Putin says he is ready to talk with Germany's Merz
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during a ceremony to present the Hero of Labour medals and highest state awards on Russia Day at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, June 12, 2025. Sputnik/Alexander Scherbak/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
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Barnama
an hour ago
- Barnama
Malaysia, Russia To Sign MoU On Disaster Management Cooperation This Year
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (right) receives a courtesy call from the Minister of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation, Colonel General Alexander V. Kurenkov at his office, today. --fotoBERNAMA (2025) COPYRIGHT RESERVED PUTRAJAYA, June 19 (Bernama) -- Malaysia and Russia are expected to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in disaster management this year. Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the MoU will serve as a practical framework for joint training, knowledge exchange and coordinated emergency response. "As ASEAN Chair this year, Malaysia remains committed to regional leadership in disaster response," he told a joint press conference with Russian Civil Defence, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters (EMERCOM) Minister, Colonel General Alexander Kurenkov, here today. Ahmad Zahid, who is also the Central Disaster Management Committee chairman, said Malaysia welcomed Russia's offer of capacity-building programmes for Malaysian officers, including a specialised training course in Vladivostok this September. "We are exploring broader collaboration, including technology transfer in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) applications for disaster monitoring," he added. Ahmad Zahid said Malaysia's National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) team was among the first to arrive in Myanmar following the recent earthquake, operating alongside international teams including EMERCOM' RUS-03. Ahmad Zahid said Malaysia and Russia agreed to conduct joint search and rescue (SAR) training between the Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART) and Russia's RUS-03 team. He also expressed appreciation to Russia for the offer to train Malaysia's SMART team and the invitation to allow senior officers from the Fire and Rescue Department of Malaysia to participate in a specialised course at a leading university in St. Petersburg. Ahmad Zahid also values the inclusion of EMERCOM's cultural ensemble as part of the visit, describing it as a meaningful gesture that fosters people-to-people ties and strengthens the foundation of the long-standing bilateral relationship between Malaysia and Russia.
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Thai PM under mounting pressure as ruling coalition hangs by a thread
FILE PHOTO: Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra speaks during a press conference at the Government House, in Bangkok, Thailand, May 19, 2025. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha/File Photo BANGKOK (Reuters) -The government of Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was hanging by a thread on Thursday with coalition partners weighing whether to stay in the alliance following the withdrawal of a major player that could sink her administration. Political neophyte Paetongtarn, the 38-year-old daughter of influential former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, is facing mountingpressure to resign after just 10 months in power, with popularity dwindling, the economy stuttering and a territorial row with Cambodia that has sparked fears of military clashes. The second-biggest partner in the alliance, the Bhumjaithai Party, withdrew from the coalition late on Wednesday, citing damage caused to Thailand's integrity, sovereignty and its army after an embarrassing leak hours earlier of a phone call between the premier and Cambodia's influential former premier Hun Sen. The United Thai Nation, Chart Thai and Democrat parties announced separate meetings on Thursday to decide on their next steps. A decision to withdraw by the UTN, now the second-biggest coalition member, would leave Paetongtarn with a minority government and in an untenable position. The premier has not commented on Bhumjaithai's exit and a government spokesperson had yet to respond to calls seeking comment. Paetongtarn was seen entering the government's headquarters on Thursday, with police surrounding the complex in preparation for possible protests against her. In the leaked June 15 call, Paetongtarn is heard pressing Hun Sen for a peaceful resolution and urging him not to listen to "the other side" in Thailand, including an outspoken Thai army general who she said "just wants to look cool". She later told reporters that was a negotiation tactic and there were no issues with the military. 'THE LAST STRAW' If Paetongtarn were to resign, parliament would need to convene to choose a new prime minister to form the next government, from a pool of only five remaining eligible candidates nominated before the 2023 election. Another option would be to dissolve parliament and call an election, a move that could favour the opposition People's Party, the largest force in parliament and the country's most popular party according to opinion polls. The People's Party, the reincarnation of the Move Forward Party that won most votes in the 2023 election but was disbanded last year by a court, said Thailand was paralysed by problems that only a new election could solve. "The situation yesterday on the leaked phone call is the last straw for Prime Minister Paetongtarn in harming public trust in her," People's Party leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut told a press conference. "I want the prime minister to dissolve parliament. I think the people want a government that can solve problems for the people, a legitimate government that comes from a democratic process." Paetongtarn's administration has also been dogged by criticism from opponents about the influence of her divisive tycoon father Thaksin, who holds no official position but often comments on policy and has maintained a high profile since his return from self-exile in 2023. (Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um and Panarat Thepgumpanat; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by John Mair)
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Analysis-Australia's teen social media ban faces a new wildcard: teenagers
SYDNEY (Reuters) -When 13-year-old Jasmine Elkin tried out the age-checking software Australia might use to ban children and teenagers from social media, she was surprised some products could identify a person's age to the month - but she still doubts it will work. "People are always going to find a way to get past it," said the Perth schoolgirl who trialled five photo-based age estimation products with about 30 other students in May. "They can get their brother or sister to take a photo. There's nothing really that you can do about it." Elkin's view echoes one of the main concerns of child protection advocates, tech firms and even the trial organisers about the technology Australia hopes will enable the world's first national social media ban for under-16s: the software works, they say, but young people will find a way around it. From December, social media companies like Meta's Facebook and Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok will face a fine of as much as A$49.5 million ($32.17 million) if they fail to take what the law calls "reasonable steps" to block younger users in an effort to protect their mental and physical health. The platforms say users need to be at least 13 years old to sign up for an account. How well the ban works could reverberate across some of the world's largest companies and the governments seeking to contain them: already Britain, France and Singapore are making efforts to keep children and teens off social media, while U.S. states including Florida are challenging free speech laws by pushing for a ban. Even the law's opponents are likely to be watching closely: X owner Elon Musk, who has been advising U.S. President Donald Trump and is a vocal opponent of platform moderation and regulation, has criticised the measure and called the regulator overseeing it a "censorship commissar". "Everybody is looking at Australia," said Colm Gannon, CEO of the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children Australia, a member of the trial's stakeholder adviser group. "Australia should be really focusing on robust technology, robust testing and making sure the scope of the actual project is in line with the needs that they're trying to address." The organisers of the trial, which ended this month, say it was designed to determine whether the software worked as promised, and that nearly 60 products were pitched. But it also underlined the teenagers' tech skills - testers were so fast completing their assignments, organisers doubled the number of products they tested and halved session times as the project progressed. "It hasn't been our intention to pull apart the software, rip the guts out and work out every different way that you could circumvent it," said Andrew Hammond, general manager at tech contractor KJR, which ran the trial. They will present an overview of the findings on June 20 and deliver a detailed report to the government by the end of next month. That will inform the eSafety Commissioner's advice to the government, which cited risks from cyberbullying, harmful depictions of body image and misogynist content in pushing forward with the legislation. "We know that social media age restrictions will not be the end-all be-all solution for harms experienced by young people online, but it's a step in the right direction to keep our kids safer," said a spokesperson for Communications Minister Anika Wells. WHAT ABOUT THE TEENS? For some of the young Australians who participated, the trial was a glimpse into a world six months in the future where, according to the law, they will no longer be allowed to use a platform they have come to rely on for daily communication. "I use it a lot, but I can still live without it," said Canberra school student Charlie Price, 14, who trialled four software options in a room with about 60 peers and had his age guessed accurately (someone in his testing group was wrongly assessed at over 20). "I know people that will get really shocked and upset," added Price, who uses Snapchat, Instagram and messaging platform Discord and plans to collect phone numbers of his online associates before December. Like Elkin, he said he thought some teenagers might try to get around the block. Emanuel Casa, 15, who was in the same group, said the test subjects tried to check the products for ease and accuracy, but "no one tried to challenge it necessarily, like no one tried to trick it." Hammond said software that revolved around a user submitting a selfie - sometimes with different facial expressions - proved the fastest and most accurate way to identify teenagers. Products involving credit card details proved impractical since few young teens had their own cards, while those that required a person to hold up their hand in various positions gave too broad an age estimate for people near the 16 cutoff, he added. No further trials have been scheduled, but Hammond said the government would need to decide on the level of software reliability it was prepared to accept. Most of the young testers had their ages guessed correctly most of the time, but a peer of Elkin, the 13-year-old, was placed at 42 by one product, she said. "There is no measure at the moment as to what 'good' is. Do they need to be 70% effective or 80% effective or 100% effective?" said Hammond. "The government so far hasn't indicated that they're going to mandate a particular solution." Nathanael Edwards, principal of Radiant Life College, a Queensland high school where 35 students along with a few parents and teachers participated, said his group tested a basic age-gating product where a person typed in their birthday. Some did as asked, while others faked a birthday to age themselves up - although not always successfully. "I think the mathematics caught a couple of kids out," he said. ($1 = 1.5387 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Byron Kaye; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
