ITALIAN FASHION DESIGNER VALENTINO DIES AGED 93

Australia has made history with a world-first social media ban for under-16s, targeting platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Threads, X, Snapchat, Kick, Twitch, TikTok, Reddit, and YouTube. Under the new legislation, companies-not users-are held accountable, facing fines of up to A$49.5 million for breaches. Parents and children won’t be penalised, but platforms must implement age verification and safety measures.

Democratic Republic of Congo President Félix Tshisekedi is under growing public pressure following a viral post on X that accuses his family of having ties to a £1.66 million ($2.2 million) bridge project. The allegation, which surged across social platforms in recent days, has fuelled debate over transparency in public spending and raised questions about potential conflicts of interest among those close to the presidency.

Several European public broadcasters have announced their withdrawal from the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest after the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) confirmed that Israel would be allowed to take part, following a vote on new rules rather than a direct vote on Israel’s participation itself. The decision has triggered a wave of boycotts from countries citing ethical objections and concern over the war in Gaza and its humanitarian consequences.

1 December 2019 is often referenced by researchers as the date of one of the earliest identified COVID-19 infections in Wuhan, China—an event that would later signal the beginning of a global health crisis unprecedented in modern history.

Fifty pupils who were among the 303 abducted from a Catholic boarding school in Nigeria last Friday have escaped and been reunited with family, church officials reported. Despite this small victory, around 250 children and 12 teachers remain in captivity as search operations continue.

Trinidadian-born US rapper Nicki Minaj recently highlighted the reported suffering and persecution of Nigerian Christians during her UN speech, which was specially arranged by the White House and US President Donald Trump.

X, Spotify, bet365 and ChatGPT were among the many platforms disrupted by a major outage on Tuesday, causing more than 10,000 users to report problems linked to the internet infrastructure company Cloudflare earlier in the morning.

Armed attackers struck a girls’ secondary school in north-western Nigeria early Monday morning, killing a teacher and abducting at least 25 students, according to police. The assault took place at the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi State, at around 04:00 local time (03:00 GMT). ‍

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is reportedly on the brink of introducing a policy that would exclude transgender women from participating in the women’s category at the Olympic Games, with multiple sources suggesting such a ban could be in place within the next six to twelve months, under the leadership of the newly elected president Kirsty Coventry who has publicly committed to “protect the female category”.