16-year-old Mohammed Ibrahim is recovering after spending 9 months in an Israeli prison, for allegedly throwing rocks. The Palestinian American boy’s plight sparked widespread outrage and condemnation at Israel’s abuses in the occupied West Bank.
Published On 28 Nov 202528 Nov 2025
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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.
Nov. 22 (UPI) — A 14-year-old boy died and eight other teenagers were wounded in separate shootings in downtown Chicago hours after people were celebrating the start of the holiday season nearby.
The shooting occurred around 9:50 p.m. Friday, about four hours after the city’s official tree lighting at Daley Plaza and a few blocks away, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
The mass shooting was outside the Chicago Theater on State Street and the other an hour later near Federal Plaza.
“The holiday season is a time when we come together as a city. It’s when we spend time with our family and our loved ones,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said. “This is the opposite type of behavior that anybody wants to see. We have too many guns and too many young people who don’t value their own lives or the lives of others.”
According to reports, a so-called teen takeover occurred after the tree lighting, and was described as 300 teens rioting in the streets.
Johnson said the chaos “set us back as a city, and it evokes fear.”
Several ambulances and police presence were seen with police tape wrapped across State Street near the Chicago Theater and Joffrey Ballet, according to WMAQ-TV, and WLS-TV reported gunfire outside its studios.
Officers on patrol “observed a large group on the sidewalk” and heard gunshots that sent people scattering, according to the Chicago Police Department.
Three boys aged 14 to 17 had graze wounds, while two others, aged 14 and 16, suffered leg wounds, while a 14-year-old girl was shot in the hip.
The seventh victim, a 13-year-old girl, was shot in the leg and taken to Lurie Children’s Hospital in fair condition.
Alderman Brian Hopkins initially posted on X that “300 juveniles rioting in the Loop now, at least 5 victims shot, one critical with life threatening gunshot wound to torso. Multiple police officers attacked and injured with mace and stun guns, at least one PO hospitalized.”
Less than an hour later at 10:40 p.m., a few blocks away, one person died with multiple gunshot wounds at Northwestern Memorial and an 18-year-old was found in serious condition with a leg wound.
Five weapons were recovered and 18 arrests were made throughout, but those in custody weren’t considered suspects in the shootings, Johnson said.
“No parent wants to get that terrible, life-altering call,” Johnson said Saturday morning at an unrelated event on the West Side. “It is senseless violence like these shootings that makes us all feel unsafe, and it has left too many families in Chicago reeling.”
The city had deployed 700 additional police officers for the tree lighting along with community violence intervention workers.
“Clearly what we put in place did not do enough to prevent what we were concerned about from actually manifesting,” Johnson said.
The mayor said additional police personnel were being deployed for Saturday night’s Mag Mile Lights Festival.
“We will continue to make the necessary adjustments as we move along to ensure that these large, peaceful, citywide events can take place without the terror and the harm of gun violence,” the mayor added.
The City Council has vetoed a “snap curfew” of gatherings of young people anywhere in the city with 30 minutes’ notice.
“I’m the first person to recognize that we have more work to do in this city to provide safe spaces for our young people. But these types of violent gatherings can never be an alternative, nor can they be normalized,” Johnson said.
“We need to deter them from attending large, unsanctioned after-gatherings, where weapons are likely to be present. There’s always more we as adults can do to make sure that we know where our kids are and what they are doing.”
President Donald Trump has decried the violence in the city, though violent crime has decreased for the past several years.
Trump has taken credit for recent declines there, giving credit to the Operation Midway Blitz immigration raids his administration launched in September.
“I am proud to announce that Chicago, Illinois, despite all of the radical opposition and obstruction we have from the Mayor and Governor, has seen Car Theft, Shootings, Robberies, Violent Crime, and everything else drop dramatically,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Nov. 12.
Through Nov. 14, there have been 373 people killed in the city this year, which is 242 less than the same period in 2024, according to tracking by the Chicago Tribune.
In 2024, a total of 573 people were killed in Chicago.
SHE was the blonde beauty that was catapulted into the spotlight after a starring role in this iconic 1989 movie.
The beloved Disney film was a box office success that would go on to span another two spin-offs, with fans lapping up the characters’ pint-sized adventures.
Now all grown up, aged 54, the star recently took to Instagram and wowed with with some fun swimsuit photos while celebrating the film decades later.
Amy O’Neill was just 19 when she played the role of Amy Szalinski in the hit film Honey, I Shrunk The Kids – but her new pics show she seemingly hasn’t aged at all.
Amy stepped out for the Disney+ ‘Dive in Theatre’ screening of the original movie in a blue and pink racer swimsuit, ready to soak up the attractions on offer.
The former child star looked incredibly youthful and svelte in her swimwear, which she complemented with a wide wicker hat and a patterned blue beach skirt.
In her Instagram caption, shared alongside the pictures, Amy enthused that the experience “transported us back to a different time and size”.
In one photo Amy is seen posing with a giant spoon and some giant ‘cheerios’ in a swimming pool, in what was a cheeky nod to her shrunken sized character.
The star later lounged poolside with her fellow movie-goers to rewatch the beloved movie and was snapped standing next to an old-school film screening sign bearing “Honey I Shrunk the Kids 1989 Now Showing”.
Talking to ABC’s On the Red carpet, Amy said: “This whole thing, when I saw the concept and got the invite I thought it was super cool.
“It’s been 36 years since Honey, I Shrunk the Kids came out.
“It’s only in the last couple of years that I’ve done fan events and I’ve gotten the chance to reconnect with fans and see how vibrant the movie still is in their lives and how meaningful it is to so many people.
Amy was also joined by co-star Thomas Wilson Brown, 51, who played Little Russ in the film, the neighbour’s offspring.
On her Instagram post, fans flocked to the comments, with one asking, “How was it reuniting with Thomas?”
Replying to her follower, Amy explained, “Wonderful as always. He brought his grandson to the screening- so adorable!”
While another said, “Just amazing! A shame the other child actors are absent!”
Amy replied, “I wish they’d been there also- but I wish all of you had been there too!”
A third fan penned, “Wow, that Thomas guy grew up to be a hottie!!”
Another added, “Another of my favourite classic comedy of 80s, everything looks great.”
“Nice pictures Amy O’Neill and Thomas Wilson Brown and you’re looking well by being grown up,” said a fifth in the comments.
Someone concluded, “Very cool. Still one of the best movies of the 80s.”
The award-winning classic movie, starring Rick Moranis and Marcia Strassman, celebrated its 36th anniversary this year.
Amy played Moranis’ daughter in the movie, which produced two sequels, Honey, I Blew Up The Kid in 1992 and Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves in 1997.
The original followed the chaos that ensued when scientist Wayne Szalinksi (Moranis) accidentally minimised his children and the neighbour’s kids.
Ghostbusters star Moranis went on to star in Parenthood, The Flintstones and the two sequels to Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.
As for O’Neill, she had TV roles in Murder, She Wrote and The Young and Restless before Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.
She also appeared in the 1989 Christian Slater film Desperate for Love.
The family of Mohammed Ibrahim, a Palestinian American boy who has been detained by Israel since February, is demanding that an independent doctor assess the teenager’s condition amid alarming reports about his situation in prison.
Mohammed’s uncle, Zeyad Kadur, said an official from the United States embassy in Israel visited the 16-year-old last week at Ofer Prison.
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The official told the family afterwards that Ibrahim had lost weight and dark circles were forming around his eyes, Kadur told Al Jazeera.
The consular officer also said he had raised Mohammed’s case with multiple US and Israeli agencies.
“This is the first time in nine months that they showed grave concern for his health, so how bad is it?” Kadur asked in an interview on Wednesday.
Despite rights groups and US lawmakers pleading for Mohammed’s release, Israel has refused to free him, and his family said the administration of President Donald Trump is not doing enough to bring him home.
Israeli authorities have accused Ibrahim of throwing rocks at settlers in the occupied West Bank, an allegation he denies.
But the legal proceedings in the case are moving at a snail’s pace in Israel’s military justice system, according to Mohammed’s family.
Rights advocates also say that the military court system in the occupied West Bank is part of Israel’s discriminatory apartheid regime, given its conviction rate of nearly 100 percent for Palestinian defendants.
Adding to the Ibrahim family’s angst is the lack of access to the teenager while Mohammed is in Israeli prison. Unable to visit him or communicate with him, his relatives are only able to receive updates from the US embassy.
The teenager has been suffering from severe weight loss while in detention, his father, Zaher Ibrahim, told Al Jazeera earlier this year. He also contracted scabies, a contagious skin infection.
The last visit he received from US embassy staff was in September.
Israeli authorities have committed well-documented abuses against Palestinian detainees, including torture and sexual violence, especially after the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023.
“We hear and see people getting out of prison and what they look like, and we know it’s bad,” Kadur said.
“Mohammed is an American kid who was taken at 15. He is now 16, and he’s been sitting there for nine months and hasn’t seen his mom, hasn’t seen his dad.”
He added that the family is also concerned about Mohammed’s mental health.
“We’re requesting that he gets sent to a hospital and evaluated by a third party, not by a prison medic or nurse. He needs some actual attention,” Mohammed’s uncle told Al Jazeera.
Mohammed, who is from Florida, was visiting Palestine when in the middle of the night he was arrested, blindfolded and beaten in what Kadur described as a “kidnapping”.
The US Department of State did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment on the latest consular visit to Mohammed.
When Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Israel last month, he appeared to have misheard a question about Palestinian prisoner Marwan Barghouti and thought it was about Mohammed’s case.
“Are you talking about the one from the US? I don’t have any news for you on that today,” Rubio told reporters.
“Obviously, we’ll work that through our embassy here and our diplomatic channels, but we don’t have anything to announce on that.”
But for Kadur, Mohammed’s case is not a bureaucratic or legal matter – it is one that requires political will from Washington to secure his freedom.
Kadur underscored that the US has negotiated with adversaries, including Venezuela, Russia and North Korea, to free detained Americans, so it can push for the release of Mohammed from its closest ally in the Middle East.
The US provided Israel with more than $21bn in military aid over the past two years.
Kadur drew a contrast between the lack of US effort to free Mohammed and the push to release Edan Alexander, a US citizen who was volunteering in the Israeli army and was taken prisoner during Hamas’s attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
Alexander was released in May after pressure from the Trump administration on Hamas.
“The American government negotiated with what they consider a terrorist organisation, and they secured his release – an adult who put on a uniform, who picked up a gun and did what he signed up for,” Kadur said of Alexander.
“Why is a 16-year-old still there for nine months, rotting away, deteriorating in a prison? That’s one example to show that Mohammed – and his name and his Palestinian DNA – [are] not considered American enough by the State Department first and by the administration second.”
