When fire alarms failed, this woman livestreamed her escape from the Hong Kong apartment inferno to warn other residents. The live-in nanny rescued her employer’s baby as she raced down 23 flights of stairs at the Wang Fuk Court complex, where at least 146 people lost their lives.
Published On 30 Nov 202530 Nov 2025
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President Trump’s budget landed with a thud this week on Capitol Hill, where even conservative Republicans pronounced it “dead on arrival” and quailed at its proposed sharp cuts to social welfare programs such as food stamps, Meals on Wheels and Medicaid.
Yet some conservatives found plenty to like in the document. Consider the reaction of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a Washington think tank heavily funded by hedge fund billionaire Pete Peterson.
“The President deserves credit for setting a fiscal goal and working to meet it,” the CRFB said in its gloss on the budget. Trump “should be commended for putting forward a number of specific and significant spending cuts to help address the debt.”
Instead of relying on phony growth and unachievable cuts, the President should focus on controlling the rising costs of Social Security and Medicare.
— Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget
But one aspect of the budget plan really stuck in CRFB’s craw: It leaves Social Security and Medicare alone. “The President should focus on controlling the rising costs of Social Security and Medicare, two of the nation’s largest and fastest growing programs, which the budget almost completely ignores.”
Followers of CRFB’s history will recognize that caveat as classic Pete Peterson. As we reported in 2012, the 90-year-old billionaire has been on a long crusade to cut Social Security and Medicare benefits. In a 1994 essay in the New York Review of Books, for example, he laid out his view that the only way to eliminate the federal deficit was by “reforming the entire system of entitlements — the fastest-growing part of the federal budget.” Where have we heard that line before?
In the piece, Peterson called Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid a “vast and largely unearned windfall we now give to the more affluent half of all American households.” By “more affluent half,” he meant all households then earning $32,000 or more. That figure would be about $53,520 in today’s dollars, close to the median income in the U.S. (In other words, after accounting for inflation, the standard of living of the median household hasn’t noticeably progressed in 23 years.)
The CRFB describes itself as “an independent source of objective policy analysis,” but in reality it’s joined to Peterson by the pocketbook. From 2012 through March 2016, the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, the billionaire’s chief pipeline of grants to nonprofits, contributed $8 million to the organization. Peterson sits on its board.
That board is replete with members of what the late muckraking journalist Jack Newfield called “the permanent government” — former members of Congress, agency heads, lobbyists, well-heeled academics, etc., etc. Their board service is unpaid. CRFB President Maya MacGuineas, a frequent speaker and editorialist on the deficit, collected about $394,000 in compensation in 2015, the latest year reported.
The CRFB’s viewpoint on Social Security typically echoes Peterson’s. Its emphasis on bringing the program into fiscal balance leans heavily on benefit cuts. Last December it praised a Social Security “permanent save” offered by conservative Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Texas, that achieved its goal entirely through benefit cuts, without a dime of new revenues such as higher payroll taxes on the wealthy.
The CRFB tends to fret about proposals to raise the payroll tax, even though removing the cap on earned income subject to the tax (currently $127,200) would deliver the single biggest improvement to Social Security’s fiscal condition of any proposal on the table. “Solvency can’t be achieved simply by making the rich pay the same as everyone else or means-testing their benefits,” the committee lectured reformers last month.
In general, the committee approaches budget matters almost entirely through the blinkers of deficit reduction, giving very little attention to the street-level consequences of budget and spending policies. That mind set bubbles through its commentary on the Trump budget, many elements of which it labels “sensible and thoughtful reforms… worthy of consideration.”
The committee doesn’t specify which policies it’s referring to. It observes that the program cuts in the budget “fall disproportionately on programs that benefit children, low-income individuals, and promote investment,” but places that caveat in the context of the “almost inevitable consequence of virtually ignoring the rapid growth of Social Security and Medicare.” The committee does acknowledge, implicitly, that the budget’s $72-billion cut in disability benefits is a Social Security cut — it specifies that it’s Social Security’s Old-Age and Survivors’ Insurance program that remains “largely untouched.”
The CRFB, to its credit, doesn’t give the Trump budget a free pass on its well-documented mathematical mendacity. Like other commentators, it labels the budget’s projection of annual growth exceeding 3% in the economy “rosy,” “extremely optimistic,” even “phony.” Responsible economic analysts place the likely annual growth rate closer to 1.8% to 1.9%.
The committee concludes, “tough choices, not wishful thinking, are needed to fix the debt.” As is typical of the analyses of this billionaire’s pet think tanks, the question it leaves unanswered is “tough for whom?” The inescapable implication is: tough on the beneficiaries of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. If those choices are made, the board members and officers of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget will do just fine.
Keep up to date with Michael Hiltzik. Follow @hiltzikm on Twitter, see his Facebook page, or email [email protected].
Three websites used to create abuse imagery had received 100,000 monthly visits from Australians, watchdog says.
Published On 27 Nov 202527 Nov 2025
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Internet users in Australia have been blocked from accessing several websites that used artificial intelligence to create child sexual exploitation material, the country’s internet regulator has announced.
The three “nudify” sites withdrew from Australia following an official warning, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said on Thursday.
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Grant’s office said the sites had been receiving approximately 100,000 visits a month from Australians and featured in high-profile cases of AI-generated child sex abuse imagery involving Australian school students.
Grant said such “nudify” services, which allow users to make images of real people appear naked using AI, have had a “devastating” effect in Australian schools.
“We took enforcement action in September because this provider failed to put in safeguards to prevent its services being used to create child sexual exploitation material and were even marketing features like undressing ‘any girl,’ and with options for ‘schoolgirl’ image generation and features such as ‘sex mode,’” Grand said in a statement.
The development comes after Grant’s office issued a formal warning to the United Kingdom-based company behind the sites in September, threatening civil penalties of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars ($32.2m) if it did not introduce safeguards to prevent image-based abuse.
Grant said Hugging Face, a hosting platform for AI models, had separately also taken steps to comply with Australian law, including changing its terms of service to require account holders to take steps to minimise the risks of misuse involving their platforms.
Australia has been at the forefront of global efforts to prevent the online harm of children, banning social media for under-16s and cracking down on apps used for stalking and creating deepfake images.
The use of AI to create non-consensual sexually explicit images has been a growing concern amid the rapid proliferation of platforms capable of creating photo-realistic material at the click of a mouse.
In a survey carried out by the US-based advocacy group Thorn last year, 10 percent of respondents aged 13-20 reported knowing someone who had deepfake nude imagery created of them, while 6 percent said they had been a direct victim of such abuse.
During a distinguished playing career, former Ireland, Munster and British and Irish Lions scrum-half Conor Murray played alongside some legendary figures in the world of rugby union.
In a special edition of the BBC’s Ireland Rugby Social podcast, Murray selects the best XV from all the players he lined up with during 15 years participating in the sport at the highest level.
The 36-year-old racked up 125 caps for Ireland, made 207 appearances for Munster and played eight Tests for the Lions across three tours in 2013, 2017 and 2021.
In his own position of scrum-half, Murray selected former Wales number nine Mike Phillips, one of three Welsh players in his XV.
Murray says he learned much from watching Phillips, “taking in as much information as he could” as part of the Lions squad in 2013.
A couple of Englishmen are also included in the selection, with the remainder of the team made up of his former Ireland team-mates.
Murray explains on the podcast that he believes Sam Warburton is worthy of his place in the side at open-side flanker because of both his performances and his leadership abilities.
Warburton led the Lions to a series victory over Australia in 2013 and a drawn series with New Zealand four years later.
The Welsh forward had natural leaders like Brian O’Driscoll and Paul O’Connell in the Lions ranks when he took up the reins for the 2013 tour at just 24 years old.
“To be honest, I’d say it was hard for him [to win everyone over at first],” said Murray.
“You had Paulie [O’Connell] and Drico [O’Driscoll] and players who had been on Lions tours before and people naturally looked up to them. They didn’t have to earn people’s respect.
“They looked up to Sam too but he was a new young captain, young to be captain of a British and Irish Lions team.”
Snapchat has begun asking children and teenagers in Australia to verify their ages, including with software owned by the country’s banks, according to a company spokesperson.
The move on Monday comes as Australia prepares to enforce a world-first social media ban for children under the age of 16 starting on December 10.
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The law, which threatens social media platforms with a fine of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars ($31.95m) for noncompliance, is one of the world’s toughest regulations targeting Big Tech.
In addition to Snapchat, the ban currently applies to YouTube, X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, Twitch and Kick.
In a statement on Saturday, Snapchat said users will be able to verify their age through the ConnectID application, which links to their bank accounts, or by using software owned by Singapore-headquartered age-assurance provider, k-ID.
ConnectID, which is owned and used by most major Australian banks, said it would send the tech platform a “yes/no” signal about whether the person was over 16 based on their account details, without making them upload sensitive information.
“The goal here is to protect young people online without creating new privacy risks,” said ConnectID managing director Andrew Black in a statement.
In the k-ID option, users can upload government-issued identification cards to verify their ages or submit photos, which the application will then use to estimate an age range.
Snapchat has previously said it believes about 440,000 of its users in Australia are aged between 13 and 15.
Snapchat added that it “strongly disagreed” with the Australian government’s assessment that it should be included in the social media ban, claiming its service provides a “visual messaging app”.
“Disconnecting teens from their friends and family doesn’t make them safer – it may push them to less safe, less private messaging apps,” it warned.
Some other apps have been able to secure an exception from the ban, including Discord, WhatsApp, Lego Play and Pinterest. But Australian authorities have reserved the right to update the list of banned platforms as required.
A number of young people and advocates have expressed concerns about the potential consequences of the new ban, including 18-year-old journalist and founder of youth news service 6 News Australia Leo Puglisi, who told an Australian Senate inquiry that the ban will affect young people’s access to information.
UNICEF Australia has also expressed concerns about implementation, saying the changes proposed by the Australian government “won’t fix the problems young people face online”.
“Social media has a lot of good things, like education and staying in touch with friends,” UNICEF Australia said in a statement.
“We think it’s more important to make social media platforms safer and to listen to young people to make sure any changes actually help.”
Katrina Lines, the CEO of children’s therapy provider Act for Kids, said that parents should start having conversations with children as soon as possible about how they can stay connected as the ban comes into effect over the coming weeks.
“It’s important to keep the lines of communication open in the lead up to and even long after these changes take effect,” Lines said.
Act for Kids said it surveyed more than 300 Australian children aged 10 to 16, and found 41 percent would prefer to connect with family in real life compared to only 15 percent who preferred to spend time online. But Lines said families still need to work out how to improve in-person connections.
“One way of starting this conversation could be by asking them how they would like to stay connected to friends and family outside of social media,” she said.
The Australian ban comes amid growing global concern over the effects of social media on children’s health and safety, and companies including TikTok, Snapchat, Google and Meta Platforms – the operator of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp – are facing lawsuits in the United States for their role in fuelling a mental health crisis.
Regulators around the world are closely watching whether Australia’s sweeping restrictions can work.
Malaysia’s Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said on Sunday that the Malaysian government also plans to ban social media for users under the age of 16, starting from next year.
He said the government was reviewing the mechanisms used in Australia and other nations to impose age restrictions for social media use, citing a need to protect youths from online harms such as cyberbullying, financial scams and child sexual abuse.
“We hope by next year that social media platforms will comply with the government’s decision to bar those under the age of 16 from opening user accounts,” he told reporters, according to a video of his remarks posted online by local daily The Star.
In New Zealand, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is also planning to introduce a similar bill to restrict children’s social media use, while Indonesia, too, has said it is preparing legislation to protect young people from “physical, mental, or moral perils”.
In Europe, France, Spain, Italy, Denmark and Greece are jointly testing a template for an age verification app, while the Dutch government has advised parents to forbid children under 15 from using social media apps like TikTok and Snapchat.
Move comes as a growing number of countries are rolling out measures to limit children’s exposure to digital platforms.
Published On 24 Nov 202524 Nov 2025
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Malaysia plans to ban social media for users under the age of 16 starting from next year, joining a growing list of countries choosing to limit access to digital platforms due to concerns about child safety.
Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said on Sunday the government was reviewing mechanisms used to impose age restrictions for social media use in Australia and other nations, citing a need to protect youths from online harms such as cyberbullying, financial scams and child sexual abuse.
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“We hope by next year that social media platforms will comply with the government’s decision to bar those under the age of 16 from opening user accounts,” he told reporters, according to a video of his remarks posted online by local daily The Star.
The effects of social media on children’s health and safety have become a growing global concern, with companies including TikTok, Snapchat, Google and Meta Platforms – the operator of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp – facing lawsuits in the United States for their role in driving a mental health crisis.
In Australia, social media platforms are poised to deactivate accounts registered to users younger than 16 next month, under a sweeping ban for teenagers that is being closely watched by regulators around the world.
France, Spain, Italy, Denmark and Greece are also jointly testing a template for an age verification app.
Malaysia’s neighbour Indonesia said in January it planned to set a minimum age for social media users, but later issued a less stringent regulation requiring tech platforms to filter negative content and impose stronger age verification measures.
Malaysia has put social media companies under greater scrutiny in recent years in response to what it claims to be a rise in harmful content, including online gambling and posts related to race, religion and royalty.
Platforms and messaging services with more than eight million users in Malaysia are now required to obtain a license under a new regulation that came into effect in January.
Former Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Israel has “lost the war on social media,” describing the online space as the most dangerous and complex arena shaping global public opinion, especially among younger generations.
Speaking at the annual conference of the Jewish Federations of North America in Washington, DC, Hagari urged the creation of a powerful new propaganda apparatus modelled on the capabilities and structure of Unit 8200, Israel’s elite cyber intelligence division. He argued that Israel must now fight “a battle of images, videos, and statistics—not lengthy texts.”
Hagari proposed establishing a unit capable of monitoring anti-Israel content across platforms, in real time and in multiple languages, supplying rapid-response messaging and data to government and media outlets. His plan also calls for the systematic creation of fake online identities, automated bot networks, and the use of unofficial bloggers—“preferably mostly young women”—to shape global perceptions.
He warned that the decisive phase of this battle will unfold a decade from now, when students using artificial intelligence tools search for information on the events of October 7 and encounter “two completely contradictory narratives.”
Hagari, a former navy officer who served in sensitive military roles, became Israel’s top military spokesperson in 2023 before being dismissed from the position earlier this year.
READ: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait condemn Israeli prime minister’s tour in occupied Syrian territory
ADAM Peaty’s troubled brother James has made a bizarre move as he joins social media amid a family feud.
Adam, 30, recently took to social media and accused his family of “encouraging” false claims about him and his fiancée Holly Ramsay, 25.
Now, his brother James has joined Instagram and posed topless for his profile picture with Adam’s photo in the background.
Adam has uninvited his whole family, bar his sister, from the couple’s imminent winter wedding over their family rift.
Guests at the event in Bath are expected to include Holly’s chef dad Gordon, as well as David and Victoria Beckham.
Adam’s aunt Louise branded his fiancé Holly “divisive and hurtful” after his mother Caroline wasn’t invited to her hen do at Soho Farmhouse.
Holly later called the police while her husband-to-be was on his stag do in Budapest over concerns he could be assaulted by his brother when he got back to the UK.
Five officers met 30-year-old Adam’s plane when it arrived at Manchester Airport and escorted him through passport control.
It has since emerged that James, 34, was arrested at his Staffordshire home and later bailed.
A source close to Adam and Holly said: “This feud is heart-breaking from both sides.
“But the reality is that Adam sees his mum Caroline to be enabling his brother’s actions rather than pushing him to deal with his demons.
“Poor Caroline must feel utterly torn and it’s just very hard for everyone.
“Gordon has been incredibly supportive of Holly and Adam; after all, he’s been through similar issues with his own brother.”
Adam’s father Mark previously told The Sun: “They’re brothers.
“They’ve always been close but like any normal family, brothers fight, argue, fall out, make-up and start all over again. But it’s got out of hand.
“There’s been very little empathy towards Jamie’s genuine mental health difficulties.”
However, Adam recently assured fans there were two sides to the story and insisted he only has good intentions.
It follows claims that he has changed since meeting Holly and becoming part of the Ramsay clan, distancing himself from his working class roots.
He continued: “Bethany, Holly and myself cannot go into detail given an ongoing police investigation into serious matters that arose long before recent events.
“For those who know me personally, you know that I work so hard on trying to improve myself as a person who wants to contribute to making the world a better place.
“I am continuing to learn about myself and how I can be the man I want to be; a worthy partner, father, businessman, friend and athlete; even through these challenging times.
“Bethany, Holly and I will get through this – we do not ask for sympathy. We just need people to be aware that there are always two sides to every story.
“To those of you who have reached out and shown kindness and understanding – thank you. It is deeply appreciated.”
‘Soon, you’ll no longer be able to use Facebook’, Meta said in messages it sent to young people ahead of the social media ban.
Meta will prevent Australians younger than 16 from accessing Facebook and Instagram from December 4, as Canberra prepares to enforce a sweeping new social media law that has sparked concerns from young people and advocates.
The US tech giant said it would start removing teenagers and children from its platforms ahead of the new Australian social media ban on users under 16 coming into effect on December 10.
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The Australian government is preparing to enforce the law with fines of up to 49.5 million Australian Dollars (US$32 million) for social media companies even as critics say the changes have been rushed through without addressing questions around privacy, and the effects on young people’s mental health and access to information.
“From today, Meta will be notifying Australian users it understands to be aged 13-15 that they will lose access to Instagram, Threads and Facebook,” Meta said in a statement.
“Meta will begin blocking new under-16 accounts and revoking existing access from 4 December, expecting to remove all known under-16s by 10 December.”
There are around 350,000 Instagram users aged between 13-15 in Australia and around 150,000 Facebook accounts, according to government figures.
Meta has started warning impacted users that they will soon be locked out.
“Soon, you’ll no longer be able to use Facebook and your profile won’t be visible to you or others,” reads a message sent to users that Meta believes to be under 16.
“When you turn 16, we’ll let you know that you can start using Facebook again.”
In addition to Facebook and Instagram, the Australian government has said that the ban will be applied to several other social media platforms, including Reddit, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X and YouTube.
A number of young people and advocates have expressed concerns about the implementation of the new ban, including journalist and founder of youth news service 6 News Australia Leo Puglisi, 18, who told an Australian senate inquiry that young people “deeply care” about the ban and its potential implications.
Puglisi says that many of the people who engage with 6 News are young people who find their content on social media.
“I think young people do have the right to be informed,” he told the inquiry.
“We’re saying that a 15 year old can’t access any news or political information on social media. I just don’t think that that adds up.”
Australian Senator David Shoebridge, has expressed concerns that “an estimated 2.4 million young people will be kicked off social media accounts… just as school holidays start.”
“I’m deeply concerned about the impacts on the ban including on young people’s mental health and privacy,” Shoebridge wrote in a recent post on X.
John Pane, from Electronic Frontiers Australia, also told a senate inquiry that the new legislation creates new risks, while trying to address other issues.
While Pane acknowledged the ban seeks to address young people potentially seeing “unsuitable content” online, he says it also creates a new “far greater, systemic risk” of “potential mass collection of children’s and adults’ identity data.”
This will further increase “the data stores and financial positions of big tech and big data and increasing cyber risk on a very significant scale,” Pane said.
Since most Australians aged under 16 don’t yet have official government ID, social media companies are planning to require some users to verify their age by recording videos of themselves.
There is keen interest in whether Australia’s sweeping restrictions can work as regulators around the globe wrestle with the mixed dangers and benefits of social media.
In New Zealand, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is planning to introduce a similar bill to restrict children’s social media use.
Indonesia has also said it is preparing legislation to protect young people from “physical, mental, or moral perils”.
In Europe, the Dutch government has advised parents to forbid children under 15 from using social media apps like TikTok and Snapchat.
ONE Brit has lived out a real life version of The Holiday after swapping homes with a complete stranger she met on TikTok.
After spotting a video by New York native Lohanny Santos – who was looking for someone abroad to exchange homes for a trip – Marie Draxler from London jumped at the idea.
After reaching out, Marie instantly hit it off with Lohanny, with the duo having a number of friendly chats and a Zoom call.
Eventually, the two decided to go for it and booked flights at the same time.
Since her trip, Marie has posted about her real-life The Holiday experience and of course, the clip quickly racked up millions of views.
When Marie visited New York, she visited the city’s main sites, including the parks.
Read more on travel inspo
She also tried out many Big Apple classic eats.
Marie said the swap felt straight out of The Holiday, just without the unexpected romance.
She said: “I just wandered all over Manhattan truly enjoying the best the city had to offer.
“We both created a list of recommendations – from cafés to cute boutiques – and we both checked out those recommendations and truly lived like the other.
“New York always has and always will hold a special place in my heart.
“This city has always inspired and motivated me on a whole new level.
“I’m so grateful I got to experience this trip and truly lived like a local.”
Many viewers also flocked to the comments sharing their thoughts.
One person said: “It’s literally The Holiday in real life.”
Another added: “The Holiday is my favourite movie, can’t believe I’m seeing it in real life!”
Someone even joked: “Make sure she doesn’t have a brother!”, referencing Jude Law’s famous character from the film.
And a number of viewers have even been inspired to try swapping homes for themselves.
One person said: “If anyone wants to switch and stay in San Diego, let me know!”
Marie added in one of her videos: “I’m so happy. I am just in this little bliss bubble and I’m just so grateful for this whole swap and us doing this and me being here and just living this crazy adventure.”
Lohanny, who is from Brooklyn, got to experience London from Marie’s cosy flat in Notting Hill whilst Marie was in New York.
During the time each of the women were in the others’ flat, they stayed in touch as well, sharing recommendations and discovering each other’s adventures.
Another woman has done similar – swapping her tiny UK flat for holidays in homes all over the world from California to Paris – it has saved her thousands.
Plus, a couple has also shared their experience of saving £150,000 over the last decade on holidays.
For months, social feeds pushed Islamophobic attacks on Zohran Mamdani, New York City’s mayor-elect.
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NICOLA Peltz has snubbed her father-in-law David Beckham’s knighthood as the family feud rumbles on.
The actress returned to social media on Tuesday to share a picture of a bunch of flowers from her sister but failed to make mention of David’s honour.
Alongside the picture, she gushed: “Omg @brittanyleahpeltz thank you so so so much these are breathtaking.”
David received his knighthood from King Charles at Windsor Castle for services to sport and charity and were joined by his family for the special occasion.
His wife Victoria Beckham and parents Ted and Sandra watched on as the King bestowed the honour on him with a gentle touch of a sword on either shoulder.
His children Romeo, Cruz and Harper were also involved in celebrating the big day with their beloved dad.
READ MORE ON THE BECKHAMS
However, eldest son Brooklyn and his wife Nicola were noticeably absent from the big day and much like his other half, Brooklyn has failed to make any mention of it on social media.
Romeo and Cruz both took to Instagram to share sweet tributes to their dad but their big brother has stayed silent.
Romeo shared an adorable picture with his parents and siblings as he penned: “No one deserves this more than you, love you so much xxx. Congrats Sir dad @davidbeckham.”
While Cruz shared the moment David received his knighthood on his stories as well as sharing David’s post.
Brooklyn and Nicola’s snub comes after he is believed to have “quit” the famous family this year following rising tension.
The Beckham family feud is understood to have actually started four years ago, when Nicola refused to wear a wedding dress designed by Victoria.
Tensions then became public when Brooklyn did not publicly acknowledge fashion designer Victoria on Mother’s Day.
He then failed to show up at any of David’s 50th birthday celebrations earlier this year.
The couple reside in their mansion in Los Angeles and appear to be very close to Nicola’s side of the family.
They tied the knot in 2022 and renewed their wedding vows earlier this year, with the ceremony being officiated by her father Nelson.
Only her family were present for the big day, with the Beckhams not being involved.
Despite the ongoing tensions, David put his best foot forward to receive the biggest honour of his career and become Sir David Beckham.
It marks the end of an agonising wait for the charity ambassador, who was first put forward for a knighthood in 2011.
He took to Instagram to pen his feelings as he wrote: “I can’t even begin to describe what a special day it is for me today, a boy born in East London, to receive a Knighthood from His Majesty The King.
“I am truly humbled and so grateful for this honour.
“All I have ever wanted to do is to make my family proud.” the star gushed.
Becks then added a sweet message to his four kids as he wrote: “To my beautiful children who I am so proud of and I know this is a proud and inspiring day for them as well, they are our greatest joy in life and my inspiration every single day. I love you all so much…”
Australia’s upcoming social media ban for children under 16 years old will include the online forum Reddit and livestreaming platform Kick in addition to seven other well-known sites, according to the country’s online safety commissioner.
The social media ban will go into effect on December 10 and will also restrict access to Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X and YouTube, Communications Minister Anika Wells said on Wednesday.
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“Online platforms use technology to target children with chilling control. We are merely asking that they use that same technology to keep children safe online,” Wells said.
“We have met with several of the social media platforms in the past month so that they understand there is no excuse for failure to implement this law,” Wells told reporters in Canberra.
“We want children to have a childhood, and we want parents to have peace of mind,” she said.
Social media platforms have had 12 months to prepare for the ban since Australia passed its landmark online safety legislation in November last year.
Initial discussions focused primarily around Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X and YouTube, but the list was later expanded, and Wells said the list could continue to change.
While more than 140 Australian and international academics signed an open letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last year opposing the age limit ban as a “blunt” instrument, Canberra’s move is being closely watched by countries that share concerns about the impacts of online platforms on children.
“Delaying children’s access to social media accounts gives them valuable time to learn and grow, free of the powerful, unseen forces of harmful and deceptive design features such as opaque algorithms and endless scroll,” eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said.
Inman Grant said she would work with academics to evaluate the impact of the ban, including whether children sleep or interact more or become more physically active as a result of the restrictions on using social media.
“We’ll also look for unintended consequences, and we’ll be gathering evidence” so others can learn from Australia’s ban, Inman Grant said.
Critics have questioned how the restrictions will be enforced because users cannot be “compelled” to submit government IDs for an age check, according to a government fact sheet.
Discussions are under way with platforms about how to comply with the new rules, the commissioner said, while failure to comply could lead to civil fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars (US$32.1m).
News that Australia would add more names to the list of banned platforms came as French authorities said they had opened an investigation into the social media platform TikTok and the risks of its algorithms pushing young people into suicide.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said the probe was in response to a parliamentary committee’s request to open a criminal inquiry into TikTok’s possible responsibility for endangering the lives of its young users.
Beccuau said a report by the committee had noted “insufficient moderation of TikTok, its ease of access by minors and its sophisticated algorithm, which could push vulnerable individuals towards suicide by quickly trapping them in a loop of dedicated content”.
TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Paris police cybercrime unit will look into the offence of providing a platform for “propaganda in favour of products, objects, or methods recommended as means of committing suicide”, which is punishable by three years in prison.
The unit will also look into the offence of enabling “illegal transactions by an organised gang”, punishable by 10 years in prison and a fine of 1 million euros ($1.2m).
With more than 1.5 billion users worldwide, TikTok, owned by China-based ByteDance, has come under fire from governments in Europe and the United States in recent years.
Concerns raised over the platform have included content encouraging suicide, self-harm or an unhealthy body image as well as its potential use for foreign political interference.
A TikTok spokesman told the French news agency AFP in September that the company “categorically rejects the deceptive presentation” by French MPs, saying it was being made a “scapegoat” for broader societal issues.
SAN DIEGO — As a bemused crowd of would-be illegal immigrants looked on from a makeshift hilltop refreshment stand, Republican presidential candidate Patrick J. Buchanan on Tuesday stepped into a confrontational arena that sums up his often confrontational campaign: the U.S.-Mexico border.
“I am calling attention to a national disgrace,” Buchanan told reporters, his suit and shoes dusty from a Border Patrol tour of the rugged terrain. “The failure of the national government of the United States to protect the borders of the United States from an illegal invasion that involves at least a million aliens a year. As a consequence of that, we have social problems and economic problems. And drug problems.”
Saying that up to 1,000 illegal immigrants were among those arrested during the Los Angeles riots, Buchanan repeated his previous calls to fortify key sections of the border with ditches and concrete-buttressed fences and to deploy U.S. military forces there if necessary.
Buchanan also advocated doubling the size of the Border Patrol to 6,600 agents, staffing immigration checkpoints on Interstates 5 and 15 24 hours a day and charging a $2 toll on legal crossings to pay for tougher enforcement.
“I don’t believe in being brutal on anyone,” he said. “But I do think that any country that wants to call itself a nation has got to defend its borders.”
Illegal immigration lies at the heart of Buchanan’s vision of what is wrong with America; the issue is perhaps the strongest attention-getter in Southern California for his fading GOP challenge.
Buchanan’s first visit to the San Diego-Tijuana border made for strange media theater. The candidate arrived by four-wheel-drive vehicle to a hot, dusty ridge overlooking Smuggler’s Canyon, a prime crossing area, where a new corrugated steel barrier meets an old, battered chain-link fence. Buchanan supporters in suits and ties reached across the international line to buy soft drinks at a makeshift refreshment stand.
About 25 Mexican migrants, most of whom had heard only vaguely of Buchanan, chatted with security agents and tried to make sense of the pin-striped visitor.
“He’s a presidential candidate?” asked a man named Guillermo. “Does he speak Spanish? Ask him if he can pull the migra out of here for 24 hours, then he can do whatever he wants. Ask him if he can give me a ride to Los Angeles.”
Filoberto, a wiry 23-year-old from Mexicali, scoffed when informed that Buchanan advocates sealing the border and giving the Border Patrol more agents and equipment.
“They have all kinds of technology,” said Filoberto, who was waiting to make his fourth attempt at crossing in a week. “But we are smarter; people are smarter than machines. We are still going to cross. In fact, as soon as all of you people get out of here, we are going to go for it.”
To the discomfort of Buchanan aides, neo-Nazi Tom Metzger showed up with a handful of raucous supporters.
Metzger’s group hovered at the edges of the press conference, yelling insults about illegal immigrants, Republicans and Democrats.
Metzger, a former leader of the Ku Klux Klan and the White Aryan Resistance, was recently convicted of unlawful assembly in a Los Angeles cross-burning. He was sentenced to six months in jail but released after 46 days because of his wife’s illness and subsequent death. He said he wanted to talk to Buchanan about getting “action” to control the border.
But Buchanan rejected Metzger, saying that if Metzger contributed money to his campaign it would be returned. “I don’t have anything to do with him,” he said.
Buchanan said he thinks that he can influence President Bush’s policy–despite the fact that Bush has the GOP nomination locked up. “I think we are going to get George Bush to do something about this before that election, or at least speak to this,” he said. “He’d better do it, or he’s going to have problems.”
Tehran, Iran – President Masoud Pezeshkian unveiled a “Gen Z adviser” about a month ago, posing for a smiling photo with him that went viral online.
The adviser, Amirreza Ahmadi, told local media that he sees his mission as listening to the youth of Iran, “from Tehran to the borders of this country”, going so far as to share his mobile number.
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But he later blocked commenting on his social media profiles after criticism from users who claimed that Ahmadi did not “resemble” Gen Z Iranians, was using bots to boost his social media accounts, and had no established connection with youth groups or students demanding change.
The appointment appears to have been part of an effort by the moderate administration, which promised improved social freedoms and lifted sanctions during election campaigns, to connect with younger generations, who have been driving political change across Asia and globally.
Pezeshkian and his administration have struggled, though – partly as a result of indifference from many young Iranians to their overtures, and partly because many of the Iranian establishment’s more hardline factions have little interest in appeasing the youth.
Sanam Vakil, director of Chatham House’s Middle East and North Africa Programme, said the Iranian state is struggling to speak the language of a generation that grew up online and outside its ideological frame.
As such, she added, its outreach “feels transactional rather than transformative and ultimately is directed to staving off unrest and protests”, while the hardline elite’s fear of losing control outweighs any concern about losing the young.
“That imbalance keeps Iran locked in a politics of repression rather than renewal. I think the system will be locked between conflicting messages, narratives, and policies,” she told Al Jazeera.
Many of the people defying aspects of state controls are Gen Z youth, who are, like most Iranians, also crushed by the deteriorating economic conditions and rampant inflation amid corruption and mismanagement.
With Israel and its Western allies openly touting regime change in Iran since the 12-day war between them in June, authorities say they recognise that public support is needed to get the country through difficult conditions, including reinstated UN sanctions and the lingering threat of war.
This forced some officials, mostly those in the more moderate or pragmatic camps, to advocate for dialling down some controls on social freedoms.
Former President Hassan Rouhani, a moderate camp leader, last week criticised hardline lawmakers and politicians for advancing legislation opposed by an overwhelming majority of Iranians, in a likely reference to the contentious issue of mandatory hijab.
The government has said it will not enforce the law.
Iranshahr, Tehran
— Arash Azizi آرش عزیزی (@arash_tehran) October 25, 2025
But, on the other hand, hardline factions within the establishment have mobilised to reintroduce as many restrictions as possible.
A video recorded in downtown Tehran went viral online this week, showing young men and women, who disregarded the dress code imposed by the theological establishment, enjoying a street music performance.
After years of musicians defying a state ban on street performances, they have become increasingly common, but still face crackdowns if they get too much attention.
At least one of the band members had their Instagram account closed by Iranian authorities, with the police posting on the account that it was shut down by judicial order due to “publishing criminal content”.
The authorities have not publicly confirmed whether the band member could face further punishment.
Hardline conservative media outlets this week reported another crackdown in Tehran.
Ticket sales for a “disco that included naked women dancing with boys” in the Pakdasht area were stopped, and legal cases were opened against organisers, according to the state-run Fars news website, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
This was in reference to an electronic music event that had been running for weeks and was selling tickets legally after obtaining the required permits from the authorities.
Dancing in public spaces, especially when done by men and women together, are prohibited and at times, punished by Iranian authorities.
Drinking alcohol remains outlawed, as well, leading to some Iranians purchasing smuggled goods or dangerous homemade products. Alcohol tainted with ethanol and other chemicals continues to claim dozens of lives each year.
But some cafes and restaurants continue to hire DJs – and at times, serve alcohol – despite the restrictions.
In mid-September, authorities permanently shut down a major restaurant located in Tehran’s Nahjol Balaghe Park because a clip showed people dancing to music inside and because alcohol was allegedly served there.
Several clothing shops and other vendors have been shut down over recent weeks after they held events where young people danced in attendance.
In mid-September, authorities also cancelled a major public concert at Tehran’s iconic Azadi Tower that was initially conceived by the government as a demonstration of national unity.
The apparent contradiction between the positions of different factions within the establishment highlights the nature of Iran – with the government not necessarily having the final say in diffferent matters, and other forces, such as the Revolutionary Guard, able to defy government policy.
The Supreme National Security Council has ordered authorities to stop heavily enforcing the controversial hijab law, which penalises women and men with prison time, being lashed or paying fines if the state determines their attire is improper.
Iran experienced months of deadly nationwide protests in 2022 and 2023 after the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who was arrested over her hijab.
However, some so-called “morality police” vans have been seen in cities across the country, even though Pezeshkian’s government said no budget had been dedicated towards it.
Another group defying the system in Iran are women riding motorcycles, as the state still won’t issue them motorcycle licences.
The government introduced legislation to allow women to ride, but it is stuck in a parliament dominated by hardline lawmakers after a record-low turnout in elections since 2020.
More women are riding motorcycles across the country, however, with hundreds filmed recently taking part in group rides in Tehran.
Pezeshkian’s government has also failed to honour another campaign promise: lifting draconian state bans on almost all global social media and tens of thousands of websites.
The government this week blamed Israel for the continued imposition of the tough internet restrictions, claiming that the controls would have been lifted had it not been for the June war.
Azadeh Moaveni, writer and associate professor at New York University, told Al Jazeera she does not believe any faction of the state enjoys broad support from the younger generation, as they haven’t been able to offer them anything substantial.
“Pragmatists within the state are just offering their own frustration, which is of zero value, and at best pointing out, as the president has, that he won’t enforce laws that the majority of the country opposes, like the hijab law,” she said.
Moaveni said the dynamic of loosening and tightening of social freedoms by the state to manage society was no longer working, partly due to the changes taking place in society and also because of the dire economic conditions and multiple ongoing crises reshaping daily life.
