Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Australian lawmaker Pauline Hanson was suspended from the senate on Tuesday for wearing a burqa to the parliament, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.&nbsp;Pauline, who wore a burqa to parliament in 2017 as well, is the leader of the anti-immigration One Nation party. She was banned from the legislative body for seven days.&nbsp;The lawmaker wanted to vote on legislation to ban burqas in public places, which was blocked and not approved. In response, Pauline left the session and returned wearing a black burqa.&nbsp;Her display was met with outrage from her fellow senators.&nbsp;Australian Greens leader in the Senate, Larissa Waters, described the act, saying, &quot;It is extremely racist and unsafe,&quot; AFP reported.&nbsp;Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who also serves as leader of the government in the Senate, condemned it as &quot;disrespectful.&quot;&nbsp;&quot;All of us in this place have a great privilege in coming into this chamber,&quot; Wong said.&nbsp;She added, &quot;We represent in our states people of every faith, of all backgrounds. And we should do so decently.&quot;&nbsp;Hanson has described Islam as &quot;a culture and ideology that is incompatible with our own.&quot;

Australasia

Australian senator Pauline Hanson was suspended after wearing a burqa to push for a public ban. Her stunt sparked outrage from fellow lawmakers, who condemned it as racist, unsafe, and disrespectful toward diverse communities nationwide.

Australia suspends senator following Islamophobic burqa stunt

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia says it is planning to block children under 16 from signing up to social media accounts next year, in a move to tighten access over child-safety concerns. Communications minister Fahmi Fadzil said Sunday the government was looking at how Australia and other countries dealt with imposing online age restrictions. &ldquo;We hope that by next year, social media platforms will comply with the government&#39;s decision to bar those under 16 from opening social media accounts,&rdquo; Fahmi said in a video posted online by Malaysian daily The Star. &ldquo;So I believe ... if the government, government agencies and parents each play their respective roles, we can ensure that the internet in Malaysia is not just fast ...but most importantly, safe, especially for children and families,&rdquo; he added. Rising cybercrime&nbsp;Malaysia in recent years has tightened its oversight of social media services in an attempt to combat rising cybercrime. This includes requiring platforms and messaging services with more than eight million users in the country to obtain a license under new regulations that took effect in January. Several MPs in October backed the government&#39;s plan to ban under-16s, calling for proper mechanisms to verify the ages of users when they register for accounts. A survey by Ipsos Malaysia Education Monitor 2025 released by local media in September, revealed that 72% of respondents in Malaysia agreed that the use of social media should be restricted among children. New Zealand to introduce bill&nbsp;In Australia, social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, will be forced to remove users under the age of 16 from December 10 onwards or face hefty fines. New Zealand&#39;s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon will also introduce a similar bill to restrict children&#39;s social media use. And the Dutch government advised parents this year to forbid children under 15 from using social media apps such as TikTok and Snapchat. Meanwhile, five EU countries -- Denmark, France, Greece, Italy and Spain -- are testing an app aimed at preventing children from accessing harmful content online by checking users&#39; ages.

Viral

The country in recent years has tightened its oversight of social media services in an attempt to combat rising cybercrime; New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon will also introduce a bill to restrict children's social media use.

Malaysia mulls social media ban for under-16s

PERTH: Makeshift opener Travis Head smacked an explosive 69-ball century to power Australia to victory in a high-octane first Ashes Test on Saturday as England meekly surrendered in the Perth Stadium cauldron. Chasing 205 to win, Head slammed 123 as the hosts romped home on day two by eight wickets in an electric start to the five-match series. Marnus Labuschagne was not-out 51 and Steve Smith on two. &quot;Wow, what a couple of days. It&#39;s been unbelievable,&quot; said Head. &quot;The emotions are pretty high. &quot;They (England) were seriously good out there yesterday and started to drag it back, so we knew we couldn&#39;t afford to let the game slip. To be able to contribute the way I did, it feels pretty special.&quot; Head&#39;s heroics came on the back of a blistering spell from marauding pace pair Scott Boland and Mitchell Starc after lunch that sparked a stunning England collapse. The tourists were cruising at 65-1 and building an ominous second-innings lead, but Boland and Starc left them reeling with four wickets in as many overs. A ruthless Boland accounted for Ben Duckett (28), Ollie Pope (33) and Harry Brook (0) in the space of 11 balls, then two deliveries later Starc sent Joe Root packing for eight. When Starc removed skipper Ben Stokes (2), England were flailing at 88-6 and the veteran paceman had bagged a 10-wicket haul for only the third time after his first innings 7-58, a career-best. England were partially rescued by a crucial 50-run stand between Gus Atkinson (37) and Brydon Carse (20) before being rolled for 164 at tea. &quot;Little bit shell-shocked there,&quot; said Stokes. &quot;Travis Head was phenomenal, jeez that was some knock. &quot;We tried 3-4 different plans there, he was going like a train. The runs were coming through quickly, he is really hard to stop when he plays like that.&quot; When they returned, Usman Khawaja again failed to show as opener as he battles back stiffness, with Australia signaling their intent by sending in Head. Head, who has opened nine times previously in Test cricket, quickly got into his destructive rhythm, crunching some lovely boundaries including big sixes off Carse and Mark Wood. He made it look easy, making a mockery of the struggles other batsmen had on the bouncy track, bringing up his half-century in 36 balls, passing 4,000 Test runs in the process. Looking to emulate him, debutant Jake Weatherald also went on the attack, but it cost him, out for 23 after a mistimed pull shot was taken by Ben Duckett off Carse. An unruffled Head kept the pressure on, slamming four boundaries in one Stokes over and sending a six back over the head of Jofra Archer on his way to a 10th Test ton. He eventually fell to Carse going for another big hit. Starc starsAustralia resumed on a paltry 123-9 in their first innings and added just nine before Nathan Lyon was removed by Carse for four to leave England with a 40-run advantage. Stokes was the star of the show, claiming 5-23 off just 36 balls to give England a golden opportunity to win a Test in Australia for the first time since the 2010-11 series. They had been all out for 172 at the hands of Starc on day one. Australia were banking on the 35-year-old to emulate his exploits in the second innings and he whipped the sold-out Perth Stadium crowd into a frenzy when he removed Zak Crawley in his first over. The veteran consigned Crawley to a pair, diving to his left in an incredible feat of athleticism for a memorable caught-and-bowled. Duckett and Pope settled in, safely reaching lunch at 59-1. But Scott Boland began to find his radar when they returned. Duckett edged to Steve Smith in the slips then Pope did the same to wicketkeeper Alex Carey before Brook repeated the feat to Khawaja. After a first innings duck Joe Root was desperate for runs, but he was no match for the relentless Starc, dragging a thick edge onto his stumps to cap a miserable start to the series. Brendan Doggett then cleaned up Jamie Smith, (15), Carse and Archer (5).

Cricket

Head's 69-ball ton powers Australia to victory in Ashes opener

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Australia concluded a negotiation round aimed at modernizing the 1998 Pakistan-Australia Bilateral Investment Treaty, Pakistan&#39;s Press Information Department (PID) said on Thursday. Delegations from both countries held what officials described as positive and constructive discussions on the initial articles of a prospective updated treaty.&nbsp; The Board of Investment also posted on X, saying Federal Minister Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh successfully concluded the Islamabad round of negotiations.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 2;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 672px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1991537767390801942&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fdashboard%2F&sessionId=d6d2d4c403a999303df7ed851e078b533bab2e3b&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>The prospective treaty seeks to establish a &quot;modern, balanced, and forward-looking treaty framework&quot; that promotes investment flows while safeguarding the legitimate interests of both countries, PID said. Federal Minister for the Board of Investment Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh, who led Pakistan&rsquo;s side, reaffirmed the government&rsquo;s commitment to ensuring an investment climate aligned with global best practices.&nbsp; He highlighted Pakistan&#39;s new phase of &quot;investment policy reforms aimed at promoting transparency, boosting investor confidence and expanding long-term economic cooperation with international partners,&quot; according to PID&#39;s official statement. &quot;Pakistan&rsquo;s determination to foster sustainable investment partnerships, increase investor protection, and expand opportunities in key sectors including energy, mining, technology, agriculture, and industrial development,&quot; he said.&nbsp; Treaty to support increased investment flowsUnder the government&rsquo;s strategic direction, Pakistan is committed to diversifying investment avenues and collaborating with global partners to accelerate economic growth, said Sheikh. The minister commended the contributions of both negotiating teams and expressed confidence that modernizing the treaty will support increased investment flows, deeper commercial cooperation, and a mutually beneficial economic partnership. The Board of Investment said it remains committed to promoting investment and strengthening bilateral ties while supporting domestic and foreign investors in line with Pakistan&rsquo;s economic development objectives.

Federal Minister for Board of Investment Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh concluded the Islamabad round of Pakistan–Australia Bilateral Investment Treaty negotiations in Islamabad on 20th November, 2025 (PID).

Foreign Affairs

Pakistan and Australia concluded an in-person negotiation round in Islamabad to modernize the 1998 Pakistan-Australia Bilateral Investment Treaty.

Pakistan, Australia investment treaty nears finalization

PERTH: Arch-rivals Australia and England resume Ashes hostilities on Friday in Perth with the hosts weakened by injuries but favorites to inflict more pain on a side with a dire record Down Under. The highly anticipated five-Test series gets under way on a fast, bouncy track at a sold-out Perth Stadium and with Ben Stokes&#39;s visitors insisting they are not scarred by past failures. It has been 15 years since England last clinched an away Ashes series and since then they have failed to win a Test on Australian soil, losing 13 and drawing two.<figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/99327356-4019-43b9-9eb1-d6cff6a85984-Untitled(8).jpg" alt="Untitled(8).jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 823px; height: 463.349px;"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">PERTH: England&rsquo;s Ben Stokes warms up during a practice session at Optus Stadium in Perth on November 19, 2025, ahead of the first Ashes cricket Test match between Australia and England. -- Photo by AFP</figcaption></figure> This time they touched down on the back of a thumping 3-0 one-day defeat in New Zealand and criticism over scheduling -- just a single three-day red-ball warm-up on a docile pitch. &lsquo;Going to be tough&rsquo;&nbsp;Skipper Stokes said they were starting with a clean slate, despite their miserable record in Australia. &quot;They&#39;re a phenomenal team, especially in their home, so we know the next two-and-a-half months is going to be tough for us,&quot; he said. &quot;All the series that have gone past, whether that be in Australia or England, I don&#39;t think count for much.&quot; There may never be a better chance to snap the long winless streak with the hosts&#39; pace spearheads Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood injured and out of at least the first Test. Opening match&nbsp;Former Australia fast bowler Mitchell Johnson said their absence &quot;starts to rewrite the whole script for the Ashes&quot;.<figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/02615050-b635-44b4-badd-f41300026a8d-Starc.jpg" alt="Starc.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 854px; height: 480.802px;"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">PERTH: Australia&rsquo;s Mitchell Starc speaks during a press conference at Optus Stadium in Perth on November 19, 2025, ahead of the first Ashes cricket Test match between Australia and England. -- Photo by AFP</figcaption></figure> &quot;It narrows Australia&#39;s margin for error and it forces selectors into decisions they&#39;d hoped they wouldn&#39;t have to make this early,&quot; he added. At least England have been spared an opening match in Brisbane, where they have won just twice since World War II. The Gabba will instead host the day-night second Test before the series moves to Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">Speed over swing&nbsp;</h2>England are relying heavily on their own cartel of express pacemen led by Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts and Josh Tongue, with Shoaib Bashir the only recognized spinner. But it is a gamble, with Wood the only one to have experienced Test cricket in Australian conditions and he has barely played since knee surgery earlier this year. Alongside Scott Boland, wily campaigner Mitchell Starc will shoulder the hosts&#39; attack with Cummins and Hazlewood out, with Nathan Lyon the spin option and seamer Brendan Doggett tipped to make his debut. Former Australia captain Greg Chappell said in a newspaper column that the Ashes would be decided by the superior fast bowling unit. &lsquo;History is unequivocal&rsquo;&ldquo;History is unequivocal -- to win in these vast, sun-baked arenas, you need express pace bowlers who can intimidate, extract bounce, and shatter partnerships on pitches that reward raw speed over subtle swing,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;If England&#39;s attack fires and dismantles Australia&#39;s batting order, the McCullum-Stokes masterplan will have them join the list of successful English leaders in Australia.&rdquo; But he cautioned against England employing the ultra-aggressive &ldquo;Bazball&rdquo; cricket favoured by the captain and coach Brendon McCullum. &ldquo;Their incendiary style might work on the small grounds in England on pitches prepared to be as flat as one-day pitches,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But it won&#39;t be as easy to throw caution to the wind on the bigger grounds and more bowler-friendly pitches here.&rdquo; <h2 style="line-height: 2;">Top-order worries&nbsp;</h2>A lot of England&#39;s hopes rest on the shoulders of Joe Root and Harry Brook, ranked as the world&rsquo;s top two Test batsmen. Brook has never played a Test in Australia while Root has failed to score a century in his 27 innings Down Under where he averages 35.68, well below his career average of 51.29. Australia will similarly be relying on Steve Smith to be in the runs. The 36-year-old, who will be captain in Perth, has plundered 18 of his 36 Test tons on home soil, averaging a formidable 59.70. Sixth opening partner&nbsp;&ldquo;If Smith gets on a roll and he starts scoring runs, it&rsquo;s going to be a challenge for England,&rdquo; his long-time former team-mate David Warner warned. Australia&rsquo;s batting vulnerability is at the top, with an ageing Usman Khawaja potentially padding up with a sixth opening partner since Warner retired early last year. The latest candidate is left-hander Jake Weatherald, the leading run-scorer in the Sheffield Shield last season but with no experience of the Test cauldron.

The five-Test series gets under way at a sold-out Perth Stadium and with Ben Stokes's visitors insisting they are not scarred by past failures; it has been 15 years since England last clinched an away Ashes series.

England face daunting task to break Ashes drought in Australia

SYDNEY: Australian police are working on an AI prototype that will help them decipher Gen Z slang and emoji-laden messages written by online predators, a top official said on&nbsp;Wednesday. Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said social media had become a breeding ground for bullying, sexual exploitation and radicalization. Police were working with software giant Microsoft to develop a tool that would unravel sinister messages hidden by seemingly innocuous emojis and slang, she said. Clever AFP members, with Microsoft, are developing a prototype AI tool that will interpret emojis and Gen Z-and-Alpha slang in encrypted communications. &quot;This prototype aims to make it quicker for our teams to save children from harm much earlier.&quot; Barrett also warned about the rise of so-called &quot;crimefluencers&quot; -- online predators who used their social media savvy to target young and vulnerable users. &quot;They are crimefluencers, and they are motivated by anarchy and hurting others, with most of their victims pre-teen or teenage girls,&quot; she said. Australia will from December 10 force social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to remove users under the age of 16. There is keen interest in whether Australia&#39;s sweeping restrictions can work, as regulators around the globe wrestle with the dangers of social media.

Artificial Intelligence

Australian police, in partnership with Microsoft, are developing an AI tool to decode Gen Z slang and emojis used by online predators. The initiative aims to detect hidden abuse, counter “crimefluencers,” and protect children online.

Australian police build AI to decode Gen Z slang in predator chats

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Energy Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik has called for enhanced international collaboration to support the country&rsquo;s energy transition and the responsible development of its critical mineral resources, the information ministry said on Tuesday.&nbsp;Addressing the International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) 2025 in Sydney, one of the world&rsquo;s leading forums for the mining and resources sector, Malik urged global partners to engage with Pakistan in unlocking what he described as &ldquo;new and promising frontiers&rdquo; for sustainable investment.&nbsp;&ldquo;With strong political alignment, a suite of investor-friendly reforms, and its rich, untapped geological potential, Pakistan offers new and promising frontiers for responsible global partnerships,&rdquo; Malik said, as quoted in the statement.&nbsp;The minister&rsquo;s remarks came during a session themed &ldquo;Pakistan&rsquo;s Energy Transition and Critical Minerals Development: Unlocking New Frontiers for Global Partnership.&rdquo;&nbsp;He outlined the government&rsquo;s ambitions to position Pakistan as a key contributor to the global shift toward clean energy and climate resilience.&nbsp;Malik emphasized Pakistan&rsquo;s vast mineral wealth, including significant deposits of copper, lithium, and rare earth elements essential for green technologies such as electric vehicles and renewable energy systems.&nbsp;&ldquo;Pakistan is committed to developing these resources responsibly, aligning economic growth with environmental sustainability,&rdquo; the minister noted.&nbsp;Citing research by the Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI), the statement highlighted that the Reko Diq site in Balochistan contains an estimated 5.9 billion tons of ore, including about 0.41 billion tons of copper content, one of the largest undeveloped copper-gold deposits in the world.&nbsp;Despite contributing less than one percent to global greenhouse gas emissions, Pakistan remains among the countries most vulnerable to climate change.&nbsp;The statement noted that the Germanwatch Climate Risk Index ranked Pakistan first among the top ten nations facing severe climate vulnerabilities, with an estimated 765,000 lives lost and $4.2 trillion in direct economic losses between 1993 and 2022.&nbsp;&ldquo;This climate injustice underscores the urgency of Pakistan&rsquo;s transition to cleaner energy systems,&rdquo; Malik said. &ldquo;It is vital for safeguarding our food and water security and ensuring long-term economic stability.&rdquo;&nbsp;The energy minister also pointed to Pakistan&rsquo;s renewable energy targets and regulatory reforms as evidence of a strong policy environment designed to attract global investors. He invited international companies to explore opportunities in mining, renewable power, and sustainable infrastructure.&nbsp;On the sidelines of the conference, Malik met with the Director General for Minerals from the Government of Western Australia, who briefed him on Australia&rsquo;s mining sector and its contribution to national economic growth.&nbsp;Malik, in turn, invited Australian companies to invest in Pakistan&rsquo;s mining industry and collaborate on technology transfer and capacity-building initiatives.&nbsp;&ldquo;Pakistan&rsquo;s mineral and energy sectors are open for responsible investment and partnership,&rdquo; Malik said. &ldquo;We welcome global stakeholders who share our vision for sustainability and innovation.&rdquo;

Economy

Energy Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik invites Australian companies to invest in Pakistan’s mining sector, emphasizing opportunities for sustainable partnerships, technology transfer, and responsible resource development during his meeting with Western Australia’s Director General for Minerals in Sydney.

Pakistan seeks global partnerships to drive energy transition, mineral development

MELBOURNE: The Australian government has begun a public education campaign with tips on how to wean children off social media ahead of a world-first national 16-year age limit taking effect in December. Australian eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said Friday that information on her agency&#39;s website, esafety.gov.au, explained the new laws and how to navigate them. Starting December 10, platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X and YouTube could be fined up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million) if they don&rsquo;t take reasonable steps to prevent Australians younger than 16 from holding accounts. Messages raising awareness will also be shared starting Sunday across digital channels, television, radio and billboards. &lsquo;We want children to have childhoods&rsquo;&ldquo;We want children to have childhoods. We want parents to have peace of mind and we want young people &mdash; young Australians &mdash; to have three more years to learn who they are before platforms assume who they are,&rdquo; Communications Minister Anika Wells told reporters, referring to the current de facto 13-year age limit for social media accounts based on US privacy legislation. The Australian age restrictions have already proved polarizing, with some experts warning the changes will harm as well as protect children. More than 140 Australian and international academics signed an open letter to the government last year opposing a social media age limit as &ldquo;too blunt an instrument to address risks effectively.&rdquo; Despite that warning, the laws passed with resounding support last year. The platforms had a year to figure out how to comply without foolproof technology available to verify ages. &lsquo;Very monumental event&rsquo;Inman Grant said the social media age restriction would be a &ldquo;very monumental event for a lot of young people.&rdquo; Her agency offered checklists and conversation starters about ways to make the transition, such as following an online influencer through a website rather than a social media account, she said. &ldquo;How do we start weaning them from social media now so it isn&rsquo;t a shock on Dec. 10? How do we help them download their archives and their memories and how do we make sure that they&rsquo;re in touch with friends and are aware of mental health support if they&rsquo;re feeling down when they&rsquo;re not tethered to their phones over the holiday period?&rdquo; she added. Australia&rsquo;s move is being watched closely by countries that share concerns about social media impacts on young children. &lsquo;A global challenge&rsquo;&nbsp;Denmark&rsquo;s Ambassador to Australia Ingrid Dahl-Madsen said her government would use its current presidency of the Council of the European Union to push the agenda of protecting children from social media harms. &ldquo;This is something that is a global challenge and we are all looking at how we can manage it best and we are looking to Australia and we will be looking at what Australia does,&rdquo; Dahl-Madsen told Australian Broadcasting Corp in Melbourne on Monday. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s so important that Australia and Demark and the EU &mdash; we share lessons, we compare experiences and we can push forward hopefully practical progress on this,&rdquo; she added. It was about &quot;protecting our children in this digital world that is increasingly complicated.&quot; The Danish government last week proposed legislating an age limit of 15. But Dahl-Madsen said Denmark would consider letting parents exempt their children who were 13-14.Australia has no similar exemption.

Starting December 10, platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X and YouTube could be fined up to $33 million if they do not take reasonable steps to prevent Australians younger than 16 from holding accounts.

Australia begins education campaign ahead of social media curbs for children 

SYDNEY:&nbsp;Australia&#39;s tropical rainforests are among the first in the world to start emitting more carbon dioxide than they absorb, scientists said Thursday, linking the &quot;very concerning&quot; trend to climate change. The world&#39;s rainforests are typically thought of as crucial &quot;carbon sinks&quot; -- sucking huge quantities of planet-heating emissions from the atmosphere. Some models predict that increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere could boost forest growth by offering trees more of the basic fuel they need for photosynthesis. Forest death&nbsp;But, new research found extreme temperatures have, instead, caused more forest death than growth, with rainforests in Australia&#39;s northern tropics becoming net carbon emitters. &quot;This is the first analysis to show this pattern occurring for natural undisturbed forest and as a persistent pattern over many years,&quot; senior author of the research Patrick Meir told AFP, describing the results as &quot;very concerning&quot;. The researchers pored through records charting the growth of Queensland&#39;s rainforests over almost 50 years. They found that around the year 2000, they began emitting more carbon dioxide from the decay of dead trees than was being taken in and stored by growing trunks and branches. Extreme temperatures&nbsp;Modelling showed the main cause was extreme temperatures linked to climate change, and its related effects on the moisture in the atmosphere and drought. Cyclones, which are expected to increase in intensity with climate change, also had an impact. The findings are in line with some research on the Amazon that showed growing tree deaths weakening the forest&#39;s carbon storage capacity, said David Bauman, a research scientist at the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development and second author of the study. &quot;So in that sense our result is not surprising, but the timing... happened earlier than we expected and the effects of the likely climatic drivers (high temperature, drought) are stronger than we expected,&quot; he told AFP. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">&#39;More severe&#39; impacts </h2>The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature, suggests other rainforests could experience the same shift, but the authors warned that more data and research were needed. &quot;It appears that all tropical forests are likely to respond fairly similarly,&quot; said Meir, but &quot;the exact mechanisms and timings for different regions will differ.&quot; The findings should ring alarm bells, said Melanie Zeppel, an expert on forest carbon who was not involved in the study. &quot;This study shows that impacts of climate change on forest carbon are more severe than previously reported,&quot; said Zeppel, associate director at climate change investment firm Pollination. &quot;Immediate action on climate change must be a key priority,&quot; she told AFP.&nbsp;The study&#39;s authors cautioned that some unknowns remain. Global warming&nbsp;Their work focused on branches and tree trunks, but roots and soil also play a role in carbon absorption and emission, which has not yet been fully quantified. Still, the patterns observed are clear, and &quot;indicate that the challenge to limit global warming to well below 1.5 degrees Celsius has become both more urgent and more difficult,&quot; said Bauman. Despite its growing vulnerability to climate-linked natural disasters, Australia remains one of the world&#39;s biggest exporters of gas and thermal coal.Australia&#39;s carbon dioxide emissions per person are among the highest in the world, World Bank figures show. Global emissions have been rising, but need to be almost halved by the end of the decade to limit warming to safer levels agreed under the 2015 Paris climate agreement. The increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere last year was the biggest ever recorded, the United Nations said this week.&nbsp;

Researchers pored through records charting growth of Queensland's rainforests over almost 50 years; they found around the year 2000 they began emitting more carbon dioxide from the decay of dead trees than was being taken in.

Australian rainforests no longer a carbon sink: study

Reuters

SYDNEY: Australia will make a second billion-dollar payment to boost US nuclear submarine shipyards soon, Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said in Washington on Tuesday, ahead of an official visit by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese next week. The AUKUS agreement to transfer nuclear-powered submarines to Australia is being reviewed by the Pentagon, although Australia has expressed confidence the deal, which also includes Britain, will proceed. In its first phase, Australia has pledged $3 billion to boost US submarine production rates, to later allow the sale of three Virginia-class submarines to Canberra, with a 2025 deadline for the first $2 billion. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve made a billion dollars. The plan is to provide another billion dollars shortly,&rdquo; Conroy told reporters in Washington, where he said he is meeting with Trump administration and defence industry officials. Albanese will travel to Washington next week for an official visit and his first formal meeting with US President Donald Trump, with the AUKUS defence partnership expected to be a focus of talks. Defence Minister Richard Marles told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday that Australia was contributing to a Pentagon review of AUKUS and had &ldquo;a sense of when this will conclude,&rdquo; without disclosing the timing. Australia is shifting to a model of defence co-development and co-production with the United States, including for the manufacture of guided weapons, and Albanese would highlight this to Trump, Conroy said. Australia expects to manufacture up to 4,000 Lockheed Martin guided missiles annually from a new factory to begin production by the end of the year, including supplying US&nbsp;defence needs, he said in a television interview with Sky News Australia. Australia is also working with the United States and Lockheed Martin to develop a longer-range Precision Strike Missile reaching &ldquo;in excess of a thousand kilometres,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;This is one example of us shifting to a co-design, co-development, co-production, co-sustainment model where we work in partnership with the United States and deepen the industrial base of both countries,&rdquo; he said.

Australia will make a second billion-dollar payment to boost US nuclear submarine shipyards soon, Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said in Washington on Tuesday, ahead of an official visit by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese next week.

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