children

Turn off addictive features on social media for children, say EU lawmakers

  • The EU has already increased the pressure on social media platforms to change in recent months, telling Facebook and Instagram last week to dismantle their "addictive" features, after a similar warning to TikTok in February.
  • There should be a "youth mode" for children on social media platforms in which addictive features and targeted advertising are turned off, EU lawmakers demanded on Tuesday.
  • The EU has already increased the pressure on social media platforms to change in recent months, telling Facebook and Instagram last week to dismantle their "addictive" features, after a similar warning to TikTok in February.
There should be a "youth mode" for children on social media platforms in which addictive features and targeted advertising are turned off, EU lawmakers demanded on Tuesday.
The calls are growing louder for the European Union to ensure that social media platforms and others are designed to be safe before children use them.
An expert report on Monday also recommended a "safety-by-design" approach in which platforms protect minors from possible harms posed by the apps.
"The responsibility for the safety of children and adolescents must first and foremost lie with those who design and manage digital platforms," EU lawmaker Sandro Ruotolo said in a statement.
The addictive features that the EU has concerns over include infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications and highly personalised recommender systems.
The parliament's culture committee also called for an "EU code of conduct" to regulate influencers and a common definition of "influencer marketing".
It also stressed the need for greater transparency around how social media works as "opaque algorithms and content moderation hampers the ability of young users to understand why certain content is recommended, suppressed or removed".
Monday's expert report also recommended restricting social media for children under the age of 13, with access only allowed under adult supervision.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen made it clear on Monday that she supports limits on children under the age of 13 accessing digital platforms like social media.
There will be a legal proposal after the summer break, she said.
Once it is unveiled, EU negotiators from the parliament and European capitals will thrash it out to agree on a final law.
The EU has already increased the pressure on social media platforms to change in recent months, telling Facebook and Instagram last week to dismantle their "addictive" features, after a similar warning to TikTok in February.
The European Commission, which acts as the bloc's digital watchdog, says new rules are on the way to push for changes to platforms' addictive designs.
fpo-raz/cw

demography

EU population to peak in 2029 before long-term decline

  • But an ageing population poses challenges for society and the EU economy.
  • The population of the 27-nation European Union will peak in 2029 before falling in the coming decades, according to a report published Tuesday that puts a spotlight on the major challenges of an ageing citizenry.
  • But an ageing population poses challenges for society and the EU economy.
The population of the 27-nation European Union will peak in 2029 before falling in the coming decades, according to a report published Tuesday that puts a spotlight on the major challenges of an ageing citizenry.
Today there are 450.6 million people, but researchers say this will peak at 453.3 million in 2029 before a slow long-term decline.
The population will fall to 398.8 million people by 2100, an overall drop of 11.7 percent and a level that was last experienced in the 1970s.
Europeans are living longer than ever before thanks to vastly improved healthcare, and better life and social conditions.
But an ageing population poses challenges for society and the EU economy.
The EU executive's Joint Research Centre said life expectancy at birth reached 81.5 years in 2024. 
By 2050, nearly one in three EU residents will be aged 65 or older, compared to one in five today, the centre said. 
By 2100, life expectancy could exceed 90 years for women and 86 for men.
Such trends present "significant challenges", the EU said, including labour shortages, strained public budgets, and pressure on care and education systems.
It is, however, not all negative as the report points to the rise of the "silver economy" -- a growing market for goods and services for older citizens.
"We are living longer, healthier lives than ever before –- one of our greatest achievements. But demographic change is reshaping our societies, our economies and our labour markets," EU commissioner Dubravka Suica said in a statement.
"We must act now to turn this transformation into an opportunity," she added.
The EU insists the bloc must boost productivity and cut unemployment to offset the effects of a shrinking workforce.
Currently around 20 percent of working-age Europeans are outside the labour force, the report said, while some eight million young people are neither in employment, education, nor training.
The researchers said migration can help offset some effects of Europe's demographic change, but it would have a limited impact on "fully" addressing the challenges posed by an ageing population.
adc-raz/del/tw

religion

Egg-free school meals scramble politics in India

BY SAILENDRA SIL

  • "The mid-day meals have been one of the biggest attractions in state-run primary schools," teacher Dey told AFP. - World's largest school lunch scheme - While there is no nationwide data linking eggs to attendance in government-run schools, Dey said that "students turn up in large numbers on days when eggs are provided".
  • Teacher Raja Dey fears attendance might drop now that government-run schools have stopped serving eggs for lunch in his eastern Indian state, a dietary change that has stirred a political storm.
  • "The mid-day meals have been one of the biggest attractions in state-run primary schools," teacher Dey told AFP. - World's largest school lunch scheme - While there is no nationwide data linking eggs to attendance in government-run schools, Dey said that "students turn up in large numbers on days when eggs are provided".
Teacher Raja Dey fears attendance might drop now that government-run schools have stopped serving eggs for lunch in his eastern Indian state, a dietary change that has stirred a political storm.
The humble egg, a popular food in West Bengal, was taken off the menu after the state's recently elected Hindu nationalist government said a religious charity will provide free, vegetarian cooked meals in state-run schools.
The new arrangement has rekindled a long-running debate over food, faith and nutrition in the world's most populous country, with critics accusing the government of trying to turn schoolchildren vegetarian.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party, which swept to power in West Bengal for the first time in regional elections held in May, often promotes vegetarianism as a part of its nationalist agenda, although most Indian Hindus eat meat and fish.
Eggs, which Hindus generally consider non-vegetarian, are even more widely consumed.
Former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, whose regional Trinamool Congress (TMC) lost May's vote after 15 years in power, has denounced the move to remove eggs from school meals as going "against the culture" of the state, home to more than 100 million people.
"The BJP government is trying to impose vegetarianism on school children," TMC lawmaker Dola Sen told AFP.
Some teachers have expressed concerns over attendance rates as well as good nutrition.
"The mid-day meals have been one of the biggest attractions in state-run primary schools," teacher Dey told AFP.

World's largest school lunch scheme

While there is no nationwide data linking eggs to attendance in government-run schools, Dey said that "students turn up in large numbers on days when eggs are provided".
In the southern state of Karnataka, official figures from last year showed that attendance rose from 93.5 to 98.97 percent after egg distribution had been expanded to six days a week.
In West Bengal, eggs, previously served once a week, were replaced last month with plant-based alternatives as the state government tapped the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) -- commonly known as the Hare Krishna movement -- as the new provider of school meals.
ISKCON is the leading provider of India's school lunches -- the largest such programme in the world, according to the UN -- and serves only vegetarian food.
The lunch scheme is widely acknowledged to have improved enrolment rates across the country, with multiple peer-reviewed research papers identifying an increase of up to 15 percent.
There are also nutritional benefits.
A 2021 report by the International Food Policy Research Institute found that the scheme has played a key role in reducing stunting among Indian children.
With eggs off the menu, public health advocates have warned that children from poor families -- the primary target of the lunch scheme -- could lose an important source of protein and other nutrients.

'Gold standard'

ISKCON has pushed back, arguing that soya chunks, cottage cheese and lentils were as nutritious.
"We will ensure that whatever nutrients a child gets from eggs will be matched or exceeded by superior quality protein and vitamins in our meals," Surovijoy Govinda Das, a senior member of ISKCON, told AFP.
The state's education minister, Dipak Barman, said that "there are many people in our country who lead a healthy life on a vegetarian diet."
Some nutritionists beg to differ.
Eggs are "the gold standard for protein quality", Sylvia Karpagam, a community health physician, told Frontline magazine.
Without "fact-based information... the country faces a looming crisis in nutrition and health outcomes", she said.
In the run-up to May's vote, TMC party members had accused Modi's BJP of seeking to ban fish and meat altogether.
The ruling party denied any such intention, but last month's menu change has revived concerns.
The matter has made it to the High Court, which has asked the state to clarify its position on handing over the lunch scheme to ISKCON. A hearing is slated for next month.
str/sai/abh/ami

Digital World

Young Australian men falling victim to online sexual extortion: regulator

  • Seconds later, he was told to pay $200, with the suggestion he steal it from his parents, or the photo would be sent to everyone he knew online. eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said the report showed there were "significant gaps" in how platforms protect users, and it was "vital" tech companies provide faster responses to victims reporting harm.
  • Young men and boys are being targeted for sexual extortion on social media platforms, Australia's online watchdog said Tuesday, finding "significant gaps" in how tech companies deal with the problem.
  • Seconds later, he was told to pay $200, with the suggestion he steal it from his parents, or the photo would be sent to everyone he knew online. eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said the report showed there were "significant gaps" in how platforms protect users, and it was "vital" tech companies provide faster responses to victims reporting harm.
Young men and boys are being targeted for sexual extortion on social media platforms, Australia's online watchdog said Tuesday, finding "significant gaps" in how tech companies deal with the problem.
Australia's eSafety Commissioner received more than 2,200 complaints in the six months to December about sexual extortion, in which criminals trick victims into sharing intimate images before demanding money and threatening to expose them to family and friends.
The biggest group falling victim was men aged 18 to 24 years old, with 803 complaints received from this cohort.
Children under 15 were also falling prey, with 186 complaints received from boys and 58 complaints from girls.
Instagram and WhatsApp were the social media platforms most often named in the sexual extortion complaints, with TikTok the service identified by more children as the platform where contact with the abuser began, the report said.
The report highlighted the experience of 16-year-old "Sam", who came into contact with fraudster "Jessica" while scrolling Instagram.
Sam was next lured to the private messaging service WhatsApp and asked to share a nude photo. 
Seconds later, he was told to pay $200, with the suggestion he steal it from his parents, or the photo would be sent to everyone he knew online.
eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said the report showed there were "significant gaps" in how platforms protect users, and it was "vital" tech companies provide faster responses to victims reporting harm.
"The goal is often quick financial gain, with perpetrators using high-pressure tactics to force victims into paying. This form of extortion can cause high levels of stress, panic, psychological distress and financial loss," she said in a statement.
"In several cases, we have provided these platforms with evidence of how their services are being colonised by criminals to devastating impact, with clear guidance on how to stem the abuse. Even when we've laid this out, we haven't seen adequate responses, despite the technology being readily available."
The Australian regulator sees "the same kill chains, scripts and images being used across multiple sexual extortion scams, and platforms should be picking this up," she added.
The regulator said language analysis tools should be used by platforms to detect sexual extortion, however this is often prevented by encryption on private messaging services.
Meta said in March it would remove encryption on private messaging on Instagram.
kln/djw/abs

trauma

'Until the end': The tireless, traumatic search for Venezuela quake victims

BY ANDREA TOSTA

  • Baez believes his 48-year-old mother Solangel, his brother Hector and his niece Susej were trapped in their 12-story public housing complex in the coastal city of Caraballeda.
  • Ten days after Venezuela's twin earthquakes reduced his high-rise apartment building to rubble, Miguel Baez gave up hope of finding his mother, brother and niece alive.
  • Baez believes his 48-year-old mother Solangel, his brother Hector and his niece Susej were trapped in their 12-story public housing complex in the coastal city of Caraballeda.
Ten days after Venezuela's twin earthquakes reduced his high-rise apartment building to rubble, Miguel Baez gave up hope of finding his mother, brother and niece alive.
But each morning, the 32-year-old shopkeeper still returns to the mangled pile of concrete and metal, joining other volunteers in the grueling, dangerous search for victims.
"I want to stay here until the end," he told AFP.
"There's this uncertainty -- I don't know if they lived or if they're gone, or at least to find them so I can give them the burial they deserve."
Baez is one of thousands in the worst-hit coastal state of La Guaira who mobilized to scour the mountains of debris -- digging tunnels and squeezing into the narrow passages -- as fury mounted over the slow official response to the June 24 quakes.
Baez believes his 48-year-old mother Solangel, his brother Hector and his niece Susej were trapped in their 12-story public housing complex in the coastal city of Caraballeda.
Often discovering decomposing bodies and wracked with desperation to find his family members, all he can think about is death.
"You're trying to fight, put yourself out there, rescue, and in the midst of that you come across people who have died," he said.
"Exhaustion, stress pushes you toward that... It ends up being like a trauma; it's psychological."
- Fragments of life - 
As workers arrive at the crumbled twin towers known as OPP 33, a small painting of Jesus Christ that survived the quakes greets them.
A ghastly smell emanates from the wreckage.
From apartment 101 -- his former home -- Baez recovered the fragment of a painting, his 28-year-old brother's guitar and his 10-year-old niece's viola.
Their bodies still haven't appeared almost three weeks after the disasters that killed some 4,500 people.
When rescuers recently discovered the remains of a young girl, "obviously we jumped up in desperation and ran," Susej's uncle recounted.
"The child was crushed from the knees up; you could see her torso," he said. "You could see how she was dressed... It wasn't her."
Since the tremors struck, Baez has slept just a few hours every night before waking up and "wondering what happened, who worked last night, which body they found."
Baez ascends to the building's sixth floor, where a janky assortment of sledgehammers and grinders has helped carve a hole less than a meter wide.
Men shimmy through the hole on their bellies to get into the bowels of the building -- which is where Baez found himself during one of the aftershocks that followed the initial tremors.
"We had to get out because if not, well..." he said, trailing off.

'Adrift'

When the initial quakes hit, Baez was on a bus traveling through Maiquetia, La Guaira's economic hub where the now partially closed international airport is located.
Upon returning home, he was greeted by "people running, screaming in despair" under a cloud of dust.
Since then, "we have nothing, we're adrift," said the young man, who now sleeps in a donated tent with the rest of his family.
Baez is conscious of his exposure to disease in these already difficult conditions.
"When you eat there are infections -- flies that land on the food, they land on the corpse," he said.
Overcast skies darken the mood in the makeshift camps that have sprung up around La Guaira, as heavy rain slows the search for quake victims.
Baez tears up as he looks through old photos on his phone from Mother's Day and other family gatherings.
"We practically have no tears left to express and feel what we feel," he said.
atm/lp/cc/des/mlm

health

US appeals court revives private cases alleging Tylenol link to autism

  • Judges at Manhattan's second circuit of appeals sent the previously dismissed cases back to a lower court for further proceedings, after ruling that a district judge had improperly excluded expert witness testimony.
  • A US appeals court on Monday vacated the dismissal of hundreds of private lawsuits against Tylenol-maker Kenvue that allege scientifically unproven ties of the painkiller to autism.
  • Judges at Manhattan's second circuit of appeals sent the previously dismissed cases back to a lower court for further proceedings, after ruling that a district judge had improperly excluded expert witness testimony.
A US appeals court on Monday vacated the dismissal of hundreds of private lawsuits against Tylenol-maker Kenvue that allege scientifically unproven ties of the painkiller to autism.
Judges at Manhattan's second circuit of appeals sent the previously dismissed cases back to a lower court for further proceedings, after ruling that a district judge had improperly excluded expert witness testimony.
The plaintiffs argue that Tylenol use during pregnancy can lead to autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children.
Scientific research has not identified causality between taking the painkiller and the development of those conditions in children.
The issue came into the spotlight last year as US President Donald Trump vehemently urged pregnant women not to take Tylenol over the unsubstantiated link to autism.
Some public health experts have described Trump's attacks on the drug as unscientific and dangerous.
Acetaminophen is the primary active ingredient in over-the-counter medications including Tylenol. 
It is considered the safest option for treating pain and fever in pregnant women, as other medications, including aspirin or ibuprofen, present proven risks to the fetus -- as do untreated fevers.
The judges behind Monday's ruling emphasized that their decision in no way offered scientific advice or the basis for public health policy.
"We are not deciding whether there is a general causal relationship between acetaminophen and ADHD and/or ASD," they wrote. "And we are certainly not deciding the approach that policymakers concerned with protecting public health should take to regulating the use of acetaminophen."
Their role, they said, was to determine whether certain expert testimony should have been admitted. And they ruled that "the district court exceeded its discretion" in excluding some of the plaintiffs' expert witnesses.
A Kenvue spokesperson told AFP that the procedural ruling "does not change the fact that credible, independent science shows no proven link between taking acetaminophen and autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)."
"Science matters, and we stand with the many public health and medical professionals who have reviewed the science on this topic and agree. We now have another opportunity to show that the plaintiffs' experts' opinions are unreliable and should not be allowed in this case."
Kenvue was spun off from Johnson & Johnson, which had sold Tylenol for decades, in 2023.
It was announced in 2025 that Kimberly-Clark, the paper and personal care products giant, would acquire Kenvue.
mdo/ksb

Neill

'Jurassic Park' star Sam Neill dies aged 78

  • "It is with immense sadness that the whanau of Sam Neill share the news of his passing on Monday 13 July, in Sydney Australia," the statement read, using the New Zealand Maori word for family.
  • "Jurassic Park" star Sam Neill died in Australia on Monday aged 78, his family said in a statement that described the beloved actor's death as "sudden and unexpected".
  • "It is with immense sadness that the whanau of Sam Neill share the news of his passing on Monday 13 July, in Sydney Australia," the statement read, using the New Zealand Maori word for family.
"Jurassic Park" star Sam Neill died in Australia on Monday aged 78, his family said in a statement that described the beloved actor's death as "sudden and unexpected".
The New Zealander had in recent years undergone treatment for lymphoma but declared this year that he was cancer free.
"It is with immense sadness that the whanau of Sam Neill share the news of his passing on Monday 13 July, in Sydney Australia," the statement read, using the New Zealand Maori word for family.
"The loss was sudden and unexpected but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer free."
The statement did not elaborate on the cause of Neill's death, but said he had been treated at St Vincent's Private Hospital in Sydney.
"Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life," the statement said.
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said Neill was "one of the greats". 
"For more than fifty years he took New Zealand stories to the world and his talents helped make our film industry into what it is today -- one of our greatest cultural exports," Luxon said in a statement.
"His work will be watched and loved long after all of us."
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Neill held a "special place in Australian hearts". 
"Wry and dry, thoughtful and laconic, Sam fought illness with the same dignity, humour and conviction that gave strength to his every performance," Albanese said.
"He will be much mourned and long remembered."
Fellow Kiwi actor Karl Urban said "Sam was truly brilliant", while Australian actor David Wenham said Neill was "the kindest, cheekiest, most generous and supportive friend going around". 

'Great enthusiasm'

Neill was born in Northern Ireland in 1947 but moved to the rugged South Island of New Zealand as a child. 
He was christened "Nigel John Dermot" but ditched the name in favour of "Sam" because he feared it was too "effete" for New Zealand. 
"I encouraged the nickname because I thought I'd be slightly less likely to be victimised," he told New Zealand's Otago Daily Times. 
"I clung on to 'Sam' with great enthusiasm."
Neill started acting in New Zealand films in the early 1970s before moving into larger roles in Australia. 
His breakthrough as a leading man came in 1993 when he played Dr Alan Grant in Steven Spielberg's Hollywood blockbuster "Jurassic Park".
At one point he was even touted as a replacement for Roger Moore in the iconic role of James Bond. 
"I really did not want that part," he said in 2023. 
"My friend Pierce Brosnan wanted it so much. I was so relieved they offered it to someone else. They're welcome to it."
In a career spanning dozens of roles across TV and film, he also starred in "Peaky Blinders", "The Hunt for Red October" and two more instalments of the "Jurassic Park" franchise.
Neill greatly endeared himself to New Zealanders by lending his star power to local productions as well.
His performance in Jane Campion's "The Piano" drew wide acclaim, as did his role in Taika Waititi's "Hunt for the Wilderpeople".
Neill revealed in a 2023 memoir he was "possibly dying" with stage-three non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
In the opening chapter, written while undergoing chemotherapy, Neill said: "The thing is, I'm crook. Possibly dying. I may have to speed this up."
But he revealed this year that he was cancer-free, thanks to a genetic therapy that modified his immune system.
"I was at a loss and it looked like I was on the way out, which wasn't ideal, obviously," he told Australia's Channel Seven News. 
"I've just had a scan just now, and there is no cancer in my body -- that's an extraordinary thing," Neill said.
When he was not acting, Neill also ran vineyards in the picturesque Central Otago region of New Zealand's South Island.
He named farm animals on the property after his co-stars, including a chicken named after Laura Dern and a cow named for Helena Bonham Carter.
sft/pbt/lga

festival

Mongolia's child jockeys ready to race in annual festival

BY MUNGUNSOR PUREVSUREN

  • One child jockey was killed and nine others were seriously injured while racing in 2022, according to Mongolian government figures, with around 3,200 child jockeys participating in 82 races that year.
  • Six-year-old Hurts Gantumur raced across the Mongolian grasslands astride a galloping horse, training to become a child jockey in the country's biggest cultural festival.
  • One child jockey was killed and nine others were seriously injured while racing in 2022, according to Mongolian government figures, with around 3,200 child jockeys participating in 82 races that year.
Six-year-old Hurts Gantumur raced across the Mongolian grasslands astride a galloping horse, training to become a child jockey in the country's biggest cultural festival.
His older brother Zolboo is 14 and is already too old to race at the annual Naadam festival, where only competitors between the ages of eight and 12 are eligible to be child jockeys.
"In training, the child and the horse become one," Hurts's father, who spent years rearing racehorses for Naadam and oversaw his son's training, told AFP.
"That's how they succeed," he said as he watched his son speeding across the steppe.
Children have long competed in horse racing, one of the defining features of Naadam, galloping between 11 and 25 kilometres (7 and 16 miles), depending on their horse's age and race category.
Most children in rural Mongolia learn to ride from an early age, and those hoping to become jockeys usually begin training at around five years old.
More than 500 child jockeys are expected to compete at this year's Naadam.
But their inclusion in the sport has also drawn criticism from rights groups concerned about exploitation and the sport's dangerous conditions.
A UNICEF report said children were competing "under circumstances that are detrimental to their health and lives", while NGO Their World said they often "miss school to prepare for races and work long hours for low wages at large stables".
One child jockey was killed and nine others were seriously injured while racing in 2022, according to Mongolian government figures, with around 3,200 child jockeys participating in 82 races that year.
In response, Mongolia raised the legal minimum age of child jockeys to eight years old, up from seven.
Nevertheless, 46 child jockeys have died over the past 10 years while racing, according to the Mongolian National Human Rights Commission.
The United Nations has expressed concern over a sport it says poses "a fatal risk to the lives and well-being of children who are recruited or will be recruited as jockeys".
But for many families, horse racing remains an enduring tradition, with victory at Naadam bringing honour to the winner's family and province.
As Hurts prepares to follow in his older brother's footsteps, his three-year-old twin brothers Galt and Gerelt await their turn.
str-dhw/hol/pbt

immigration

Protected but deported anyway, as Trump goes after 'dreamers'

BY MOISéS ÁVILA

  • But the Trump administration has arrested at least 343 of them and deported at least 86, according to an NGO called Home is Here, quoting a letter from the Department of Homeland Security to Congress.
  • Jose Contreras felt safe from deportation under a program launched years ago under Barack Obama, but the Trump administration expelled him anyway.
  • But the Trump administration has arrested at least 343 of them and deported at least 86, according to an NGO called Home is Here, quoting a letter from the Department of Homeland Security to Congress.
Jose Contreras felt safe from deportation under a program launched years ago under Barack Obama, but the Trump administration expelled him anyway.
The day Contreras got the shocking news, at a routine immigration hearing, he said officials laughed when he asked for a stay extension because his wife was about to have their first child.
"They looked at me like I had a third eye," Contreras told AFP. He was deported to Honduras that same day, and spent 118 days there until he made it back, thanks to a court order.
Contreras is one of several hundred people caught up in a particularly sad and frustrating chapter of President Donald Trump's aggressive and sometimes violent crackdown on undocumented immigrants.
People like Contreras came to America as minors but never got citizenship or residency. Still, this is the only country they call home.
And they are supposed to benefit from a program launched in 2012 called DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, designed to protect such people from deportation and let them live and work in America as they try to upgrade their immigration status.
DACA is estimated to be protecting around 500,000 people, popularly known as "dreamers," according to government figures.  
But the Trump administration has arrested at least 343 of them and deported at least 86, according to an NGO called Home is Here, quoting a letter from the Department of Homeland Security to Congress.
On January 2 Contreras was handcuffed when he showed up for his immigration hearing, put on a plane and flown to his native Honduras.
"I was a DACA recipient. I was a dreamer. Then I got deported," Contreras said. His son was born in Texas, without him, in late February.
"I lost it, you know. I fell to the ground. And then I cried," he said. "Because I wasn't planning to not be there for my son."

'Unlawful and inhumane'

Then there is the case of 42-year-old Maria de Jesus Estrada, who came to America at age 15 and lived in California until her life, too, abruptly changed at an immigration hearing she attended with her 23-year-old daughter. 
Walking into a room with six immigration agents, she was told to put her hands behind back and prepare to be arrested, right then and there. Panicking, she asked for a minute.   
"I need you guys to give me a minute. I said, 'I'm not gonna resist anything. I just need a minute.
 I need to hold my daughter. I need to hug my daughter.'" 
She was deported to Mexico later that day.
In both cases, immigration officials said Contreras and Estrada were deported because they had orders to that effect pending from when they were much younger.
And in both cases, US courts ultimately ruled their deportation illegal and ordered they could return, which they did.
"The cases of Jose Contreras and Maria de Jesus Estrada are evidence of this administration's unlawful and inhumane distortion of the law," said Stacy Tolchin, a lawyer who defended both of them. 
Trump tried to do away with DACA altogether during his first stint in the White House but the courts stopped him. Now he is pressing Congress for a permanent solution to America's complex immigration imbroglio.
"We are seeing this administration dismantling DACA through delay, denials, detentions and deportations," said Todd Schulte, the president of FWD.us, an advocacy group.

'Wake up at home'

DACA beneficiary Jessica Trevino, who came to the United States from Mexico at age seven, has not been as lucky.
Immigration agents arrested her in Alamo, Texas, on December 28 as she left church with her family.
The agents roughed up her husband. Video footage of the encounter went viral. 
Both were deported to Mexico in March and they are waiting for US courts to hear their case. Their three children stayed behind, living with relatives.
Trevino said she hopes to be back for her daughter's 15th birthday in August.
"Although I was not born in the United States, I have lived here my whole life," said Trevino, who now lives in Matamoros, Mexico, waiting and hoping.
"Sometimes I go to sleep thinking that I will wake up at home," she said.
mav/dw/pnb/mjf

WC

Spain ex-PM draws criticism with 'xenophobic' remark on French team

  • "All the players of the French team are French.
  • Spain's conservative ex-prime minister Mariano Rajoy faced criticism at home and in France Sunday after saying the neighbouring country's national football team had "no French players".
  • "All the players of the French team are French.
Spain's conservative ex-prime minister Mariano Rajoy faced criticism at home and in France Sunday after saying the neighbouring country's national football team had "no French players".
The comment, published in an opinion piece in Spanish online news site El Debate, came as Spain prepares to face France Tuesday in a blockbuster World Cup semi-final.
Spain's current Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez condemned the remark as "xenophobic".
"There are those who still measure belonging by surname, place of birth, or skin colour. Others measure it by our roots in a country and our will to contribute to it," the Socialist leader wrote on X.
"Spain belongs to those who love it and work for it. Not to those who shame it with xenophobic statements."
Transport Minister Oscar Puente dismissed Rajoy as a "post-Franco idiot".
French politicians have also lashed out at Rajoy's comment.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told French channel BFMTV that Rajoy's comment was "absolutely unacceptable".
Communist party leader Fabien Roussel compared Rajoy's comment to widely criticised remarks by Paraguayan Senator Celeste Amarilla, who said after Paraguay's elimination by France in the round of 16 that star player Kylian Mbappe was a "colonised Cameroonian who has really pretended to be French".
"They just can't stop themselves from slinging this disgusting racism," said Roussel.
Aurore Berge, minister against discrimination, also denounced the "repeated racist outbursts". 
She added: "It's time they stopped and that sport becomes sport again: a place where you are judged on your talent and by no other criteria."

'Racist obsessions'

Naima Moutchou, France's minister for overseas territories, called the comments evidence of "systematic and widespread hatred of France and what the nation is".
"Every time Les Bleus win, the same racist obsessions and insults re-emerge," she said.
France "has no skin colour or religion", said French Socialist party leader Olivier Faure on X.
France's embassy in Madrid also responded in a post to social media.
"All the players of the French team are French. Of 26 players, 23 were born in France. The three who were born abroad are also French."
And Philippe Diallo, president of the French Football Federation said Rajoy's comments carried an "intolerable undertone of racism", in a post on social media.
burs-jj/gv

Sports

'Never in doubt': England fans dare to dream after quarter-final scare

  • Back outside the south London bar, 32-year-old Henry Freestone was predicting that England would reach their first World Cup final since they won the tournament in 1966.
  • Joyous -- and relieved -- England fans chanted and cheered in packed-out pubs across London as they celebrated their team's nail-biting quarter-final win over Norway at the World Cup early Sunday.
  • Back outside the south London bar, 32-year-old Henry Freestone was predicting that England would reach their first World Cup final since they won the tournament in 1966.
Joyous -- and relieved -- England fans chanted and cheered in packed-out pubs across London as they celebrated their team's nail-biting quarter-final win over Norway at the World Cup early Sunday.
"Classic England," 32-year-old Olly Aleksejuk told AFP after watching his team come from a goal down to eke out a 2-1 victory following extra-time to progress to the semi-finals.
"I would like it to be easier!" said the IT worker, one of several hundred people who watched the game on a screen set up outside a bar in south London.
Andreas Schjelderup fired Norway into a shock lead in Miami before Jude Bellingham equalised just before half-time.
England then rode their luck when Norway had a second goal disallowed after a VAR review in the second half for a foul by Erling Haaland.
But Bellingham was the hero when he knocked in a rebound to set up a last-four tie with either Argentina or Switzerland on Wednesday.
"You just know he's going to pull through," 30-year-old Lucy Bickley told AFP at the bar in south London, referring to Bellingham.
"It's almost like you don't have to worry about it. You know he'll be like, 'yeah, it's fine, chill out'," added Bickley, who works in marketing.
On the other side of the capital some 1,600 fans wearing St George's flag bucket hats packed into the Boxpark bar in Wembley, northwest London.
Overjoyed fans sang the Beatles' hit "Hey Jude" and "Three Lions", with its famous chorus of "It's coming home."
"I had hopes but after the first goal went in from them, I started doubting things, but I always believe," 31-year-old fan Fabian Maddix told the Press Association.
The government had extended licensing hours for hospitality venues across England and Wales until 2:00 am.
The referee blew the whistle, confirming England's progress to the last four, shortly before 1:00 am.
In Camden, north London, fans streamed out of bars, singing, as drivers honked their car horns and cyclists rang their bells.

'Hell of a beating'

Keen football fan Prince William was one of the first public figures to offer his congratulations, writing on social media: "Well done England! Top performance in a tough environment."
"This is a special team. Commiserations to a proud Norway team. Onto the semi final... Never in doubt!"
Prime Minister Keir Starmer's official residence of 10 Downing Street was decorated with St George's flags ahead of the match.
Starmer joined the prince in congratulating the team, and referenced Bjorge Lillelien's famous commentary when Norway beat England 2-1 in a World Cup qualifier in 1981.
Writing on X, Starmer tagged Norwegian prime minister Jonas Gahr Store, writing: "Norway 1 – 2 Jude Bellingham. @JonasGahrStore, your boys took one hell of a beating."
Back outside the south London bar, 32-year-old Henry Freestone was predicting that England would reach their first World Cup final since they won the tournament in 1966.
"I think we're getting to the final, and who knows what happens? Hopefully we go all the way," he told AFP.
pdh/dh

children

Growing list of countries move to ban social media for children

BY OLIVIER THIBAULT

  • In China, where the internet is tightly regulated by the state, minors' access to social media has been restricted progressively since 2019. 
  • The European Union's plan to regulate children's access to social media follows the implementation or proposal of similar measures around the world.
  • In China, where the internet is tightly regulated by the state, minors' access to social media has been restricted progressively since 2019. 
The European Union's plan to regulate children's access to social media follows the implementation or proposal of similar measures around the world.
This list now stretches to more than 20 countries, including five where restrictions are already in force, according to an AFP tally.
In most, the measures are very recent and target children under the ages of 15 or 16.
An expert committee is due to submit its recommendations to the European Commission on Monday about a potential social media ban for children in the 27-nation EU.

Restrictions in place

Social media has been banned for under-16s in Australia since December 2025, while Brazil introduced a law in March requiring platforms to link the accounts of users aged under-16 to those of their parents, while also requiring platforms to verify users' ages.
In China, where the internet is tightly regulated by the state, minors' access to social media has been restricted progressively since 2019. 
Initial measures imposed time limits and curfews on online gaming, before similar restrictions were extended in 2023 to social media and streaming platforms.
Indonesia has banned social media for under-16s since March and Malaysia has taken a similar approach, with legislation coming into force in June excluding under-16s from major platforms.
Turkey is set to join the list after passing legislation to bar under-15s from social media in April. The law is expected to take effect in late 2026.
The United Arab Emirates announced a ban on social media for under-15s last month, with implementation set for around a year's time.

Restrictions announced

Within the EU, the Greek government announced in early April that it intends to ban social media access for under-15s from January 1, 2027. 
Austria and Slovenia are also preparing legislation to prohibit access for under-14s and under-15s respectively.
In Germany, where Chancellor Friedrich Merz supports restricting or even banning social media for children, an expert commission has proposed two options: a ban graded by age or platform-specific restrictions.
A similar debate is under way in Sweden, where a government commission has proposed banning social media for under-15s by early 2028.
The Irish government has warned that it is considering legislating in the absence of an EU decision.
In Denmark, the government announced in October 2025 that it would propose banning "several social media platforms" for under-15s.
Outside the EU, the Norwegian government will present a bill by the end of the year to ban access for those under 16.
The UK is looking to ban social media for under-16s by early 2027.
Canada also wants to set the minimum age for social media use at 16.
Several states in India are considering restrictions for children and the government said it is holding discussions with platforms over potential measures.

Under consideration

A proposal to ban social media for children under 15 is currently wending its way through parliament in France.
The National Assembly approved the bill at first reading in January but the Senate later amended it to target only the most harmful platforms, prompting concern in Brussels.
A final version of the legislation is expected in the coming weeks, with the government hoping it can come into force in September.
Portugal is considering a bill that would set the age for independent access to platforms, services, games and applications at 16.
Spain has proposed raising the minimum age for registering on a social media platform from 14 to 16.
In Italy, parliament is considering legislation that would ban social media use for children under the age of 15.
ot/ang/jwp/phz/abs

animal

Till death do us bark: Pets serve as witnesses at Ecuador weddings

BY PAOLA LÓPEZ

  • After Alquinga and Tupiza's ceremony, Luna stamped her paw on their marriage license, which also had the signatures of the couple -- and other human witnesses.
  • When Diana Tupiza and Andres Alquinga decided to get married, they selected a rather unusual witness for the civil wedding ceremony: Luna, their Pekingese pup who stamped her paw print on the marriage certificate.
  • After Alquinga and Tupiza's ceremony, Luna stamped her paw on their marriage license, which also had the signatures of the couple -- and other human witnesses.
When Diana Tupiza and Andres Alquinga decided to get married, they selected a rather unusual witness for the civil wedding ceremony: Luna, their Pekingese pup who stamped her paw print on the marriage certificate.
With recently authorized "pet friendly" weddings, Ecuadoran officials are embracing the role of furry friends in modern families. Elsewhere in Latin America, only human witnesses are allowed, although Argentina and Mexico have made a few exceptions.
While Luna's paw print has no legal standing, the gesture holds sentimental value, and more than 50 Ecuadoran couples have elected to get married in front of their dogs and cats since May.
"That she (Luna) is here is really spectacular," Tupiza told AFP after their ceremony in the capital Quito.
The 38-year-old engineer said it was her husband's idea to bring Luna -- who dressed for the occasion in a pink tulle gown.
Alquinga, a 31-year-old programmer, said animals "may not be able to speak to us, or give us advice, but they are there to give us all the love that they have."

'Current, modern needs'

The move came as a shock to the bride's mother, Luz Lima, who nevertheless took it upon herself to make Luna's dress.
"It's better to choose someone...who knows what they're signing," Lima recalled telling the couple.
But eventually, she came around to the idea.
"These are modern times," she told AFP during the fitting for Luna's dress.
Otton Rivadeneira, the director of Ecuador's Civil Registry, said the policy is in line with contemporary family structures.
"We're definitely adapting to these current, modern needs," he told AFP.
Ecuador's latest census found that among its 19 million people, nearly 7.6 million have dogs and cats as pets -- almost double the number of children ages 12 and under.
After Alquinga and Tupiza's ceremony, Luna stamped her paw on their marriage license, which also had the signatures of the couple -- and other human witnesses.
"Symbolic marriage certificate" reads the document, with a special space denoting "paw print of your furry friend."
"I have three dogs and a cat," Tupiza said.
"For me, it would have been great if they all could have been here, but she (Luna) I think represents both the (pets) who are here on earth as well as those in heaven."
pld/sp/lv/dga/jgc/acb

history

Polish nationalists protest Jewish pogrom commemoration

BY KATARZYNA SKIBA

  • Among the organisers of the protest was the far-right Confederation of the Polish Crown party whose leader is Grzegorz Braun.
  • Poland's Jewish community, political leaders and ordinary citizens on Friday commemorated a massacre of hundreds of Jews killed by their Polish neighbours 85 years ago, as far-right activists protested nearby. 
  • Among the organisers of the protest was the far-right Confederation of the Polish Crown party whose leader is Grzegorz Braun.
Poland's Jewish community, political leaders and ordinary citizens on Friday commemorated a massacre of hundreds of Jews killed by their Polish neighbours 85 years ago, as far-right activists protested nearby. 
AFP journalists on site a noted heavy police presence at the site of the 1941 Jedwabne massacre -- a former barn in which local Polish farmers locked up around 300 Jews, including women and children, before setting it on fire.
Right next to the ceremony, about 1,000 people attended demonstrations and a Catholic mass organised by far-right parties, who refuse to acknowledge the responsibility of Polish villagers for the killings.
Several participants in the commemoration were draped in Israeli and EU flags, as they paid their respects at a monument erected in 2001 to mark the site of the pogrom. 
Chief Rabbi of Poland Michael Schudrich called for unity as demonstrations carried on outdoors, inviting participants in the ceremony to read out together the names and occupations of Jews murdered in Jedwabne.

Poles blamed

An official investigation confirmed in 2003 that the massacre had been carried out by Poles from Jedwabne, rather than by Nazi German occupiers. 
This stood in contrast to long-held historical narratives in Poland, and ultra-nationalist groups continue to challenge the investigation's findings.  
They argue that exhumations of the victims -- halted in 2001 for religious reasons at the request of the Jewish community -- must be resumed. 
"As long as we do not know the truth, there will be divisions," Elzbieta Rybarska, carrying a Polish flag, told AFP. 
"If someone were not afraid of the truth, the exhumation would have been carried out long ago," Rybarska, carrying a Polish flag, added. 
Among the organisers of the protest was the far-right Confederation of the Polish Crown party whose leader is Grzegorz Braun.
He once caused a scandal by using a fire extinguisher on a menorah, a ceremonial candleholder, to interrupt a Jewish religious ceremony in the Polish parliament. 
Around 40 other Jews from Jedwabne were killed by the villagers in ways other than in the burning barn, and several other massacres of Jews took place in the region during the German occupation of Poland in World War II. 
68-year-old Jerzy Orlos, who came to the commemoration draped in an EU flag, told AFP he attended "to experience the shock of how terrible the division of the nation is". 
Yet, he added "such a ceremony is of course proof that we remember the deceased". 

'National conscience'

Centrist Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who was not at the ceremonies, said the 85th anniversary of the massacre should serve as "a lesson about (Poland's) national conscience". 
"I would like all Poles to assume responsibility for what we are proud of... but also that we be capable... of assuming responsibility for what does not do us honour," he added.
The history of the Jews of Jedwabne resurfaced in 2001, when Polish-American historian Jan T. Gross highlighted the role of Polish villagers in his book "Neighbors".
Revelations about the history of the village sent shockwaves through the country and led to an official apology to the Jewish community from then-president Aleksander Kwasniewski.
"As a man, a citizen and president of the Republic of Poland, I ask their forgiveness in my own name and in the name of those Poles whose consciences are shaken by this crime," he said. 
Following the ceremony, Chief Rabbi Schudrich spoke out against divisive narratives surrounding the history of the massacre. 
"This has nothing to do with an attack on Polish identity," the Rabbi, a dual Polish-American citizen, told AFP.
"When you are honest about yourself, you can then be that much more honest going into the future," he added.
In Poland, the centre of the genocide of millions of Jews perpetrated by the Nazis, thousands of Jews were also killed by Poles, particularly in rural areas. 
However, many in Poland also risked their lives to save Jews.
More than 7,000 Poles -- more than any other nationality -- have been recognised as "Righteous Among the Nations" by Israel.
ks-sw/bo/gab/jj

Meta

EU tells Meta to change Facebook, Instagram's 'addictive design'

BY RAZIYE AKKOC

  • The EU delivered a similar warning to TikTok in February this year, telling the company to change its design or risk massive fines.
  • Meta must change Facebook's and Instagram's "addictive design" or face a heavy fine, the EU warned on Friday.
  • The EU delivered a similar warning to TikTok in February this year, telling the company to change its design or risk massive fines.
Meta must change Facebook's and Instagram's "addictive design" or face a heavy fine, the EU warned on Friday.
Brussels accused the US tech giant of failing to limit the risks the platforms posed to users, especially children and vulnerable adults, because of features designed to keep them on Facebook and Instagram.
Of particular concern are those like endless scroll, highly personalised feeds and the automatic playback of videos.
"Protecting the physical and mental health of Europeans must be a priority for social media platforms," EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said in a statement.
The European Union has in recent months stepped up its efforts to force Big Tech to better protect users online, especially children.
In a preliminary view on Friday, the European Commission said it "considers that Meta needs to implement design changes to both Instagram and Facebook" after concluding the platforms broke EU content rules.
Changes could include "disabling key addictive features such as 'autoplay' and 'infinite scroll' by default, implementing effective 'screen time breaks', and adapting its recommender system to make it less engagement-oriented", it added.
Meta said it disagreed with findings but would continue to "engage constructively" with the EU.
If the regulator's views on Meta are confirmed, the EU can slap a fine of up to six percent of the company's total worldwide annual turnover.
A senior EU official insisted Brussels did not want to punish companies.
"We want to bring about change, and if we can get that change via commitments then we would be most happy," a senior EU official said.

Inadequate tools

The findings come before an expert panel tasked by EU chief Ursula von der Leyen delivers its recommendations on Monday on how the EU can better shield children online from inappropriate content.
Von der Leyen faces pressure to act, with some EU states including France pushing for bloc-wide bans on social media for minors following Australia's groundbreaking ban for under-16s.
The EU delivered a similar warning to TikTok in February this year, telling the company to change its design or risk massive fines.
But the official said there was a "slight difference" with TikTok since "Meta has indeed always tried to address minor protection online".
The EU began its probe into Meta in 2024 under the Digital Services Act (DSA).
The content law is a major weapon in the EU's bolstered armoury adopted in recent years to curb what Brussels describes as Big Tech's excesses.
In Friday's findings, Brussels said Facebook's and Instagram's time management tools can be easily dismissed while parental controls are only effective if parents have some technical knowledge, the commission said.
Meta also disregarded information about the time children spend on the apps at night "and how the optimisation of its different formats -- such as reels and stories -- could lead to excessive or compulsive use of the services".
But Meta said the EU's findings "don't accurately take into account the significant steps we've taken to protect teens", pointing to a type of account launched since the probe began.
Meta's Teen Accounts allow parents to block access to Instagram at night and cap daily screen time at 15 minutes, it said.
As part of the same investigation, the EU accused Meta in April of failing to prevent children under 13 using Facebook and Instagram, thereby potentially exposing them to inappropriate content.
The wide-ranging probe is still looking into the possible so-called "rabbit hole" effects -- which occurs when users are fed related content based on an algorithm, in some cases leading to more extreme content -- on the platforms.
Meta has faced similar scrutiny across the Atlantic including a US trial this year which ruled Meta's and YouTube's platforms were harmfully addictive.
fpo-raz/cw

conflict

Russia subjecting 1.6 million Ukrainian children to military brainwashing: OSCE report

  • "We think... that this system of indoctrination and militarisation may amount to the crime against humanity of persecution," he said. 
  • Around 1.6 million young Ukrainians are being forced by Russia into a system of military indoctrination that could amount to a crime against humanity, according to OSCE-mandated independent experts.
  • "We think... that this system of indoctrination and militarisation may amount to the crime against humanity of persecution," he said. 
Around 1.6 million young Ukrainians are being forced by Russia into a system of military indoctrination that could amount to a crime against humanity, according to OSCE-mandated independent experts.
Their report, presented Thursday at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in Vienna, found that Russia had installed a systematic programme to bring young people into the army in areas seized by Russian forces from Kyiv.
French researcher Herve Ascensio said that children, parents and teachers alike were targeted if they attempted to maintain their Ukrainian identity. 
"We think... that this system of indoctrination and militarisation may amount to the crime against humanity of persecution," he said. 
According to Latvian expert Elina Steinerte, the pro-Kremlin authorities sent draft letters to call up Ukrainians in the occupied territories to the army at a younger age than in Russia itself. 
"We interviewed young adults who have left their families behind" to escape conscription, she said.
The report, seen by AFP, details the training camps and classes on handling weapons and drones imposed on Ukrainian children.
It also documents several cases of young adults being drafted and then sent to the front line.
The report recommends putting the issue of children on the table in any talks on ending the conflict and calls for the opening of humanitarian corridors to allow families to reunite. 
While Ukraine had already put in some programmes to re-integrate children returned from Russia, there's "a big job to be done", Steinerte said.
The experts estimate that some 1.6 million children living in the Crimean peninsula, occupied by Russia in 2014, or in eastern Ukrainian regions partially controlled by Russia, are at risk. 
Kyiv believes that 20,610 children have been brought to Russian territory.
The report is the fruit of the Moscow Mechanism, a process triggered by the OSCE's 41 states on May 14 to allow independent experts to investigate grave human rights abuses in the conflict.
It was the sixth mission of this sort in Ukraine since 2022, when Russia's invasion began.
As part of their work, the experts conducted interviews and fieldwork in Ukraine from June 6 to 11. Russia did not co-operate.
bg/sbk/jj

Global Edition

Kicking off: New York football enthusiasts defy pitch shortage

BY GREGORY WALTON

  • We're open 365 days a year," said Matuszewski, who described how the World Cup had galvanized interest in soccer.
  • The World Cup has sparked a surge of interest in football -- or soccer as most New Yorkers call it -- but exposed a shortage of pitches in the city for both established players and converts to the beautiful game.
  • We're open 365 days a year," said Matuszewski, who described how the World Cup had galvanized interest in soccer.
The World Cup has sparked a surge of interest in football -- or soccer as most New Yorkers call it -- but exposed a shortage of pitches in the city for both established players and converts to the beautiful game.
Responding to the demand, Mayor Zohran Mamdani -- a passionate Arsenal supporter -- has announced five free, illuminated pitches open overnight across the city for the duration of the tournament.
But once the FIFA cavalcade rolls out of town, New Yorkers will have to look elsewhere to flex their footballing muscles.
"Finding an available field at a good time can honestly be one of the hardest parts, we're usually trying to play either early or late to avoid leagues with permits," said avid player and website designer Scott Benson, 29.
"There are a lot of different leagues in NYC all competing for field permits."
While the city's iconic Central Park has several grass turf soccer fields, availability is patchy elsewhere in the city where astroturf and concrete surfaces are common. 
Still, many require permits that are snapped up by for-profit leagues.
Lacking space, some pitches have popped up inside warehouse buildings like one in Brooklyn, wedged between a trash-strewn highway and a pawnbroker.
Each week thousands of footballers, many Latin or Caribbean migrants, flock to the astroturf pitches that serve the Crown Heights area, which has few other options.
Lucas Matuszewski, manager of the Socceroof site, said it's crucial to have the playing space as these immigrants "are kind of like the heart that keeps things pumping around here."
"We're in a kind of a hotspot for both of these backgrounds, which is really great, because we're able to provide indoor space for people come to New York, come to Crown Heights and they are looking for a slice of home."
"In the winter time, when the weather's bad, that's kind of when we thrive... We're open 365 days a year," said Matuszewski, who described how the World Cup had galvanized interest in soccer.

'A joy'

Some purist footballers are particularly irritated by a lack of grass fields, as they offer a different playing experience to the artificial turf or concrete surfaces most common in New York. 
"Some grass fields might be nice, the majority of the fields here are turf. However, the times I've played on grass it's usually pretty bumpy and hard," said Benson. 
"I think they'd be a great addition if well maintained, but more important is increasing the amount of playable field space overall."
Responding to demand, four restored astroturf soccer fields recently opened at a reported cost of $5 million at Randall's Island Park nestled in the East River off Manhattan.
The New York City Soccer Initiative, a collaboration between the city, NYC FC, and corporate sponsors is also building 26 mini soccer pitches at local schools.
Football coach Kemar Darby said that excitement for the game had exploded among local youngsters on the back of the World Cup, fired in particular by star players like France's Mbappe and Desire Doue. 
"Kids are very engaged, because of the World Cup," said Darby, 26, originally from Jamaica, noting the importance of providing space for them to have a kick about. 
"It's just giving kids the opportunity to play and enjoy the game the right way. Some will get a scholarship. To see the improvements, week in, week out -- that's a joy."
gw/bjt/des

flood

Cleanup underway as death toll from China floods hits 39

BY AGATHA CANTRILL

  • Twenty-six deaths were linked to a dam breach at Liulan Reservoir, with seven still missing there, state news agency Xinhua reported.
  • The death toll from devastating floods in southern China's Guangxi region rose to 39 on Thursday, with nine people still missing, state media reported, as residents went about cleaning up.
  • Twenty-six deaths were linked to a dam breach at Liulan Reservoir, with seven still missing there, state news agency Xinhua reported.
The death toll from devastating floods in southern China's Guangxi region rose to 39 on Thursday, with nine people still missing, state media reported, as residents went about cleaning up.
Extreme weather has wreaked havoc on southern and central China this week, bringing torrential rain and severe flooding to Guangxi, with a typhoon heading towards eastern provinces this weekend.
Twenty-six deaths were linked to a dam breach at Liulan Reservoir, with seven still missing there, state news agency Xinhua reported.
On Thursday AFP reporters saw scores of lorries and rescue vehicles passing through a police checkpoint to drive into Liulan village.
Liulan was not the only reservoir that burst, local residents told AFP Thursday, saying another smaller one near the town of Gantang had also collapsed.
A man who gave his surname as Huang said they initially had not realised the severity of the situation, as "never in history had it ever been this bad".
"We never received any warning. If we had received a warning, our losses would have been much less," he added.
In Gantang, furniture and personal belongings were piled up in the streets as dozens of people swept muddy water from their houses.
A group of men sitting on wooden chairs outside reflected on how high the deluge had reached.
"This is the first time the water has reached the second floor," said Bi Yunchun, 52, who had injured his foot in the flood water.
Natural disasters are common across China, particularly in the summer when some regions experience intense rainfall while others bake in scorching heat.
But scientists warn the intensity and frequency of global extreme weather events will increase as the planet continues to heat up because of fossil fuel emissions.

Cleanup continues

On Wednesday when AFP visited Liulan, floodwaters had receded, but the streets and houses were swamped with thick mud.
Residents were cleaning up their devastated homes, with some of them using excavators to scoop up their damaged household items, AFP correspondents saw.
Water from the reservoir was still rushing through the river as a rescue team sent large drones carrying food and supplies to people trapped on the other side.
Six hundred residents from the village of Dutian, located next to the reservoir, were safely sheltering but were cut off from the rest of the area, state broadcaster CCTV said Thursday.
Houses in Dutian were directly hit by the flood surge, with some reduced to their foundations.
Many residents had been able to evacuate in time following an alert issued by the authorities, according to CCTV.
China's defence ministry said it had deployed over 2,400 personnel, assisted by over 5,500 militia members.

Animals at large

The flood chaos in Guangxi has not been limited to humans.
The region's Guigang Zoo asked the public for help on Wednesday to find at least 100 animals that had escaped after their enclosures were damaged, including alpacas, miniature pigs and zebras.
Earlier this week, the head of a local village committee told Chinese media that around 800 to 900 snakes escaped after a breeding farm was washed away in Hengzhou city.
Just as residents were beginning to clean up the flood damage, Typhoon Bavi bore down on eastern China, threatening more rain.
Beijing on Thursday issued an orange rainstorm warning, suggesting that schools suspend classes and that people work from home if possible.
Bavi, which was downgraded from a super typhoon, is expected to make landfall or bypass Taiwan on Saturday before hitting the coast of China's Fujian and Zhejiang provinces that evening, state media reported.
"After landfall, it will continue to move northwest and gradually weaken," state broadcaster CCTV reported, citing the National Meteorological Center.
Bavi has a diameter of over 1,000 kilometres (620 miles), it added, and will bring "heavy to torrential rain over the next three days" in north and northeastern China.
isk-ac/reb/ami

internet

EU moves closer to kicking kids off social media

BY RAZIYE AKKOC

  • "It is not the question when children or teenagers would have access to social media, I would say it's more the question when social media has access to our children and teenagers," she said last week.
  • Restrictions on children's use of social media in the European Union could come as early as this summer, as a long-awaited expert report next week is expected to recommend limiting minors' access to online platforms.
  • "It is not the question when children or teenagers would have access to social media, I would say it's more the question when social media has access to our children and teenagers," she said last week.
Restrictions on children's use of social media in the European Union could come as early as this summer, as a long-awaited expert report next week is expected to recommend limiting minors' access to online platforms.
After Australia became the first country in the world to ban under-16s from social media, several EU nations including Denmark and Greece demanded a similar move.
The EU says all options are on the table, from a blanket ban on children from social media platforms to restrictions on certain services and features.
It appears there is little appetite for a broadbrush approach and EU officials insist no decisions have been taken before the panel tasked by EU chief Ursula von der Leyen delivers its recommendations on July 13.
Von der Leyen has indicated in the past she supports restrictions, with a formal announcement expected in September -- although that could change.
"It is not the question when children or teenagers would have access to social media, I would say it's more the question when social media has access to our children and teenagers," she said last week.
She is under pressure as some European capitals including Paris have already drawn up their own legislation, although Brussels on Monday told France to amend its draft law since it encroached on the European Commission's powers.
The EU says it will do more to protect children online -- not just on social media.
"Whatever decisions are made on age limits, we must also tackle the business models and design choices shaping children's online experiences every day," EU consumer protection commissioner Michael McGrath told AFP.

Risk-based limits?

The panel is not expected to recommend a blanket social media ban either.
For an idea on what to expect, observers point to a German panel that put forward two options last month: a statutory minimum age of 13 -- which many platforms have -- or restrictions on individual services and features.
The European Commission, the EU's digital watchdog, has been closely watching how the ban unfolded in Australia -- where there have been challenges -- and could opt for a different approach.
Brussels could take a risk-based approach, prohibiting features it views as harmful rather than banning platforms like Instagram, Snapchat or TikTok.
Bans have been growing in popularity worldwide, with Britain and Indonesia taking similar steps. Many EU states like Greece and Spain have also prepared their own bans, though Estonia fiercely opposes such a move.
A majority of Europeans surveyed in France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and Spain, for a YouGov poll published on Thursday want platforms to remove "harmful" design features like endless scroll and personalised content feeds.
Digital rights experts say bans are not the right way to go, arguing the EU should instead make platforms safer for children with the legal armoury it has.
"We don't think that exclusion is the answer. We need to enforce our existing laws," Simeon de Brouwer of digital rights group EDRi told AFP, adding he hoped new strengthened consumer protection rules would be "ambitious".
McGrath said the new law expected later this year would "recognise children as vulnerable consumers" and that minors "must be protected by design".

'Responsibility lies with platforms'

Such steps are backed by Europeans.
The YouGov poll found 75 percent of the over 5,100 adults surveyed said platforms should be inaccessible to minors until they can prove they are safe.
"We must focus on measures that ensure the responsibility lies with the platforms to prove their products are safe before they can be used by children, or anyone," Michiel van Hulten, EU director at Reset Tech, said.
The EU has a significant legal weapon in the form of an online content law that forces the world's biggest platforms to ensure harmful and dangerous content is swiftly removed and bans targeted advertisements to children.
But de Brouwer said the EU was "timid" about enforcing the law. While the EU told Chinese-owned TikTok to change its "addictive design", it has only told US-based Meta to enforce age verification, he said.
An EU official told AFP, however, the commission is set to issue findings against Meta's Facebook and Instagram in a probe looking at how their services may cause addictive behaviour in children before the summer ends.
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AirCanada

Air Canada taps new CEO to replace chief who couldn't speak French

BY MATHIEU GORSE

  • Rousseau had sparked controversy by issuing an English-only video message to express condolences after a deadly collision in March between an Air Canada jet and a fire truck at New York's LaGuardia Airport.
  • Air Canada named a French-speaking European as its new CEO on Wednesday, replacing Michael Rousseau, who announced his retirement following controversy over his English-only condolence message after a fatal airport disaster.
  • Rousseau had sparked controversy by issuing an English-only video message to express condolences after a deadly collision in March between an Air Canada jet and a fire truck at New York's LaGuardia Airport.
Air Canada named a French-speaking European as its new CEO on Wednesday, replacing Michael Rousseau, who announced his retirement following controversy over his English-only condolence message after a fatal airport disaster.
Canada's national carrier said Anko Van der Werff, currently the chief executive at Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), would take charge by the end of January 2027.
Van der Werff was chosen following "a comprehensive global search," Air Canada said.
"The search considered a number of performance criteria, including the ability to communicate in French," it added.
The incoming boss, who will also serve as president and sit on Air Canada's board, said he was "mindful of the importance of serving Canadians in both official languages."
"As a European, I understand the importance of language in identity," he added in a separate message addressed to company employees.
He said he had "the good fortune, like many Dutch people of his generation, to learn French at school."
Rousseau had sparked controversy by issuing an English-only video message to express condolences after a deadly collision in March between an Air Canada jet and a fire truck at New York's LaGuardia Airport.

Carney 'disappointed' in Rousseau

Canada has two official languages -- English and French -- and one of the pilots killed in the accident was from French-speaking Quebec province.
Rousseau had issued an apology over his English-only message, regretting that he couldn't express himself in French "despite many lessons over several years."
Prime Minister Mark Carney, whose occasionally halting French was discussed when he entered politics last year, also said at the time that he was "disappointed" by Rousseau's unilingual message.
The fracas highlighted ongoing tensions surrounding the role of French in a majority English-speaking country.
Less than a quarter (22 percent) of Canada's population lists French as their first language, according to 2021 census data, with 76 percent naming English. In Quebec, 84 percent of the population say their first language is French.
After Rousseau's video was posted, Quebec's provincial legislature passed a motion calling for his resignation. 
Air Canada is the country's largest airline and is headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. The company is required to offer services in both languages.
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