Pope Leo’s first encyclical warns that without stronger regulation and ethical oversight, artificial intelligence risks undermining democracy, human dignity and social cohesion by concentrating power in the hands of governments and technology companies.

Action on Armed Violence has joined a coalition of UK organisations in endorsing a statement urging universities to reject the Defence Universities Alliance, warning that closer ties between higher education and the defence sector risk undermining academic independence and accelerating the militarisation of campuses.

Britain’s post-service support for 1.85 million veterans has expanded on paper but remains fragmented and underpowered in practice, leaving predictable points of failure in discharge, mental health access, compensation and housing that fall hardest on the young and the vulnerable.

Beneath the official rhetoric of “homes for heroes” lies a stark reality: while veterans make up a small fraction of homelessness cases, their struggles highlight broader failures in housing policy, welfare support, and mental health provision.