TRANSCRIPT:
- Australia's underage social media ban hailed as an example for the world;
- A Muslim civil rights group branded a foreign terrorist organisation in the United States;
- Pat Cummins back in Australia's squad for the Ashes.
Australia's social media ban has been hailed a success - despite teenagers already finding ways to get around it.
Little-known social media apps Lemon8, Yope and Coverstar, which are not yet covered by the ban, have shot to the top of Apple's App Store charts, while some kids have reportedly tried strategies like using makeup to fool platforms using age verification algorithms.
There's also reports that underage users have been able to create new accounts on platforms that are covered by the ban - namely Reddit and Twitch.
But despite the apparent loopholes, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has told Channel Nine it's an historic day.
"It's such a fantastic day and a proud day to be prime minister of Australia. This is world-leading legislation, this is families taking back ownership of what happens in their households. It is empowering parents to have those discussions with their children. It's about giving children back to their childhood."
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Meanwhile, the E-Safety Commissioner has declared she expects tech companies to fully comply with the new social media ban.
Julie Inman Grant says social media giants have the databases and bank balances to meet their new obligations.
The Commissioner says she doesn't expect flawless results, but her office will be able to understand quickly which companies comply.
She says enforcement will succeed in the long run - and set a world-leading example.
"It starts here, in Australia, today. The world will follow like nations once followed our lead on plain tobacco packaging, gun reform, water and sun safety. How can you not follow a country with clearly prioritising teen safety ahead of tech profits?"
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One country already planning a social media measure is Denmark.
The country hopes to bring in their plans for a youth social media ban by mid 2026 - but some experts and school students in Denmark have expressed concerns about the proposal.
University of Copenhagen associate professor Anne Mette Thorhauge, says she worries about how the ban will be enforced, and how it could potentially impinge on the rights of young people.
14-year-old Chloé Courage Fjelstrup-Matthisen says it should be up to both governments and social media platforms to make them safer.
"I definitely see the bad side of social media. But I think it's not the youths' responsibility to make sure there's no bad stuff on the internet. It's the people who created it, the government, they need to regulate what we young people see."
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Another high-profile Republican governor in the US has signed an executive order designating one of the country’s most prominent Muslim civil rights groups a foreign terrorist organisation.
In line with Texas, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis's order alleges the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, has ties to militant Palestinian group Hamas - and he says there is more to come.
"The legislature is working on statutory laws that are going to impact this area. So I think our executive order is kind of the beginning. I think you're going to see statutory codification of how we handle different terror designations.”
The organisation itself has denied the allegations.
Director of the Council's Houston chapter, Imran Ghani, says the claims are based on conspiracy theories, and is being done to stoke fear.
"This kind of rhetoric is done to promote a certain white Christian nationalist agenda that is looking to usurp American history as a one-sided party and not a tapestry of diversity that America actually is.”
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Australia's Khmer community is urging the federal government to play a stronger diplomatic role in the renewed border conflict between Cambodia and Thailand.
Seda Douglas is a Cambodian-born Australian citizen who spent time in a Thai refugee camp - and says it's very difficult to see the conflict reignited.
She has told SBS Khmer that Australia can and should help de-escalate the situation.
"Do something. Take a more active role to mediate and mitigate the flare up of the conflict as a middle player within the Asia- Pacific region. Because if we just look away, pretend that it's none of our business, and we don't want to interfere, sooner or later the conflict will flare and will escalate - and then can destabilise the whole region."
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Queensland's parliament has passed tough new legislation to pave the way for crocodiles to be removed from popular swimming holes and waterways.
The new management measures are aimed at preventing potential attacks amid an explosion in crocodile numbers, and has been prepared in consultation with regional communities.
Katter Australia party MPs like Shane Knuth, from North Queensland, say it's about time - but argues a culling program policy is also needed.
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To sport and in cricket news,
Pat Cummins is officially back in Australia's Ashes squad.
The captain has been named to return for the third Test against England in Adelaide.
It's the only change to Australia's squad for next week's third Test as the hosts seek to wrap up the series.
