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Washington — Meta on Tuesday said it was tightening up content restrictions for teens on Instagram and Facebook as it faces increased scrutiny that its platforms are harmful for young people.  The changes come months after dozens of U.S. states accused Meta of damaging the mental health of children and teens, and misleading users about the safety of its platforms.  In a blog post, the company run by Mark Zuckerberg said it will now "restrict teens from seeing certain types of content across Facebook and Instagram even if it's from friends or people they follow."  This type of content would include content that discusses suicide or self-harm, as well as nudity or mentions of restricted goods, the company added.  Restricted goods on Instagram include tobacco products and weapons as well as alcohol, contraception, cosmetic procedures and weight loss programs, according to its website.  In addition, teens will now be defaulted into the most restricted settings on Instagram and Facebook, a policy that was in place for new users and that now will be expanded to existing users.  This will "make it more difficult for people to come across potentially sensitive content or accounts in places like Search and Explore," the company said.  Meta also said that it will expand its policy of hiding results to searches related to suicide and self harm to include more terms. Leaked internal research from Meta, including by the Wall Street Journal and whistle-blower Frances Haugen, has shown that the company was long aware of dangers its platforms have on the mental health for young people. On the platforms, teens are defined as being under eighteen, based on the date of birth they give when signing up. 

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Taipei, Taiwan — For 61-year-old atemoya farmer Tsou Yun-shing in Taiwan’s Taitung County, the last two years have been a tough time for his business. Since China banned the import of atemoyas from Taiwan in September 2021, his revenues have been slashed in half and he has had to look for alternative markets. “Before the ban, around 80 to 90% of my atemoyas were sold to China. But since they banned the import of Taiwanese atemoyas, I have to start selling my atemoyas through different sales channels in Taiwan, hoping to at least even the costs,” he told VOA during an interview at his sprawling orchards in Taitung county in eastern Taiwan. In addition to redirecting his atemoyas to the domestic market, Tsou also reduced the number of atemoyas he grows and started growing other fruits that are more popular in Taiwan, such as guava. China markets Tsou is not alone. His experience reflect a dilemma many Taiwanese fruit farmers have faced over the past two years, as China banned imports of several Taiwanese fruits that rely heavily on the Chinese market, including pineapples, wax apples and atemoyas. While the Taiwanese government has been able to help some farmers, with fruits such as pineapples, find alternate markets like Japan to neutralize the potential losses they face, the heavy reliance of atemoya farmers on the Chinese market makes finding a solution more difficult. “Since there is uncertainty about whether China would let Taiwanese atemoyas enter the Chinese market or not, some farmers have shifted to growing other fruits, such as custard apples, avocados, passion fruits and guavas, to reduce their reliance on the Chinese market,” Lai Xi-yao, chairman of Chi-Gen Vegetable and Fruit Co-operative, told VOA in an interview in the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. In his view, China’s intention to allow large amounts of specific Taiwanese agricultural products into the Chinese market is an attempt to “win over the hearts and minds” of Taiwanese farmers and acquire Taiwan’s expertise in growing certain species of fruits or fisheries. “When [Beijing] wants Taiwanese farmers to export their products to China, they will agree to whatever requests the farmers have but once they acquire the know-how about how to grow certain species of fruits, they will start blocking the imports from Taiwan,” Lai said. He said the agricultural trade with China is not “normal” because Chinese authorities can use any excuse to ban imports of Taiwanese agricultural products. “It’s obvious that these bans all have political elements behind them,” he told VOA. In a statement announcing the end of the import ban on Taiwanese groupers released last month, the Chinese Communist Party’s Taiwan Affairs Office, which handles cross-strait relations, said as long as both sides of the Taiwan Strait adhere to the 1992 Consensus, a compromise agreement that Taiwan’s opposition Kuomintang interprets as the two sides agreeing there's one China, with each free to define what that is, and oppose Taiwan independence, the two sides are one family and "family matters can be discussed and resolved,” referring to import bans on several Taiwanese agricultural products. Apart from leveraging certain Taiwanese agricultural products’ reliance on the Chinese market to impose pressure on the Taiwanese government, China has unleashed a series of coercive economic measures to influence Taiwan’s presidential and legislative elections on January 13. During an interview with Taiwanese media Liberty Times on January 5, Taiwanese Premier Chen Chien-jen said China’s decision to suspend tariff reduction on 12 Taiwanese petrochemical products is of political rather than economic nature. Recent import actions In recent weeks, China has partially lifted import bans on groupers, a fish that used to rely heavily on export to the Chinese market, and atemoyas from Taiwan, while suspending tariff reductions on 12 Taiwanese petrochemical products. In a statement released last month, the Communist Party’s Taiwan Affairs office accused Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party or DPP of violating articles in the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement between Taipei and Beijing and install obstacles to viciously disrupt cross-strait economic exchange and cooperation. Taiwanese authorities have criticized Beijing for politicizing trade issues ahead of the election and promised to work with affected industries to minimize the impact. On Tuesday evening, China’s commerce ministry signaled that it’s considering to further suspend tariff concessions on several products from Taiwan, including agriculture, fishery, machinery, auto parts and textiles, according to a statement posted on its website. In response, Taiwan’s Office of Trade Negotiations urged Beijing to “immediately stop using economic coercion to try to interfere in Taiwan’s election.” To adapt to the challenges posed by China, Taiwanese authorities try to help farmers reduce their reliance on the Chinese market and redirect their products to alternative markets like Japan and South Korea. According to data from Taiwan’s Ministry of Agriculture, China accounted for 12.9% of Taiwan's fruit exports in 2022, down from 22.9% in 2018. Apart from looking for alternative markets, Tsou in Taitung said the government also provided different types of subsidies to help cherimoya farmers like him survive the two-year ban. “Taiwanese authorities provided different kinds of subsidies and helped promote cherimoyas to large grocery chains in Taiwan,” he told VOA. “While farmers were able to survive the last two years without exporting their fruits, they couldn’t make any profit.” Despite the subsidies and efforts to help redirect agricultural products to alternative markets, some analysts say the Taiwanese authorities’ response to the challenges may not have been timely enough. “After Beijing banned imports of Taiwanese pineapples, I urged authorities to consider preparing responses for a potential Chinese ban on atemoyas,” Chiao Chun, an expert on cross-strait agricultural trade and author of the book “Fruit Politics,” told VOA in an interview in Kaohsiung. “However, Taiwanese authorities’ response to China’s atemoya ban was still too slow, which leaves atemoya farmers in a tough situation even today,” Chiao added. Domestic policies China’s targeted sanctions on Taiwanese agricultural products that rely heavily on the Chinese market have also affected domestic politics in Taiwan. Some farmers in Taitung told VOA that they will vote for the China-friendly opposition party Kuomintang (KMT) in the upcoming election because they believe this is the only way to guarantee China will end import bans on all atemoyas from Taiwan. But Tsou holds a different view from most of his peers. “If there is regime change after the election on Saturday, the outcome will make a difference to the situation that most atemoya farmers face,” he told VOA. “Farmers can start exporting to China if the KMT wins the election on Saturday.” However, he also thinks Taiwanese farmers shouldn’t rely on anyone for their livelihood, since reliance will make them more vulnerable to coercive economic measures like import bans on certain products. “As long as farmers take good care of the quality and establish different sales channels, they don’t necessarily need to rely on export to sustain their businesses,” Tsou said. “I think democracy is still more important.”

PARIS — The year 2023 was the hottest on record, with the increase in Earth's surface temperature nearly crossing the critical threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius, EU climate monitors said Tuesday. Climate change intensified heatwaves, droughts and wildfires across the planet and pushed the global thermometer 1.48 C above the preindustrial benchmark, the Copernicus Climate Change Service reported. "It is also the first year with all days over one degree warmer than the preindustrial period," said Samantha Burgess, deputy head of the Copernicus Climate Change Service. "Temperatures during 2023 likely exceed those of any period in at least the last 100,000 years," she said. Nearly half the year exceeded the 1.5C limit, beyond which climate impacts are more likely to become self-reinforcing and catastrophic, according to scientists. But even if Earth's average surface temperature breaches 1.5C in 2024, as some scientists predict, it does not mean the world has failed to meet the Paris Agreement target of capping global warming under that threshold. That would occur only after several successive years above the 1.5C benchmark, and even then, the 2015 treaty allows for the possibility of reducing Earth's temperature after a period of "overshoot." 2023 saw massive fires in Canada, extreme droughts in the Horn of Africa and the Middle East, unprecedented summer heatwaves in Europe, the United States and China, along with record winter warmth in Australia and South America. "Such events will continue to get worse until we transition away from fossil fuels and reach net-zero emissions," said University of Reading climate change professor Ed Hawkins, who did not contribute to the report. "We will continue to suffer the consequences of our inactions today for generations," he said. The Copernicus findings come one month after a climate agreement was reached at COP28 in Dubai calling for the gradual transition away from fossil fuels, the main cause of climate warming. "We desperately need to rapidly cut fossil fuel use and reach net-zero to preserve the livable climate that we all depend on," said John Marsham, atmospheric science professor at the University of Leeds. The year saw another ominous record: two days in November 2023 exceeded the preindustrial benchmark by more than two degrees Celsius. Copernicus predicted that the 12-month period ending in January or February 2024 would "exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius above the preindustrial level." Reliable weather records date to 1850, but older proxy data for climate change — from tree rings, ice cores and sediment — show that 2023 temperatures "exceed those of any period in at least the last 100,000 years," Burgess said. Records were broken on every continent. In Europe, 2023 was the second-warmest year on record, after 2020. 2023 saw the beginning of a naturally occurring El Nino weather phenomenon, which warms waters in the southern Pacific and stokes hotter weather beyond. The phenomenon is expected to reach its peak in 2024 and is linked to the eight consecutive months of record heat from June to December. Ocean temperatures globally were also "persistently and unusually high," with many seasonal records broken since April. These unprecedented ocean temperatures caused marine heatwaves devastating to aquatic life and increased storm intensity. Oceans absorb more than 90% of excess heat caused by human activity and play a major role in regulating Earth's climate. Rising temperatures have also accelerated the melting of ice shelves — frozen ridges that help prevent massive glaciers in Greenland and West Antarctica from slipping into the ocean and raising sea levels. Antarctic sea ice hit record-low levels in 2023. "The extremes we have observed over the last few months provide a dramatic testimony of how far we now are from the climate in which our civilization developed," said Carlo Buontempo, Copernicus director. In 2023, carbon dioxide and methane concentrations reached record levels of 419 parts per million and 1,902 parts per billion, respectively. Methane is the second-largest contributor to global warming after CO2 and is responsible for around 30% of the rise in global temperatures since the industrial revolution, according to the United Nations Environment Program.

The photograph, credited to Agence France-Presse, was taken on October 6, 2002. It shows a French vessel blown up by al-Qaida.

The coming year will be a major test of democratic rule as an estimated 4 billion people in more than 50 nations — almost half the world’s population — are set to vote in elections. As Henry Ridgwell reports, the outcomes will likely shape global politics for many years to come.

China is the leading player in Nigeria’s construction industry, according to the Chinese embassy in Abuja. However, Nigerian contractors and engineers say Chinese firms force them out of major projects. Alhassan Bala reports from Abuja, Nigeria, in this story narrated by Steve Baragona. Camera and video edit: Awwal Salihu

LONDON — Irish singer Sinead O'Connor, who was found unresponsive at an address in London in July last year, died of natural causes, the coroner said on Tuesday.  O'Connor, known for her stirring voice, outspoken views and 1990 chart-topping hit "Nothing Compares 2 U," was pronounced dead at the scene. Police had said her death, at the age of 56, was not being treated as suspicious.  The coroner's court said at the time that an autopsy would be conducted before a decision was made on whether to hold an inquest.  "This is to confirm that Ms O'Connor died of natural causes. The coroner has therefore ceased their involvement in her death," London Inner South Coroner's Court said in a statement.  Artists around the world reacted to the news of her death last year, with REM frontman Michael Stipe and U.S. musician Tori Amos among those who paid tribute to O'Connor's fierce honesty, intense presence and uncompromising spirit.  Thousands gathered outside O'Connor's former seaside home to bid farewell to her when her funeral was held in August, some singing along to hits blasted from a vintage Volkswagen camper van and others showering her hearse with flowers. 

In recent years, China has applied highly targeted economic pressure on Taiwan. Taiwanese officials say the moves are meant to sway the politics of the self-ruled island, which is claimed by Beijing. Ahead of Taiwan’s general election, VOA’s Bill Gallo spoke with fruit farmers, whose livelihoods depend on trade with China. VOA footage by Gallo and Stephen Boitano.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

The new year has been tough for vendors on New York City’s Brooklyn Bridge, as new rules banning them from selling their goods on the span went into effect this week. Nina Vishneva spoke with some who wonder where they will go next. Anna Rice narrates the story. VOA footage by Vladimir Badikov and Elena Matusovsky.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

In the Western United States, foresters are working to minimize threats from wildfires by thinning nearly 20 million hectares of forests. From the Rocky Mountain state of Colorado, Shelley Schlender reports on how scientists are using mushroom fungi to reduce wildfire risks organically

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.