MELBOURNE, Australia — How do you remove children from the harms of social media? Politically the answer appears simple in Australia, but practically the solution could be far more difficult. The Australian government’s plan to ban children from social media platforms including X, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram until their 16th birthdays is politically popular. The opposition party says it would have done the same after winning …
1 dead, thousands without heat after Russian strike on Ukraine port city
Kyiv, Ukraine — A massive Russian attack that set apartments alight and knocked out heating to thousands in Ukraine’s southern port city Odesa killed one person and wounded 10 others, authorities said Friday. The Thursday night strikes on the Black Sea city damaged residential buildings, the heating system, churches and educational institutions, according to Odesa Mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov, who said it had been “a massive combined …
Israeli airstrike hits south Beirut
Beirut — An airstrike hit the Lebanese capital’s southern suburbs on Friday, sending plumes of gray smoke into the sky after the Israeli military called for people to evacuate, AFPTV images showed. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said an Israeli drone fired two missiles at the Beirut suburb of Ghobeiry before the air force carried out a “very heavy” strike that leveled a building near municipal …
US, Japan, South Korea coordinate response to North Korean threats
U.S. President Joe Biden will meet with leaders of South Korea and Japan Friday to come up with a “coordinated” response to the deployment of thousands of North Korean troops to help Moscow’s war against Ukraine and on Pyongyang’s nuclear threat more broadly, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum in Lima, Peru. Pyongyang’s troop deployment is a “significant development,” White House national …
A criticized Airbnb deal will let users play gladiator in Rome’s Colosseum
ROME — The ancient Roman Colosseum will be the venue of gladiator fights — albeit staged — for the first time in two millennia under a $1.5 million sponsorship deal with Airbnb that aims to promote “a more conscious tourism.” But some visitors to the monument Thursday, as well as housing activists, were skeptical about the value of the arrangement, citing ongoing controversies in many cities …
North Korea tests exploding drones as Kim calls for mass production
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea tested exploding drones designed to crash into targets and leader Kim Jong Un called for accelerating mass production of the weapons, state media said Friday. The country’s latest military demonstration came as the United States, South Korea and Japan engaged in combined military exercises involving advanced fighter jets and a U.S. aircraft carrier in nearby international waters, in a display …
UN committee: Israel war in Gaza ‘consistent with genocide’
While fighting continued in Gaza and Lebanon on Thursday, a United Nations special committee said that Israeli policies and practices in Gaza are “consistent with the characteristics of genocide.” In a report published Thursday, the U.N. Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices also accused Israel of using “starvation as a weapon of war” and running an “apartheid system” in the occupied West Bank. There was …
Philippines bolsters maritime claims despite China pressure
BANGKOK — China is likely to continue its aggressive naval approach toward the Philippines amid their disputes in the South China Sea, experts say. Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has signed two new maritime laws to protect Manila’s disputed territory: the Philippine Maritime Zones Act and Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act. According to the Philippines Presidential Office, the Philippine Maritime Zones Act “seeks to designate the …
Can Trump’s return to White House be an opportunity for enhancing US-Turkey ties?
washington — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was among the first foreign leaders to congratulate U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on his early November election victory. President Joe Biden has not hosted Erdogan at the White House though the two have met on sidelines of international summits and spoken by phone. Speaking to journalists accompanying his return from visits to Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan, Erdogan expressed his …
Italy’s president urges Elon Musk to ‘respect sovereignty’ after court blocks Albania migrant deal
Italy’s flagship policy of holding migrants in detention centers in Albania for processing has hit a legal roadblock – as judges in Rome referred the case to the European Union’s Court of Justice, which could take months or years to make a ruling. Henry Ridgwell reports. …
Putin attempts whitewashing Russian atrocities in Africa
Various human rights groups accuse Russia of committing crimes that amount to crimes against humanity in Africa. Several reports also have exposed Russia’s illegal export of gold worth more than $2.5 billion from Africa to sponsor its war in Ukraine. …
VOA’s Persian Service ‘heartbroken’ at former colleague’s suicide in Tehran
WASHINGTON — VOA’s Persian Service has expressed shock and grief at the suicide of a former colleague, Kianoosh Sanjari, who jumped to his death from a building in Tehran on Wednesday in protest against Iran’s authoritarian rulers. Sanjari, a 42-year-old Iranian, was a former journalist and rights activist who worked at VOA Persian’s Washington bureau from 2009 to 2013 before returning to Iran in 2016 to …
French military tech used in Sudan, rights group reports
Amnesty International reported that French-manufactured military technology incorporated into armored personnel carriers (APCs) made by the United Arab Emirates is being used in Sudan’s civil war, a likely violation of a United Nations arms embargo. In a report posted online Thursday, the human rights organization said it first became aware of the armored vehicles’ presence in Sudan in July, when another study revealed what the …
Lawmakers stage Maori protest in New Zealand’s parliament during fraught race relations debate
wellington, new zealand — A vote in New Zealand’s parliament was suspended and two lawmakers ejected on Thursday when dramatic political theater erupted over a controversial proposed law redefining the country’s founding agreement between Indigenous Maori and the British Crown. Under the principles laid out in the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi, which guide the relationship between the government and Maori, tribes were promised broad rights to …
Israeli airstrikes hit Damascus area, killing 15, Syrian state media say
DAMASCUS, SYRIA — Israel carried out at least two airstrikes on a western neighborhood of Damascus and one of the capital’s suburbs on Thursday, killing at least 15 people and wounding 16, Syria’s state news agency said. The airstrikes on the Mazzeh neighborhood in Damascus and the suburb of Qudsaya, northwest of the capital, struck two buildings, the SANA news agency said. An Associated Press journalist …
Trial begins for Russian accused of sending military video to Ukraine
MOSCOW — A Russian man went on trial Thursday on charges of high treason for a video he allegedly sent to Ukraine’s security services, the latest in a growing series of espionage cases involving the conflict. The Volgograd District Court began hearing a new case against Nikita Zhuravel, who is currently serving a 3½-year sentence for burning a Quran in front of a mosque. The new …
Is Europe ready for year-end cutoff of Russian gas via Ukraine?
On the first day of 2025, Ukraine’s contract with Russian state-owned Gazprom will expire, shutting down a major Russian natural gas pathway to Europe. Although the Kremlin says it is ready to continue the transit deal, urging Europeans to persuade Ukraine to extend the contract, Kyiv has said it won’t budge. Russian natural gas supplies were a cornerstone of European energy security before Moscow’s February …
Pacific atolls face risk from rising seas
A study by the World Bank on Thursday said urgent action is needed to address rising sea levels in the Pacific atoll islands of Kiribati, the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu, which under current projections could be 50% to 80% submerged in the next 50 years. The World Bank’s “Pacific Atoll Countries Country Climate and Development Report” says the low-lying nations and the roughly 200,000 people …
EU parliament loosens delayed anti-deforestation rules
The European Parliament on Thursday approved a one-year delay on implementing the bloc’s landmark anti-deforestation rules, while also voting to loosen some requirements of the controversial law. The move triggered an outcry from environmental groups, which had hailed the law as an unprecedented breakthrough in the fight to protect nature and combat climate change. Parliament was called to sign off on a delay requested by …
Hong Kong man jailed nearly 24 years for alleged bomb plot
hong kong — Hong Kong’s high court on Thursday sentenced a man to 23 years and 10 months in prison for being the leader of an alleged plot to attack police with explosives during the city’s pro-democracy and anti-China protests in 2019. The man, Ng Chi-hung, had been charged under the United Nations Anti-Terrorism Ordinance, for offences linked to a conspiracy to use explosives and firearms …
Malaysia to protest to Philippines over its new maritime laws
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Malaysia will send a protest note to the Philippines over its new maritime laws due to their overlapping claims in the South China Sea, its deputy foreign minister said on Thursday. The protest will follow a complaint also from China over the Philippines’ Maritime Zones Act and the Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act, which Manila said was intended to strengthen its maritime claims …
Russian forces capture village in eastern Ukraine
Russia’s military reported capturing a village in east Ukraine on Thursday, with forces closing in on the town of Kurakhove. The Russian Defense Ministry said the army captured the village of Voznesenka in the Donetsk region. The town had a population of about 20,000 before the war began in 2022, Agence France-Presse reported. Russia also reported damaging Ukrainian airfields and energy facilities and shooting down …
Human Rights Watch accuses Israel of war crimes, ethnic cleansing
While fighting continued in Gaza and Lebanon on Thursday, Human Rights Watch issued a report accusing Israel of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The report said Israeli officials who have repeatedly displaced and relocated civilians are “committing the war crime of forcible transfer,” and the actions “appear to also meet the definition of ethnic cleansing” in the areas where Palestinians will not be able …
BRICS offered Turkey partner country status, Turkish trade minister says
ANKARA, turkey — Turkey was offered partner country status by the BRICS group of nations, Trade Minister Omer Bolat said, as Ankara continues what it calls its efforts to balance its Eastern and Western ties. Turkey, a NATO member, has in recent months voiced interest in joining the BRICS group of emerging economies, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Ethiopia, Iran, Egypt, and the United …