23/01/2026

FRIDAY | JAN 23, 2026

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Lords back proposed UK under-16 social media ban

Several missing after NZ landslide

MOUNT MAUNGANUI: A landslide smashed into a campsite in rain-swept northern New Zealand yesterday, leaving multiple people missing under tonnes of mud. Mounds of earth buried and crushed a shower block at the campsite, which lies at the foot of extinct volcano Mount Maunganui, video and photo images on local media showed. Voices were briefly heard calling for help from beneath the rubble, witnesses and emergency officials said. “While the land is still moving there, they are in a rescue mission,” said Assistant Police Commissioner Tim Anderson. “I cannot be drawn on numbers. What I can say is that it is single figures.” The landslip hit several camper vans and the shower block at the camp, which lies on the north island in an area lashed by heavy overnight rain. Visiting Canadian tourist Dion Siluch, 34, said he was relaxing at the now evacuated Mount Hot Pools complex by the mountain when it hit. “I was in a massage at that mountain pools and the whole room started shaking. “When I walked out, there was a caravan in the pool and there was a mudslide that missed me by about 30 feet (nine metres). “It was all very confusing. I was not sure if someone had driven off the road and into the pool. It took me a while to realise that the mountain had collapsed and pushed everything into the pool.” He said he had seen another landslip about an hour earlier but took little notice. Police later arrived by helicopter and told people to evacuate, he said. People at the campsite had instantly tried to dig into the rubble and heard voices, said Fire and Emergency Commander William Pike. “Our initial fire crew arrived and were able to hear the same.” However, rescuers soon withdrew everyone from the site because of the risk of dangerous earth movements, he said. Asked if voices had been heard since then, he said: “Not that I know of, no.” Hiker Mark Tangney saw people fleeing the camp and ran to help, the New Zealand Herald reported. “I could hear people screaming, so I just parked up and ran to help. “I was one of the first there. There were six or eight other guys there on the roof of the toilet block with tools just trying to take the roof off because we could hear people screaming, ‘Help us, help us, get us out of here’.“ – AFP ISTANBUL: Americans who chat with AI daily face significantly higher depression rates than occasional users, Anadolu Ajansi reported, citing a study published on Wednesday. “Greater levels of AI use are associated with modest increases in depressive symptoms,” researchers wrote in Jama Network Open, noting that odds of at least moderate depression jumped 30% among daily users. The survey of 20,847 US adults conducted between April and May 2025 found that 10.3% reported daily generative AI use, including 5.3% turning to chatbots multiple times throughout their day. Younger users appeared particularly vulnerable to the mental health effects, although it is not clear whether AI causes depression or depressed individuals simply seek out more digital interaction. Researchers said further investigation is required to establish whether the relationship is causal and explain why effects vary across different age groups. – Bernama-Anadolu Study links daily AI chatbot use to mental health risk

LONDON: A ban on social media for under-16s has been backed by the House of Lords following growing calls from campaigners, including actor Hugh Grant, reported PA Media/dpa. In a heavy government defeat, peers supported the cross-party move by 261 votes to 150, majority 111, which means it will have to be considered by MPs in the Commons. Supporters of the Australian-style ban have argued that parents are in “an impossible position” with regard to the online harms their children are being exposed to. Technology Secretary Liz Kendall announced a three-month consultation this week, which will consider the advantages and disadvantages of a ban, as well as possible overnight curfews and actions to prevent “doom-scrolling”, before reporting back in the summer. However, Tory former Schools minister Lord Nash, who has spearheaded calls for a ban, argued that the late concession simply represents more delay. o If we think children may be in danger, we act first and ask questions later, says paediatrician Previously, a court in the state of Minnesota had prohibited federal agents from using pepper spray or similar non-lethal means, as well as crowd dispersal tools, against individuals participating in peaceful protests. According to the court ruling, agents were also banned from detaining peaceful protesters. “The motion for an administrative stay of the preliminary injunction issued by the district court pending the court’s consideration of the government’s motion for a stay pending appeal is granted,” the Court of Appeals verdict said. In January, an ICE officer shot a woman who, according to authorities, attempted to run over agents with a car during a protest in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The officer suffered internal bleeding in his torso after the incident, CBS News reported on Wednesday, citing US officials. On his inauguration day as the 47th president, Donald Trump vowed to halt illegal immigration immediately and initiate mass deportations from the United States. He also declared a nationwide state of emergency to address the US border crisis. In a separate case, The El Paso County Office of the Medical Examiner on Wednesday ruled that the recent death of a Cuban detainee at an immigration facility in Texas was a homicide, according to multiple media reports. The Washington Post , citing an autopsy report by deputy medical examiner Adam C. Gonzalez, reported that the cause of death was “asphyxia due to neck and torso compression”. Reuters could not immediately verify the reports and the El Paso County Office of the Medical Examiner did not immediately

Clement-Jones argued that a blanket ban “risks protecting children in a sterile digital environment until their 16th birthday, then suddenly flooding them with harmful content without having developed a digital literacy to cope”. Responding to the debate, Education Minister Baroness Smith of Malvern said: “We know many in this House and the other place have concerns around children’s online safety, how much screen time they get and how this can impact wellbeing. Rest assured, government hears those concerns and we are prepared to act to deal with them.” She promised to bring forward a future amendment enabling the state secretary to enact the outcome of the “short, sharp” consultation. “The question is not whether the government will take further action. We will act robustly. The question is how to do this most effectively.” Hollywood star Hugh Grant was one of the signatories in a letter to Sir Keir, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey, backing the amendment. The letter was also signed by Esther Ghey, whose 16-year-old daughter Brianna was murdered by two teenagers in 2023. The letter says: “Children are being served up extreme content without seeking it out. Parents know this has to stop. But they cannot do this alone and they are asking for politicians to help.” – Bernama-PA Media/dpa

Proposing an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, the Conservative peer said: “Many teenagers are spending long hours on social media. The evidence is overwhelming as to the damage that this is causing. “We have long passed the point of correlation or causation. There is now so much evidence from across the world that it is clear that by every measure, health, cognitive ability, educational attainment, crime, economic productivity, children are being harmed. “This is going to happen. The only question is when. We have the opportunity to do it now in this Bill, and every day that passes, more damage is being done to children. We must act now.” Paediatrician Baroness Cass said: “The first duty of government is not to consult, it is to act. If we think children may be in danger, we act first and we ask questions later.” Filmmaker and children’s rights campaigner Baroness Kidron said: “A consultation is the playground of the tech lobbyist and inaction is the most powerful tool in politics. “The government has shown it will only act under pressure, not principle.” Tory peer Baroness Bertin, who led an independent review of pornography published last year, branded the business model of social media firms as “sort of borderline criminal, but certainly very toxic and sophisticated”. However, Liberal Democrat Lord

Court lifts block on powers of ICE agents WASHINGTON: The United States Court of Appeals has temporarily suspended a lower-court injunction that had limited the powers of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, reported Sputnik/RIA Novosti.

A resident attempting to offer medical aid being held back after an ICE agent fatally shot Renee Nicole Good on Jan 7 during an immigration operation. – REUTERSPIC

his life,” the spokesperson said, adding that he stopped breathing and lost consciousness during the struggle. The department said the incident remains under active investigation. At least 30 people died in ICE custody last year, the highest level in two decades, agency figures show. In the first 10 days of 2026, four immigrants, including Campos, died while in federal immigration custody. – Bernama-Sputnik/RIA Novosti

provide comment. Detainee Geraldo Lunas Campos, 55, died in ICE custody on Jan 3 at Camp East Montana after experiencing “medical distress”, ICE said. On Tuesday, a Homeland Security Department spokesperson said Campos attempted to take his own life while in federal custody. “The security staff immediately intervened to save his life. Campos violently resisted the security staff and continued to attempt to take