British defence minister John Healey quit on Thursday in a dispute over military spending, ‌accusing Prime Minister Keir Starmer of failing to commit the government resources that are needed to defend the country at a time of heightened threat.&nbsp;The unexpected resignation, accompanied with a scathing public letter, compounds the pressure on Starmer when he is facing a ​likely leadership challenge and exposes the crisis at the heart of government - how it can ramp ​up defence spending when there is no money to spare.&nbsp;Britain’s defence and finance ministries ⁠have been locked in talks for months over how to meet rising demands to expand military spending, delaying Britain’s ​Defence Investment Plan which was expected to be published last year.&nbsp;Military leaders have stressed the plan is needed to ​meet the rising threat level at a time of frequent Russian incursions into British waters, but the government is already struggling to reduce debt while the overall tax burden at its highest level in decades.&nbsp;The high-profile resignation comes as Starmer struggles to ​hold onto power, after Wes Streeting resigned as health minister in May and as another challenger, Andy Burnham, attempts ​to return to frontline politics to launch a leadership bid.&nbsp;“You have been unable, and the Treasury has been unwilling, to commit ‌the ⁠resources that the nation needs to defend the country at this time of rising threats,” Healey said in his letter to Starmer.&nbsp;Britain’s defence industry has been infuriated over the delay to the plan, saying it cannot invest in long-term programmes.&nbsp;The UK is contending with the U.S. pivoting away from protecting Europe while at the same time ​the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran ​exposed Britain’s lack of ⁠military readiness with its navy unable to immediately deploy an advanced warship to the region.&nbsp;The defence plan is aimed at laying out the funding for military equipment and ​services to ensure the armed forces move to a state of “warfighting readiness”, and ​Starmer said on ⁠Wednesday it would be published before a NATO summit beginning on July 7.&nbsp;“Your DIP financial settlement - which I was first given in full on Monday afternoon this week - falls well short of what is required for defence and ⁠the country ​at this dangerous time,” Healey said.&nbsp;“I am being forced to make ​decisions that would reduce the readiness of our forces and increase the risk to personnel on operations, and could make the country less ​safe.”&nbsp;Source: Reuters

UK defence minister Healey quits, says PM Starmer’s plans fail to keep country safe

Canada is proposing a social media ban for children and teenagers under the age of 16, mirroring a similar law passed in Australia late last year.&nbsp;But unlike Australia's law, tech firms could sidestep Canada's ban if they demonstrate they have policies to minimise harm to minors.&nbsp;The law includes sweeping measures to regulate AI chatbots and curtail "harmful content" online. It would create a regulator to ensure tech firms comply. Some free speech groups have warned it would expand censorship.&nbsp;It comes amid calls from parents and advocates to bolster children's safety online and as other countries - including the UK - eye similar bans.&nbsp;The law is being proposed ahead of the upcoming G7 summit in France next week, where world leaders are expected to discuss and issue statements on AI and protecting children from online harm.&nbsp;Canada's proposed law - the Safe Social Media Act - was put forward in the House of Commons on Wednesday by Culture Minister Marc Miller.&nbsp;Earlier in the week, Miller said passing a law that addresses online harms was a priority for the Canadian government because "kids are dying".&nbsp;"Suffice to say, we will take all reasonable measures to make sure kids are safe in this country," he told reporters.&nbsp;Pressure has been mounting on Canada to pass legislation on online safety after the previous Liberal government failed twice to implement one.&nbsp;Other countries have already enacted similar laws, including the UK with its Online Safety Act, as well as France and New Zealand.&nbsp;AI safety has been at the forefront in Canada after a deadly February mass school shooting in British Columbia, where the 18-year-old suspect was revealed to have used ChatGPT to discuss gun violence months before the attack. Eight people, including six young children, were killed.&nbsp;OpenAI has since come under fire for failing to report the suspect's account to police, prompting a written apology to the victims' families by CEO Sam Altman.&nbsp;There is no broad consensus, however, on whether Canada should pass legislation on online harms.&nbsp;Some free speech groups have argued the issue should be addressed within existing laws under Canada's criminal code.&nbsp;The text of the newly proposed Bill C-34 lists seven categories of "harmful content", which includes material bullying a child, or that foments hatred, or incites violence.&nbsp;The BBC contacted the Canadian justice and culture ministries seeking clarity on these criteria, but did not receive a reply.&nbsp;The maximum penalty for a violation is the greater of $10m ($7m; £5m), or 3% of gross global revenue.&nbsp;The government says the law would create a new independent regulator, the Digital Safety Commission of Canada. Its members would be appointed by the cabinet, according to briefing documents.&nbsp;UK eyeing social media ban&nbsp;Social media bans for teenagers are being considered by other countries, including the UK, with an announcement expected next week on a ban for those under the age of 16.&nbsp;In Greece, a ban for children under the age of 15 is set to take effect in January.&nbsp;Six months ago, Australia became the first country to ban access to social media for young teenagers and children, though it has since been criticised for not being effective.&nbsp;The law bars those under 16 from creating a new account on platforms like Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. It also deactivated existing ones.&nbsp;Social media companies face fines of up to A$49.5m (US$32m, £25m) for serious or repeat breaches. The law mandates that firms take "reasonable steps" to keep kids off their platforms, and should use multiple age assurance technologies like IDs, face or voice recognition.But in a recent survey of parents by the Australian government, around 70% said their children were still on social media. Many also said their children were not asked by platforms to verify their age after the law was enacted.&nbsp;The Australian government has said it has opened five investigations into alleged non-compliance, including by Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok.&nbsp;Sara Austin, whose organisation Children First Canada has long advocated for an online harms law, said Canada's decision to include an exemption clause could be a positive as it offers an incentive for firms to enact better safety policies overall.&nbsp;This, she said, "will not only benefit children, but will also benefit all Canadians" using these platforms.&nbsp;Austin added that while Canada has lagged behind its peers on addressing online safety, she hopes the proposed law is an opportunity to set a precedent ahead of the G7 summit.&nbsp;Source: BBC

Canada introduces bill to ban social media for children under 16

Four days of extreme rain and landslides in the Indonesian island of Sumatra have pushed the world's most endangered great apes even closer to extinction, says a study. Research suggests that 58 of less than 800 critically endangered Tapanuli orangutans, or around 7% of the total species, were killed as a result of the extreme weather event last November. Those are conservative figures, and do not take into account rain-induced canopy damage or reduced food availability, said the authors of the study published on Wednesday. Cyclone Senyar ravaged Sumatra in late November, killing more than 1,000 people in Southeast Asia's deadliest natural disaster for 2025. The study's findings, said the authors, show that extreme rainfall events can directly threaten the survival of great ape populations. The damage to the island's wildlife, however, has been harder to quantify. Wildlife experts and conservationists had previously observed that, in the wake of the storm, Tapanuli orangutan sightings had dissipated - fuelling speculation that the great apes may have been swept away by floods and landslides. Professor Erik Meijaard, managing director of Borneo Futures in Brunei and an author of the study published on Wednesday, had told the BBC in December that Cyclone Senyar had likely killed about 35 orangutans – a loss which he said would constitute "a major blow to the population". His more recent estimate of 58 deaths marks a significant uptick on that figure. Weeks after the cyclone, humanitarian workers told the BBC they found the carcass of what they believed to be a Tapanuli orangutan semi-buried amid debris of mud and logs in Pulo Pakkat village in central Tapanuli district. "I have seen several dead bodies of humans in the past few days but this was the first dead wildlife," said Deckey Chandra, who was working with a humanitarian team in the area. "They used to come to this place to eat fruits. But now it seems to have become their graveyard." Meijaard said he had seen photos of the dead orangutan, shared by Chandra. "What struck me is that all the flesh had been ripped off the face," he said. "If a few hectares of forest comes down in massive landslides, even powerful orangutans are helpless and just get mangled." "It must have been hellish in the forest at the time." Researchers noted that Cyclone Senyar was an anomalous event, but that human-induced climate change played a significant role. They also noted that the frequency and intensity of extreme rainfall in the area is likely to continue in the future, posing a threat to the survival of Tapanuli orangutans and their habitat. Studies indicate that the species - which was only discovered in 2017 - will go extinct if it continues to lose more than 1% of its population annually. The Indonesian government has temporarily halted major developments in the Batang Toru area - a protected forest in Sumatra - including mining, oil palm, and hydropower expansion, giving researchers a rare opportunity to further assess the ecological risks faced by these great apes. The authors of Wednesday's report point out that the devastation inflicted by Cyclone Senyar proves how vulnerable the species is. "The crisis facing the Tapanuli orangutan illustrates the convergence of climate instability, biodiversity loss, and vulnerability, calling for a coordinated response matching the scale of the threat," they report wrote. To protect the remaining orangutans, they added, sustained international support will be required. "Through strengthened domestic protection, climate-responsive planning, and global financial and technical assistance, we can still prevent the first modern extinction of a great ape species." Source: BBC

Four days of extreme rain killed 7% of world's rarest orangutans, study says

A backlash is growing in Japan over US President Donald Trump's use of popular anime and manga characters in his posts on social media.&nbsp;Upset has been brewing since March, when fans started noticing the president using images of - and in one case depicting himself as - iconic Japanese animation characters like Naruto, Pikachu and Yu-Gi-Oh!.&nbsp;Almost 20,000 people have now signed an online petition, arguing he does not share the values of the characters, and that using them for political reasons could infringe the creators' rights.&nbsp;Pokémon Company International has condemned Trump's use of its imagery. The BBC has contacted other rights holders and the White House for comment.&nbsp;The petition calling for Trump and the White House to respect Japanese manga was first launched in March, when a couple of posts caught the attention of some fans.&nbsp;The official White House X account had released videos combining footage of US military strikes on Iran with clips from Yu-Gi-Oh! and Dragon Ball. A day earlier, the account had published an image with the phrase "Make America Great Again", on top of what appears to be a screengrab from the Pokémon Pokopia video game.&nbsp;The petition was revived after Trump shared a video on Truth Social on Saturday depicting himself as Naruto Uzumaki, the protagonist and namesake of a popular anime and manga series about a young ninja's journey to become the village leader.&nbsp;Those who signed the petition and other fans online argue the characters convey the importance of courage, friendship, and perseverance to audiences around the world - and Trump's use of them in this way goes against the creators' intentions.&nbsp;Kanagawa resident Nana Suzuki started the petition. The 34-year-old self-proclaimed anime and manga fanatic told the BBC she felt compelled to take action.&nbsp;"Kazuki Takahashi, the creator of Yu-Gi-Oh!, passed away after attempting to rescue someone in the ocean," Suzuki said. "It deeply saddened me that his noble spirit, someone who tried to save others and the message of his work, was used in a military context, and that he is no longer alive to speak up himself."&nbsp;She wanted to provide a place where people who share the same frustrations could express themselves, and show how many people care about respecting Japanese creators and their content.&nbsp;But a small group of fans shrugged aside Trump's use of the images.&nbsp;One X user found it "hilarious" and thought it would only increase Naruto's international recognition, likening it to the best free publicity in the world. Another user said: "Rather than criticising the clip, I'm proud that Japanese manga has taken the world by storm to the point where the President of America knows Naruto."&nbsp;Pokémon Company International has said the White House did not have permission to use its imagery.&nbsp;"We were not involved in its creation or distribution," said Pokémon spokeswoman Sravanthi Dev. "Our mission is to bring the world together, and that mission is not affiliated with any political viewpoint or agenda."&nbsp;Source: BBC&nbsp;

Growing backlash in Japan over Trump's use of anime characters

South Korea has hit online retail giant Coupang with a record fine of more than $400m (£299m) over a massive data breach that exposed the data of more than 30 million customers last year. The fine is the largest ever issued by Seoul's Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) for a data breach. The leak exposed the names, contact and delivery details and order histories of some customers of Coupang, South Korea's largest e-commerce platform often described as its equivalent of Amazon. Coupang told the BBC it "deeply regrets the concern caused" and that it will strengthen its security measures, but added that it planned to challenge the PIPC decision. The number of accounts affected by the incident represents more than half of South Korea's population of around 50 million people. The PIPC on Wednesday announced a 423.6bn won fine over the personal data breach, and an additional 201bn won for the non-consensual collection of information. The commission found that a lack of safeguards, including poor management of authentication signing keys and access controls, had resulted in the personal data of around 37.5 million users being exposed. Coupang said that its explanations and measures to prevent further harm from the data breach "were not sufficiently reflected" in the commission's decision. "Upon receiving the official resolution from the PIPC, we expect that the facts will be clearly established through legal procedures," said Coupang. The decision follows a months-long probe into Coupang after allegations of the data leak surfaced in November. The company is based in the US, but the majority of its revenue comes from South Korea. Coupang told the BBC at the time that it was alerted to a breach involving 4,500 customer accounts in November and immediately reported it to the authorities. But the company said that later checks found that nearly 34 million customer accounts - all in South Korea - were likely exposed. It added that the breach is believed to have begun as early as June through a server based abroad. Following the breach, Coupang's boss Park Dae-jun resigned from his role, apologising for the incident. The platform's chief administrative officer Harold Rogers was appointed interim CEO. South Korean firms faced a series of high-profile cyber-security incidents last year despite the country's reputation for tight data privacy standards. Its largest mobile operator SK Telecom was fined nearly $100m over a data breach involving more than 20 million subscribers. Source: BBC

Korea fines e-commerce giant $400m over data breach affecting millions

The director of the elders’ home in Anguruwatota, Horana, who was arrested over the fire that broke out at the facility, has been granted bail by the Horana Magistrate’s Court. The court ordered the suspect’s release on a cash bail of Rs. 100,000 and two surety bails of Rs. 1 million each. A travel ban was also imposed on the suspect, while the case was fixed for 25 June.

Anguruwatota elders’ home director granted bail

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said Tehran has taken too long to negotiate a ​deal and would now “have to pay the price” after Iran and ‌the United States exchanged strikes in the region amid reported efforts to continue talks. “Iran is all talk and no action,” Trump wrote in a social media post. “They’ve taken too long to ​negotiate a deal that would have been great for them, now ​they will have to pay the price!!!” Trump, in a later interview with ⁠Fox News, said he was getting close to ordering new strikes targeting Iran’s ​power plants and bridges if Tehran is unwilling to sign an agreement. The comments ​come as an official with knowledge of the situation told Reuters that Qatari negotiators traveled to Tehran on Wednesday morning in an effort to finalize an agreement, after consultations with the ​United States. In recent weeks, the Republican president has veered between public warnings ​and optimism that a deal was imminent. His latest remarks revived threats to attack Iranian ‌infrastructure ⁠that international law experts said raised human rights concerns when they were first issued in March. Asked about Iran’s latest strikes Wednesday against U.S. military bases in Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain in retaliation for American strikes on Iranian targets around ​the Strait of Hormuz, ​Trump told ⁠Fox that Iran had a chance to sign a deal and survive and that he may keep going with more ​strikes given the slow pace of negotiations, according to ​the network. The ⁠talks have been focused on generating a framework to halt the war, ease tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and enable further negotiations over issues including Tehran’s ⁠nuclear ​material. The White House did not immediately respond to ​a request for comment on Trump’s post or the reported negotiators’ consultations and travel. Source: Reuters

Trump says Iran has taken too long to negotiate, will 'pay the price'

The Court of Appeal has postponed further hearing of a writ petition filed by former State Intelligence Service chief Suresh Sallay until 10 July. The petition seeks to invalidate a detention order issued against Sallay under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. The matter was taken up before a bench headed by Court of Appeal President Justice Rohantha Abeysuriya, following submissions made by Sallay’s legal counsel regarding intelligence reports and investigations linked to the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks.

Appeals Court adjourns further hearing of Suresh Sallay’s petition to July

The Sri Lanka Air Force has successfully conducted the first test flight of its upgraded Kfir C12 fighter aircraft at Katunayake, marking a key milestone in its fleet modernisation programme. The aircraft, known as the “Lion Cub”, returned to flight operations following extensive ground testing and system integration work carried out with support from Israel Aerospace Industries. The upgrade programme covers four Kfir fighter aircraft and one trainer aircraft, with enhancements aimed at extending operational life and improving air defence, navigation, communication and combat capabilities.

UK defence minister Healey quits, says PM Starmer’s plans fa ...

Canada introduces bill to ban social media for children under 16

Canada introduces bill to ban ...

Four days of extreme rain killed 7% of world's rarest orangutans, stud ...

Four days of extreme rain kill ...

Growing backlash in Japan over Trump's use of anime characters

Growing backlash in Japan over ...

Korea fines e-commerce giant $400m over data breach affecting millions

Korea fines e-commerce giant $ ...

Anguruwatota elders’ home director granted bail

Anguruwatota elders’ home dire ...

Trump says Iran has taken too long to negotiate, will 'pay the price'

Trump says Iran has taken too ...

Appeals Court adjourns further hearing of Suresh Sallay’s petition to ...

Appeals Court adjourns further ...

Upgraded Kfir fighter jet ‘Lion Cub’ completes successful test flight

Upgraded Kfir fighter jet ‘Lio ...

Canada introduces bill to ban social media for children under 16

Canada introduces bill to ban ...

Four days of extreme rain killed 7% of world's rarest orangutans, stud ...

Four days of extreme rain kill ...

Growing backlash in Japan over Trump's use of anime characters

Growing backlash in Japan over ...

Korea fines e-commerce giant $400m over data breach affecting millions

Korea fines e-commerce giant $ ...

Anguruwatota elders’ home director granted bail

Anguruwatota elders’ home dire ...

Trump says Iran has taken too long to negotiate, will 'pay the price'

Trump says Iran has taken too ...

Appeals Court adjourns further hearing of Suresh Sallay’s petition to ...

Appeals Court adjourns further ...

Upgraded Kfir fighter jet ‘Lion Cub’ completes successful test flight

Upgraded Kfir fighter jet ‘Lio ...

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Growing backlash in Japan over Trump's use of anime characters

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Anguruwatota elders’ home director granted bail

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Trump says Iran has taken too long to negotiate, will 'pay the price'

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