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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

No Trees, No Fans: Surviving Extreme Heat in India’s Salt Pans

A worker harvests salt at the Little Rann of Kutch (LRK) region of Gujarat on April 29, 2026. (AFP)
A worker harvests salt at the Little Rann of Kutch (LRK) region of Gujarat on April 29, 2026. (AFP)
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No Trees, No Fans: Surviving Extreme Heat in India’s Salt Pans

A worker harvests salt at the Little Rann of Kutch (LRK) region of Gujarat on April 29, 2026. (AFP)
A worker harvests salt at the Little Rann of Kutch (LRK) region of Gujarat on April 29, 2026. (AFP)

India faces challenging heatwaves each year, but few places endure conditions as searing as the country's western desert salt pans, where workers rely on simple techniques to survive almost unbearable temperatures.

Up to 50,000 workers in Gujarat spend eight months on the remote salt pans without electricity or healthcare, relying on a tanker to deliver drinking and washing water every 25 days.

They use shaded rest breaks, cloth-cooled water bottles and staggered hours to survive.

In Gujarat's Little Rann of Kutch summer temperatures routinely cross 45C, and can climb to 47-48C.

The same dry heat that makes life punishing also makes the desert ideal for salt production -- Gujarat produces roughly three-quarters of India's total salt output.

"We work in staggered timing... doing our work in early mornings and after sunset," said 42-year-old Babulal Narayan, who rakes the salt as brine water dries in shallow pools.

During the hottest hours, many retreat to makeshift huts -- frames of sticks draped with coarse homespun cloth, plastered with wild donkey dung.

"We sit here every two to three hours, so that we do not feel weak or dizzy," said 17-year-old salt worker Bhavna Rathore.

The dung blocks the sun and allows heat to escape, while the rough cloth allows some air to pass through, she explained.

The huts offer shelter in a landscape without trees or natural shade, and where the sun reflects harshly off the white salt crust.

- 'Heatwave' -

Kanchan Narayan, 44, uses a damp cloth-wrapped bottle hung on a string, cooling the drinking water inside via evaporation.

"The wind helps to cool the water," she said.

Poornima, a salt pan worker, sips black tea during the day -- saying the hot drink induces sweating in the dry weather to cool the body.

The salt is produced by pumping saline water from bore-wells into shallow pans, where the liquid evaporates under the sun and wind.

Workers rake the surface daily to ensure even crystallization. Over weeks, a thick crust of salt forms, which the workers break and stack into mounds.

The job has always involved enduring harsh conditions, but this year the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasts an "above-normal number of heatwave days" across several regions, including Gujarat.

Workers are exposed to the heat for longer than before.

Previously, they relied on expensive diesel pumps to bring the saline water to the surface. But a switch to solar has brought down costs and allowed families to operate the pans for longer.

That means work that used to end in March now continues into the hottest months.

- 'Fever' -

The consequences for workers can be deadly, with regular reports of fatigue, dizziness and nausea -- signs of heat stress, when the body's natural cooling systems are overwhelmed.

This can cause organ failure and even death.

Several studies have found high levels of dehydration, heat stress and even signs of kidney malfunction among these communities.

"I take a paracetamol whenever fever becomes high," said Kanchan, a rare worker wearing rubber boots -- to protect against prolonged exposure to brine, that can crack skin so deep it bleeds.

India has no fixed legal temperature at which work must stop.

Instead, it relies on IMD heatwave thresholds -- around 40C for alerts and 47C for "severe" conditions -- with local authorities imposing restrictions.

The desert conditions make the extreme heat marginally more survivable -- at low humidity, sweat evaporates more quickly off the skin, cooling the body.

But conditions are growing harder, with heatwaves intensifying and unseasonal storms also threatening livelihoods.

A sudden rainstorm can dissolve crystallized salt overnight -- forcing workers to restart the evaporation cycle.

"A big dust storm hit us last month, destroying salt worth 200,000 rupees ($2,100)," Narayan said.

He and five relatives made a profit of 250,000 rupees ($2,635) -- or $450 each for eight months of hard work.

But families say they have little alternative.

"What else will we do?" said 65-year-old worker Rasoda Rathore.

"We have no land to farm, no livestock to earn our livelihood from... this is all we know."

Varieties

Saudi Arabia Elected to UN CSTD for 2027–2030 Term

File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT
File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT
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Saudi Arabia Elected to UN CSTD for 2027–2030 Term

File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT
File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT

Members of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) elected the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) for the 2027–2030 term, the Saudi Press Agency said on Sunday.

The election reinforces the Kingdom’s international presence and its leading role in shaping global trends and policies in science, technology, and innovation.

The Communications, Space and Technology Commission (CST) stated that the Kingdom’s election reflects its active contribution to discussions on global issues related to emerging technologies, data governance, artificial intelligence, and support for the Sustainable Development Goals.

The commission explained that the Kingdom’s membership will contribute to monitoring implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and the Global Digital Compact (GDC), in addition to participating in developing relevant international recommendations to be submitted to the United Nations General Assembly for adoption.

It added that this achievement was realized in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reinforcing the Kingdom’s role as an active international partner within the United Nations system, particularly in the fields of communications, technology, and space.

The commission also noted that Saudi Arabia, represented by CST, chaired the 25th session of the CSTD in 2022, reflecting the Kingdom’s international standing and the global community’s confidence in its leadership in digital sectors.

Varieties

Egypt Calls for Preserving Migration Routes for Birds

Migratory birds in Sinai. Asharq Al-Awsat
Migratory birds in Sinai. Asharq Al-Awsat
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Egypt Calls for Preserving Migration Routes for Birds

Migratory birds in Sinai. Asharq Al-Awsat
Migratory birds in Sinai. Asharq Al-Awsat

Egypt has reaffirmed the importance of protecting migratory birds as the country marked World Migratory Bird Day, holding activities under the slogan “Every bird counts... your observation matters” to raise environmental awareness.

Minister of Local Development and Environment Manal Awad said Egypt represents one of the world’s most important migration corridors due to its strategic geographic location linking Europe and Africa.

Millions of birds pass through the country annually during seasonal migration periods, she stated.

According to Awad, Egypt’s coastal areas and wetlands serve as vital resting and feeding stations for migratory birds. So, she stressed the importance of nature reserves in protecting these habitats and supporting biodiversity conservation.

She also highlighted several key sites for migratory birds, including the Zaranik, Ashtoum El-Gamil, and Burullus reserves along the Mediterranean coast, in addition to Ras Mohammed and the northern Red Sea islands.

Awad pointed to the winter migratory bird census project, implemented in cooperation with the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) and the Nature Conservation Egypt association, which provides scientific data on bird populations and species diversity.

The ministry said its conservation efforts include issuing annual hunting regulations and conducting campaigns to remove illegal bird-catching nets from protected areas.

Approximately 18 kilometers of illegal nets have been removed from the Ashtoum El-Gamil and Burullus reserves.