Will the ban be delayed or postponed, and how will age verification work? Platforms will need to deactivate accounts for users under 16 and stop teens from making accounts until they are that age, or face fines of up to $50m. Here’s everything you need to know
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Australia’s world-first social media ban for children under the age of 16 is just a week away.
The tech platforms – large and small – are working on functionality that will kick off existing under-16 account holders and prevent any new ones from signing up.
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© Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Images
© Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Images
© Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Images
Presidents of both major parties have used the device and experts called into question legality of Trump’s move
Donald Trump said on Tuesday he is terminating all documents, including pardons, that he said his predecessor Joe Biden signed using an autopen – an unprecedented attempt to rollback a previous president’s actions using what legal thinkers view as a flimsy pretext.
The autopen is a device used to replicate a person’s signature with precision, typically for high-volume or ceremonial documents. It has been employed by presidents of both major parties to sign letters and proclamations.
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© Photograph: Ken Cedeno/Reuters
© Photograph: Ken Cedeno/Reuters
© Photograph: Ken Cedeno/Reuters
Hong Kong media mogul has suffered dramatic weight loss and other worrying ailments since being jailed in 2020, Lai’s family say
The children of Hong Kong’s jailed pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai have voiced new alarm for his health, describing his dramatic weight loss, teeth rotting and nails turning green before falling off.
Lai, who turns 78 next Monday, has been behind bars in Hong Kong since late 2020 as China clamps down on the financial hub to which it promised a separate system when Britain handed it over in 1997.
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© Photograph: Vincent Yu/AP
© Photograph: Vincent Yu/AP
© Photograph: Vincent Yu/AP
Group including Margaret Atwood, Ian McKellen and Richard Branson sign open letter to free Marwan Barghouti
More than 200 leading cultural figures have come together to call for the release of Marwan Barghouti, the jailed Palestinian leader seen as capable of uniting factions and bringing the best hope to the stalled mission of creating a Palestinian state.
The prestigious and diverse group calling for his release in an open letter includes a variety of prominent names, including the writers Margaret Atwood, Philip Pullman, Zadie Smith and Annie Ernaux; actors Sir Ian McKellen, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tilda Swinton, Josh O’Connor and Mark Ruffalo, and the broadcaster and former footballer Gary Lineker.
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© Photograph: David Mirzoeff/Own The Space
© Photograph: David Mirzoeff/Own The Space
© Photograph: David Mirzoeff/Own The Space
Report says ‘systemic failures’ led to collapse of trial, but found no evidence of UK government interference
Parliament’s security committee has criticised prosecutors for pulling their charges against two men accused of spying for Beijing, in a damning report that concluded the handling of the case was “shambolic”.
MPs said that a process “beset by confusion and misaligned expectations” and “inadequate” communication between the government and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had contributed to the collapse of the trial, while several “opportunities to correct course were missed”.
It was “unclear” why the CPS had concluded that a July 2024 ruling concerning a Bulgarian spy ring “altered the legal landscape so significantly” that they had to change their approach.
It was “surprised” the CPS had deemed the government’s evidence insufficient to put to a jury when it had set out how China “posed a range of threats to the United Kingdom’s national security” that “amounted to a more general active threat”.
The government “did not have sufficiently clear processes for escalating issues where there was a lack of clarity” and “the level of senior oversight” from cabinet ministers and national security advisers “was insufficiently robust”.
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© Photograph: PA
© Photograph: PA
© Photograph: PA
Advertising watchdog says all three firms misled shoppers by using term ‘sustainable’ in paid-for Google adverts
Ads for Nike, Superdry and Lacoste have been banned in the UK for misleading consumers about the environmental sustainability credentials of their products.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said paid-for Google ads run by all three retailers used terms such as “sustainable”, “sustainable materials” or “sustainable style” without providing evidence proving the green claims.
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© Photograph: Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters
© Photograph: Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters
© Photograph: Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters
Ethnic minority people more likely to experience poor treatment and even racism, Migraine Trust research shows
People from ethnic minority backgrounds are more likely to experience worse migraine care and to fear discrimination because of their condition, a survey by a leading UK charity has found.
Migraines are characterised by a severe headache, alongside other symptoms including dizziness, numbness and vision problems. About one in seven people in the UK are affected by the condition.
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© Photograph: Tommaso Altamura/Alamy
© Photograph: Tommaso Altamura/Alamy
© Photograph: Tommaso Altamura/Alamy
Survey of 11,000 13- to 17-year-olds says emotional and physical abuse includes control, pressure or violence
Two in five teenagers in intimate relationships say they have experienced emotional or physical abuse, including control, pressure or violence, according to a survey in England and Wales.
“Teenage years are often when children first begin to explore romantic relationships,” the report says. “At their best, these can bring joy and companionship and teach important lessons about trust.
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© Photograph: Cultura Creative (RF)/Alamy
© Photograph: Cultura Creative (RF)/Alamy
© Photograph: Cultura Creative (RF)/Alamy
Barcelona recovered to secure a 3-1 win against Atlético Madrid as goals from Raphinha, Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres handed the visitors their first La Liga defeat since August and extended the champions’ lead at the top after an intense clash on Tuesday.
The result puts Barcelona on 37 points, four ahead of second-placed Real Madrid, who visit Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday. Atlético, arriving at Camp Nou on a seven-game winning run in all competitions, remain in fourth place with 31 points.
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© Photograph: Joan Monfort/AP
© Photograph: Joan Monfort/AP
© Photograph: Joan Monfort/AP
There is no need to attempt to write a glorious final chapter, when an alternative ending does not bear thinking about
Trainer Nicky Henderson and owner Michael Buckley are still mulling over the options for Constitution Hill after his third fall in four starts at Newcastle on Saturday, but the simple fact that Henderson floated the question “can we go on asking him to do it?” in the immediate aftermath suggests that, in his heart, he already knows the answer. Whatever else might beckon for the eight-year-old – and a recent 160+ rating over timber suggests that he could compete at a very decent level on the Flat – this is a horse that should not be asked to jump a hurdle in public again.
Henderson’s competitive streak is as fierce as ever after nearly half a century in the game, and so too his appetite for a challenge. As such, it would be odd if the urge to attempt a repeat of Sprinter Sacre’s unlikely return to Grade One-winning form at the 2016 festival was not nagging away at the back of his mind somewhere. Sprinter Sacre’s second Champion Chase victory was one of the great Cheltenham moments of recent decades, and Constitution Hill, after all, set off as the 4-11 favourite for the Champion Hurdle just eight months ago, with an unbeaten 10-race record to his name.
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© Photograph: Steve Davies/Photographer: Steve Davies/Racingmediapics.co.uk
© Photograph: Steve Davies/Photographer: Steve Davies/Racingmediapics.co.uk
© Photograph: Steve Davies/Photographer: Steve Davies/Racingmediapics.co.uk
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