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More headaches for Labour: Send, strikes and small boats | Politics


Only a week after the government was forced to retreat on benefits reform, there’s now controversy over its plans for children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send). John Harris speaks to Kate Cox, a parent of two children with special needs, about why there’s such concern about the plans.

Plus, with NHS doctors going on strike again and small boat crossings reaching a record high, how can the government get out of this mess? John speaks to the political correspondent and fellow host of Politics Weekly, Kiran Stacey



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Lee Joo-ho regrets law downgrading AI textbooks in South Korea's education system – CHOSUNBIZ – Chosun Biz

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Lee Joo-ho regrets law downgrading AI textbooks in South Korea’s education system – CHOSUNBIZ  Chosun Biz



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Package holidays to Spain, Cyprus and Turkey soar in price

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Abi Smitton, Colletta Smith & Tommy Lumby

BBC News

Getty Images A beach in Turkey where lots of people are sunbathing under umbrellas, and many other people are swimming in the seaGetty Images

All-inclusive family package holidays from the UK have jumped in price for some of the most popular destinations, including Spain, Cyprus and Turkey.

The average price for a week in Cyprus in August has gone up by 23%, from £950 per person to £1,166, figures compiled for the BBC by TravelSupermarket show.

Of the top 10 most-searched countries, Italy and Tunisia are the only ones to see prices drop by 11% and 4% respectively compared with 2024.

Travel agents say holidaymakers are booking shorter stays or travelling mid-week to cut costs.

The top five destinations in order of most searched are: Spain, Greece, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Portugal. They have all seen price rises.

Trips to the UAE have seen the biggest jump, up 26% from £1,210 in August 2024 to £1,525 this year.

Cyprus had the next biggest rise and came in at number nine in terms of search popularity.

The figures are based on online searches, made on TravelSupermarket from 18 April to 17 June, for all-inclusive, seven-night family holidays in August 2024 and 2025.

While this snapshot of data reveals a general trend, costs will vary depending on exactly where a family goes and when they book.

A dumbbell chart showing the average cost per person of a one-week package holiday in August 2024 and August 2025, by country. Figures are based on search data collected by TravelSupermarket, covering 18 April to 17 June, and countries are listed in order of popularity by number of searches. The average cost for Spain rose from £835 to £914, for Greece it rose from £926 to £1,038, for Turkey it rose from £874 to £1,003, for the UAE it rose from £1,210 to £1,525, for Portugal it rose from £936 to £972, for Egypt it rose from £981 to £1,176, for Italy it fell from £1,266 to £1,129, for Tunisia it fell from £794 to £763, for Cyprus it rose from £950 to £1,166, and for Malta it rose from £804 to £866.

Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive of travel agent industry group Advantage Travel Partnership, said the price rises were down to a number of factors.

“These increases simply keep pace with the broader cost of doing business and reflect the reality of higher operational costs, from increased energy bills affecting hotels, to elevated food costs impacting restaurants and rising wages across the hospitality sector,” she said.

But she added the group had seen evidence that some holidaymakers still had money to spend.

Some customers were upgrading to more premium all-inclusive packages and booking more expensive cabin seats on long-haul flights to locations such as Dubai, she said.

Abi Smitton / BBC News A woman at a hairdressers, with wet hair covered in conditioner. She's sitting in front of a sink and smiling at the camera. She's wearing a black cape and a bin bag over the topAbi Smitton / BBC News

Ellie Mooney said she’s spent the last year saving up for her holiday to Turkey

Holiday destinations are a frequent topic of conversation at the hairdressers.

At Voodou in Liverpool, Ellie Mooney talked to us as she got a last-minute trim before jetting off to Turkey.

“We’ve been going for the past 20 years or so. We normally book a year ahead then save up in dribs and drabs,” she said.

Hope Curran, 21, was getting her highlights done and she and her partner had just got back from holiday in Rhodes in Greece.

“We did an all-inclusive trip because it was a bit more manageable, but it’s not cheap,” she said.

Francesca Ramsden A family of four stand on a platform overlooking a mountain and coastline. On the left is a tall man wearing a blue top and sunglasses, in the middle is a boy with a black cap and white top, on the right is a woman in sunglasses and an animal print top and in front is a young girl in a white dressFrancesca Ramsden

Nurse Francesca Ramsden says she spends thousands of hours hunting for the best deals

End of life care nurse Francesca Ramsden, 35, from Rossendale, has made it her mission to cut the cost of holidays, saving where she can and hunting for a bargain at every turn.

“My husband is sick of me, he’ll ask ‘have you found anything yet’ and I’ll say no, rocking in the corner after looking for 10,000 hours.

“The longest I’ve booked a holiday in advance is two to three months and I find that the closer you get, the cheaper it is.”

She said she spent hours trying to save as much as possible on a May half-term break to Fuerte Ventura for her family of four which came in at £1,600.

She now shares her budgeting tips on social media.

“I’ve mastered the art of packing a week’s worth of clothes into a backpack. I always book the earliest or latest flight I can, and midweek when it’s cheaper.”

Abi Smitton / BBC News A man with brown hair sits at a desk, wearing a black polo neck shirt.Abi Smitton / BBC News

Travel consultant Luke says people are getting creative to save money

Luke Fitzpatrick, a travel consultant at Perfect Getaways in Liverpool, said people were cutting the length of their holidays to save money.

“Last year we did a lot for 10 nights and this year we’ve got a lot of people dropping to four or seven nights, just a short little weekend vacation, just getting away in the sun,” he said.

He has also seen more people choosing to wait until the last minute to book a trip away.

“People are coming in with their suitcases asking if they can go away today or tomorrow,” he added.

“Yesterday we had a couple come in with their passports and we got them on a flight last night from Liverpool to Turkey.”

Graphic reading Cost of Living Tackling It Together with a woman filling a mug from a kettle

How to save money on your holiday

  • Choose a cheaper location. A UK holiday eliminates travel and currency costs, but overseas destinations vary a lot too
  • To decide whether all-inclusive will save you money, first look at local costs for eating out and don’t forget about drinks and airport transfers
  • Travel outside the school holidays if you can
  • Booking early can help, especially if you have to travel at peak times
  • Check whether you can get a cheaper flight by travelling mid-week
  • Haggle. Call the travel agent to see if they can better the price you found online
  • Choose destinations where the value of the pound is strong. This year that includes Turkey, Bulgaria and Portugal

Source: Which? and TravelSupermarket



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Anthropic announces University of San Francisco School of Law will fully integrate Claude

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Anthropic, the mind behind ChatGPT competitor Claude, is joining the industry-wide charge into education, as the tech company announces a new university and classroom partnerships that will put their educational chatbot into the hands of students of all ages.

Announced today, Claude for Education will be entering more classrooms and boosting its peer-reviewed knowledge bank, as it integrates with teaching and learning software Canvas, textbook and courseware company Wiley, and video learning tool Panopto.

“We’re building toward a future where students can reference readings, lecture recordings, visualizations, and textbook content directly within their conversations,” the company explained.

Students and educators can connect Wiley and Panopto materials to Claude’s data base using pre-built MCP servers, says Anthropic, and access Claude directly in the Canvas coursework platform. In summary: students can use Claude like a personal study partner.

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And Claude is coming to higher education, too. The University of San Francisco School of Law will become the first fully AI-integrated law school with new Claude AI-enabled learning — as the legal field contentiously addresses the introduction of generative AI. Anthropic is also expanding its student ambassador program and network of Claude Builder Clubs across campuses, launching its first free AI fluency course.

“We’re excited to introduce students to the practical use of LLMs in litigation,” said University of San Francisco Dean Johanna Kalb. “One way we’re doing this is through our Evidence course, where this fall, students will gain direct experience applying LLMs to analyze claims and defenses, map evidence to elements of each cause of action, identify evidentiary gaps to inform discovery, and develop strategies for admission and exclusion of evidence at trial.”

Earlier this week, Anthropic announced it was joining a coalition of AI partners who were forming the new National Academy for AI Instruction, led by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). Anthropic’s $500,000 investment in the project will support a brick-and-mortar facility and later nationwide expansion of a free, educator-focused AI training curriculum.

“The stakes couldn’t be higher: while the opportunity to accelerate educational progress is unprecedented, missteps could deepen existing divides and cause lasting harm,” Anthropic said. “That’s why we’re committed to navigating this transformation responsibly, working hand-in-hand with our partners to build an educational future that truly serves everyone.”


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