Internet

Indonesian kids brace themselves for social media ban

BY MARCHIO GORBIANO

  • Several countries have proposed teen social media bans since Australia's landmark move in December to stop users under 16 from holding accounts on many popular platforms.
  • Bradley Rowen Liu, 11, wonders what he will do with himself once Indonesia's social media ban for under-16s enters into force on Saturday.
  • Several countries have proposed teen social media bans since Australia's landmark move in December to stop users under 16 from holding accounts on many popular platforms.
Bradley Rowen Liu, 11, wonders what he will do with himself once Indonesia's social media ban for under-16s enters into force on Saturday. As things stand, he spends most of his free time on TikTok.
The primary schooler is one of about 70 million children the government is hoping to shield from the threats of cyberbullying, pornography and internet addiction.
Several countries have proposed teen social media bans since Australia's landmark move in December to stop users under 16 from holding accounts on many popular platforms.
But Indonesia is among the first to act as concerns grow over the impact of such apps on kids' mental and physical wellbeing.
YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox -- deemed "high-risk" platforms by authorities in the Southeast Asian nation -- will from Saturday start deactivating underage accounts.
Liu, who says he can easily spend five hours a day on TikTok at weekends, told AFP he worries the ban will leave him driftless.
"Maybe I'll do some other activities," he shrugged, without much conviction.
"But I think I'm going to ask my dad or my mom to help me access" the video-sharing app, the boy said after class at a private academy in Jakarta where he learns computer coding.

Onus on platforms

"Parents no longer have to fight alone against the giants of the algorithm," communications minister Meutya Hafid said when she announced the ban three weeks ago.
Like in Australia, the Indonesian rules place the onus on platforms to regulate teen access.
Non-compliance of the ban, which will be phased in over time, will put defaulters at risk of a fine or even a suspension.
Indonesia has not said how it plans to monitor implementation, and the communications ministry did not respond to AFP's requests for comment.
It is part of a global reckoning over the potential harms of social media for minors.
A Los Angeles jury on Wednesday found Meta and YouTube liable for harming a young woman through the "addictive design" of their platforms, ordering the companies to pay $6 million in damages.
Britain's upper house of parliament voted this week in favour of banning children from social media, piling pressure on the government to follow suit.

'Brain rot'

Though annoyed about the looming interdiction, Liu concedes even he is worried about screen addiction.
"Sometimes I have to remember to keep track of time... Like when it's a holiday, I kind of get really attached to my phone."
A fellow pupil, 15-year-old Maximillian, said he spends too much time on social media, leaving him feeling "unproductive". He supports the ban.
Some want the government to go even further.
Randi Putra Chaniago, who teaches at the academy, said social media -- including the surreal AI-generated clips known as brain rot -- was a distraction in class.
"It's concerning, really, because some of this 'brain rot' content is weird and can disturb children's way of thinking," he said.
The 23-year-old, who uses YouTube to teach some classes, said the ban would challenge teachers to find better educational tools.
The P2G Indonesian Teachers' Association, for its part, wants the government to ban cellphones in classrooms altogether.

'Unhealthy use'

YouTube parent company Google said the two platforms have already introduced features allowing parents to limit scrolling time.
It said AI tech will be launched in Indonesia by next year to determine a user's age.
But "blanket account restrictions... will deprive young people accessing YouTube of the protections, parental controls, and security features we've integrated into supervised accounts", it argued in a statement.
TikTok said it would work with the government to ensure "teens can continue to access safe online spaces".
And gaming platform Roblox pledged to introduce "additional controls" for minors.
Karina Adistiana, an Indonesian educational psychologist, told AFP several studies have shown that intensive social media use is harmful for young people.
"Intensive in the sense that social media becomes the child's main world. That's where the danger lies," she said.
"Depression, difficulty concentrating, trouble sleeping, anxiety, constantly wanting to check notifications -- those are clearly signs of unhealthy use in children."
mrc/mlr/kaf/lga

energy

Myanmar travellers ride the rails as fuel prices rise

BY HLA-HLA HTAY

  • At Naypyidaw station, 26-year-old monk Zanaka said he was taking a train for the first time in his life.
  • Myanmar's ageing railway stations are bustling with life, crowded with passengers as surging fuel prices due to the Mideast war drive commuters to choose trains over costly planes and cars.
  • At Naypyidaw station, 26-year-old monk Zanaka said he was taking a train for the first time in his life.
Myanmar's ageing railway stations are bustling with life, crowded with passengers as surging fuel prices due to the Mideast war drive commuters to choose trains over costly planes and cars.
On a journey from the country's largest city Yangon to the capital Naypyidaw AFP journalists sat in air-conditioned carriages full of travellers napping and sharing tea, fried rice and instant noodles.
First class adult train tickets cost 19,000 kyats ($4.50), while the cheapest bus fares for the route now start at 35,000 kyats.
At one point on Thursday the train chugged past a queue of trucks waiting for fuel -- the trains themselves run on diesel, with the state railway company maintaining its own stocks.
People dozed on station benches or sat on luggage on  platforms as they waited for their trains.
Myanmar has been consumed by a civil war since 2021, when a military coup swept aside Aung San Suu Kyi's democratically elected government, sparking armed resistance to junta rule.
Rail travel is not traditionally the most popular mode of transport in the country, and many trains are older and less comfortable, while much of the network was built under British colonial rule. 
But people from rural areas have long relied on affordable railways to journey between cities -- despite occasional attacks by rebel forces targeting trains since 2021.
"The costs are high if we use a car. Also there are not many security checkpoints on the train," said Zeya Ko Ko, 28, a passenger on the Naypyidaw train.
"Buses are also challenging as fuel can run out in some areas due to the fuel crisis."

First time

Since the US-Israel war against Iran began nearly a month ago, global fuel prices have soared with international shipping disrupted and fears of shortages, especially in import-reliant Asia.
In Myanmar, prices at the petrol pump have jumped and the junta has instituted fuel-saving measures, including alternate day bans on private vehicles, based on odd- or even-numbered licence plates.
Long queues of cars and motorbikes have formed at petrol stations around the country in the last three weeks.
"We have difficulty travelling for urgent health problems. As private vehicles are being restricted with even-odd numbers, we cannot leave right away when we are sick," said Pearl Hmway, a 53-year-old restaurant owner from Mandalay region, as she waited for for a train home.
A Naypyidaw station official told AFP more people were using trains because of fuel shortages, and extra services had been laid on.
"The government increased the number of scheduled trains because of higher demand," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media.
Passengers said train tickets were selling out quickly, making booking them online harder.
At Naypyidaw station, 26-year-old monk Zanaka said he was taking a train for the first time in his life.
Bus fares had risen alongside fuel prices, making his journey twice as expensive by road as by rail, he explained.
"That's why we are taking the train on the way back," he said. 
"The train is faster and there's no need to wait in a queue."
bur-sco/slb/ane

climate

Tech-equipped Indigenous firefighters protect Thai forests

BY SALLY JENSEN

  • "Both local communities and state agencies are taking the issue more seriously, leading to tighter controls over burning and fire outbreaks," Mathaphan told AFP. The Hmong, an Indigenous ethnic group originally from the mountains of southern China, have lived on these slopes in northern Thailand since migrating in the mid-20th century.
  • In the dry-season heat of northern Thailand, Hmong villagers zip through forested slopes, blasting tinder with leaf blowers and cutting through brush with machetes, while others scan for smoke on live feeds from their phones.
  • "Both local communities and state agencies are taking the issue more seriously, leading to tighter controls over burning and fire outbreaks," Mathaphan told AFP. The Hmong, an Indigenous ethnic group originally from the mountains of southern China, have lived on these slopes in northern Thailand since migrating in the mid-20th century.
In the dry-season heat of northern Thailand, Hmong villagers zip through forested slopes, blasting tinder with leaf blowers and cutting through brush with machetes, while others scan for smoke on live feeds from their phones.
Across about a dozen villages in the hills of Doi Suthep-Pui National Park, just above the city of Chiang Mai, Indigenous volunteers patrol on foot and clear firebreaks while also deploying drones and treetop cameras -- all to detect blazes early and defend Thailand's second-largest city from wildfire smoke.
"The forest we protect is part of the national park -- the lungs of Chiang Mai," said Mathaphan Phuchakritdapa, who started the firefighting volunteer force a decade ago and is chief of Suthep subdistrict.
"If it burns, the city's lungs are destroyed. That's why we have to take care of it as best we can."
He and his team shifted to tech-driven firefighting after devastating wildfires in 2020 tore through the mountains above the tourism-dependent city.
The blazes lasted weeks in March and April that year, killing at least five people and injuring and displacing residents and wildlife.
The thick smoke from fires then and since has regularly pushed Chiang Mai to the top of global air pollution rankings.

'Worst in my life'

Satellite imagery from the peak of the 2020 crisis showed northern Thailand blanketed by dense clusters of fire hotspots, with nearly 400 recorded in Chiang Mai province in a single day.
"It was the worst fire I've seen in my life," said Mathaphan, adding it took more than 40 days to bring it under control.
The hotter, drier weather caused by climate change creates the conditions for more frequent and destructive fires, and accumulated dry leaves can intensify them and accelerate their spread.
Outbreaks are often linked to human activities such as clearing forest and brush for foraging, hunting and agriculture.
To control air pollution, Chiang Mai authorities announced a strict five-month ban on open burning from the beginning of this year.
Authorities often blame local "hill tribes", while those communities say fires are set by outsiders for commercial purposes.
Data from NASA's fire monitoring service shows far fewer fires in the region in mid-March this year compared to the same period in 2020.
"Both local communities and state agencies are taking the issue more seriously, leading to tighter controls over burning and fire outbreaks," Mathaphan told AFP.
The Hmong, an Indigenous ethnic group originally from the mountains of southern China, have lived on these slopes in northern Thailand since migrating in the mid-20th century.
Volunteer teams roar through the hills on motorbikes, blasting away leaves with blowers and drowning out the buzz of a drone capturing footage of the blaze-prone landscape.

'Giving back'

Mongkol Yingyotmongkolsaen, a 47-year-old Hmong volunteer, returned from the city three years ago and began applying his skills as a photographer to firefighting.
He installed low-cost, internet-connected video cameras high among treetops that share live feeds with villagers who can remotely monitor conditions in real time.
Mongkol also flies standard and infrared drones to monitor for fires from above, track any flames that are spreading and detect heat at night.
This allows teams to identify hotspots earlier, plan safer routes and contain fires more quickly, he said, making their work much easier.
"This is my way of giving back to my community," he added.
Across the subdistrict, each household contributes a volunteer, forming a network of about 270 people managing nearly 1,600 hectares of forest.
Monitoring this vast area requires about 1.5 million baht ($45,000) a year to cover the cost of food, fuel and equipment maintenance.
But the community receives only around 50,000 baht annually in government funding -- an amount the local chief, Mathaphan, said is insufficient.
Still, their volunteer-based approach to fire prevention has become a model for other communities, he said -- helping shift perceptions of Hmong villagers who are often blamed for deforestation and "destructive" farming practices.
"We are not destroying the forest," Mathaphan said. "We are protecting it."
ci-sjc/sco/fox

conservation

Sacred leaf offers hope for Vanuatu's threatened forests

BY CHRIS MCCALL

  • But they acknowledge that the leaf and even growing national and international attention to Vatthe's importance are far from enough.
  • The feather-shaped namele leaf is so central to Vanuatu it features on the national flag, and now it is being enlisted to protect some of the country's most important forests. 
  • But they acknowledge that the leaf and even growing national and international attention to Vatthe's importance are far from enough.
The feather-shaped namele leaf is so central to Vanuatu it features on the national flag, and now it is being enlisted to protect some of the country's most important forests. 
By invoking a traditional taboo against touching the sacred leaf, conservationists and locals hope to keep loggers away from places like Vatthe Conservation Area -- a candidate for UNESCO World Heritage status.
Located on Vanuatu's largest island Espiritu Santo, Vatthe is home to astonishing biodiversity, hosting over two-thirds of the South Pacific archipelago's land and freshwater birds and many of its endemic species.
But just a single ranger, traditional chief Bill Tavue, patrols the 2,720-hectare site, whose name means "estuary" in the local Na language.
Lack of funding for conservation projects, disregard for government regulations and the need to clear land for farming means that logging is common, making Tavue's battle to protect the forest all the harder.
So he hopes that the glossy green leaf of the namele, which resembles a small palm, can help him protect what remains.
The plant, known to science by the botanical name Cycas seemannii, grows across the western Pacific region, but holds particular significance in Vanuatu.
"In our culture, no one is allowed to touch the namele, only the moli," Tavue said, using a local word for chieftain.
When a namele leaf is placed somewhere, people know not to touch anything nearby, he explained.

Leaf of peace

Tavue comes from Matantas, a small village on the north coast of Espiritu Santo, one of the more than 80 islands that make up the Vanuatu archipelago.
When Portuguese navigator Pedro Fernandez de Quiros landed there in 1606, he believed he had discovered the fabled "Great Southern Land".
In those days, Vanuatu's tribes used the namele leaf to mark boundaries that could not be crossed on pain of death -- a technique applied after wars to protect peace agreements.
More recently, locals in Matantas realised the leaf could help protect the forest, and began publicising its presence in Vatthe as a way to keep outsiders away.
The idea has caught on, and the government in Vanuatu's capital Port Vila now officially advocates that chiefs elsewhere use similar taboos to protect nature.
Traditional law still holds real sway in Vanuatu -- the country's Malvatumauri Council of Chiefs is made of up custom chiefs from across the nation and holds real political power.
Proponents of invoking the namele leaf taboo for conservation say it has helped keep Vatthe Conservation Area largely intact, despite few other protections.
But they acknowledge that the leaf and even growing national and international attention to Vatthe's importance are far from enough.
After one recent cyclone, Chinese loggers working in Vanuatu were given permission to pick up dead wood in the reserve.
But locals allege that was used as cover to log inside the area.
Officials at Vanuatu's Department of Forests and Department of Environmental Protection and Conservation did not respond to AFP's requests for comment about those claims.
While Vanuatu has tough forestry laws, it is unclear how effective those measures have been in practice.

'We don't destroy'

The leaf taboo holds weight in Espiritu Santo's mountainous west as well, where grassroots environmentalists created the Santo Sunset Environment Network to protect their forests.
They make educational visits to schools in villages often only accessible by hours-long boat rides and have persuaded chiefs there to ban logging and invoke the namele leaf and other taboos to enforce it.
Those caught breaking the taboo risk being fined a chicken or a pig -- a traditional form of currency in Vanuatu once used to pay 'bride prices'. 
Project manager Joses Togase said that logging is driven by poverty and a lack of understanding about the impact.
"They need money, but they were not realising the negative impact on the resources," he said.
In some areas, trees are cleared to grow subsistence crops like yams, cassava, taro and sweet potato, with growing communities seeing little option but to expand into forests.
Richard Rojo, the network's vice-chairman, is himself a subsistence farmer turned environmentalist, motivated by the need to protect his country's forests for his children and descendants.
"I just hope they will enjoy their resources, in their place, just as I am enjoying it now," he said.
In Matantas, ranger Tavue's parents, retired chief Solomon and his wife Purity say they are saddened by the state of the forest. 
"We have taboos. We don't destroy our rivers. We don't destroy our resources," Purity said. 
"Now we find out that the forest is starting to be damaged. The people started to slowly walk into the forest."
Her son trained four others to help him patrol, but they all gave up the unpaid work.
Tavue wants to see payment for forest protection, like carbon credit programmes, that can help fund work like his.
"We really want this conservation area to continue.
"If you don't have money you cannot continue."
str/oho/djw/sah/cms

AI

AI used to make 'fetishised' images of disabled women

BY ANNA MALPAS

  • Some account owners use artificial intelligence to manipulate real images of non-disabled women, making them appear to have Down syndrome, a genetic condition caused by an extra chromosome.
  • British charities and disability advocates have slammed a trend for using AI to generate "fetishised" images of women with disabilities and genetic conditions including Down syndrome, vitiligo and albinism.
  • Some account owners use artificial intelligence to manipulate real images of non-disabled women, making them appear to have Down syndrome, a genetic condition caused by an extra chromosome.
British charities and disability advocates have slammed a trend for using AI to generate "fetishised" images of women with disabilities and genetic conditions including Down syndrome, vitiligo and albinism.
The photo-realistic sexualised images, which have gained millions of views on social media, are deceptive as they are often not labelled as AI-generated.
Some account owners use artificial intelligence to manipulate real images of non-disabled women, making them appear to have Down syndrome, a genetic condition caused by an extra chromosome.
One such TikTok video of a young woman dancing in shorts and a cropped top has had 4 million views since last year.
The British Down's Syndrome Association condemned the "alarming trend". 
"This is a scam and is not only in bad taste but is potentially offensive and hurtful to people who have Down's syndrome," the charity said in comments sent to AFP.
Disabled women and girls already face a higher risk of sexual violence globally.
In Britain, women with disabilities are nearly twice as likely to be sexually assaulted, according to the Office for National Statistics.
The images show "very fetishised bodies" and "very sexual content", said Aisha Sobey, a University of Cambridge researcher studying generative AI.
Kamran Mallick, CEO of Disability Rights UK, said the images are "exploitation" and recall "historical freak shows of people being wheeled out for the amusement of others".
These AI influencers "are mostly young white women," said Emanuel Maiberg of the 404 Media tech news outlet who has covered the trend.
"It certainly seems like content that is more outrageous, novel, or weird, gets more engagement."
Higgsfield, a platform for generating virtual models, gives creators options to add scars, burns, albinism -- a lack of melanin pigmentation -- and vitiligo, which causes white patches on the skin. 
"The internet doesn't want a perfect face. It wants character. So give them scars, give them style," says a promotional video for Higgsfield, adding "AI influencers with vitiligo have been really popular lately".

'Harmful and unacceptable'

The AI images are often medically unlikely or impossible.
One creator labelled as based in Germany shows an AI model with albinism in a strappy vest top driving a car without glasses -- despite the fact that many with the condition have poor eyesight.
An Instagram account with millions of views shows a woman in swimsuits and gymwear whose body is bisected by vitiligo so she is exactly half white and half brown.
"This form of AI use is harmful and unacceptable," the Vitiligo Society told AFP.
"When AI creates fictional individuals with vitiligo and portrays them as authentic members of the community, this crosses into the territory of misinformation," said the British charity.
Real influencers with albinism told AFP that most AI-generated content fetishises the condition and is inaccurate.
US influencer Kayla Ludlow, who has 857,000 followers on TikTok, said in a video responding to AFP's questions that she could understand people trying filters out of curiosity.
But "especially with the AI model content, that just seems like it's a fetish," she said.
Unlike real influencers, the models "don't have a personality or a life or something for you to be invested with", she said.
"It just feels wrong to fetishise albinism in that way," said British influencer Mio, 22, who posts about makeup and skincare to her more than 47,000 followers on Instagram and TikTok. 
"I think the main reason is to make money, which is so intensely wrong."
AI images perpetuate "misinformation", for example that people with albinism have red eyes, she said.
Other AI models trivialise and sexualise severe medical conditions.
One Instagram page with 400,000 followers, apparently based in the United States, shows conjoined twins in bikinis on the beach. 
am/rhb/jkb/sbk/ane

kidnapping

Police detain French ex-cop suspected of killing mothers of his children

BY LEVI FERNANDES

  • Portuguese police said that the two found bodies were of the "partner and ex-partner" of the suspect, but that "procedures to identify the victims and consolidate the evidence are ongoing".
  • Portuguese police have arrested a former French police officer suspected of killing his partner and his ex-girlfriend after kidnapping them and their children.
  • Portuguese police said that the two found bodies were of the "partner and ex-partner" of the suspect, but that "procedures to identify the victims and consolidate the evidence are ongoing".
Portuguese police have arrested a former French police officer suspected of killing his partner and his ex-girlfriend after kidnapping them and their children.
Cedric Prizzon, a one-time member of the Paris police and a former rugby league youth international, is also a fathers' rights activist who had been involved in a bitter public custody battle with his former partner.
He had been stripped of his custody rights and had already been already convicted of harassing his former partner, after he illegally took their son to Spain for several weeks in 2021.
Portuguese police said they found "two bodies buried... in an isolated place" late Wednesday, a day after stopping the 42-year-old Prizzon in a car near Meda in the north of the country with his two children, a boy of 12 and an 18-month-old baby girl.
Officers found a pump-action shotgun, fake documents and number plates, and 17,000 euros ($19,600) in cash in the vehicle.
Portuguese police said that the two found bodies were of the "partner and ex-partner" of the suspect, but that "procedures to identify the victims and consolidate the evidence are ongoing".
A court in Vila Nova de Foz Coa, not far from where Prizzon was detained, remanded him in custody on Thursday evening after several hours of questioning. 
He is suspected of aggravated homicide, desecrating a corpse and kidnapping, judicial officials said. 
The two children are to be returned to France, authorities said.

'Unhinged'

French police have been hunting Prizzon since the women disappeared from their homes in the Aveyron area of south-central France last week.
The search for the powerfully built rugby prop forward began after his former partner disappeared on Friday.
The 40-year-old did not show up for work in an insurance company and her son was not at school.
Prizzon, his new partner, aged 26, and their baby daughter were also missing from their home in the nearby village of Savignac. 
Detectives quickly suspected that Prizzon was behind the abductions.
As part of a bitter battle against his ex-partner over their son, Prizzon had mounted a campaign against her on social media, accusing her of endangering their child. 
He also took part in protests along with other fathers who had lost custody of their children.
Locals in the two villages where the women lived were horrified by their deaths.
One woman in her 60s told AFP that although she thought Prizzon was "unhinged", she "thought he would never go so far".
bur-pdw/js

regulation

EU accuses four porn platforms of letting children access adult content

BY RAZIYE AKKOC

  • "Children are accessing adult content at increasingly younger ages and these platforms must put in place robust, privacy-preserving and effective measures to keep minors off their services," EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said in a statement.
  • The European Union accused four pornographic platforms on Thursday of allowing children to access adult content in breach of digital rules, putting the companies at risk of large fines.
  • "Children are accessing adult content at increasingly younger ages and these platforms must put in place robust, privacy-preserving and effective measures to keep minors off their services," EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said in a statement.
The European Union accused four pornographic platforms on Thursday of allowing children to access adult content in breach of digital rules, putting the companies at risk of large fines.
At the same time, Brussels also launched a separate wide-ranging probe into Snapchat over suspicions it is failing to adequately protect children online.
The move comes as pressure is piling up globally on social media to ensure children's safety, with a US ruling this week that found Meta and YouTube liable for harming a young woman because of their platforms' addictive design seen as a possible turning point. 
There are also expanding efforts, especially in Britain and France, to force porn sites to check users' age to prevent children from accessing online smut.
The European Commission said it preliminarily found Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos failed to protect children's rights and wellbeing in violation of the Digital Services Act (DSA) under the investigation launched in May 2025.
The EU said minors could access all four platforms by a simple click confirming they are over 18, and accused the companies of prioritising their reputation over children's safety.
The commission told the porn platforms they need to implement age verification measures that preserve privacy while preventing children from seeing harmful content.
"Children are accessing adult content at increasingly younger ages and these platforms must put in place robust, privacy-preserving and effective measures to keep minors off their services," EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said in a statement.
If confirmed to be in breach, the EU can fine the platforms up to six percent of their respective global turnover.
Pornhub is owned by Cyprus-based Aylo and Stripchat is also headquartered on the Mediterranean island. XNXX and XVideos are based in the Czech Republic.
XVideos told AFP that the EU was "asking us to commit suicide for nothing", adding that age checks would do "nothing to prevent minors from accessing adult content, as we know they will simply move to other, less safe sites that are completely out of reach of regulators".

Transatlantic alignment on minors?

As the EU announced its wide-ranging probe into Snapchat, the commission said it feared the platform was "exposing minors to grooming attempts" and information about the sale of illegal products like drugs.
"Snapchat appears to have overlooked that the Digital Services Act demands high safety standards for all users," Virkkunen said.
Snapchat has around 97 million monthly active users in the EU.
The company said its users' safety and well-being were a "top priority".
"We have fully cooperated with the commission to date -- engaging proactively, transparently and working in good faith to meet the DSA's high safety standards -- and we will continue to do so," a Snapchat spokesperson said.
The EU's actions come after a Los Angeles jury on Wednesday found Meta -- the American parent company of Facebook and Instagram -- and YouTube liable for harming a young woman through the addictive design of their platforms.
Virkkunen welcomed the verdict, which handed plaintiffs in more than a thousand similar pending cases significant leverage, saying it sent "a very clear message" that platforms need to take seriously "the risks they are posing".

More EU moves

Facebook and Instagram are also under investigation in the EU in two separate probes, one of which is focused on how the platforms protect children.
Virkkunen indicated there would be preliminary findings "soon" in the case, especially regarding the probe's focus on age verification.
In a watershed moment, the EU last month told Chinese-owned platform TikTok to change its "addictive design" or face heavy fines under the EU's DSA.
The EU is also developing an age verification app with pilot schemes ongoing in six member states including Denmark and France.
Brussels says when it is rolled out, it will be a "user-friendly and privacy-preserving age verification method".
raz/sbk

politics

Cuban children's heart hospital makes tough choices amid US blockade

BY LISANDRA COTS

  • Herminia Palenzuela, a 79-year-old doctor, said the William Soler Pediatric Hospital must now make "very difficult" decisions.
  • Doctors at Cuba's main pediatric heart hospital face wrenching decisions as a US fuel blockade further strains an already fragile health system: which children receive life-saving treatment first -- and which must wait longer.
  • Herminia Palenzuela, a 79-year-old doctor, said the William Soler Pediatric Hospital must now make "very difficult" decisions.
Doctors at Cuba's main pediatric heart hospital face wrenching decisions as a US fuel blockade further strains an already fragile health system: which children receive life-saving treatment first -- and which must wait longer.
During a visit by AFP journalists, mothers wearing medical masks were bedside next to children sitting or laying in dim rooms, with the sun providing the only light through the windows.
Universal health care is one of the proud achievements of the Cuban revolution, but the island's hospitals have struggled with shortages and aging equipment for years.
The situation has deteriorated since US President Donald Trump imposed a de facto oil blockade in January, with Cubans enduring daily blackouts that last several hours.
Herminia Palenzuela, a 79-year-old doctor, said the William Soler Pediatric Hospital must now make "very difficult" decisions.
Children with the least serious cases are "at the end of the list and simply wait," she said.

'Lucky' so far

The hospital treats newborns, children, and pregnant women whose fetuses have been diagnosed with severe congenital heart defects.
It has 100 beds, but they are not all used as doctors says they must conserve equipment and medical supplies for the sickest patients.
"Resources are always reserved for that type of patient, because they are the ones who could die at any moment," said Palenzuela, her face etched with anguish.
"We would like to operate more. We would like to do more, but the resources don't allow us to do so," said Palenzuela, who founded the hospital in 1986.
Yaima Sanchez waited in a dimly lit hallway for her nine-year-old son to be seen and given the portable device needed to monitor his heart rate.
"I come here with the faith that the doctors will see me with whatever they have available," said Sanchez, whose son has tachycardia, an abnormally fast heartbeat.
"Sometimes the device isn't there, or it's dead because there are no batteries," she told AFP. "So far, we've been lucky, but you never know."

'Dramatic levels'

With daily blackouts affecting Cubans across the island -- including two nationwide outages last week alone -- the government has prioritized hospitals, which are equipped with generators to ensure they never go dark.
Palenzuela said she can only visit the hospital three times a week. Colleagues walk several kilometers to work every day. A transport system has been set up for health workers, but not all have access to it.
In Havana, nurses and doctors in white lab coats are among people seen hitchhiking along the capital's famous Malecon seafront promenade.
According to the health ministry, more than 96,000 Cubans, including 11,000 children, are waiting for surgeries due to the energy crisis.
The director of the William Soler hospital, Eugenio Selmam, said a US trade embargo in force since 1962 has always made it difficult for Cuba to get medicine and medical equipment.
"It's something we have lived with for decades," Selmam said. "But now, with this new situation, it has reached dramatic levels."
The United Nations, which is in talks with Washington to allow imports of fuel for its aid work in Cuba, has proposed an action plan to keep critical services running in the country.
"If the current situation continues and the country's fuel reserves are exhausted, we do fear a rapid deterioration, with the potential loss of life," the UN's coordinator in Cuba, Francisco Pichon, said Wednesday.
The hospital this week received a shipment of medicine, food and hygiene products from an international humanitarian aid convoy that brought 50 tonnes of supplies to Cuba by sea and air.
"The situation is clearly complicated," said Martina Steinwurzel, a 41-year-old Italian activist and member of the Our America Convoy.
As volunteers and medical staff stacked boxes of donated supplies in a hospital room, Steinwurzel looked around and said: "These are people who have resisted for many years, and now they are living through a siege they have never experienced in their history."
lis/rd/lt/mlm

trial

UK PM 'very keen' to curb addictive social media after US ruling

  • "I'm very keen that we do more on addictive features within social media," he added.
  • UK leader Keir Starmer said Thursday he was "very keen" to tackle addictive features on social media following a landmark US ruling that found Meta and YouTube liable for harming a young woman.
  • "I'm very keen that we do more on addictive features within social media," he added.
UK leader Keir Starmer said Thursday he was "very keen" to tackle addictive features on social media following a landmark US ruling that found Meta and YouTube liable for harming a young woman.
Britain's government is currently considering new restrictions for popular social media apps, as countries around the world grapple with how to keep children safe online.
Starmer said officials would study "very carefully" Wednesday's decision by a jury in Los Angeles, which found that Meta and YouTube were negligent in the design and operation of their platforms.
The jurors ordered the companies to pay $6 million in damages, including $3 million in punitive damages, holding them accountable for the mental health toll of their design choices.
"The status quo isn't good enough. We need to do more to protect children," Starmer said during a visit to Finland.
"I'm very keen that we do more on addictive features within social media," he added.
The two chambers of Britain's parliament are currently in a stand-off over whether the government should follow Australia and issue a blanket ban on social media for children under 16.
The unelected upper House of Lords voted in favour of prohibiting social media for under-16s for a second time late Wednesday, piling pressure on the government to follow suit.
MPs in the House of Commons, where Starmer's Labour party enjoys a huge majority, have already rejected the proposal once.
Starmer has not ruled out a ban but is awaiting the outcome of a public consultation, due to close on May 26.
pdh/jkb/jj

football

Somalia football slowly becomes a women's game

BY MUSTAFA HAJI ABDINUR

  • "If you were in Mogadishu a couple of years ago, an occasion like this, with two girls' football clubs playing, would not have been possible... but with time, things are improving," said Ali Muhidin, one of the spectators. 
  • Hundreds of Somali spectators cheered as they watched two teams of young women play football in a Mogadishu stadium -- an unimaginable scene in the conservative, conflict-hit country just a few years ago. 
  • "If you were in Mogadishu a couple of years ago, an occasion like this, with two girls' football clubs playing, would not have been possible... but with time, things are improving," said Ali Muhidin, one of the spectators. 
Hundreds of Somali spectators cheered as they watched two teams of young women play football in a Mogadishu stadium -- an unimaginable scene in the conservative, conflict-hit country just a few years ago. 
Such events were heavily threatened until recently in Somalia's capital by the Al-Qaeda-affiliated militant group Al-Shabaab, which frowns on entertainment like football, especially when played by women. 
But while Al-Shabaab still has a powerful grip behind the scenes in Mogadishu, the security situation has markedly improved. 
At Tuesday's match, the main stand was mostly segregated but nonetheless included some men and women sitting together. 
The Ilays women's team ultimately crushed their opponents Nasiib 5-0, but that did not dampen the mood. 
"If you were in Mogadishu a couple of years ago, an occasion like this, with two girls' football clubs playing, would not have been possible... but with time, things are improving," said Ali Muhidin, one of the spectators. 
The women's football championship was created in 2024, and initially involved only 80 players. But barely two years later, 600 are participating across 10 teams -- mostly from Mogadishu, but also other parts of the country. 
"No one could have imagined that one day Somali women would play football in their country, where even men were forbidden to play by fighters who had declared football 'un-Islamic'," said Ali Abdi Mohamed, president of the Somali Football Federation. 
"But something we couldn't even dream of has become a reality," he told AFP. 
Not everyone in the largely conservative Muslim country allows their daughters to play, he conceded, but they have faced no serious complaints. 
Somalis have long been passionate fans of European football, but local teams have been neglected. Somalia is currently ranked 200th in the FIFA men's rankings, ahead of only a handful of microstates. 
Its women's team, which played its first friendly match in October in Djibouti, is not listed by the international federation. 
But this should change soon, as the "Ocean Queens" are preparing for their first-ever international tournament -- an under-17s event in May in Tanzania. 
"For women to play football is not shameful or taboo," said Ramas Abdi Salah, midfielder for the Ocean Queens, who, like her teammates, wears thick tights and a long-sleeved shirt under her sports kit, as well as a black headscarf to cover her hair. 
"As you can see, I'm fully covered except for my face and my hands. I haven't received any bad comments," said the 17-year-old, who added she has her family's approval. 
Goalkeeper Najma Ali Ahmed had a rough game on Tuesday, letting in five goals. 
But it will take a lot more than that to lose the love of the game. 
"I'm sending a message to female footballers to work toward the dream of joining the national team," she said.
vid-str-jcp-jf/er/giv

trial

US jury finds Meta, YouTube liable in social media addiction trial

BY ROMAIN FONSEGRIVES WITH ALEX PIGMAN IN WASHINGTON

  • Two further bellwether trials are expected to follow in the same Los Angeles courthouse, with their outcomes likely to determine whether social media companies fight on or move toward a broader settlement, potentially including redesigning how their platforms work.
  • A Los Angeles jury on Wednesday found Meta and YouTube liable for harming a young woman because of an addictive design of their social media platforms, ordering the companies to pay $6 million in damages, including $3 million in punitive damages.
  • Two further bellwether trials are expected to follow in the same Los Angeles courthouse, with their outcomes likely to determine whether social media companies fight on or move toward a broader settlement, potentially including redesigning how their platforms work.
A Los Angeles jury on Wednesday found Meta and YouTube liable for harming a young woman because of an addictive design of their social media platforms, ordering the companies to pay $6 million in damages, including $3 million in punitive damages.
The verdict hands plaintiffs in more than a thousand similar pending cases significant leverage -- and signals to the broader tech industry that juries are prepared to hold social media companies accountable for the mental health toll of their design choices.
The jury answered yes to all seven questions on verdict forms for both companies, finding that Meta and YouTube were negligent in the design and operation of their platforms and that their negligence was a substantial factor in causing harm to the plaintiff.
Jurors also found that both companies knew or should have known their services posed a danger to minors, that they failed to adequately warn users of that danger, and that a reasonable platform operator would have done so.
The panel awarded $3 million in compensatory damages, assigning Meta 70 percent of the responsibility for the plaintiff's harm -- a $2.1 million share -- and YouTube the remaining 30 percent, or $900,000. 
In a second phase, jurors added a further $3 million in total punitive damages after finding both companies had acted with malice, oppression or fraud.
Both companies said they would appeal the verdict.
"This case misunderstands YouTube, which is a responsibly built streaming platform, not a social media site," Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda said.
A spokesperson for Meta said they "respectfully disagree with the verdict," adding that "teen mental health is profoundly complex and cannot be linked to a single app."
Nine of the 12 jurors further found that both companies had acted with malice, oppression or fraud, a finding that set the stage for the separate punitive damages.
The plaintiff, known in court documents by her initials K.G.M. and called Kaley at trial, began using YouTube when she was six, downloading the app on her iPod Touch to watch videos about lip gloss and an online kids game. 
She joined Instagram at nine, getting around a block her mother had put in place to keep her off the platform.
She told jurors that her near-constant social media use "really affected my self-worth," saying the apps led her to abandon hobbies, struggle to make friends and constantly measure herself against others.
In closing arguments, plaintiff attorney Mark Lanier cast the case as a story of corporate greed, saying that features like infinite scrolling, autoplay videos, notifications and like counts were engineered to drive compulsive use among young people.

'Existential' threat?

Meta and YouTube had maintained throughout the trial that Kaley's mental health struggles had nothing to do with their platforms.
Meta's lawyer pointed to her life at home and a turbulent relationship with her parents, while YouTube disputed how much time Kaley actually spent on its platform.
The jury rejected both defenses across all seven questions on each verdict form.
TikTok and Snap were originally named as defendants but settled on undisclosed terms before the trial got underway. 
Two further bellwether trials are expected to follow in the same Los Angeles courthouse, with their outcomes likely to determine whether social media companies fight on or move toward a broader settlement, potentially including redesigning how their platforms work.
The penalty amounts are "a slap on the wrist for companies like Meta and YouTube, which are two of the biggest ad sellers in the world," said Jasmine Enberg of Scalable, who tracks the social media industry.
"But if these companies are forced to redesign their products, that poses an existential threat to their business models." 
A separate New Mexico jury on Tuesday found Meta liable for endangering children by making them vulnerable to predators on its platforms and other dangers.
The state had sought the maximum $2.2 billion in damages, but the jury awarded a lesser amount of $375 million.
arp/js/cms

US

US activists work to connect Iranians via Starlink

BY CHARLOTTE CAUSIT

  • Ahmad Ahmadian, executive director of Holistic Resilience, explained that his organization purchased Starlink devices in European countries or elsewhere, before moving them into Iran via "neighboring countries."
  • With the war in Iran leading to a near-total internet blackout in the country, activists around the world -- especially in the United States -- are mobilizing to help Iranians stay connected via Starlink.
  • Ahmad Ahmadian, executive director of Holistic Resilience, explained that his organization purchased Starlink devices in European countries or elsewhere, before moving them into Iran via "neighboring countries."
With the war in Iran leading to a near-total internet blackout in the country, activists around the world -- especially in the United States -- are mobilizing to help Iranians stay connected via Starlink.
Despite being banned, billionaire Elon Musk's satellite internet system has gained ground in Iran thanks to a network of international activists, multiple people involved in these efforts told AFP.
The digital activists' efforts began in 2022, when mass protests broke out following the death of Mahsa Amini, who was being held by Iran's police for violating the country's strict dress code for women.

Smuggling networks

"As of this year, we have more than 300 devices that we have delivered to the country," said Emilia James of the US-based organization NetFreedom Pioneers. She declined to go into further detail to protect the operation and the users.
Ahmad Ahmadian, executive director of Holistic Resilience, explained that his organization purchased Starlink devices in European countries or elsewhere, before moving them into Iran via "neighboring countries."
The government cracked down hard on the Starlink terminals in 2025, and those caught using them face imprisonment. 
Charges may be enhanced if the device is found to have been sent by a US organization, Ahmadian pointed out.
His group has supplied "up to 200" antennas to individuals in Iran, and has facilitated the sale of "more than 5,000 Starlink devices" by connecting ordinary citizens with underground resellers, he said.
This approach is less risky for both the activists and for the users.
For these reasons, Holistic Resilience taps smuggling networks and provides security tips and usage instructions remotely.
– Astronomical costs –
To get a Starlink antenna on the black market, Iranians previously had to shell out around "$800 or $1,000" at the end of 2025, Ahmadian recalled, a prohibitive  amount for many.
Then there's the issue of paying for usage.
The devices can -- theoretically, at least -- provide internet to an entire family or apartment building. 
But in practice, usage remains "limited" because "the costs are still prohibitive for most users," according to NetFreedom Pioneers' Emilia James.
For those that can afford the fees, Visa and Mastercard payments do not work in Iran, forcing users to find workarounds.
Since the bloody crackdown on protesters in January, free usage has been granted for new subscribers. However, the cost of terminals has skyrocketed to some $4,000, according to Ahmadian.
Demand is not the only factor driving up costs. 
Many of the terminals were brought into Iran through the "southern borders and through the waterways," Ahmadian said. 
The closure of the Straight of Hormuz due to the war "suppresses the supply" of the devices.
– 'More than 50,000' –
While the number of terminals within Iran is not publicly known, Ahmadian estimates that "there are more than 50,000 Starlink terminals in Iran, for sure."
For her part, James estimates that there are "tens of thousands" of Starlink devices in the country of 92 million.
Starlink did not respond to AFP requests for details.
James said that she has heard reports of Iranian authorities searching rooftops and balconies for the antennas since the start of the war.
And earlier this month, a man described as the head of a network that sold internet access via Starlink was arrested by Iranian authorities.
cha/ico/pnb/jgc

church

Ex-midwife enthroned as first female Archbishop of Canterbury

BY BY LENA VOELK WITH HELEN ROWE IN LONDON

  • Mullally, who is married with two children, becomes the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, the first having been appointed in the late sixth century.
  • A former nurse made history Wednesday when she was enthroned as Archbishop of Canterbury, the first woman to lead the centuries-old mother church of the world's 85 million-strong Anglican community.
  • Mullally, who is married with two children, becomes the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, the first having been appointed in the late sixth century.
A former nurse made history Wednesday when she was enthroned as Archbishop of Canterbury, the first woman to lead the centuries-old mother church of the world's 85 million-strong Anglican community.
Sarah Mullally, 63, formally steps into the role after an abuse scandal led to the departure of her predecessor.
The former midwife was formally installed in the historic ceremony at Canterbury Cathedral in southeast England in front of around 2,000 people including heir to the throne Prince William and his wife Catherine.
In accordance with tradition, the ceremony began with Mullally knocking three times with a staff on the cathedral's west door to request admission.
Dressed in deep yellow-gold robes, she was greeted by local school children who asked why she had been sent.
"I am sent as archbishop to serve you, to proclaim the love of Christ and with you to worship and love him with heart and soul, mind and strength," she responded.
The ceremony then culminated with Mullally being seated in two different thrones.
The seats symbolise the dual responsibilities of the role -- as a bishop in the diocese of Canterbury and as the spiritual leader of Anglicans worldwide.
Mullally's predecessor Justin Welby announced his resignation as head of the Church of England in November 2024 over failures in handling an abuse scandal.
He stepped down after a report found the Church of England had covered up a 1970s serial abuse case and that he failed to report the abuses to authorities when they came to his attention in 2013.

Chief nurse

Mullally has stressed her commitment to "do all I can to ensure that the Church becomes safer and also responds well to victims and survivors of abuse."
The church was "seeking to become more trauma informed, listening to survivors and victims of abuse", she said in an interview with the BBC this week.
The Church of England became the country's state establishment church following King Henry VIII's split from the Roman Catholic Church in the 1530s.
The British monarch is its supreme governor, while the Archbishop of Canterbury is seen as the spiritual leader of Anglicans worldwide.
Mullally, who is married with two children, becomes the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, the first having been appointed in the late sixth century.
She worked in Britain's state-run National Health Service for more than three decades, rising to become its chief nursing officer for England in 1999.
Ordained a priest in 2002, she became the first female Bishop of London in 2018, only four years after the church began allowing women bishops after years of bitter factional wrangling.
Some churches around the Anglican world have long permitted women bishops, with the first appointed in the United States in 1989.
Others, however, remain opposed such as the Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Rwanda, Laurent Mbanda.
He has previously insisted the "majority of the Anglican Communion still believes that the Bible requires a male-only episcopacy".
More than 40 of England's 108 bishops are now women, with a similar proportion among priests, after women clergy were first permitted in the early 1990s.
har/jkb/fg

trial

Day of reckoning arrives for social media after US court loss

BY THOMAS URBAIN

  • - Legislative pressure builds - The Los Angeles and Santa Fe cases are part of a broader wave of legal and regulatory action that gathered pace after Australia moved last year to ban social media for people under 16. 
  • A Los Angeles jury's ruling that Meta and YouTube contributed to a teenage girl's depression marks a potential turning point in the years-long legal battle against social media giants -- one that could carry an enormous price tag.
  • - Legislative pressure builds - The Los Angeles and Santa Fe cases are part of a broader wave of legal and regulatory action that gathered pace after Australia moved last year to ban social media for people under 16. 
A Los Angeles jury's ruling that Meta and YouTube contributed to a teenage girl's depression marks a potential turning point in the years-long legal battle against social media giants -- one that could carry an enormous price tag.
The civil court on Tuesday found Meta and YouTube's parent Google liable for failing to adequately warn young people about the risks of excessive use of their Instagram and YouTube apps, respectively, even though they were aware of the dangers. 
Both Meta and YouTube said Wednesday that they planned to appeal the California verdict. 
A separate jury in Santa Fe, New Mexico, earlier this week found Meta liable for endangering minor users of Facebook and Instagram.

Billions on the line

Meta was quick to note that compensatory damages in the Los Angeles case totalled just $3 million, with a further $3 million in punitive damages awarded by the jury Wednesday.
In New Mexico, the company was ordered to pay $375 million in penalties, a verdict it said it would appeal.
The rulings could ripple across hundreds of pending lawsuits against social media companies facing similar allegations, with the total liability potentially running into the billions of dollars.
"Bellwether trials like this one serve as signals about how juries respond to specific theories of harm," said Daryl Lim, a law professor at Pennsylvania State University.
He added that the verdict "should increase the pressure" on platforms to settle outstanding cases.
Snap and TikTok settled with the plaintiff in the Los Angeles case before the trial began, sidestepping a jury entirely.

Self-regulation

The cases center on users like Kaley G.M., the plaintiff in the Los Angeles case, who said she developed depression, chronic anxiety and body image issues from early and intense exposure to social media. 
Researchers have increasingly linked such sufferings to heavy social media use among adolescents.
"For years, social media companies have claimed they're hard at work making their platforms safer for kids and teenagers," said Minda Smiley, an analyst at eMarketer. "Critics have long been skeptical."
"This verdict could mark the start of a difficult new chapter for social platforms -- one where the rules they write for themselves no longer cut it," she added.
Vanitha Swaminathan, a marketing professor at the University of Pittsburgh, said the ruling exposed "an important tension between the goals of the platform companies and the issues it poses for some of its most vulnerable consumers."

New crack in Section 230

For year, US platforms have sheltered behind Section 230, a legal provision shielding them from liability for content posted by their users. 
But lawyers for Kaley G.M. chose a different battlefield: the design of the platforms themselves, which they argued were engineered to trap and addict young users.
The strategy amounts to a "narrowing" of Section 230 that offers "alternative pathways to liability," said Lim at Pennsylvania State University.

Legislative pressure builds

The Los Angeles and Santa Fe cases are part of a broader wave of legal and regulatory action that gathered pace after Australia moved last year to ban social media for people under 16. 
Several US states have since passed or are weighing their own legislation to protect minors online, though none has set a hard minimum age.
Congress has so far stayed on the sidelines. "It usually steps in only after courts and state governments have begun to reshape the policy landscape," Lim said.
Should the courts ultimately compel platforms to overhaul their products, the consequences could be severe. 
"Their ad businesses thrive off attention," said Jasmine Enberg of Scalable. "If product changes make their apps less engaging, that makes them less valuable to advertisers."
"If these companies are forced to redesign their products," she warned, "that poses an existential threat to their business models."
tu/arp/js/dw 

slavery

UN designates African slave trade as 'gravest crime against humanity'

  • "The perpetrators of the transatlantic slave trade are known, the Europeans, the United States of America.
  • The UN General Assembly on Wednesday designated the transatlantic African slave trade as "the gravest crime against humanity," despite opposition by the United States and some European countries.
  • "The perpetrators of the transatlantic slave trade are known, the Europeans, the United States of America.
The UN General Assembly on Wednesday designated the transatlantic African slave trade as "the gravest crime against humanity," despite opposition by the United States and some European countries.
In a move advocates hailed as a step towards healing and possible reparations, the resolution was adopted to applause by a vote of 123 in favor, three against and 52 abstentions.
The United States, Israel and Argentina opposed the measure, while Britain and EU member states abstained.
Ghana's President John Mahama, one of the African Union's most vocal supporters of slavery reparations, was at the United Nations headquarters in New York to support the vote.
"Today, we come together in solemn solidarity to affirm truth and pursue a route to healing and reparative justice. The adoption of this resolution serves as a safeguard against forgetting," said Mahama.
Despite being non-binding, the resolution goes beyond simple acknowledgment and asks nations involved in the slave trade to engage in restorative justice. 
It also highlights the legacy of slavery via "the persistence of racial discrimination and neo-colonialism" in today's society.
"The transatlantic slave trade was a crime against humanity that struck at the core of personhood, broke up families, and devastated communities," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.
"To justify the unjustifiable, slavery's proponents and beneficiaries constructed a racist ideology -- turning prejudice into a pseudoscience."

 'Hierarchy' of tragedies

The United States called the text "highly problematic."
"The United States also does not recognize a legal right to reparations for historical wrongs that were not illegal under international law at the time they occurred," said US ambassador Dan Negrea.
"The United States also strongly objects to the resolution's attempt to rank crimes against humanity in any type of hierarchy," he added.
Britain and EU countries advanced similar arguments while acknowledging the wrongs of slavery. 
The resolution "risks pitting historical tragedies against each other that should not be compared, except at the expense of the memory of the victims," said French representative Sylvain Fournel.
Ghanaian Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa on Tuesday dismissed criticism that the text sought to rank human suffering.
He also alleged that some nations had refused to acknowledge their crimes.
"The perpetrators of the transatlantic slave trade are known, the Europeans, the United States of America. We expect all of them to formally apologize to Africa and to all people of African descent," he told AFP.
One pathway toward restorative justice, he said, is that "all the looted artifacts are returned to the motherland."
He also suggested that institutions continue to address structural racism and that "compensation" could be offered to those affected.
abd/bgs/bjt/des

internet

Grieving families hail court victory against Instagram, YouTube

BY ROMAIN FONSEGRIVES

  • - 'Predator' defense - The platforms "had no defense" in this case, said Schott, outraged by the way Meta's lawyers attributed Kaley G.M.'s depression to her chaotic childhood -- surrounded by a neglectful father, a hot-tempered mother, and a sister who attempted suicide.
  • Hearing the news that Instagram and YouTube had been found liable Wednesday for contributing to a young American woman's depression, Lori Schott jumped for joy and wept, as if it were her own daughter who had just won her case.
  • - 'Predator' defense - The platforms "had no defense" in this case, said Schott, outraged by the way Meta's lawyers attributed Kaley G.M.'s depression to her chaotic childhood -- surrounded by a neglectful father, a hot-tempered mother, and a sister who attempted suicide.
Hearing the news that Instagram and YouTube had been found liable Wednesday for contributing to a young American woman's depression, Lori Schott jumped for joy and wept, as if it were her own daughter who had just won her case.
"We have ripped the door of this courthouse open in memory of our kids, and we're shining a light," the Colorado farmer told AFP, having traveled more than 1,800 kilometers (1,112 miles) to attend the verdict in Los Angeles.
It is "validation that what we saw, our children being harmed, was true. It's going to make the world safer."
This landmark trial involved Kaley G.M., a 20-year-old Californian who had been a compulsive user of various social media platforms since childhood and accused them of exacerbating her mental health issues and suicidal thoughts.
TikTok and Snapchat had reached a financial settlement to avoid going to court, but Google, the owner of YouTube, and Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, had opted for a legal battle.
The ruling on Monday ordering them to pay $3 million in damages is not just a victory for the young woman.
It also sets a precedent for thousands of American families who accuse the social media industry of knowingly designing its platforms to make children addicted, through features such as "likes," notifications, infinite scrolling, and autoplay videos.

'Predator' defense

The platforms "had no defense" in this case, said Schott, outraged by the way Meta's lawyers attributed Kaley G.M.'s depression to her chaotic childhood -- surrounded by a neglectful father, a hot-tempered mother, and a sister who attempted suicide.
"Their defense is to attack Kaley and her family. And what does a predator do? A predator attacks the victim," she said.
Angry, the 60-year-old cannot come to terms with the loss of her daughter Annalee, a little blonde girl in a cowboy hat whose smile lights up the pin attached to the lapel of her jacket.
After her suicide at age 18, her mother discovered a note explaining that she thought she was ugly and realized that she constantly compared herself to other women on social media who regularly used filters to alter their appearance.
"It was all built into the design of these platforms to keep little girls engaged," she said, still shocked by the internal documents revealed during the trial.
These confidential records notably showed how their architecture reduced users to a series of statistics, such as "customer lifetime value," representing the total expected profit for a person over their entire time on the platform.
"Their internal operation said kids are worth $270 lifetime value," she whispered, her throat tightening. "My daughter is worth a hell of a lot more than $270."

'Shaping public opinion'

During the trial, lawyers for YouTube and Instagram sought to convince the court that these platforms no longer aim to maximize the amount of time their users spend online, unlike in their early days.
Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, also expressed regret on the stand that Instagram waited until 2022 to verify the ages of its users.
Outside the courtroom, his company is ramping up advertising to promote new Instagram accounts for teens, which are private by default and block messages from people not followed by users under 16.
The Silicon Valley giant is also promoting new features to alert parents if their teen repeatedly searches for content related to suicide or self-harm on Instagram.
But for Julianna Arnold, whose daughter Coco died at age 17 after receiving fentanyl from a stranger she met on Instagram, these efforts ring hollow.
"People need to wake up and start seeing through their PR. They're not doing nearly enough for kids' safety," said the Californian, co-founder of the victims' advocacy group Parents Rise.
For her, the increase in lawsuits against these platforms is essential, as the US Congress is currently considering a bill that would, for the first time, impose a "duty of care" on social media companies.
"This decision is not going to change everything, but it helps us to sway public opinion," she insisted. "That's the only way to get the ear of legislators in Washington."
rfo/arp/sms

crime

US TV star details 'agony' over mother's disappearance

  • Savannah Guthrie previously offered $1 million for a tip leading to the recovery of her mother, acknowledging that "she may already be gone."
  • US television host Savannah Guthrie on Wednesday described her family's "agony" in her first television interview since her mother was apparently kidnapped nearly two months ago in a case that has gripped the nation.
  • Savannah Guthrie previously offered $1 million for a tip leading to the recovery of her mother, acknowledging that "she may already be gone."
US television host Savannah Guthrie on Wednesday described her family's "agony" in her first television interview since her mother was apparently kidnapped nearly two months ago in a case that has gripped the nation.
"Someone needs to do the right thing. We are in agony. We are in agony. It is unbearable," popular morning show presenter Savannah Guthrie said in an interview with fellow NBC News anchor Hoda Kotb.
Nancy Guthrie, 84, disappeared from her home in Tucson, Arizona in the early hours of February 1. Security camera footage released by authorities showed a masked, apparently armed man at her house, but since then the trail has gone cold.
No suspect has been identified and announcements of potential clues -- including discarded gloves -- have not led to further progress.
"To think of what she went through. I wake up every night in the middle of the night, every night," Savannah Guthrie said, tears streaming down her face.
"In the darkness, I imagine her terror. And it is unthinkable, but those thoughts demand to be thought. And I will not hide my face. But she needs to come home now."
Savannah Guthrie's comments came in a clip shared on her television show, Today, with the network saying other parts of the interview would be released on Thursday and Friday.
Savannah Guthrie previously offered $1 million for a tip leading to the recovery of her mother, acknowledging that "she may already be gone."
The FBI has offered $100,000 for information.
The Today show is something of a US institution, airing nationally since 1952 and drawing millions of viewers to NBC on weekday mornings.
pnb/sms

manufacturing

Dirty diapers born again in Japan recycling breakthrough

BY HIROSHI HIYAMA

  • In 2024, Japan produced 9.6 billion adult diapers and incontinence pads, compared to eight billion for babies, according to the Japan Hygiene Products Industry Association.
  • Billions of dirty diapers end up buried or burned every year in Japan  -- more from seniors than babies -- but a recycling breakthrough has given them a new lease of life, one hot mess at a time.
  • In 2024, Japan produced 9.6 billion adult diapers and incontinence pads, compared to eight billion for babies, according to the Japan Hygiene Products Industry Association.
Billions of dirty diapers end up buried or burned every year in Japan  -- more from seniors than babies -- but a recycling breakthrough has given them a new lease of life, one hot mess at a time.
A pilot project, billed as a world first, reuses the main ingredient in nappies to make new ones, offering hopes to ease bloated landfill sites and respond to a growing need for adult diapers in ageing Japan.
"Demand for baby diapers is falling. But a growing number of elderly people wear diapers, and more recently, even pets do too," Takahisa Takahara, president of Japanese hygiene product maker Unicharm, the firm behind the new initiative, told AFP.
"If we can transform the sense of guilt ordinary consumers may feel about using disposable products into something positive, and make using recycled products the norm in society, it will become economically viable," he said.
Unicharm is testing the scheme in two pioneering southern Japanese municipalities, Shibushi and Osaki, which recycle 80 percent of household waste -- four times the Japanese average.
The two localities, home to about 40,000 people, decided to take radical action around 25 years ago after predictions that their communal rubbish dump would be full by 2004.
Now, the landfill site will stay open for another four decades.
In 2024, diapers were included in the recycling drive, with residents required to write their names on designated bin bags.
"Ultimately, our top priority is to reduce our trash and extend the life of the landfill," Shibushi environment official Kenichi Matsunaga told AFP.

Nappy ending

The collected diapers are shredded, washed and separated into pulp, plastic and super-absorbent polymer (SAP).
Unicharm has been able to recycle these materials into products with less rigorous sanitary requirements, like toilet paper.
It has also achieved the breakthrough of managing to use the pulp, which makes up the bulk of a diaper, to make new ones.
The process follows a special ozone treatment for sterilisation, bleaching and deodorisation.
By 2028, Unicharm aims to recycle the plastic and absorbent polymer from soiled diapers to make new ones as well, Tsutomu Kido, senior executive officer of Unicharm's recycling business, told AFP.
For now, its recycled products are on sale only in some local stores, priced around 10 percent higher than those with fresh raw materials, or distributed to selected childcare and senior care centres.
The company is also testing a method to cut the amount of water in the recycling process, and aims to team up with 20 municipalities by 2035 to recycle their diapers.  

Ageing nation

Japan has a poor recycling rate, reusing not even 20 percent of municipal waste, according to the National Institute for Environmental Studies.
That compares to 67 percent in Germany, 44 percent in Britain and around 32 percent in the United States.
Waste per capita, however, is less than two-thirds the OECD average -- a typical American throws almost three times more.
Japan does relatively well on generating electricity by incinerating trash, too.
In the ageing nation, home to almost 100,000 people over 100, diapers and related products are used more by seniors than babies.
In 2024, Japan produced 9.6 billion adult diapers and incontinence pads, compared to eight billion for babies, according to the Japan Hygiene Products Industry Association.
The group predicts Japan will throw away 2.6 million tons of dirty diapers every year by 2030, up from around 2.2 tons in 2020.
By that date, the share of dirty diapers in Japanese trash by weight will rise to 7.1 percent from 5.2 percent in 2020, the environment ministry said.
By 2030, the national government wants at least 100 of more than 1,700 municipalities to start recycling diapers, or at least talk about it.
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emergency

'Hero' Australian dog who saved 100 koalas retires

  • Bear's skills saved over 100 koalas as the Black Summer bushfires raged across Australia's eastern seaboard from late 2019 to early 2020, razing millions of hectares, destroying thousands of homes and blanketing cities in noxious smoke. 
  • An Australian dog credited with saving over 100 koalas from bushfires is retiring after a decade of service.
  • Bear's skills saved over 100 koalas as the Black Summer bushfires raged across Australia's eastern seaboard from late 2019 to early 2020, razing millions of hectares, destroying thousands of homes and blanketing cities in noxious smoke. 
An Australian dog credited with saving over 100 koalas from bushfires is retiring after a decade of service.
Bear, an 11-year-old Australian Koolie, was one of the first dogs in the country to be trained on the scent of koala fur.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare called using dogs to detect koalas a "novel" approach.
"No one knew if it could be done," IFAW head of programmes Josey Sharrad wrote in a statement about Bear on Monday.
As a pup, the four-legged hero's boundless energy made it tough to stay indoors, but he found his true potential in the bush.
"He literally went from chewing the walls of a Gold Coast apartment to roaming through the Aussie bush on a mission to save our most iconic species," Sharrad said.
Bear's skills saved over 100 koalas as the Black Summer bushfires raged across Australia's eastern seaboard from late 2019 to early 2020, razing millions of hectares, destroying thousands of homes and blanketing cities in noxious smoke. 
The tail-wagging detective with a "joyful and goofy" personality retires with an extensivelist of accolades -- including an Animal of the Year award and Puppy Tales Photos Australian Dog of the Year award.
He also features in a "dogumentary" called "Bear: Koala Hero", and in a book, "Bear to the Rescue".
Bear will embark on a slower-paced chapter on the Sunshine Coast with one of his former handlers, getting belly rubs and playing his favourite game, fetch.
One of his former handlers, Romane Cristescu, said Bear had been a "tireless ambassador for koalas for a decade". 
"He melted hearts all around the world, and opened many doors so we could have critical and difficult conversations about climate change and its impacts on the threatened koalas, as well as so many other species."
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