Author: Web Desk

Sydney: YouTube has said that Australia’s new social media restrictions for under-16s will make younger users less safe, as the removal of accounts will eliminate parental supervision tools that families have relied on. The platform has argued that account-based protections developed over more than a decade will no longer function once the ban comes into force on December 10. Under Australia’s Social Media Minimum Age Act, all users under 16 will be automatically signed out of their YouTube accounts, meaning access to settings such as content filters, blocked channels and wellbeing reminders will no longer be possible. YouTube has confirmed…

Washington: Donald Trump has stated that any nation involved in trafficking illegal drugs into the United States could be targeted with military action, expanding his administration’s position on the use of force. The comment has followed a period in which US forces have carried out missile strikes on boats suspected of drug smuggling operations in the Caribbean and Pacific regions. The statement from Trump has included explicit criticism of Colombia, with the president alleging that cocaine manufactured in the country ends up in the US market. Colombian President Gustavo Petro has responded by asserting that Colombian authorities destroy a drug-producing…

Tokyo: Japan has selected the pledge by recently appointed prime minister Sanae Takaichi to ‘work, work, work, work, and work’ as the nation’s 2025 catchphrase of the year. The decision has followed widespread debate over leadership style and expectations in a country long associated with demanding work routines and concerns over excessive overtime. The promise was originally made shortly before Takaichi assumed office in October and has since become the most discussed of more than two dozen shortlisted expressions that reflected social and political themes across Japan. The selection committee has said the phrase resonated strongly with national conversations about…

Havana: The Cuba health ministry has confirmed that 33 people have died from mosquito-borne illnesses in recent months, with officials reporting that at least one-third of the population has been affected during the ongoing epidemic. Deputy Health Minister Carilda Peña has said that 12 of the deaths were linked to dengue and 21 to chikungunya, and that 21 of the victims were under the age of 18. The worsening situation has placed additional pressure on Cuba’s healthcare system, which has already been strained by a prolonged economic crisis that has led to shortages of food, fuel and medicine. Dengue has…

Karditsa: The feta cheese sector in Greece has come under severe pressure as authorities have culled hundreds of thousands of sheep and goats to slow the spread of sheep and goat pox. The disease, first detected in northern Greece in August 2024, has since swept across multiple regions, raising fears of shortages in the country’s most recognizable dairy export. Data from the Ministry of Rural Development and Food has shown more than 1,700 recorded incidents by mid-November, triggering mandatory culls. Detecting a single infection on a farm requires the destruction of the entire herd for preventive reasons, leading to the…

London: The Oxford word of 2025 has been announced as ‘rage bait’, a term describing online content designed to provoke anger or outrage. Language experts have said that usage of the term has increased threefold over the past year, reflecting rising awareness of emotionally manipulative tactics across digital platforms. The shortlist for this year’s selection also included “aura farming” and ‘biohack’, but ‘rage bait’ has been chosen as the term that best captured public conversations and cultural shifts in 2025. According to Oxford University Press, the publisher responsible for the Oxford English Dictionary, rage bait refers to posts or articles…

London: The UK government has tightened its taxis policy for asylum seekers, confirming that transport for medical appointments will only be allowed in exceptional cases. The move has come after an internal review found that long-distance taxi journeys had driven significant transport costs for the Home Office. Officials have confirmed that the government has spent an average of £15.8 million per year on transporting asylum seekers, with some journeys reaching extreme distances. One case highlighted a 250-mile trip to a general practitioner that reportedly cost £600. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has said that the unrestricted use of taxis would now…

Washington: The Mars atmosphere has shown signs of electrical activity for the first time, according to scientists analysing data from Nasa’s Perseverance rover. The recordings have suggested that the planet is capable of producing lightning-like discharges, a discovery that researchers say could reshape understanding of Martian atmospheric processes. The rover, which landed in 2021, has spent four years exploring the Jezero Crater region while searching for signs of ancient biology. Using its SuperCam instrument, Perseverance has captured audio and electromagnetic signals that researchers have described as ‘mini lightning’. A French research team has analysed 28 hours of microphone recordings gathered…

Jakarta: The floods across Southeast Asia have driven the death toll to at least 183, with authorities continuing to evacuate residents, restore power and reopen blocked routes as water levels begin to recede. Large regions of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand have endured a week of cyclone-fuelled torrential rain, while a rare tropical storm has formed in the Malacca Strait, intensifying the disaster. In Indonesia alone, 94 deaths have been confirmed across multiple provincial areas on Sumatra. The Padang Pariaman region has faced severe challenges, with water levels reaching at least one metre and some communities still waiting for access by…

Moscow: Putin has doubled down on demands for Ukrainian territorial concessions, saying Russia will only halt its military campaign if Kyiv’s forces withdraw from areas claimed by Moscow. The position has reinforced the Kremlin’s long-standing requirement that the territories occupied since 2014, including Crimea and most of the Donbas region, be recognised under Russian control. Ukrainian leadership has ruled out surrendering the remaining parts of Donbas, arguing that acknowledging occupation would reward aggression. After Putin delivered the remarks, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Moscow had scorned attempts to meaningfully end the conflict. During a visit to Kyrgyzstan, the Russian…