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Tag: Australia

  • Australian PM moves to ban children from social media – PM

    Australian PM moves to ban children from social media – PM

    Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced a plan to ban children from using social media.

    The prime minister on Tuesday said that the government would introduce legislation in 2024 to enforce a minimum age for access to social media and other relevant digital platforms.

    “We know social media is causing social harm, and it is taking kids away from real friends and real experiences,” he said in a statement.

    Read Also: Paralympics: Bolaji gets  Indian, Australian foes in Para Badminton 

    He said that the legislation would be informed by engagement with the states and territories, but his preference is to set the minimum age at 16 years.

    According to a poll conducted by state broadcaster the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in August, 61 per cent of Australians supported restricting social media access to those younger than 17.

    At the same time, Peter Malinauskas, the premier of South Australia, commissioned former federal judge Robert French to explore legal pathways to ban children younger than 14 from social media.

    The prime minister said that the federal government would consider Robert French’s review when drafting the legislation.

    (Xinhua/NAN)

  • Australian gov’t to examine impact of social media

    Australian gov’t to examine impact of social media

    The Australian government on Friday said it will set up an inquiry into the influence of social media in the country.

    Michelle Rowland, the minister for communications, Stephen Jones, assistant Treasurer and minister for financial services, said they plan to establish a joint parliamentary committee to examine and report on the impacts of social media in Australia.

    The government expects the new committee to conduct inquiries into the spread of illegal and harmful content on social media, how algorithms influence what Australians see and the impacts of that content on mental health and the decision by Meta to stop paying Australian media companies for news content.

    Read Also: Social media and artificial intelligence

    The committee will have the power to compel witnesses, including social media company executives, to attend hearings.

    Rowland said that the committee would hold social media companies more accountable and transparent.

    “These social media companies have enormous reach and control over what Australians see with little to no scrutiny.

    “Establishing this inquiry will provide opportunity and resources for parliamentarians to closely scrutinise these companies and make recommendations on how we can make these platforms accountable for their decisions.” she said.

    Meta, the parent company of Facebook, in March said it would stop paying Australian publishers for news after current deals under the news media bargaining code expires later in 2024.

    (Xinhua/NAN ) 

  • Australia edge India to win sixth cricket World Cup title

    Australia edge India to win sixth cricket World Cup title

    Opener Travis Head hit a sparkling 137 to power Australia to a record-extending sixth World Cup title with a convincing six-wicket win over India in Ahmedabad yesterday.

    Chasing a tricky 241 for victory in the final, Australia slipped to 47-3 before the left-handed Head hit his second century of the tournament to steer the team home with seven overs to spare.

    Head’s knock and his marathon stand of 192 with Marnus Labuschagne, unbeaten on 58, ended India’s dominant run of 10 unbeaten matches at the event.

    Head fell after his 120-ball knock laced with 15 fours and four sixes before Glenn Maxwell hit the winning runs to trigger wild celebrations in the Aussie camp.

     “Just thrilled to be a part of it,” man-of-the-match Head told Star Sports. “It’s a lot better than seeing the World Cup on the couch at home (on his injury). I was a little bit nervous but Marnus played exceptionally well and soaked all the pressure.”

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    India’s chances of ending a global trophy drought since their 2013 Champions Trophy win went up in smoke once Head got going with Labuschagne.

    Head’s century was the seventh in a World Cup final and third by an Australian after Ricky Ponting (140 not out v India in 2003) and Adam Gilchrist (149 v Sri Lanka in 2007).

    The bowlers set up victory for an Australian side that bounced back after two losses to win nine in a row as Mitchell Starc (3-55) and Pat Cummins (2-34) helped bowl out India for 240.

    India hit back when Mohammed Shami shared the new ball with Jasprit Bumrah and struck on his second delivery to get David Warner caught behind for seven.

    But it was Bumrah’s double strike in quick succession that raised the roof as he had Mitchell Marsh caught behind for 15 and Steve Smith lbw for four.

    Head stood firm with Labuschagne for company to thwart the Indian attack despite captain Rohit Sharma rotating his bowlers in a hunt for a breakthrough.

    Head, who suffered a fractured hand in South Africa in September, was in danger of missing the World Cup but Australia kept him in the squad until he was fit to play.

    He hit a match-winning century against New Zealand in the team’s sixth league game and after a few low scores hit an attacking 62 in his team’s nervy three-wicket semi-final win over South Africa in Kolkata.

    He turned India’s nemesis a second time this year after his 163 proved decisive in Australia’s World Test Championship triumph at the Oval in June.

    Head reached his 100 in 95 balls and raised his bat to an applauding Australian dressing room.

     “What we’ve achieved today is unbelievable,” said Labuschagne.“It’s the best achievement I’ve ever been part of. India have been the team of the tournament, but you know if you play your best cricket, you have a chance. Our bowlers were sensational and Travis put on one hell of a display.”

  • Brazil’s Marta becomes first player to score at 5 FIFA World Cups

    Brazil’s Marta became the first player to score at five different FIFA World Cups on Thursday at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France.

    This was when she put her team 1-0 ahead in their Group C game against Australia in Montpellier.

    Read Also: Marta: Brazilians don’t take defeat well

    The 33-year-old netted a record-extending 16th FIFA World Cup goal from the penalty kick spot.

    She has already scored at the 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015 tournaments.

    NAN

  • Australia fight back to beat Brazil 3-2

    Australia came from two goals down to beat Brazil 3-2 in the FIFA Women’s World Cup on Thursday at Montpellier in France.

    An own goal from Monica capped a superb fightback and overshadowed a milestone goal for the 33-year-old Marta.

    She became the first player to score at five different FIFA World Cups as she put Brazil ahead from the penalty kick spot with a record-extending 16th World Cup goal.

    Cristiane then doubled the lead.

    Read Also: Australian woman charged with torturing animals

    But Caitlin Foord reduced the arrears on the stroke of halftime before Chloe Logarzo equalised and Monica beat her own goalkeeper to hand Australia all three points.

    Brazil and Australia both have three points in Group C as do Italy, who take on Jamaica on Friday after beating the Matildas in their opening match.

    NAN

  • Australian woman charged with torturing animals

    An elderly Australian woman has been charged with torturing animals after she allegedly abducted a pelican from a river, Police said on Monday.

    The 73-year-old was seen feeding fish to a pelican in Tuncurry, about 300 kilometres North of Sydney, in April.

    “The woman then grabbed the pelican and put it in her car boot, with the wing observed to be protruding from the closed boot,’’ police said in a statement.

    Police stopped her car and made her release the injured bird.

    Further investigation led officers on Friday to search her home, where they allegedly seized items relating to the cruelty of animals.

    Read Also: ‘On stage, I can talk to animals for my act’

    “Police also located a caged magpie with its beak removed. The bird was taken to a vet where it was euthanised due to the injuries.

    “Mobile phones seized from the house depicted images and videos of animals, including a dog and rabbit, that had allegedly been mutilated in a public location.’’

    The woman will appear in court on May 22, where police will allege she goes to public places and gains the trust of animals by feeding them, before taking them home and torturing them over an extended period of time.

    Police alleged she then takes them to a veterinarian, claiming they were found injured and require euthanising.

    NAN

     

  • Australian journalists face possible jail for Cardinal Pell reporting

    Dozens of Australian journalists could face prison or a fine for allegedly breaching a reporting ban on the trial of Cardinal George Pell.

    Pell was sentenced this month to six years in prison for sexually assaulting two choirboys.

    Reporting details of Pell’s proceedings in any format accessible in Australia was banned under a Melbourne judge’s suppression order in 2018.

    It was to prevent a second trial, which was later dropped, from being influenced by the verdict of the prior proceedings.

    The state of Victoria’s director of public prosecutions has named 23 journalists and 13 organisations in a legal proceeding before the Supreme Court.

    READ ALSO: Australian PM denies fostering culture of Islamophobia

    It, however, asked that they be found guilty for breaching the suppression order, contempt of court, aiding and abetting overseas media, and for publishing materials that “had the effect of scandalising the court.”

    According to the court filing released, the motion seeks imprisonment or a fine for them.

    Pell, 77, was found guilty in December of raping a choirboy and molesting another in the mid-1990s at St Patrick’s Cathedral when he was archbishop of Melbourne.

    The former Vatican treasurer and close adviser to Pope Francis is the highest-ranking Catholic official to be convicted and sentenced for child sexual abuse.

    No non-Australian media have been named in the court proceedings, which will begin on April 15

  • It’s a new dawn for cricket in Nigeria, says NCF boss

    The feat achieved by the Nigeria’s U-19 cricket tea at the just concluded ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup Africa Qualifiers in Namibia has been described as a new dawn for the sport in the country as the Sylvester Okpe-captained side became the first Nigeria team to qualify for a cricket World Cup.

    After emerging the overall winner at the six-nation qualifiers held in Namibia following their unbeaten run in the competition, Nigeria became the first team from the continental championship to join top playing cricket nations like Pakistan, South Africa, Afghanistan, Australia, India, England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Zimbabwe and host – South Africa as teams that had already booked their places at the global championship holding in 2020.

    An excited President of the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF), Professor Yahaha Ukwenya described the feat as a new dawn for the sport. “As a President, it is great and incredible and I cannot believe the boys have done this. We trained them to be true Nigerians, tough in character and spirit and not giving to anybody and to tell everybody that we are Africa’s largest nation and some of the toughest human beings from the continent are from Nigeria and they played that way. But we had no idea that they will get this far and by match by match, they fought and came out victorious,” Ukwenya said.

    For the coach of the team, Uthe Ogbimi, the feat did not come on a platter of gold. “It has been a long trek coming all the way from last year to qualify from the division two to division one and to come to division one and clear everybody is indeed so massive in our heart. We want to thank the federation for allowing us to go to Zimbabwe for a playing tour against strong opposition and it indeed lifted the game of the players. I think Nigeria should celebrate and corporate bodies should rally round the team to support us for the World Cup.”

    An elated Okpe said: “We had a little up and down in the game and we must thank God for the success here in Namibia. This qualification means a lot to me and it is the best moment in my life since I started playing cricket particularly to be part of the first Nigeria team to qualify for any cricket World Cup. We will go back to drawing to check our mistakes and correct it before the World Cup.”

  • UK foreign minister attacks Google over ‘child abuse content’

    British Foreign Minister, Jeremy Hunt, accused Google ( GOOGL.O ) on Thursday of abandoning its moral values by failing to remove child abuse content while launching a version of its search engine in China that will block some websites.

    The government has repeatedly criticised online platforms such as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook for failing to remove abusive material or sexual content posted online even after they were notified.

    “Seems extraordinary that Google is considering censoring its content to get into China but won’t cooperate with UK, U.S. … in removing child abuse content,” Hunt said on Twitter.

    “They used to be so proud of being values-driven.”

    Alphabet’s Google plans a search engine in China that will block some search terms and websites, two sources told Reuters earlier this month, in a move that could mark its return to a market it abandoned eight years ago on censorship concerns.

    Google declined to comment on Hunt’s remarks.

    Britain, the U.S., Australia, Canada and New Zealand invited major technology companies to attend a meeting on tackling child abuse and extremism on their websites, but the firms declined to attend, the Daily Mail reported on Thursday.

    Read Also: Trump accuses Google of hiding ‘fair media’ coverage of him

    Google did offer to send an executive to the conference but the offer was not taken up, a source at the company said.

    In January, Prime Minister Theresa May used an address at the World Economic Forum in Davos to say investors should use their financial power to force internet firms into taking more responsibility for stopping militants and pedophiles using their platforms.

    Google, which quit China’s search engine market in 2010, has been actively seeking ways to re-enter China where many of its products are blocked by regulators.

    Leading human rights groups, including Amnesty International, have urged Google not to bow to censorship demands in China because by doing so, they allege, the company would be complicit in the repression of freedom of speech.

    Search terms about human rights, democracy, religion and peaceful protests will be among the words blacklisted in the search engine app, which The Intercept website said had already been demonstrated to the Chinese government.

    The project is code-named “Dragonfly” and has been under way since the spring of 2017, the news website said.

  • New Australian PM promises to unite ‘battered’ party

    Australia’s prime minister-designate Scott Morrison has promised to unite his “bruised and battered” Liberal party after a divisive leadership contest, and to win back the trust of the Australian public.

    “We will provide the stability and the unity and the direction and the purpose that the Australian people expect of us as leaders,” said Morrison, 50, in his first press conference after winning the internal party ballot.

    He will be the seventh Australian prime minister in 11 years – no prime minister has served an entire term in office since 2007 due to a series of internal leadership coups.

    “We are on your side. That’s what matters. We are on your side,” Morrison assured Australians on Friday after his victory.

    Set to be sworn in as the country’s 30th prime minister on Friday evening, Morrison said his first priority would be to tackle the severe drought gripping large areas of the country.

    He said he will announce his cabinet next week.

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    He took the helm after Malcolm Turnbull was ousted Friday from the leadership of the ruling party following a rebellion by conservative lawmakers.

    Morrison, a social and fiscal conservative who was the treasurer in the Turnbull cabinet, won by 45 votes to 40 against former home affairs minister Peter Dutton, who had called for the leadership contest.

    In his final press conference as prime minister, Turnbull lashed out at the rebels, describing their conduct as “extraordinary.”

    He said “a determined insurgency” had been launched against him by “a number of people both in the party room and backed by powerful voices in the media … to bring down my prime ministership.”

    “Australians will be just dumbstruck and so appalled by the conduct of the last week. To imagine that a government would be rocked by this sort of disloyalty and deliberate insurgency – is the best way to describe it, deliberate destructive action.”

    Turnbull himself ousted then prime minister Tony Abbott in 2015 while serving in his cabinet.

    Dutton had already lost a leadership contest against Turnbull on Tuesday, but the prime minister’s narrow victory only spurred him on.

    Morrison, a Turnbull ally, threw his hat into the ring when Turnbull lost the support of other senior ministers and it became clear a second contest would take place.

    Turnbull said on Friday he would also be stepping down from his parliamentary seat, “not before too long” though he refused to say exactly when. A by-election could threaten the coalition government’s one-seat majority.

    It could also encourage the incoming prime minister to move forward federal elections that are scheduled to be held by May.

    Turnbull highlighted some of the major achievements of his government, including the legalization of same-sex marriage and the establishment of a national redress scheme for victims of child sex abuse

    “I think it has been a challenging time to be prime minister but I’m very proud of our record,” he said, adding that he planned to spend more time with his family.

    Turnbull then went to visit the house of the governor-general, where he was expected to tender his resignation.

    The ballot for party leadership was conducted in two rounds.

    Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, who could have become Australia’s first conservative female prime minister, lost in the first round, leaving Morrison and Dutton to fight it out for the top job.

    Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg was elected to replace Bishop as deputy leader of the party.

    Defeated candidate Dutton said provide “absolute loyalty to Scott Morrison, to make sure that we win the election and defeat [opposition Labor leader] Bill Shorten and make sure he’s never prime minister.”