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Sharjah Hosts Int’l Forum to Discuss Role of Communications in Crisis Management

Sharjah Hosts Int’l Forum to Discuss Role of Communications in Crisis Management
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Sharjah Hosts Int’l Forum to Discuss Role of Communications in Crisis Management

Sharjah Hosts Int’l Forum to Discuss Role of Communications in Crisis Management

Sharjah is set to host an international gathering to discuss crisis management mechanisms using contemporary and innovative communication means later this month.

The participants will work on defining the future of government speech and the size of partnership they should build to take the right decisions.

The 10th edition of the International Government Communication Forum themed "Historic lessons, Future ambitions" is held under the patronage of Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council member and ruler of Sharjah.

It kicks off on September 26, and aims at determining the role of communication in setting comprehensive future development plans, especially in the aftermath of a pandemic that has represented a huge challenge for many powerful countries around the world.

The event brings together 79 experts in communication from 11 Arab and foreign countries, and includes 31 events featuring 7 panel discussions, 5 inspirational talks, 7 training workshops, and 12 interactive platforms. These activities focus on the historic experiences of government communication, in addition to the important milestones and transformations the forum saw over the past 10 years.

"The future of communication is not a coincidence, and we can't wait for it. We should make it and shape it ourselves by benefitting from the past lessons and real life experiences," said Tariq Saeed Allay, director general of the Sharjah Government Media Bureau, noting that the media and government communication teams faced huge challenges in the past few years.

He also stressed the importance of constant upgrade of communication tools and approaches, and maintenance of the public's trust.

Allay continued: "We have all followed the sharp changes in cultural, economic and social sectors worldwide. The central focus of the upcoming edition of IGCF is to monitor the role of government communication amid these transformations and measure its ability to lead and influence their results, drawing on the lessons of history to create a stable and prosperous future."

Allay also unveiled a strategic 10-year plan of IGCF, announcing that the forum will mark a 'Government Communication and Media Day' every year, launch a professional license project for government communication, issue a refereed scientific journal in the field of government communication, and develop indicators to measure the impact of communication on the positive practices of the public.

He also announced that the forum would establish the Arab Network for Government Communications, issue a guide to crisis management and a second guide for professional controls and ethical standards in government communication.

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Varieties

Heatwave Linked to More Than 5,000 Deaths in Germany, Institute Says

Police use water cannon to spray people with water as the arrive at the Olympic stadium for a concert of US singer Bruno Mars on June 28, 2026, in Berlin, as the German capital is expected to reach temperatures around 40 degrees Celsius during a heatwave in Europe. (AFP)
Police use water cannon to spray people with water as the arrive at the Olympic stadium for a concert of US singer Bruno Mars on June 28, 2026, in Berlin, as the German capital is expected to reach temperatures around 40 degrees Celsius during a heatwave in Europe. (AFP)
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Heatwave Linked to More Than 5,000 Deaths in Germany, Institute Says

Police use water cannon to spray people with water as the arrive at the Olympic stadium for a concert of US singer Bruno Mars on June 28, 2026, in Berlin, as the German capital is expected to reach temperatures around 40 degrees Celsius during a heatwave in Europe. (AFP)
Police use water cannon to spray people with water as the arrive at the Olympic stadium for a concert of US singer Bruno Mars on June 28, 2026, in Berlin, as the German capital is expected to reach temperatures around 40 degrees Celsius during a heatwave in Europe. (AFP)

Germany has recorded an estimated 5,120 heat-related deaths so far this year, most of them in late June when weekly average temperatures far exceeded 20 degrees Celsius, the Robert ‌Koch Institute (RKI) ‌for public health ‌said on ⁠Thursday.

Around 4,270 of ⁠the deaths were among people aged 75 and older, the RKI said in a weekly report. More women ⁠than men died, mainly ‌because ‌they make up a higher ‌share of the very old.

The ‌German data add to a grim picture across Europe. The EU's Copernicus Climate ‌Change Service said in a bulletin on Thursday ⁠that ⁠Western Europe had its hottest June on record with an average of 20.74 degrees.

National authorities have reported more than 4,700 excess deaths during the June 20-28 heatwave in France, Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands.

Varieties

Alpacas, Mini Pigs on the Loose after Floods Hit China Zoo

A drone view shows rescue workers conducting relief operations in flood-affected Maling town, after the Liulan reservoir dam breach, following heavy rainfall brought by typhoon Maysak, in Hengzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, July 8, 2026. China Daily via REUTERS
A drone view shows rescue workers conducting relief operations in flood-affected Maling town, after the Liulan reservoir dam breach, following heavy rainfall brought by typhoon Maysak, in Hengzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, July 8, 2026. China Daily via REUTERS
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Alpacas, Mini Pigs on the Loose after Floods Hit China Zoo

A drone view shows rescue workers conducting relief operations in flood-affected Maling town, after the Liulan reservoir dam breach, following heavy rainfall brought by typhoon Maysak, in Hengzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, July 8, 2026. China Daily via REUTERS
A drone view shows rescue workers conducting relief operations in flood-affected Maling town, after the Liulan reservoir dam breach, following heavy rainfall brought by typhoon Maysak, in Hengzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, July 8, 2026. China Daily via REUTERS

At least 100 animals, including alpacas, miniature pigs and zebras, escaped a zoo in southern China's Guangxi region after floods damaged their enclosures.

Typhoon Maysak has ravaged southern and central China this week, killing 39 people in Guangxi and forcing the evacuation of 130,000.

The province's Guigang Zoo asked the public Wednesday for help in finding its escaped animals, saying some enclosures had been damaged by "continuous heavy rainfall".

It provided a list of missing creatures, including "two North American raccoons, four porcupines and thirty peacocks", according to a statement posted by a local district's Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau.

The zoo said some of the escapees "may be frightened and potentially aggressive".

"If you spot any of the animals, please keep a safe distance," AFP quoted the statement as saying.

"Do not attempt to catch, approach or tease them, as this could be dangerous," the zoo warned.

Meanwhile, videos of villagers knee-deep in floodwater and frantically trying to catch snakes swimming in a flooded Guangxi town with their bare hands and nets went viral on social media this week.

Wu Zhi, the head of a local village committee, told state-owned media Red Star News that around 800 to 900 snakes escaped on Monday after a breeding farm was washed away in Hengzhou city.

The city "immediately bolstered its reserves of medical resources and urgently expanded the stock of antivenom" at the local hospital, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Varieties

EU Moves Closer to Kicking Kids off Social Media

Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Kick, YouTube, Facebook, Twitch, Reddit, Threads and X applications are displayed on a mobile phone in this picture illustration taken on December 9, 2025. (Reuters)
Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Kick, YouTube, Facebook, Twitch, Reddit, Threads and X applications are displayed on a mobile phone in this picture illustration taken on December 9, 2025. (Reuters)
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EU Moves Closer to Kicking Kids off Social Media

Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Kick, YouTube, Facebook, Twitch, Reddit, Threads and X applications are displayed on a mobile phone in this picture illustration taken on December 9, 2025. (Reuters)
Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Kick, YouTube, Facebook, Twitch, Reddit, Threads and X applications are displayed on a mobile phone in this picture illustration taken on December 9, 2025. (Reuters)

Restrictions on children's use of social media in the European Union could come as early as this summer, as a long-awaited expert report next week is expected to recommend limiting minors' access to online platforms.

After Australia became the first country in the world to ban under-16s from social media, several EU nations including Denmark and Greece demanded a similar move.

The EU says all options are on the table, from a blanket ban on children from social media platforms to restrictions on certain services and features.

It appears there is little appetite for a broadbrush approach and EU officials insist no decisions have been taken before the panel tasked by EU chief Ursula von der Leyen delivers its recommendations on July 13.

Von der Leyen has indicated in the past she supports restrictions, with a formal announcement expected in September -- although that could change.

"It is not the question when children or teenagers would have access to social media, I would say it's more the question when social media has access to our children and teenagers," she said last week.

She is under pressure as some European capitals including Paris have already drawn up their own legislation, although Brussels on Monday told France to amend its draft law since it encroached on the European Commission's powers.

The EU says it will do more to protect children online -- not just on social media.

"Whatever decisions are made on age limits, we must also tackle the business models and design choices shaping children's online experiences every day," EU consumer protection commissioner Michael McGrath told AFP.

Risk-based limits?

The panel is not expected to recommend a blanket social media ban either.

For an idea on what to expect, observers point to a German panel that put forward two options last month: a statutory minimum age of 13 -- which many platforms have -- or restrictions on individual services and features.

The European Commission, the EU's digital watchdog, has been closely watching how the ban unfolded in Australia -- where there have been challenges -- and could opt for a different approach.

Brussels could take a risk-based approach, prohibiting features it views as harmful rather than banning platforms like Instagram, Snapchat or TikTok.

Bans have been growing in popularity worldwide, with Britain and Indonesia taking similar steps. Many EU states like Greece and Spain have also prepared their own bans, though Estonia fiercely opposes such a move.

A majority of Europeans surveyed in France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and Spain, for a YouGov poll published on Thursday want platforms to remove "harmful" design features like endless scroll and personalized content feeds.

Digital rights experts say bans are not the right way to go, arguing the EU should instead make platforms safer for children with the legal armory it has.

"We don't think that exclusion is the answer. We need to enforce our existing laws," Simeon de Brouwer of digital rights group EDRi told AFP, adding he hoped new strengthened consumer protection rules would be "ambitious".

McGrath said the new law expected later this year would "recognize children as vulnerable consumers" and that minors "must be protected by design".

'Responsibility lies with platforms'

Such steps are backed by Europeans.

The YouGov poll found 75 percent of the over 5,100 adults surveyed said platforms should be inaccessible to minors until they can prove they are safe.

"We must focus on measures that ensure the responsibility lies with the platforms to prove their products are safe before they can be used by children, or anyone," Michiel van Hulten, EU director at Reset Tech, said.

The EU has a significant legal weapon in the form of an online content law that forces the world's biggest platforms to ensure harmful and dangerous content is swiftly removed and bans targeted advertisements to children.

But de Brouwer said the EU was "timid" about enforcing the law. While the EU told Chinese-owned TikTok to change its "addictive design", it has only told US-based Meta to enforce age verification, he said.

An EU official told AFP, however, the commission is set to issue findings against Meta's Facebook and Instagram in a probe looking at how their services may cause addictive behavior in children before the summer ends.