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By Renju Jose and Byron Kaye SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia moved closer on Wednesday to banning social media for children under 16 after the parliament's lower house passed a bill even as Alphabet's Google and Facebook-owner Meta pressed the government to delay the legislation. Marking some of the toughest social media controls in the world, Australia's House of Representatives passed the bill 102 votes to 13 after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's centre-left Labor government secured bipartisan support for the ban. The Senate is expected to debate the bill later on Wednesday, with the government keen to ensure it is passed by the end of the parliamentary year on Thursday. Albanese, trying to lift his approval ratings ahead of an election expected in May, has argued that excessive use of social media poses risks to the physical and mental health of children and is looking for support from parents. The planned law would force social media platforms to take reasonable steps to ensure age-verification protections are in place. Companies could be fined up to A$49.5 million ($32 million) for systemic breaches. Australia plans to trial an age-verification system that may include biometrics or government identification to enforce the ban. A Senate committee backed the bill this week, but also inserted a condition that social media platforms should not force users to submit personal data such as passport and other digital identification to prove their age. The committee added that the government must "meaningfully engage" with youth when framing the law. "Young people, and in particular diverse cohorts, must be at the centre of the conversation as an age restriction is implemented to ensure there are constructive pathways for connection," committee Chair Senator Karen Grogan said. In submissions to parliament, Google and Meta said the ban should be delayed until the age-verification trial finishes, expected in mid-2025. Bytedance's TikTok said the bill needed more consultation, while Elon Musk's X said the proposed law might hurt children's human rights. IMPACT ON FAMILIES The ban was first announced during an emotionally charged parliamentary inquiry into social media, which included testimony from parents of children who had self-harmed due to cyber bullying. It has fuelled vigorous debate with youth advocates arguing it robs children of a voice and parent groups saying under-16s are too young to navigate the digital world. Teenagers have said the law could cut them off from their most important social and family connections, arguing a ban is not the solution. "I understand that using social media a lot is not a good thing and I'm working on it," said Sydney high-school student Enie Lam, 16. "But a ban is not going to work," she said. Albanese's party, which does not control the Senate, won crucial support from the opposition conservatives for the bill, but has failed to win over the left-leaning Greens and some far-right lawmakers on civil liberties and privacy grounds. One conservative lower house member broke from their party and voted against the bill on Wednesday, a rare event in Australian politics, and two conservative senators said they also would vote against it, arguing the law should be delayed until the age-verification trial was complete. Even the Australian Human Rights Commission, an independent statutory authority, opposed the ban saying it violated children's rights to self-expression and to participate in society. Still, polling shows public support overwhelmingly in favour of the move. A YouGov survey released this week showed 77% of Australians backed the ban, up from 61% in August. Australian media, from the publicly owned Australian Broadcasting Corp to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, also support the ban. An editorial campaign by News Corp, the country's biggest newspaper publisher, pushed for the ban under the banner "Let Them Be Kids". "Our members feel that this is one of the biggest issues impacting on themselves and their families at the moment," said Jenny Branch-Allen, president of the Australian Parents Council, an advocacy group. "Big companies have to start taking responsibility. Let's try and reduce the incidents we're hearing involved with social media and young people in Australia." ($1 = 1.5451 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Sonali Paul and Kate Mayberry)2024/25 Ghana Premier League Week 12: In-form Hearts of Oak host Nsoatreman FC, Kotoko vs. Aduana Stars
The list of compromised VCE exams has been released more than a week after it was revealed some questions for half the tests were leaked in practice material. Education Minister Ben Carroll had previously revealed that 56 VCE exams – nearly half of the total 116 exams – had been affected by a breach in which exam questions were inadvertently published online in advance by the VCE authority in a “hidden” section of sample assessments. Victorian Education Minister Ben Carroll has revealed the compromised VCE exams. Credit: Joe Armao He told reporters on Wednesday that he was satisfied that the right processes were in place to ensure every single VCE student achieves their best. “That is what students deserve, and we expect, must expect, nothing less. I would like to again apologise to every single student, parent, carer that have been affected by this publication,” Carroll said. Carroll said the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority’s processes had improved over the years but the government had been let down because of a “publishing error”. “I’ve still got questions that I want answers to and that that is why I have ordered a full root and branch review on how did this occur,” he said. List of compromised VCE subjects Aboriginal Languages Victoria Accounting Ancient History Applied Computing Data Analytics Applied Computing Software Development Art Creative Practice Art Making and Exhibiting Australian Politics Biology Business Management Chinese First Language Chinese Second Language Classical Studies Dance Drama English as an Additional Language Economics English Environmental Science Food Studies Foundation Mathematics Geography Global Politics Health and Human Development History Revolutions Industry and Enterprise Legal Studies Mathematical Methods 1 Mathematical Methods 2 Media Music Composition Music Contemporary Performance Music Inquiry Music Repertoire Performance Outdoor and Environmental Studies Physical Education Product Design and Technology Psychology Religion and Society Specialist Mathematics 1 Specialist Mathematics 2 Systems Engineering Text and Traditions Theatre Studies VCE VET Business VCE VET Community Services VCE VET Engineering VCE VET Equine Studies VCE VET Furnishing VCE VET Health VCE VET Hospitality VCE VET Hospitality Cookery VCE VET Information and Communications Technology VCE VET Integrated Technologies VCE VET Music Sound Production VCE VET Sports and Recreation Interim VCAA boss Marcia Devlin, who was installed after former CEO Kylie White stood down amid the scandal last week, said the information contained in English exams was already in the public domain and no possible advantage could have been gained from accessing the leaked material. She said this was likely the case for other exams because their content had substantially changed or the content published provided no material benefit. The government said any advantage to students would not be clear until exams had been marked. More to come. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. License this article Education VCE Schools For subscribers Caroline Schelle is an education reporter, and joined The Age in 2022. She previously covered courts at AAP. Connect via Twitter or email . Kieran Rooney is a Victorian state political reporter at The Age. Connect via email . Most Viewed in National LoadingChinese toy stories deliver the goods
Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman trying to get HC change approvedVice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday thanked supporters during an virtual call and vowed that the “fight’s not over” in what was her first remarks since conceding defeat to President-elect Donald Trump three weeks ago. “The fight that fueled our campaign, a fight for freedom and opportunity, that did not end on Nov. 5. A fight for the dignity of all people? That did not end on Nov. 5,” Harris said. “A fight for the future, a future in which all people receive the promise of America? No. A fight that is about a fight for the ideals of our nation, the ideals that reflect the promise of America? That fight’s not over.” “That fight's still in us, and it burns strong,” Harris later added. “And I know this is an uncertain time. I'm clear-eyed about that. I know you're clear-eyed about it, and it feels heavy. And I just have to remind you: Don't you ever let anybody take your power from you. You have the same power that you did before Nov. 5 and you have the same purpose that you did and you have the same ability to engage and inspire. So don't ever let anybody or any circumstance take your power from you.” The grassroots call came immediately after Harris held a call with her campaign’s finance committee. The finance call was attended by more than 400 donors, according to a source familiar. On the grassroots call, Harris also briefly discussed the historic sum of money that ran her campaign, though she did not address what went wrong as she and her campaign face intense scrutiny over how they could raise that money and lose to Trump so resolutely. “The outcome of this election, obviously, is not what we wanted. It is not what we work so hard for,” Harris said. “But I am proud of the race we ran. And your role in this was critical. What we did in 107 days was unprecedented.” Harris said that over the course of those 100-plus days, her campaign raised $1.4 billion, much of which was from grassroot donors: “Nearly 8 million donors contributed an average donation of about $56.” “You gave all that you could to support our campaign. Because of your efforts -- get this -- we raised an historic $1.4 billion, almost $1.5 billion from grassroots supporters alone, the most in presidential campaign history,” she said. “Being involved can make a difference, and that remains true. And that's one of the pieces that I just want us to please take away -- that our fight for freedom and for opportunity and for the promise of America, it included, for example, nearly almost 4 million first-time contributors to our campaign because of the work you did, of helping people know that they can be engaged and that they're not outside, that they're inside, that we're all in this together,” she added. Harris was joined by her former running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, on both calls -- a rare appearance from the two, though Harris joined the call from San Francisco and Walz from Minnesota. Walz on the grassroot donor call also spoke to supporters’ feeling of loss following the election and repeated Harris’ claims that she is not finished with fighting. “I think all of us saw the possibility, and I know there's a bit of a feeling of loss because we saw what a real leader looks like,” Walz said. “She did deliver the best of our better angels," he added. "She delivered a vision where all of us mattered. She did it with grace and dignity and continues to do that every single day. She is still in this fight. She is doing it every single day. She is not done with her current job. She's not done being part of it with all of you." Harris' and Walz’s remarks follow some postelection analysis from Harris campaign senior officials during an episode of “Pod Save America” that aired on Tuesday, including some reaction to finances. Harris campaign Chairwoman Jennifer O'Malley Dillon said that during the cycle, the bulk of the campaign's spending was used to reach out to “very-hard-to-find voters," including low-propensity and young voters, while investing across all swing states because polling reflected that each was in play. "We were trying to, yes, spend more resources on digital ... because we're trying to find young people, we're trying to find these lower-propensity voters that were tuned out to politics," O'Malley Dillon said. “We had some unique things that we had to do in this race that I think were really critical to do early and spent a lot of resources at an earlier stage than we would have to," she added, noting those resources were spent on both advertising and field programming. “We saw, up until the very end, that ... every single state was in such a margin of error. There was nothing that told us we couldn't play in one of these states.” During the podcast, O'Malley Dillon and senior campaign adviser David Plouffe accused the Trump campaign of coordinating with its super PACs, a practice that is not legal, but noted the Democrats need to take note and do the same. “We have to stop playing a different game as it relates to super PACs and the Republicans. Love our Democratic lawyers. I'm tired of it, OK? They coordinate more than we do. I think amongst themselves, I think with the presidential campaign, like I'm just sick and tired, OK? So, we cannot be at a disadvantage,” Plouffe said. “I think our side was completely mismatched when it came to the ecosystem of Trump and his super PACs and ours,” O’Malley Dillon said. “We had a super PAC that was helpful, very important and necessary for the work that they did because they were the kind of central recipients of a lot of the funding on our side and they staked a strategy and a plan, and we clearly could see it, and we knew what it was [going] to spend, but we did not have the ability to have people come in with us early. And so every ounce of advertising, every ounce of carrying these strategic imperatives, of defining the vice president and trying to bring down Trump's numbers, all sat with us as a campaign,” O’Malley Dillon added. Harris has rarely been seen since she delivered her concession speech at Howard University the day after the election. She attended the Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery a week later and was seen making her first return to the White House a day after that. The vice president also spent the last week on vacation in Hawaii. Walz, in the month since the election, has remained almost entirely out of the national spotlight, resuming his duties as the governor of Minnesota. He delivered his final speech of the 2024 campaign cycle on Nov. 8 from suburban Minneapolis, joining a chorus of fellow Democratic governors who said they would protect their states from threats to reproductive freedoms, citizenship and other things under the Trump administration. The former vice presidential nominee also said he’d work to find common ground with swaths of people who voted “for the other side” on Nov. 5. Harris and Walz remained mostly separate on the campaign trail in the roughly 15 weeks she had him as her running mate. The governor was present at Harris’ concession speech at Howard University the night after the election but did not speak or publicly interact with her. Before that, the two held a joint rally on Oct. 28 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, their first event together since late August, when they were seen together in Savannah, Georgia, on a bus tour. Prior to that, their last time at a rally together was in Milwaukee for programming linked to the Democratic National Convention in August.
Thanksgiving week is upon us in the NFL. As the calendar nears December, fans and teams have a solid understanding of where their season is heading. Some franchises are sure-fire postseason contenders , others are in the hunt, and another group has their focus mostly on the offseason. For that last group, one of the more exciting aspects of the offseason every year is the NFL draft. Over three days every year, the next crop of college football standouts make their way to the professional league and provide another group of potential stars. NFL power rankings Week 13: Ravens fly again, Chargers drop after loss The 2024 NFL draft spoiled a lot of fans with a quarterback-heavy first round, four of which are seeing significant playing time, as well as early standouts at wide receiver and offensive line. The 2025 class may not meet that standard but there are plenty of intriguing prospects. Here's a look at what NFL draft experts at USA TODAY Sports, Pro Football Focus , 33rd Team , and CBS Sports are predicting for the first round. NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more. NFL Week 12 winners, losers: Giants headed for overhaul as misery multiplies? 2025 NFL mock draft roundup Order is current entering Week 13 games. 1. Jacksonville Jaguars 2. New York Giants 3. Las Vegas Raiders 4. New England Patriots 5. Carolina Panthers 6. Tennessee Titans 7. New York Jets 8. Cleveland Browns 9. New Orleans Saints 10. Cincinnati Bengals 11. Dallas Cowboys 12. Chicago Bears 13. Indianapolis Colts 14. Miami Dolphins 15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 16. Los Angeles Rams 17. San Francisco 49ers 18. Arizona Cardinals 19. Atlanta Falcons 20. Seattle Seahawks 21. Washington Commanders 22. Houston Texans 23. Denver Broncos 24. Los Angeles Chargers 25. Baltimore Ravens 26. Pittsburgh Steelers 27. Green Bay Packers 28. Minnesota Vikings 29. Philadelphia Eagles 30. Buffalo Bills 31. Kansas City Chiefs 32. Detroit Lions 2025 NFL draft: No. 1 overall pick odds These mock drafts agree on the top pick but BetMGM's latest draft odds show a close trio of players at the top who could go first overall.No. 21 Arizona State on the rise in Kenny Dillingham's second season as coach
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