Briefly

UNITED STATES

DOGE 'doesn't exist' with 8 months left

US President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency has disbanded with eight months left in its mandate, ending an initiative launched with fanfare as a symbol of the president's pledge to slash the government's size, but which critics say delivered few measurable savings. "That doesn't exist," Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor told Reuters earlier this month when asked about DOGE's status. It is no longer a "centralized entity", Kupor added, in the first public comments from the administration on the end of DOGE. The agency, set up in January, made dramatic forays across Washington in the early months of Trump's second term to rapidly shrink federal agencies, cut their budgets or redirect their work to the president's priorities.

MALAYSIA

Govt plans to limit social media use

Malaysia plans to ban social media for users under the age of 16 starting next year, joining a growing list of countries limiting access to digital platforms over concerns about child safety. Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said on Sunday that the government was reviewing mechanisms used to impose age restrictions for social media use in Australia and other nations, citing a need to protect youths from online harms such as cyberbullying, financial scams and child sexual abuse. "We hope by next year that social media platforms will comply with the government's decision to bar those under the age of 16 from opening user accounts," he told reporters, according to a video of his remarks posted online by local daily The Star. The effects of social media on children's health and safety have become a growing concern. In Australia, social media platforms are poised to deactivate accounts registered to users under 16 next month, as part of a sweeping ban for teenagers that is being closely watched by regulators around the world.

SLOVENIA

Referendum opposes law on assisted dying

A majority of Slovenian voters on Sunday rejected a law that would legalize assisted dying, the State Electoral Commission said. According to preliminary results of the national referendum, 53.4 percent voted against the law, while 46.6 percent supported it. Voter turnout reached almost 41 percent. The legislation, adopted by the center-left government coalition in July, would have allowed adults of sound mind suffering from incurable diseases to request medically assisted death under regulated conditions. Supporters argued it offered dignity and relief to terminally ill patients, while opponents warned of possible misuse and insufficient safeguards.

IRAN

Killing of Hezbollah chief slammed

Iran on Monday slammed Israel over its killing of Hezbollah's military chief, a day after the commander was targeted with a strike in the Lebanese capital of Beirut. "The Iranian foreign ministry strongly condemns the cowardly assassination of the great commander of the Lebanese Islamic Resistance, the martyr Haytham Ali Tabatabai," the foreign ministry said in a statement. Tabatabai is the most senior Hezbollah commander to be killed by Israel since the start of a ceasefire in November 2024 that sought to end more than a year of hostilities. The killing "constitutes a flagrant violation of the November 2024 ceasefire and a brutal breach of Lebanon's national sovereignty", the Iranian foreign ministry said.

Agencies - Xinhua