children

Malaysia has introduced new regulations preventing children under the age of 16 from registering accounts on social media platforms as part of a broader effort to improve online safety and protect minors from harmful digital content.

Under the new rules, major social media companies including Meta Platforms, TikTok, and Alphabet will be required to verify users’ ages using government issued records before allowing new account registrations.

The policy took effect on Monday and is being enforced by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission. Companies that fail to comply could face fines of up to 10 million ringgit, equivalent to approximately 2.5 million dollars.

Authorities emphasized that the measure is not intended to block children from using the internet entirely, but rather to ensure greater responsibility among technology companies, parents, and guardians in protecting young users online.

How the New Rules Will Work

The new framework requires social media platforms to implement age verification systems that cross check user information against official government records.

While the restrictions immediately apply to new account registrations, existing users will also be subject to age verification measures during a six month implementation period.

The move places greater responsibility on technology companies to ensure that underage users are not able to bypass age requirements through inaccurate information during the registration process.

Growing Concerns Over Children’s Online Safety

Malaysia’s decision reflects increasing global concern about the impact of social media on children and teenagers.

Governments around the world have raised alarms over issues including exposure to harmful content, cyberbullying, online exploitation, misinformation, and the effects of excessive social media use on mental health.

Policymakers argue that stronger safeguards are needed as digital platforms become a central part of daily life for younger generations.

Malaysia’s Wider Crackdown on Online Content

The age restrictions are part of a broader effort by Malaysian authorities to regulate online platforms more aggressively.

Officials have reported a significant increase in harmful online content in recent years and have intensified monitoring of material that could inflame racial or religious tensions. Authorities have also targeted content viewed as insulting or critical of the country’s monarchy.

The government says social media companies must play a more active role in preventing harmful content from reaching vulnerable audiences.

Why It Matters

Malaysia’s decision places it among a growing group of countries seeking stricter regulation of social media platforms and greater protections for children online.

The policy could become a model for other governments considering similar measures, particularly as concerns over digital safety continue to grow worldwide. It also increases pressure on technology companies to develop more reliable age verification systems while balancing privacy concerns and user accessibility.

The move highlights the growing debate over who should bear responsibility for protecting children online, governments, technology firms, or parents.

Key Stakeholders

Children and Teenagers

Young users will face stricter age verification requirements before being allowed to create social media accounts.

Parents and Guardians

Families are expected to play a larger role in monitoring children’s online activities and ensuring compliance with age restrictions.

Social Media Companies

Major technology platforms must implement and maintain age verification systems while ensuring compliance with Malaysian regulations.

Malaysian Government

Authorities aim to reduce children’s exposure to harmful content and strengthen oversight of online platforms.

Digital Rights and Privacy Advocates

Advocacy groups will closely monitor how age verification systems are implemented and whether they affect privacy and data protection standards.

What Happens Next

Social media companies now have six months to complete age verification checks for existing users and fully integrate compliance systems for new registrations.

Regulators are expected to monitor implementation closely and may impose penalties on platforms that fail to meet requirements. The effectiveness of the policy will likely be assessed based on whether it reduces underage access and limits exposure to harmful content.

Other countries in the region may also watch Malaysia’s experience as they consider similar online safety measures.

Analysis

Malaysia’s new restrictions reflect a broader global shift toward stronger regulation of digital platforms, particularly where children are concerned. Governments are increasingly moving away from voluntary industry guidelines and toward legally enforceable requirements that place direct responsibility on technology companies.

The success of the policy will depend largely on the effectiveness of age verification systems. If implementation is weak, underage users may still find ways to access platforms. If verification measures are too strict, however, concerns about privacy, data security, and accessibility could emerge.

The regulation also signals a growing willingness among governments to intervene in how social media platforms operate. As concerns about online safety continue to rise, Malaysia’s approach may become an important test case for balancing child protection, digital rights, and platform accountability in the years ahead.

With information from Reuters.

It has been more than four years since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, expanding its occupation of Ukrainian lands, which started in 2014. In the chaos and violence of the first months of the invasion, families were separated, and childcare institutions were cut off from the control of the central authorities in Kyiv. As a result, the occupation forces forcibly transferred more than 20,000 Ukrainian children to Russia.

Russian officials claimed that they did not abduct Ukrainian children, but “saved” them through humanitarian evacuations. However, international investigations have since found that many such transfers were unlawful under international humanitarian law. In many documented cases, transfers were carried out without the consent of the living parent or legal guardians of the child.

International humanitarian law prohibits all forcible transfers and deportations of protected people from occupied territory, except for evacuations strictly required to ensure the population’s safety. Even then, evacuation must happen within occupied territory, be temporary, preserve family unity and return evacuees home as soon as hostilities cease.

Today, the lives of thousands of Ukrainian children are devastated by this forcible transfer. Instead of abiding by international legal obligations and returning them to their homeland, Russia has transformed the issue into yet another bargaining chip against the Ukrainian people.

But Ukraine refuses to abandon its children. For the past four years, there have been intense efforts from families, NGOs and the Ukrainian government to bring them back.

Take the case of Lesya (the name has been changed to protect her identity), whose testimony was recorded by The Reckoning Project— a global team of journalists and lawyers documenting and publicising atrocities committed in the war. Lesya was 15 years old when Russian forces occupied her village in the Kherson region in 2022. When the occupation authorities imposed a mandatory evacuation, she was put on a truck with more than 30 other children and was sent to a rehabilitation centre in Feodosia, Crimea. A woman accompanying the children told her that her mother would join her shortly.

At the facility, Lesya and other Ukrainian children were subjected to a strict routine, forced to do chores and study in Russian, using Russian textbooks. They were kept under surveillance indoors most of the time in a building with windows that could not be opened. Two days a week, the children underwent military training.

Eventually, a relative located her, and with the help of Save Ukraine, a Ukrainian NGO facilitating children’s return, her mother managed to bring her back.

But Lesya’s case is the exception rather than the rule. More than 2,000 Ukrainian children have been brought back thanks to efforts by NGOs, the government and foreign mediators.

Pressure through international institutions has also been pursued, but that has not accelerated the process of return.

In March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued warrants of arrest for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Lvova-Belova for the unlawful deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children.

In July 2025, the European Court of Human Rights, in Ukraine and the Netherlands v Russia, found Russia responsible for a number of human rights violations, including the organised removal of children. The court also required Russia to cooperate in establishing a mechanism to find and safely return children.

In March this year, the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine concluded that Russia’s deportation and forcible transfer of Ukrainian children amount to crimes against humanity. The report identifies the removal of Ukrainian children as a part of a well-planned and systematically executed policy, conceived at the highest level.

On May 11, the European Union sanctioned 16 individuals and seven entities, while the United Kingdom sanctioned 29 individuals and entities responsible for the deportation, forced transfer, forced assimilation, indoctrination, militarisation and unlawful adoption of Ukrainian children. Overall, the EU has sanctioned more than 130 people and organisations for these actions. The United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, Switzerland and several other countries have introduced similar measures.

The lack of progress on this issue has driven families to desperation. Some have tried to bring their children back on their own or through often-daring missions by Save Ukraine and five other Ukrainian NGOs.

There should be no need for these risky missions. Under international humanitarian law, Russia is obligated to identify and register Ukrainian children in their care, facilitate family reunification, and permit access to neutral actors assisting Ukrainian children.

As negotiations for the end of the war have stalled and other global events have displaced Ukraine from global headlines, we urgently need to put the issue of the abducted Ukrainian children back in the spotlight.

There are several areas in which existing efforts can expand.

First, a comprehensive tracing mechanism needs to be established and financed to track abducted Ukrainian children and prevent their disappearance into dispersed care and adoption systems.

Second, ongoing legal efforts to hold to account Russian officials involved in the abduction should be intensified. This means coordinated prosecutions in states where the universal jurisdiction principle can be applied, as well as joint investigation strategies supported by Eurojust, the EU’s judicial hub. Ukraine’s partners should support its judicial processes launched against Russian officials and cooperate where needed, including through extraditions where legally applicable and other lawful transfer mechanisms. While justice may be slow, the prospect of accountability can have a deterrent effect.

Third, states can and should fully implement sanctions, trade restrictions and other obligations they assumed but did not consistently observe in practice. The sanctions regime on Russia has severely hurt its economy, but it has also seen continuous evasion. A strict implementation can help put more pressure on the regime in Moscow.

While stories of family reunions are heartening, they are just a drop in a bucket compared with the number of children who continue to be separated from their families and absorbed into a system of indoctrination and militarisation.

We must not allow the issue of returning Ukrainian children to be yet another negotiating chip for Moscow. It cannot be put on hold because negotiations have stalled or because other priorities have captured the world’s attention.

Four years is a long time in a child’s life. Each passing day further erodes their national identity and deepens the pain of separation, as they grow up in a hostile environment. There is no principle more universal than the belief that children belong with their parents and loved ones, and Ukrainian children deserve this basic human right today, not at some point in the future.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.

The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has vowed not to shut down schools in Ituri province, despite the ongoing Ebola outbreak, which has already killed five schoolchildren since the epidemic began. The government announced the decision on Thursday, May 28, during a press briefing by the Minister of Public Health, Roger Kamba. 

Roger noted at the press briefing that the government’s focus is on enhancing preventive measures in schools rather than shutting them down. 

“We are not going to close schools. Our priority is to implement preventive measures to avoid further hardships for the children,” the Minister insisted. He expressed concern over the five schoolchildren who lost their lives, noting that many of these fatalities were related to self-medication and delays in accessing medical care.

Meanwhile, Congolese health officials had urged families to refrain from treating suspected cases at home and to seek medical help promptly. The officials warned amid heightened health monitoring in Ituri, where local authorities and partners are ramping up awareness campaigns to curb the spread of the virus.

The current outbreak spans three provinces: Ituri, South Kivu, and North Kivu, affecting 13 health zones. As of May 26, Ituri province reported 16 new confirmed cases, bringing the total to 121 confirmed cases and 17 deaths. “We know the outbreak in the DR Congo is more extensive, with over 900 suspected cases and 220 suspected deaths,” stated WHO Director General Tedros Ghebreyesus.

Tedros had earlier warned that the current Ebola epidemic affecting parts of the DRC  is attributed to the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, stressing that there is currently no approved vaccine or treatment available. While discussing the troubling elements contributing to the Ebola outbreak in the DRC, Tedros said that, unlike earlier strains such as Zaire Ebola, which have effective medical solutions, the Bundibugyo strain poses a significant challenge due to the absence of preventive vaccines and effective treatments. 

The lack of medical options raises serious epidemiological concerns, with the WHO director reporting around 600 suspected cases and 139 fatalities. The numbers are likely to increase, as the virus may have been spreading undetected for some time. 

The virus has infiltrated multiple urban areas, and healthcare workers have also been impacted, increasing the risk of transmission nationwide. The situation is further complicated by regional security issues, particularly in Ituri province, which has faced significant violence since late 2025, displacing thousands of people. This area is a resource-rich mining zone with a highly mobile population, contributing to a heightened risk of virus spread.

Given the lack of validated treatments, however,  the WHO is investigating potential vaccines and therapeutics for widespread use. Tedros has called upon the international community to take action, stressing that the five identified risk factors, including population movement, transmission within health facilities, and urban expansion, could collectively worsen the epidemic’s impact on public health. 

Syrian commission confirms the deaths of Rania al-Abbasi’s six children, missing since 2013 under Bashar al-Assad’s rule.

Syria’s National Commission for Missing Persons (NCMP) says the children of dentist and former chess champion Rania al‑Abbasi, who disappeared with their parents more than a decade ago under then-President Bashar al-Assad, are likely dead.

“We have reached reliable and corroborating results that allow us to conclude with a high degree of professional certainty that Dr Rania al-Abbasi’s children are deceased,” the NCMP said in a statement on Saturday.

The fate of the children, unknown for years, became a symbol of the plight of other missing children of detainees and those forcibly disappeared during al-Assad’s rule, which ended with his ouster in 2024.

Al-Abbasi went missing along with her husband, Abdul Rahman Yasin, and their six children, aged three to 15, in March 2013 after government forces raided their home in Damascus, according to rights groups.

The commission, set up by the country’s new rulers in May 2025 to investigate missing and forcibly disappeared people, said its findings were “based on multiple verification and analysis procedures” conducted in coordination with national authorities.

“Efforts to find the remains … are still ongoing,” it added.

Hassan al-Abbasi, Rania’s brother, confirmed the children’s deaths in a video posted on Facebook.

He said the family had been able to view video recordings linked to the main suspect in a 2013 massacre in a Damascus district, including one showing him accusing children in a dark room of being “major financiers of terrorism”.

“They turned out to be our children,” Hassan al-Abbasi said. “We finally saw them … but they were martyred.”

The fate of Rania and her husband remains officially unknown after all contact with them was lost following their arrest on accusations linked to opposition to the Assad government.

Rights groups and media reports suggest they may have died, though their bodies were never found.

The issue of missing people remains one of the most pressing in Syria. They include detainees who vanished in government prisons as well as people who went missing during fighting, at checkpoints or while fleeing their homes over the years of civil war.

Tens of thousands of people were detained or disappeared during the war, which erupted in 2011 after a brutal crackdown on antigovernment protests by al-Assad.

The NCMP said last year that the number of people who went missing over decades of al-Assad family rule may exceed 300,000.

Notorious al-Assad regime figure linked to killings

Separately on Saturday, the Syrian Ministry of Interior said its investigation into the disappearance of al-Abbasi’s children had uncovered evidence linking Amjad Youssef – a notorious figure during al-Assad’s rule and the perpetrator of the 2013 Tadamon massacre – to their killing.

In a statement, it said interrogations of detainees, together with videos and information shared by the NCMP, had helped strengthen the case.

Youssef was arrested in April, prompting many Syrians to demand “just punishment” for a man they say carried out the massacre in cold blood.

The Tadamon case drew international attention after footage surfaced documenting the killings.

In 2022, The Guardian newspaper in the United Kingdom published footage it said had been leaked by a conscript in a pro-government militia showing members of the Assad-era Military Intelligence Branch 227 killing at least 41 people and burning their bodies.

The video showed an intelligence officer, identified as Youssef, shooting blindfolded and bound detainees.

Australian Federal Police have not made any arrests but say inquiries are ongoing.

A group of 19 women and children with alleged links to ISIL (ISIS) has returned to Australia, with the government warning that anyone found to have engaged in criminal activity will be prosecuted.

The six women and 13 children arrived from a Syrian refugee camp on Tuesday, with one group landing in Sydney and the other in Melbourne.

It is the second cohort of Australian women and children to return from Syria this month. Responding to criticism over their arrival, the Australian government said it had not assisted them in any capacity.

“These are people who have made the horrific choice to join a dangerous terrorist organisation and to place their children in an unspeakable situation,” Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke said.

Australian women began travelling to Syria to marry members of ISIL in 2012, with some allegedly taken against their will.

At the height of its power in 2015, ISIL controlled territory across Syria and Iraq roughly equivalent in size to the United Kingdom.

Australian Federal Police did not arrest any members of the group upon their arrival but said that investigations were ongoing.

The group’s return has sparked anger in some sections of Australian society.

According to local media, a large police presence was deployed at Melbourne airport, where a scuffle reportedly broke out as the group of women and children was escorted out through a side entrance.

Australia is one of several Western countries that have shown reluctance to repatriate citizens who travelled to the Middle East to join ISIL about a decade ago.

Both France and the UK have expressed opposition to allowing former ISIL members to return.

In 2022, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child said that France’s failure to repatriate children born to French nationals in Syria violated their right to life and exposed them to inhumane treatment.

Meanwhile, the UK stripped British national Shamima Begum of her citizenship in 2019 on national security grounds.

In February, the Australian government issued a temporary exclusion order against a woman in Syria, preventing her from returning home.

Her child, who was not barred from returning, chose to stay with her.

The order prevents the woman from returning to Australia until February 2028, and her family is currently challenging the decision.

Afzal Ashraf, a visiting fellow at Loughborough University specialising in international relations and security, said the risk posed by people returning from countries including Syria needs to be viewed proportionately.

“There will be some security challenges, because people like this are likely to suffer from issues such as PTSD,” Ashraf told Al Jazeera.

“The fact of the matter is that there are security challenges in Australia and other countries, but statistically speaking, the return of these nationals doesn’t increase that risk very much, while the threat to life from terrorism is far lower than the threat posed by road accidents, for example.”

“That said, these threats can be reduced by providing comprehensive mental health support for returnees and ensuring they are reintegrated into society in a positive way, with follow-up programmes to address any dangerous ideas they may have adopted,” Ashraf said.

“It’s worth remembering that ISIL has killed far more Muslims than Westerners.”

Earlier this month, four women and 13 children arrived in Australia from Syria. Three of the women were arrested upon arrival.

Danny Dyer is hosting new ITV quiz show, Nobody’s Fool, with Emily Atack

ITV viewers looking for their next game show need look no further as Danny Dyer’s brand new quiz show, Nobody’s Fool, is starting tonight.

Nobody’s Fool, which is hosted by Danny, 48, and Emily Atack, sees ten contestants take part in the strategic quiz show with a big twist.

In the programme, the fate of the contestants isn’t decided by how smart they are but rather how smart their fellow contestants think they are.

During the quiz show, players must determine who is the weakest amongst them and eliminate them in a brutal twist.

Host Danny said of the new series: “This is a blinder of a game show and unlike anything I’ve seen before.

“Emily and I had a brilliant time making it and much like the audience at home will be, we were kept guessing right until the very end.”

As Danny hosts the new show, as well as currently appearing on hit series Rivals as Freddie Jones, where Emily also stars as Sarah Stratton, let’s take a look at the former EastEnders star’s life off-screen…

Who is Danny’s wife?

Danny and Joanne Mas are childhood sweethearts who first crossed paths when they were just 14 years old. The pair eventually started dating in 1992 and welcomed their first child, Dani, in 1996.

Nevertheless, Danny and Joanne parted ways shortly after their daughter arrived. However, the pair eventually got back together and welcomed second daughter Sunnie Jo in 2007, followed by son Arty in 2014.

Joanne, who had worked as a financial adviser before Danny shot to stardom, popped the question to her now-husband on Valentine’s Day in 2015, in a daring gesture that the actor said he “loved.”

Danny and Joanne exchanged vows in Hampshire in September 2016, surrounded by their nearest and dearest, with the ceremony featured in HELLO! Magazine.

On the day, Danny shared with the publication: “To be standing here with the girl I grew up with – looking so beautiful in her wedding dress – that is a lovely thing. Jo is my best girl – the love of my life. Without her, I would be nothing.”

Who are Danny’s children?

Danny and Joanne’s three children have taken after their father’s celebrated career, with eldest daughter Dani, 29, having established her own path in the limelight. She triumphed on Love Island in 2018 and also recently took part in Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins.

Danny and Dani also have their own shows together, including The Dyers’ Caravan Park, Absolutely Dyer: Danny & Dani do Italy, as well as their podcast Live and Let Dyers.

Dani also works as an influencer, having collaborated with brands including InTheStyle. The 29-year-old is mother to son Santiago, whom she shares with former partner Sammy Kimmence, plus twin daughters Star and Summer, with husband Jarrod Bowen. Dani and West Ham United footballer Jarrod, 29, tied the knot in 2025.

Meanwhile, Sunnie, now 19, regularly displays her passion for fashion and travel on social media, much like her elder sister, and has begun attending red carpet events with her renowned dad, including his recent film premieres. She also featured on ITV’s Big Star’s Little Star in 2015.

The youngest of the Dyer family, Arty, 12, has already made his cinematic debut, having appeared alongside Danny in the film Marching Powder last year.

Danny has discussed being a devoted grandfather to Dani’s children, disclosing he cares for the three youngsters when Dani and Jarrod are both away.

Speaking on KISS FM, the EastEnders actor previously said: “Dani’s going to Germany, and so I’ve got all the grandkids. It’ll be hard work trying to watch it with three kids under three in my house, a barking bulldog, a ten-year-old son, and a menopausal wife. Wish me luck, everyone, because that’s a combination that, init.”

Nobody’s Fool launches on Saturday 23 May at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.

In too many parts of the world, giving birth still comes with more fear than hope: a clinic without electricity, a nurse without supplies, a mother who knows that giving life may cost her own. These fears are not merely emotional, they are borne out by the facts. Every two minutes worldwide, a woman dies while giving life. Every year, nearly five million children do not live to see their fifth birthday. A toll that will rise if aid cuts continue. The Lancet medical journal estimates that by 2030, more than 14 million additional people could die, including 4.5 million children under five – the equivalent of erasing a city the size of Abuja, Brasilia or Rome.

The true measure of global progress is not found in financial markets or summit declarations. It is found in whether a woman survives pregnancy and childbirth, whether a child is vaccinated and nourished, and whether an adolescent can grow up healthy, safe and hopeful. When women, children and adolescents thrive, societies are stronger, economies are more resilient, and nations are better prepared for the future. When they are failed, the costs are measured not only in preventable deaths and suffering, but in lost human potential on a massive scale.

This is why investing in women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health is one of the most important investments any government can make. The evidence is overwhelming. Closing the gap in women’s health alone could add at least $1 trillion to the global economy every year by 2040. Every dollar invested in childhood vaccination or adolescent mental health returns about $20 over a lifetime – in healthcare savings, in productivity, in lives that go on to build something. Healthy women anchor families and economies. Healthy children grow into workers and citizens. Healthy children and adolescents are better equipped to participate in society, build livelihoods and shape more stable, prosperous futures.

Yet health systems around the world are being pushed to breaking point by aid cuts, debt, conflict and shrinking fiscal space. In 2025, official development assistance fell by 23 percent – the largest annual drop in history. In more than 50 countries, health workers are losing their jobs and training pipelines are breaking down. In some places, maternal care, vaccination and emergency response have been cut by 70 percent. At the same time, sexual and reproductive health rights are under intensifying political attack, putting hard-won progress at risk.

Women and girls bear the heaviest burden. In 2023, six in 10 maternal deaths worldwide were in countries in conflict or fragility. In fact, a woman living in a conflict-affected country is five times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than her counterpart in a stable country. Too many women still lack access to quality maternal healthcare, contraception and essential reproductive services. Too many girls face violence, discrimination and barriers to healthcare that limit not only their well-being, but their freedom and future. When budgets tighten, women and children are too often the first to feel the cuts and the last to be protected.

This is not inevitable. It is a matter of political choice.

In South Africa, we are working to strengthen primary healthcare, expanding equitable access to quality services, investing in the health workforce and building a more inclusive health system that reaches those most in need. We understand that progress in health is inseparable from progress in equality and development. A society cannot prosper if women are denied care, if children are left unprotected, or if adolescents are excluded from the services and opportunities they need to thrive.

In Spain, a public national health service has delivered universal coverage and one of the world’s lowest maternal and infant mortality rates. We believe – with vision, determination and solidarity – that what we have achieved at home can be achieved globally. This is why Spain’s Global Health Strategy 2025–2030 places equity, resilient health systems and sexual and reproductive health rights at the centre of our international action, and why we are working to raise the global ambition on sustainable development financing and to defend gender equality as a democratic and development imperative.

At the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in Sevilla last year, through the Sevilla Commitment and the Sevilla Platform for Action, we helped focus international attention on debt distress, sustainable investment and reform of the global financing architecture.

These issues may appear technical, but their consequences are deeply human. They determine whether health systems can recruit and retain workers, whether medicines reach clinics, whether women can access care safely, and whether children and adolescents are given a fair chance at life.

We must also be unequivocal in defending sexual and reproductive health and rights. These rights are not secondary, and they are not negotiable. They are central to dignity, equality and public health. No woman or girl should be denied access to life-saving care because of politics, poverty or discrimination. No society can claim to value justice while tolerating persistent gender-based violence or the systematic erosion of women’s autonomy and rights.

The question before the international community is therefore not whether we can afford to invest in women, children and adolescents. It is whether we can afford not to. The answer is clear. The long-term costs of inaction – greater instability, deeper inequality, weaker economies and millions of preventable deaths – are far higher than the cost of acting now. Higher than the cost of keeping the lights on in that clinic.

This is the spirit in which Spain is joining the Global Leaders Network, which brings together 12 heads of state and government committed to advancing the health and rights of women, children and adolescents. But this effort must not stop with us. The challenges are too large, and the stakes are too high, for leadership to remain limited to a few countries.

We need more governments to step forward, to protect essential health services, invest in frontline health workers, defend sexual and reproductive health and rights, and ensure that financing reforms deliver for the people who need them most. We need more leaders to recognise that women, children and adolescents are not a peripheral concern of global policy. They are its clearest test.

This is a moment for political courage. A moment to choose investment over retreat, solidarity over indifference, and action over complacency. Above all, it is a moment to recognise a simple truth: if women, children and adolescents are not at the centre of our decisions, then the future will not be fair, stable or sustainable. But if they are, then a better future remains within reach.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.

LOOK Mum No Computer is competing for the UK at the iconic Eurovision Song Contest tonight.

As one of Eurovision’s “Big Four” (formerly “Big Five”), the UK gets an automatic place in this Saturday’s final.

But the competition gets real this evening for Sam Battle, who is representing the UK with his single Eins, Zwei, Drei, because there can only be one winner.

Speaking about Eurovision in a press conference ahead of the final, the artist said: “It has been a lot of work, especially as I have just become a new dad at the same time as prepping for Eurovision.”

Who is Look Mum No Computer?

Sam Battle, widely known as Look Mum No Computer, is an English musician and electronics enthusiast from Peterborough, Cambridgeshire.

On his YouTube channel with more than 700k subscribers, he posts videos about making pro audio gear and synthesizers, as well as original music tracks.

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Battle is known for playing unusual musical devices made from vintage technology, such as a classic Raleigh Chopper bicycle and a Game Boy.

The YouTuber also runs This Museum Is Not Obsolete, a museum in Ramsgate, Kent, showcasing vintage devices repurposed for comic uses.

Sam has been curious about mechanics since early childhood, when he spent much of his time building rockets and robots.

After starting a university course in chemistry, he realised that he “was really not cut out for that” and switched to a music tech course instead.

However, he still quit his studies halfway through to join a music band in London for three years.

Stuck with an album that wasn’t being released and no gigs, Sam used this time to learn electronics.

He worked in numerous jobs, from fixing bicycles at Halfords to cooking in a restaurant, before before setting up indie-rock group ZIBRA with his three friends.

They performed at the Glastonbury Festival in 2015 as the final act on the BBC Introducing stage.

The musician launched his YouTube channel in 2013, primarily posting content for the the band — until its end in 2016 when he switched to his solo music project.

His younger sister Jodie Bartle, who appears in the music clip for Eins, Zwei, Drei by Look Mum No Computer, plays football for Wrexham.

In 2025, Sam developed a video game in collaboration with German indie studio The Bitfather and publisher Headup Games.

The game, called Look Mum No Computer, was nominated for the German Developer Award for Best Audio Design.

Who is Look Mum No Computer’s wife Melanie?

Sam Battle has been married to his wife Melanie for more than a decade.

On her Instagram, Melanie shared that she met Sam after “nicking a piece of plastic from outside of [his] house”.

The couple tied the knot in 2012 and have three children together.

Dr Melanie King is an awarded artist and curator based in Ramsgate who specialises in astronomy, alternative and analogue photography.

She works as a co-director of Lumen Studios, an art collective exploring the themes of astronomy and light, and super/collider, an independent agency that “celebrates and champions the connections between science, creativity and culture”.

In 2013, Melanie founded the London Alternative Photography Collective, which has grown from a small group of analogue and alternative photography practitioners to a collective producing large-scale symposiums, exhibitions and workshops.

Recently completing her PhD in Fine Art at the Royal College of Art, the mum-of-three also teaches Photography at Canterbury Christ Church University.

The couple welcomed their baby boy Max in April 2026, as Sam had been working hard on his performance in the iconic song contest.

On his Instagram page, the musician has recently posted more photos of the baby, adding: “Not long till he (Max) will be holding a soldering iron and helping!”

Russian institutions and officials accused of systemic deportation and indoctrination of children during the war on Ukraine.

The European Union and United Kingdom have imposed sanctions on Russian institutions and officials accused of systematically deporting and indoctrinating Ukrainian children.

The EU announced measures against 23 state institutions and people on Monday. The UK simultaneously unveiled a broader package targeting 85 people and entities, roughly a third of them linked to what was described as Russia’s campaign to forcibly deport and militarise Ukrainian children.

Russia has deported and forcibly transferred nearly 20,500 Ukrainian children since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, an EU statement noted. It branded the actions as grave breaches of international law.

The EU said its designations target institutions and individuals involved in programmes subjecting children to pro-Russian indoctrination, including patriotic events, ideological education and military-oriented activities.

The sanctions, which include asset freezes and travel bans, were approved by the EU’s 27 nations in coordination with Canada and the UK, which announced similar measures.

“Stealing children is not incidental. It is a deliberate Russian policy, a calculated attack on Ukraine’s future,” the EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, told a news conference.

The UK sanctions announcement named the Centre for Military and Patriotic Training and Education of Youth, known as the warrior centre, a Russian state institution at which Ukrainian children are reportedly subjected to military training and pro-Kremlin ideology.

Also targeted was Yulia Sergeevna Velichko, the Moscow-installed minister for youth policy in the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic, for her role in implementing state-led initiatives.

UK Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Yvette Cooper said the UK would continue working alongside allies to support every effort to identify and trace children who had been taken.

Russia does not deny taking the children but has said it has done so for their protection, moving them away from front-line areas, and claims it is willing to return them when relatives come forward and can be verified.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2023 for the war crime of illegal deportation of children from Ukraine.

Responding to the announced sanctions, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said: “These are the ones who ‘rewire’ the identity of Ukrainian children, help make them hate their homeland, and one day take up arms to fight against Ukraine.”

The UK’s broader sanctions package also took aim at Russian information warfare operations, with the remaining measures targeting individuals and entities linked to alleged Kremlin propaganda campaigns.

Among them were 49 people working for the Social Design Agency, a state-funded Russian organisation accused of running disinformation and interference operations, including attempts to establish pro-Russia organisations in Armenia and influence the outcome of upcoming elections.

Traditionally a strong Russian ally, the Caucasian country has recently been moving away from Moscow’s orbit.

Last week, the Armenian ambassador was summoned to protest what the Kremlin described as “terrorist threats against Russia” made by Zelenskyy in a speech delivered in Yerevan.

It is Ramadan, and Bintu Suleiman, a 55-year-old mother and trader from Ngoshe in Borno State, North East Nigeria, is about to break her fast with her family.

Then, the gunshots begin, and within the hour, her home is on fire. As the terrorists round people up, she manages to slip away with her children and grandchildren into the bush. Later, she realises four of them did not make it with her. They are somewhere up in the mountains.

In this episode of #VOV, we see that, after the attack, Bintu, now displaced, is sheltering at a government primary school in Pulka and has no news of her children and grandchildren.

Reported by Sabiqah Bello

Voice acting by Rukayya Saeed

Multimedia editor is Anthony Asemota

Executive producer is Ahmad Salkida

Mass kidnappings are a common way for gangs and armed groups to make quick money in Nigeria.

Gunmen have raided an orphanage and kidnapped at least 23 children, authorities in Nigeria report.

The gang took the children late on Sunday from an unregistered facility called the Dahallukitab Group of Schools, located in an “isolated area” in Kogi State’s capital, Lokoja, Kogi Information Commissioner Kingsley Fanwo said in a statement on Monday.

Mass kidnappings have become a common way for gangs and armed groups to make quick money in Africa’s most populous country, especially in rural areas with little government presence.

Fanwo said the “prompt and coordinated response” of security agencies led to the rescue of 15 children but eight are still missing.

The wife of the proprietor of the orphanage was also abducted, according to the statement.

“Intensive operations are ongoing to secure the safe return of the remaining eight victims and apprehend the perpetrators,” the official said.

The orphanage was operating “illegally” in a remote location without the knowledge of relevant authorities and security agencies, Fanwo added.

The statement did not disclose the ages of the abducted children, but it referred to them as “pupils”, which in Nigeria usually refers to someone in kindergarten or primary school, covering ages up to 12.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

Nigeria faces multiple conflicts from long-running violence by the Boko Haram armed group to “bandit” gangs, farmer-herder violence and southeastern separatists.

The ISIL (ISIS)-linked Lakurawa group also operates in communities in the northwestern part of the country bordering Niger.

The North Central Zone of Nigeria, where Kogi is located, has seen violent attacks, including raids on schools, in recent months with some of the attacks blamed on armed groups.

Hundreds of students were taken by gunmen from their school in neighbouring Niger State in November in an attack security sources blamed on Boko Haram.

April 21 (UPI) — The British government announced it will pass legislation to ban children from using smartphones in schools in England.

The plans unveiled Monday in the House of Lords by Baroness Jacqui Smith, the education minister, formalize what is already policy in many schools but introduces a “clear legal requirement” that would empower them to enforce it — including removing phones from children before class.

The proposed amendment to the Labour administration’s Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill came after repeated efforts by members of the upper chamber over the past few months to tack on a social media ban for children younger than 16.

Further “ping pong” opposition and blocking, with the Lords repeatedly refusing to pass the legislation and sending it back to the House of Commons, could risk the flagship bill running out of time to become law in the current session of parliament, which is due to end within weeks.

“We recognize the strength of feeling on this issue, both in this House and beyond,” said Baroness Smith.

“Notwithstanding the fact that we think the guidance already in place provides head teachers and schools with a range of approaches to be able to deliver the objective that we all share, we are committing to tabling an amendment in lieu, which will place the existing guidance on a statutory footing in the Bill, creating a clear legal requirement for schools.

“We’ve listened to concerns about how we support headteachers in delivering on this policy and we have listened to parliament,” added Baroness Smith.

The law will only apply to schools in England because education is an area where power is devolved to the parliaments and assemblies of the other countries of the United Kingdom — Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The move came two months after the Department for Education issued new guidance to schools that they should be phone-free environments, including during lessons, between lessons, breaktimes and at lunch, but stops short of an outright ban, stating only that phones must be off and in a bag or jacket.

Baroness Smith rejected criticism from some Lords that while the government’s proposal removes the “not seen, not heard” policy from guidance to schools — because phones remain a distraction even when off and out of sight — there was confusion with schools assuming the existing policy remains unchanged and “will continue to be the norm in schools.”

“We have now taken that out of the guidance, and we would be willing to consider whether we should be stronger on that. It is a complex area where different schools and different head teachers might have different ways of achieving the outcome, but it is not possible for me to say that it would be impossible [for children to still use their phones],” said Baroness Smith.

Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the opposition Conservative Party opposition, said Tuesday that her party had been battling Prime Minister Keir Starmer for a ban for over a year and that it had only been realized due to the efforts of her education secretary, Laura Trott.

“In March last year, I asked Starmer to ban phones in schools. He dismissed it as ‘completely unnecessary.’ Now it’s the latest Government U-turn. This is a testament to the relentless work of Laura Trott and our shadow cabinet,” Badenoch wrote on X.

“Now, let’s get under-16s off social media,” she added.

In a post online, Laura Trott, credited the efforts of teachers, parents and health professionals for what she said was “the right step for improving behaviour and raising attainment in our classrooms,” but vowed to hold the government to its word on making sure phones were actually banned.

“We’ll push the government to make clear that ‘not seen & not heard’ policies aren’t allowed,” wrote Trott.

3D-printed technology is being used to help Palestinian children who were injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza but their treatment is at risk due to Israeli restrictions on supplies and aid organisations.

Here’s what Jet2 passengers travelling as a family need to know

Heading off on holiday is an exciting time, but travelling as a family can also prove demanding. You’ll need to ensure everything is organised and all your crucial documents such as passports and boarding passes are sorted.

As well as this before departing, it is useful to familiarise yourself with any rules or regulations you might be unaware of – including any airline requirements. This is particularly important when travelling with children and babies. And by making sure you know what’s expected, you can make your journey as easy as possible.

Here are the latest Jet2 rules for passengers travelling with children and babies.

Firstly, the travel operator allows only those aged 14 or above to travel unaccompanied, and that any passenger under the age of 14 can only travel if accompanied by a passenger aged 16 years or over who will assume full responsibility for them. Jet2 guidance adds: “Some countries impose special conditions for minors who are travelling either alone, or without their legal parent/guardian.”

Passengers are advised to verify the requirements for their destination. When departing or entering Portugal, including Madeira, without a parent or legal guardian, young people under the age of 18 are required to have a letter of authorisation with them.

This letter must be signed by the parent or legal guardian and contain accurate detail confirming the young person’s temporary address and the responsible person’s contact information, while in their destination. Jet2 adds: “To avoid delays at the border, we recommend a copy of the signatories’ (parent or legal guardian) photo identification is carried with the young person for verification purposes, by the authorities at the Portuguese border.

“Residents or nationals of Portugal under the age of 18, leaving Portuguese territory, may additionally require authorisation letters to be legally certified prior to departure.”

Travelling with Jet2 with children and babies

Travellers are permitted to bring up to two items per child or infant at no extra cost, which can include a pram or buggy, a car seat, a baby carrier, and a travel cot. Items must not exceed 32kg in weight and any further items will be subject to excess baggage charges.

Infants under two years of age on the date of travel can fly free of charge. Infants over 7 days old without any underlying health conditions won’t require prior clearance and will be permitted onboard.

However, babies aged between two and seven days old will require prior approval from Jet2.com. Infants 2-14 days old who have been incubated, ventilated or have experienced any birth complications will also need authorisation before flying, and Jet2 says it is unable to carry any infants less than 2 days old.

Bookings can be made before an infant has been born. Should their name be unconfirmed, simply enter the first name as ‘Unborn’ and last name as ‘Baby’. Jet2 further explains: “Once the infant’s name has been confirmed, contact us and we’ll be happy to update the name free of charge.”

Infants will be positioned on the lap of their accompanying adult and fastened using an extension seatbelt, which will be supplied by cabin crew and you are not allowed to use your own infant or extension seatbelt. Alternatively, you can reserve a seat for them where they’ll need to sit in a car seat, provided it meets the necessary criteria.

Anyone wishing to book a seat for an infant is advised to contact the Jet2 Customer Service team for guidance and costs. Jet2 is also informing passengers that if you’re flying with an infant and you’ve already added a hold bag to your booking, your allowance will automatically be increased by an additional 10kg per infant, free of charge.

April 20 (UPI) — A mother and her six children, ranging from 3- to 11-years-old, died in a fire in Clinton County, Pa., when their home exploded.

On Sunday at about 8:42 a.m. EST., emergency response units from nearby Centre and Lycoming counties were alerted to a fire on Long Run Road in Lamar Township. The home of 34-year-old Sarah B. Stolzfus and her children was fully engulfed in flames when first responders arrived on the scene.

State police said the cause of the explosion is under investigation.

Stolzfus and her children, four boys ages 11, 10, 4 and 3, and two daughters, ages 8 and 6, were pronounced dead at the scene.

A propane leak inside the home is a potential cause for the explosion, state police said. There were propane tanks outside of the home that did not explode, nor were they involved in the fire.

April 19 (UPI) — Eight children were killed, and two more injured, in a mass shooting in Louisiana on Sunday morning that police said started as a domestic dispute.

The two survivors are both adult women, with one thought to have been in a relationship with the shooter, who was killed by police after stealing a car and leading them on a short chase, KSLA and NBC News reported.

Officials said they are still investigating the crime scenes to figure out what actually happened, as one of the two women has life-threatening injuries resulting from what is believed to have been a shot in the head.

Some of the children that were killed, who ranged in age from 1 year to 14 years, were related to the alleged shooter, police said.

“This is an extensive scene unlike anything most of us have ever seen,” Shreveport, La., Police Chief Wayne Smith told reporters.

Police responded to reports of a domestic disturbance on the 300 block of West 79th Street in Shreveport around 6 a.m. EDT to find the widespread crime scene.

The initial shooting, police said, occurred at two houses before the suspect attempted a carjacking around the block and then, after a chase, attempted to escape on foot but was shot and killed by police.

A fourth location, a house where one of the shooting victims ran to, is also part of the investigation.

“This is a tragic situation, maybe the worst tragic situation we’ve ever had in Shreveport,” the city’s mayor, Tom Arceneaux, told reporters.

A motive for the shooting remains undetermined, police said.

DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY,

Louisiana community in shock as domestic violence incident leaves eight children dead and two others injured.

Eight children have been killed in a shooting spree in the southern US state of Louisiana, in what police said appears to have been an incident of domestic violence.

The gunman, who was not immediately identified, was fatally shot by police after a car chase early Sunday, officials said.

The incident occurred in Shreveport, northwestern Louisiana.

“This is a rather extensive crime scene spanning between two residences,” Shreveport Police Corporal Chris Bordelon told a press conference, adding that a third residence was also part of the scene being combed by investigators.

The victims ranged in age from one to 14, Bordelon said.

“Some of the children inside were his descendants,” he added.

Two other people were struck by gunfire, but their conditions were not immediately known.

Officials said they were still gathering details about the crime scene, which extended across three locations. Police Chief Wayne Smith said the suspected shooter was fatally shot by police during a vehicle chase.

“This is an extensive scene, unlike anything most of us have ever seen,” Smith added.

Louisiana State Police say their detectives have been asked by Shreveport police to investigate. In a statement, state police say no officers were harmed in the shooting that involved an officer after a police pursuit into Bossier City on Sunday morning.

State police are asking anyone with pictures, video or information to share it with state police detectives.

Al-Noor is a UNRWA centre in Gaza providing education and support for visually impaired children. Operating since 1962, it faces unprecedented pressure as Israel’s war on Gaza has left more than 1,500 people visually impaired since 2023.