Antichrist The Iran war and a series of social media posts, including one depicting Trump as Jesus Christ, have some conservative commentators and fans suspecting the president may be the antichrist.

Staunch Trump Supporters Are Now Asking If He's the Antichrist -- a headline we couldn't make up if we tried!

read @makenakelly.bsky.social and @davidgilbert.bsky.social on one of my favorite storylines of the week (month?!):

British Academy Book Prize Calls For Submissions - All About Book Publishing The British Academy Book Prize opens for submissions as the British Academy — the UK’s national academy for the humanities and social sciences — announces plans to align the prize more closely with it...

'The £25,000 Prize recognises outstanding books in the fields of the humanities and social sciences that combine original thinking, high-quality research and exceptional storytelling.'

Submissions are now open. 1/2

Q: Did you post that picture of yourself as Jesus Christ?

Trump: I did post it, I thought it was me as a doctor. It's supposed to be me as a doctor, making people better. And I do make people better

It's difficult to overestimate just how toxic an influence Orban has had over the UK since he gained power in 2010. Having seized control of Hungary's education system; including Universities, he's supported/funded rightist academics & groups such as History Reclaimed (of which Biggar a key player).