Australia passes social media ban for under 16s, to take effect in November 2025
The law requires platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat to implement age verification systems and could impose fines of up to $32 million if they fail to stop younger users from having accounts.
The Senate committee added a condition preventing platforms from demanding passport or other private information to protect collection of sensitive personal data.
The full details of how the age-verification system will work are expected to emerge after a trial in mid-2025, giving companies a year to prepare before the law is enforced.
#Australia
Deaths of Western fighters in Ukraine conflict is ‘dangerous escalation’ – Orban
The reported presence of Western soldiers among the casualties in Ukraine marks a dangerous escalation and risk of an “expansion of the war,” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said.
In an interview with Kossuth radio on Friday, Orban described the current state of affairs as paradoxical, stating that while peace appears closer than ever, the situation has never been as dangerous.
#Ukraine #Orban
‘American-Zionist plot’ behind jihadists’ Syria offensive – Iran
The US and Israel are responsible for the resurgence of Salafist terrorism in Syria, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has claimed, adding that Tehran will support the efforts by the government in Damascus aimed to to halt the ongoing jihadist offensive.
Hayat Tahrir-al-Sham (HTS), the terrorist group formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra, attacked government-controlled territory in northern Syria on Wednesday alongside a collection of allied militias, breaking a fragile truce brokered by Russia and Türkiye in 2020. By Friday, HTS fighters had entered Aleppo, which had been under Syrian government control since 2016.
More: https://on.rt.com/d1gk
#Syria
Russia’s Airstrikes Target Advancing Jihadists in Syria’s Aleppo, Idlib – Military
The Russian Center for the Reconciliation of Opposing Parties has reported the aviation conducting missile and bomb strikes against the “equipment, manpower, command posts, warehouses, and artillery positions” of "Jabhat al-Nusra" terrorists and other radical opposition groups.
According to the report, at least 200 militants have been eliminated in the past 24 hours.
IDF to remain in Gaza ‘for years’ – minister
Israeli Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter stated that the Israeli military would maintain a presence in Gaza for many years to combat Hamas recruits, according to a report by The Guardian on Friday.
“I think that we are going to stay in Gaza for a long time. I think most people understand that [Israel] will be years in some kind of West Bank situation where you go in and out and maybe you remain along Netzarim [corridor],” he was quoted as saying.
#Israel #Gaza
Russian embassy in Sweden vandalized by drones - again
Swedish media failed to report that the incident on Friday morning, in which paint was dropped on Russia’s diplomatic mission in Stockholm, was the 10th since May this year already, the embassy stated.
Although all incidents have been reported to police and the Swedish Foreign Ministry, no perpetrators have been found while new attacks have mysteriously been allowed to continue, the statement continued.
The attack comes a day after three men reportedly threw bottles at the Swedish embassy in Moscow's guard booth.
#Russia #Sweden
Footage: Syria airstrikes militant armored column – RIA
Syrian Air Force jets carried out strikes on a convoy of militants’ armored vehicles in the northern Aleppo region, according to RIA Novosti, which published the footage of the attack.
The unit was reportedly preparing to launch a joint offensive with terrorist groups on Tel Rifaat.
#Syria
Foreign armed forces can only bring more instability to Donbass – Janus Putkonen
RT hears from Janus Putkonen, Finnish MV-Lehti chief editor. He says the presence of any armed foreign forces will only destabilize the situation in the Donbass region.
#Donbass
America is 'reckless' dealing with Russia - Julius Malema
Washington's approach to Moscow does not take into account the possibility of a nuclear war, Julius Malema, leader of South Africa's Economic Freedom Fighters party, tells RT.
#Russia #US
Russia and the DPRK are good neighbors and long-standing friends – Defense Minister
In a further sign of the growing ties between Moscow and Pyongyang, the Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov met wit DPRK’s military and political leadership.
The minister was met by his counterpart, as the Korean People's Army Honour Guard Company gave a traditional welcome.
#Russia #DPRK
Hezbollah, Israel trade accusations of ceasefire violation
Just two days into the ceasefire, cracks are already appearing as both Israel and Hezbollah accuse each other of blatant violations.
RT correspondents in the region provide the latest updates.
#Israel #Hezbollah
Justin Trudeau brews up brave new plan to ward off public outrage
The Canadian PM has decided to go on a cheap approval ratings bender rather than actually do his job and sort out his country, by making pub bills tax-free for two months.
Get people so drunk they forget what he's done to the country - smart.
#Canada
❗️Russia hopes Damascus will soon restore order in Aleppo province following renewed terrorist attacks – Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov
#Syria
RT DE correspondent shot while covering Tbilisi unrest
Dominik Reichert was injured during clashes between protesters and police on Rustaveli Avenue. He underwent emergency surgery shortly after the incident and is now recovering.
#Georgia
❗️Five Israelis reportedly injured in alleged West Bank shooting - Palestinian media
Warning: disturbing footage
Two of the five victims have apparently been left seriously injured by the attack targeting a bus with Israeli passengers near the West Bank settlement of Ariel.
Online footage apparently shows the shooter’s body by the roadside.
#Israel #WestBank
Russian defense minister visits North Korea
Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov is visiting North Korea for talks with his counterpart, No Kwang-chol, focusing on implementing a strategic cooperation agreement that Moscow and Pyongyang sealed this year.
The treaty “is designed to play a stabilizing role in Northeast Asia, to contribute positively to preserving the balance of power in the region, and reduce the risk of war reigniting on the [Korean] peninsula, including with the use of nuclear weapons,” the Russian military official said at the start of the meeting.
#Russia #DPRK
RT DE Correspondent Shot at Tbilisi Protest Recalls Moment of Impact
Dominik Reichert, who was shot while covering the unrest in Tbilisi, recounted his harrowing experience:
"I suddenly heard a loud bang... I was deaf for a few seconds. Later, I noticed blood running down the side of my face."
Georgian police deploy water cannon to disperse rioters as the capital Tbilisi sees another night of protests.
The unrest erupted after the ruling party suspended talks on Georgia's EU membership until 2028.
‘We all live in…’: Cocaine-filled submarine busted by Colombian navy
The Colombian navy intercepted a semi-submersible carrying cocaine in the Pacific, believed to be part of a new smuggling route to Australia. The vessel, already loaded with enough fuel for the journey, marks the third such drug bust in the region.
Smuggling to Australia is particularly lucrative, experts say, with cocaine fetching $240,000/kg there, six times the US price. Officials linked the route to high Australian demand.
#Australia #Colombia
On air today - join Inland Visions on a journey to discover the Republic of Bashkortostan. Their culture, language and traditions create a unique mix of northern resilience and southern hospitality.
Watch the full episode here
🌏 Inland Visions
Jihadists claim to re-enter Syria’s Aleppo
Jihadist Hayat Tahrir-al-Sham (HTS) fighters have entered the Syrian city of Aleppo, the terrorist group claimed on Friday, two days after it launched a surprise offensive against Syrian government forces.
In a statement to Al Jazeera, HTS said that its militants had begun to press into several neighborhoods in the northern Syrian city, which has been controlled by government forces since 2016.
#Syria
Nobody asked for this, and here it is: All-female ‘Three Musketeers’ movie to be released in France
'Toutes pour une' is an upcoming feminist take on Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers. The story follows Sara, a young runaway who discovers that the Musketeers protecting the Queen of France are actually women.
Up next: an All Quiet on the Western Front adaptation, where it turns out there were no men at all during WWI...
#France
Big if true: Activist argues Europeans came up with two biological sexes
Writer JK Rowling was challenged on her gender politics, when a ‘Gender Studies academic’ challenged, saying that there is a “massive literature” proving that the notion of there being two biological sexes was historically a “first world notion”.
Rowling responded by joking that in all likelihood non-Europeans did not in fact “need Whitey’s help to tell a man from a woman”.
Could it be that the ‘gender academic’ merely referred to the early seasons of RuPaul’s Drag Race?
#Gender
Zelensky tells Scholz peace only possible through 'the power of weapons' and diplomacy
The Ukrainian de-facto leader thanked Olaf Scholz for his country's military aid in a phone call, during which the leaders discussed also Scholz's conversation with Putin.
"It is obvious that only the power of weapons and the power of diplomacy together can force the culprit of war to peace, and that peace is possible only through force," Zelensky added in typical self-contradictory rhetoric.
#Ukraine #Germany
Canadian cops treat Nazi monument as protected war memorial in vandalism case
Prominent police critic Duncan Kinney is battling a charge of “mischief relating to war memorials” - which carries a sentence of up to 10 years - arguing the monument he allegedly defaced honors Canada’s apparent enemies during the Second World War.
Kinney is charged with spray-painting “Actual Nazi” on a statue dedicated to Ukrainian nationalist and Nazi collaborator Roman Shukhevych, who was responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of Polish Jews.
His lawyers allege the Edmonton police have been aggressively surveilling him and his family and have not cooperated with documents necessary for his defense.
#Canada
Chaos erupts in London as pro-Palestine protesters demand arms embargo on Israel
Pro-Palestine demonstrators clashed with police as they blocked the entrances to London's Foreign Office and Department for Business and Trade, calling for immediate arms embargo on Israel.
#Israel #Palestine
🚨ANTHONY SCARAMUCCI: CHANCE FOR #BITCOIN TO INCREASE EVEN MORE IN VALUE OVER NEXT 5 YEARS
‘We’ll be tokenising parts of the world whether the regulators whether old Wall Street or banks like it or not. I saw that in 2020, I made these investments. In 2021 I looked like a genius, I looked like a dunce in 2022. But I said to my clients and I’ll say to your viewers, if you take a 5-year view of something like #BTC, I think you’ll do very well. We bought our Bitcoin at $17,000, it’s trading at $90,000+ right now. And I think this has a chance to go way higher over the next 5 years.’
-Donald Trump’s former White House Communications Director and the Founder of SkyBridge Capital Anthony Scaramucci
FULL INTERVIEW: https://rumble.com/v5sk9x5-anthony-scaramucci-trump-will-surprise-people-on-ukraine-will-he-bring-a-cr.html
Mother and baby shot dead by Missouri police during knife attack
Missouri police fatally shot a 34-year-old woman and her 2-month-old daughter during a domestic dispute, after she refused officers' requests to put the child down then lunged at them with a knife.
One officer fired, injuring both mother and daughter, who later died from their wounds.
#US
Angela Merkel urges diplomatic solution to Ukraine conflict
The former German chancellor claimed it is "not only in the interest of Ukraine but also in our interest that Putin does not win this war,” but conceded “one must always consider diplomatic solutions.”
Although she claimed to support the current German leadership for its support for Kiev, she insisted negotiations needn’t be discussed right now but “when the right time comes,” without specifying when she thought that would be.
Mixed-signal Merkel…
#Germany #Ukraine
❗️Georgia PM warns EU ambassador over interference
Georgia will take diplomatic measures if the EU ambassador does not change his rhetoric and does not stop interfering in the internal affairs of the country, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said.
#Georgia
