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Malaysia Mulls Social Media Ban for Under-16s

This photo taken on October 24, 2025 shows a fourteen-year-old boy posing at his home near Gosford, Australia as he looks at social media on his computer. (Photo by DAVID GRAY / AFP)
This photo taken on October 24, 2025 shows a fourteen-year-old boy posing at his home near Gosford, Australia as he looks at social media on his computer. (Photo by DAVID GRAY / AFP)
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Malaysia Mulls Social Media Ban for Under-16s

This photo taken on October 24, 2025 shows a fourteen-year-old boy posing at his home near Gosford, Australia as he looks at social media on his computer. (Photo by DAVID GRAY / AFP)
This photo taken on October 24, 2025 shows a fourteen-year-old boy posing at his home near Gosford, Australia as he looks at social media on his computer. (Photo by DAVID GRAY / AFP)

Malaysia says it is planning to block children under 16 from signing up to social media accounts next year, in a move to tighten access over child-safety concerns.

Communications minister Fahmi Fadzil said Sunday the government was looking at how Australia and other countries dealt with imposing online age restrictions.

"We hope that by next year, social media platforms will comply with the government's decision to bar those under 16 from opening social media accounts," Fahmi said in a video posted online by Malaysian daily The Star.

"So I believe ... if the government, government agencies and parents each play their respective roles, we can ensure that the internet in Malaysia is not just fast ...but most importantly, safe, especially for children and families," he added.

Malaysia in recent years has tightened its oversight of social media services in an attempt to combat rising cybercrime.

This includes requiring platforms and messaging services with more than eight million users in the country to obtain a license under new regulations that took effect in January.

Several MPs in October backed the government's plan to ban under-16s, calling for proper mechanisms to verify the ages of users when they register for accounts.

A survey by Ipsos Malaysia Education Monitor 2025 released by local media in September, revealed that 72 percent of respondents in Malaysia agreed that the use of social media should be restricted among children.

In Australia, social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, will be forced to remove users under the age of 16 from December 10 onwards or face hefty fines.

New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon will also introduce a similar bill to restrict children's social media use.

And the Dutch government advised parents this year to forbid children under 15 from using social media apps such as TikTok and Snapchat.

Meanwhile, five EU countries -- Denmark, France, Greece, Italy and Spain -- are testing an app aimed at preventing children from accessing harmful content online by checking users' ages.

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Varieties

‘Party in the Back’: Competitors Vie for European Mullet Crown

A woman attends the annual European Mullet Cup in Audregnies, southern Belgium, on May 23, 2026. (AFP)
A woman attends the annual European Mullet Cup in Audregnies, southern Belgium, on May 23, 2026. (AFP)
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‘Party in the Back’: Competitors Vie for European Mullet Crown

A woman attends the annual European Mullet Cup in Audregnies, southern Belgium, on May 23, 2026. (AFP)
A woman attends the annual European Mullet Cup in Audregnies, southern Belgium, on May 23, 2026. (AFP)

Hundreds of distinctively coiffured participants gathered this weekend in southern Belgium for the annual European Mullet Championship to celebrate the once-maligned hairstyle.

Best captured by the tagline "business in the front, party in the back", the mullet typically combines a closely cropped fringe and sides with flowing locks down the back of the neck.

Popularized in the 1980s, it fell dramatically out of fashion before making a somewhat subversive comeback in recent years.

This year's European championship is the fourth to be held since a group of enthusiasts in Belgium borrowed the idea from Australia of staging a competition.

Would-be champions for this edition came from as far afield as France, Spain and England.

For many of those involved, the mullet is much more than a hairdo -- it has become a way of life.

"The mullet is open -- to others, to difference, to adventure. It has a wild side," said event spokesman David Hubert, who goes by the pseudonym Edgar Funkel.

In the quest to be crowned with the title of best mullet in Europe, hopefuls first had to fill out a questionnaire explaining more about themselves.

"Of course, we choose a great hairstyle, but what we really want is to choose a wonderful person," said jury member Lolita Demoustiez, 39 -- known as Dalita.

"What matters is that the person carrying the mullet truly embodies values such as tolerance, kindness and the freedom to be oneself."

Belgian competitor Christine, 60, said her striking new haircut had helped her get through a recent difficult period in her life.

"It feels absolutely brilliant, and I still haven't taken any antidepressants," she said, showing off her silver grey do.

"Long live the mullet!"

Around 50 finalists were selected to show off their mullets before the cheering crowds.

Winners were selected in a range of categories, including junior mullet, traditional mullet, unusual mullet and veteran mullet.

Eventually, the overall champions for 2026 were selected: the duo of Berenice, 44, and Samuel, 46 -- better known to their fans as BesaMulet.

Varieties

Bangladesh Puts AI in Driving Seat to Tackle Terrible Traffic

In April, Dhaka police linked traffic cameras to artificial intelligence software designed to automatically detect violations. Munir UZ ZAMAN / AFP
In April, Dhaka police linked traffic cameras to artificial intelligence software designed to automatically detect violations. Munir UZ ZAMAN / AFP
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Bangladesh Puts AI in Driving Seat to Tackle Terrible Traffic

In April, Dhaka police linked traffic cameras to artificial intelligence software designed to automatically detect violations. Munir UZ ZAMAN / AFP
In April, Dhaka police linked traffic cameras to artificial intelligence software designed to automatically detect violations. Munir UZ ZAMAN / AFP

Bangladesh's densely populated capital, infamous for grinding gridlock, has launched its first AI-powered traffic enforcement system in a bid to bring order to one of the world's most congested cities.

Across Dhaka, buses, cars, motorcycles and pedal rickshaws jostle for space -- seeming to treat signals, pedestrian crossings and even traffic police as obstacles to overcome.

On-the-spot police fines often spark arguments, confrontations are common, and officers are sometimes struck by vehicles refusing to obey commands.

"Those who violate the rules turn against us," traffic sergeant SM Nazim Uddin told AFP.

"But since AI was introduced, people behind the wheel have started obeying the law -- and we have been spared the everyday quarrels."

Despite repeated attempts to modernize traffic management, the city of more than 22 million people had remained reliant on manual control, with officers stretching ropes across roads before traffic lights turned green.

But in April, Dhaka police linked traffic cameras to artificial intelligence software designed to automatically detect violations.

Motorist Hannan Rahman Jibon, 28, was among the first drivers caught.

"I ran a red light and the owner of my car, who was sitting at home, received a text message saying that the vehicle had violated traffic rules," said Jibon, who was hit with an automatic 2,000 taka ($16) fine.

"I am more careful now, with cameras installed in many different parts."

- 'Getting results' -

One study, by the US National Bureau of Economic Research, ranked Dhaka as the "slowest city" in the world.

With an average speed of just 4.8 kilometers (3 miles) per hour, according to a World Bank and Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology study, it is quicker to walk.

City police spokesman N.M. Nasiruddin said the AI system used existing traffic-monitoring camera feeds -- with the software identifying offences ranging from signal and lane violations to illegal parking.

Coverage does not stretch across all the city, and manual traffic enforcement will be phased out over time, but police say it is changing behavior.

"We have started getting results," Nasiruddin said. "We have prosecuted at least 300 vehicles."

Inside a control room at police headquarters, analyst Sharmin Afroze, 52, monitored a bank of live traffic feeds, plugged into the AI system, where violations it flags are checked by humans.

"Before, police used to stop vehicles, check papers and determine fines," Afroze told AFP, noting that in a single day, the system had recorded nearly 800 traffic violations.

For now, police are only fining the worst offenders -- while giving the others a warning.

- 'Do not follow rules' -

Still, officials admit the technology faces hurdles.

"We are facing some challenges too," Afroze said. "For example, some number plates are blurred or too small to identify."

Police are working with the road transport authority to address the issue, while additional features -- such as vehicles driving on footpaths -- will be added soon.

The system also currently targets motor vehicles, and police are still considering how to regulate Dhaka's vast fleet of pedal rickshaws, a defining feature of the city's traffic.

Hasib Mohammed Ahsan, a professor at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, said the long-term success of the system would depend less on technology -- and more on whether authorities consistently enforce the rules.

"We have spent huge amounts of money on traffic signals and their upgrades, but those efforts were never sustained," Ahsan said.

"We do not follow rules, there is no consistency in our planning, and there is no accountability for failure."

Varieties

Shark Kills Man in Australia’s Queensland State

A sign is seen at the site of a fatal shark attack at Dee Why Beach in Sydney, Australia, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. (AP)
A sign is seen at the site of a fatal shark attack at Dee Why Beach in Sydney, Australia, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. (AP)
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Shark Kills Man in Australia’s Queensland State

A sign is seen at the site of a fatal shark attack at Dee Why Beach in Sydney, Australia, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. (AP)
A sign is seen at the site of a fatal shark attack at Dee Why Beach in Sydney, Australia, Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. (AP)

A man has died after a shark attack in northern Queensland state in Australia, police said on Sunday.

The 39-year-old died from his injuries at a boat ramp after he was pulled from the water following the attack at Kennedy Shoal, Queensland police said in statement.

Emergency services were called to Hull River Heads boat ramp just before 12:00 pm, police said.

"The man was retrieved from the water and died from his injuries," the statement said.

The man died at the boat ramp, Queensland Ambulance said.

The site is 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of the popular tourist city of Cairns.

The attack follows a fatal shark attack a week ago in Western Australia.