Briefly

UNITED KINGDOM

PM mulls social media ban for under-16s

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to announce a ban on "harmful" online platforms for children under 16 while maintaining access to some safer forms of social media, The Times newspaper reported on Monday. Starmer, who made a speech on Monday, said that big tech firms operating in Britain must stop children from circulating nude images on their phones, or they will face legislation forcing them to do so. Asked about the report on the ban, a source close to the matter said a formal ban was unlikely to come this week. Experts are divided on how effective a total ban would be, while a group of young people in London said they were opposed to restrictions.

IRAQ

At least 21 killed, 19 wounded in bus crash

At least 21 Iraqis were killed and 19 others injured when a passenger bus crashed and caught fire near the southern city of Nasiriya on Sunday, police and health officials said. The accident occurred after the driver lost control of the bus on a highway near Nasiriya, causing the vehicle to overturn and burst into flames, the officials said. Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi ordered an investigation into the causes of the crash.

JAPAN

94 schools suspended after bear sighting

The Japanese city of Utsunomiya has suspended all 94 of the primary and middle schools that it operates on Monday after its first-ever bear sighting, a municipal official said. The city of half a million residents, about 100 kilometers north of Tokyo, said the bear was first seen in a residential area near a park on Saturday evening. It remains at large after the last sighting early on Monday morning about half a kilometer from a middle school. Bear attacks have been on the rise in Japan.

AGENCIES VIA XINHUA