MON SIX

Social Media Kids Trial

Experts say the Australian courts could decide what steps the platforms can reasonably be expected to take underthe lawsthat took effect on Dec. 10 banning young children from holding accounts.

eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant on Tuesday released her first compliance report since those laws took effect demanding 10 platforms remove all Australian account-holders younger than 16.

While 5 million Australian accounts had been deactivated, a substantial number of Australian children continued to retain accounts, create new accounts and pass platforms' age assurance systems, the report said.

Inman Grant said in a statement her office had "significant concerns about the compliance" of half of those 10 platforms. Her office was gathering evidence against the five that they had not taken "reasonable steps" to prevent young children holding accounts.

Courts could order fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars ($33 million) for systemic failures to comply. eSafety would decide on whether to initiate court action against any platform by midyear.

Age-restricted platformsthat aren't under investigation are Reddit, X, Kick, Threads and Twitch.

Communications Minister Anika Wells said the five criticized platforms were deliberately not complying with Australian law.

"Social media platforms are choosing to do the absolute bare minimum because they want these laws to fail," Wells told reporters.

"This is the world-leading law. We're the first in the world to do it. Of course they don't want these laws to work because they want that to be a chilling effect on the dozen countries that have come out since Dec. 10 to follow Australia's step," she added.

eSafety had identified "poor practices" such as platforms allowing unlimited attempts for a user to pass their age assurance methods and prompting the user to try to pass the age assurance method even after they declared themselves underage.

Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, told The Associated Press it was committed to complying with Australia's social media ban. "We've also been clear that accurately determining age online is a challenge for the whole industry," the statement said.

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Snap Inc. said it has locked 450,000 accounts in compliance with the law and continued to lock more every day.

"Snapchat remains fully committed to implementing reasonable steps under the legislation and supporting its underlying goal of improving online safety for young Australians," a Snap statement said.

TikTok declined to comment on Tuesday and Alphabet Inc., which owns YouTube and Google, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Lisa Given, an information sciences expert at RMIT University in Melbourne, said she expected the courts will decide whether platforms have taken "reasonable steps" to exclude young children.

"If a tech company has said: look, we put in age assurance, we've done all these steps. That's reasonable. Even though the aged assurance technologies are flawed, whose fault is that? Should they be held accountable for a piece of technology that is not 100% and likely not going to be 100% foolproof any time soon?" Given said.

"That's really the crux of it: what the courts will deem reasonable," she added.

Reddithas filed one of two constitutional challenges to the social media ban in the Australian High Court. The other was filed byDigital Freedom Project, a Sydney-based rights group that did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday..

Both suits claim the law is unconstitutional because it infringes on Australia's implied freedom of political communication.

A prelimary hearing is set for May 21 when the court will set a date for oral arguments, Reddit said Tuesday.

Global online forum Reddit on Friday filed a court challenge toAustralia's world-first lawthat bans Australian children younger than 16 from holding accounts on the world's most popular social media platforms.

California-based Reddit Inc.'s suit filed in the High Court follows a case filed last month by Sydney-based rights groupDigital Freedom Project.

Both suits claim the law is unconstitutional because it infringes on Australia's implied freedom of political communication.

The upgraded Type-12 land-to-ship missiles, developed and produced by Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, became operational at Camp Kengun in Kumamoto prefecture.

"As Japan faces the most severe and complex security environment in the postwar era ... it is an extremely important capability to strengthen Japan's deterrence and responsiveness," Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi told reporters. "It demonstrates Japan's firm determination and capability to defend itself."

The upgraded Type-12 missile has a range of about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles), a significant extension from the 200-kilometer (125-mile) range of the original that would allow it to reach mainland China.

The deployment of the long-range missile gives Japan a "standoff" capability, meaning it can strike enemy missile bases from afar, marking a break from the self-defense-only policy the country long followed under its pacifist constitution.

Residents opposing the deployment near the residential area staged protests outside the Kengun camp, saying it would escalate tension and increases risks the area could be targeted by potential enemies.

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Japan rolls out more weapons systems to protect southwestern islands

Also Tuesday, a hypersonic glide vehicle, a new weapons system designed for island defense, was deployed to Camp Fuji in the Shizuoka prefecture, west of Tokyo. Additional deployment of the upgraded Type-12 missiles and HGVs at other locations in Japan, including Hokkaido in the north and Miyazaki in the south, are planned by March 2028.

Japan also plans to deploy U.S.-made, 1,600-kilometer (990-mile)-rangeTomahawk cruise missileson Japanese destroyer JS Chokai later this year, and eventually on seven other destroyers.

Takaichi boosts defense spending to counter China

Japan considers China its main regional security threat and has fortified the country's southwestern islands near the East China Sea in recent years.

Prime MinisterSanae Takaichi's Cabinet in December approveda record defense budget planexceeding 9 trillion yen ($58 billion) for the fiscal year beginning April and aims to fortify its strike-back capability and coastal defense with cruise missiles and unmanned arsenals.

Japan last June spottedtwo Chinese aircraft carriersalmost simultaneously operating near Japanese remote islands in the Pacific for the first time, sparking Tokyo's concern about Beijing's military activity stretching far beyond its borders.

The defense minster last week announced the establishment of a new office dedicated to studying China's Pacific activity.

Tensions have escalated further sinceTakaichi's statementin November that any Chinese military action against Taiwan could be grounds for a Japanese military response.

A cruise boat sails past blooming cherry blossoms along Meguro River in Tokyo

TOKYO, March 31 (Reuters) - A few dozen tourists hopped onto a small cruise boat in Tokyo to ‌admire the cherry blossoms lining the Meguro River -- a seasonal attraction that ‌could soon become costlier for passengers and operators alike.

The pink and white flowers that blossom in ​spring on cherry trees across Japan are a major draw for locals and tourists -- and big business for companies such as cruise operator Tokyo Waterways. The "flower viewing" or "hanami" is the peak season of the year.

This year, though, Tokyo Waterways CEO ‌Kazuyoshi Harada is not so ⁠upbeat because the Middle East conflict has pushed up fuel prices just as his demand is rising.

"Since fuel consumption for ⁠us peaks during the busy cherry blossom season, the price hikes have been particularly hard on us," he said.

Most customers booked their hanami-season cruises before the crisis, so ​raising ​ticket prices from 5,000 yen ($31) was not ​an option, he said.

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Since the U.S.-Israeli ‌attacks on Iran, the price of premium gasoline has surged by 20 yen per litre, or about 9%, likely adding more than 100,000 yen in expenses for the season, Harada said.

Fuel and labour costs had been on the rise even before the conflict began on February 28, and Harada's company had in ‌January raised the ticket price on chartered ​cruises by 10%.

Still, more price hikes may be ​unavoidable if the conflict persists, ​he said, noting that cruise ships had not benefited from ‌the government's subsidies to ease gasoline costs ​for cars.

The weak ​yen has also compounded rising prices from global inflation.

"We spent about 30% more on the hanami season (this year) as various costs have risen," said ​46-year-old Rintaro Tada, who ‌took the 70-minute river cruise with his mother after lunching at ​a riverside restaurant. ($1=159.70 yen)

(Reporting by Kaori Kaneko, Joseph Campbell, Kim Kyung-Hoon, ​Editing by Chang-Ran Kim and Neil Fullick)

On February 12,Schaefer openly questioned the "heart" of Texas's playersafter a brutal 86-70 loss to Vanderbilt. The Longhorns found themselves down by as many as 27 points against the Commodores during a rough shooting night. Texas shot 38% from the field, and its usual perimeter production disappeared. The Longhorns made three shots from beyond the arc to the Commodores' nine.

"We had no heart tonight. We had no toughness. No competitive spirit. We're soft. We were whining. Complaining, but no toughness. So you know what? I've been doing this a while. I bet I'll fix it," Schaefer said at the time.

True to his word, the Longhorns coach did fix whatever was plaguing his roster. Texas has 12 consecutive victories since its coach publicly called the team out, including a massive win over the Wolverines to punch itsticket to the Final Fourfor the second straight year.

The Alabama bench celebrate after a big three-point shot by Alabama Crimson Tide guard Karly Weathers (22) in the fourth quarter against Louisville during the 2026 NCAA Women's March Madness Second Round basketball at the KFC Yum Center In Louisville, Ky. Weathers finished with 13 points. March 23, 2026.

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See women's March Madness 2026, from mascots and fans to celebrities

The Alabama bench celebrate after a big three-point shot by Alabama Crimson Tide guard Karly Weathers (22) in the fourth quarter against Louisville during the2026 NCAA Women's March MadnessSecond Round basketball at the KFC Yum Center In Louisville, Ky. Weathers finished with 13 points. March 23, 2026.

"That next day in practice, really, it's been different ever since, and it started with Madison (Booker) and her voice. She was very vocal that day. Rori (Harmon) was helping a little, but Madison was way different," Schaefer said.

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"How they've responded is exactly what I thought they'd do. I mean, these kids, they have been nothing but tough. They have been nothing but competitive since that day. They have answered the bell every night, and I think that speaks volumes about who they are, what they're about, and I couldn't be more proud of them."

Schaefer and Texas will now go onto Phoenix with the hopes of winning the program'sfirst championship in 40 years. On Friday, the Longhorns will begin their Final Four journey with a rematch against the UCLA Bruins, whom they beat in November, 76-65. Texas will be ready, and according toMadison Booker, her coach won't have to worry about the Longhorns being "soft" anymore.

"We never want to hear our head coach say that about the team he recruited because we're so much better than that," Booker said.

"You know, like we told him ... We say we have heart, and I think after that game we kind of turned it around. You know, I hope he sees we have heart now. That will never happen again. I think we will never play that bad or make sure we won't play that bad, but yeah, that was just the mindset from us (from that day forward)."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Texas women's basketball got tough just in time for Final Four run

Under Vitello — joined the Giants as manager in October 2025 — San Francisco had dropped all three of its games in the season-opening series against theNew York Yankees. The Giants went on the road to face the Padres, their NL West divisional rivals, where they got their first victory of the season.

Harrison Bader opened the scoring in the third inning with a 408-foot bomb over left field. The Giants added a couple of runs in the fourth inning by methodically filling the bases, something they hardly did in their series against the Yankees.

San Francisco went up 3-0 in the fourth inning. Patrick Bailey singled to left, which allowed Matt Chapman to cross home plate, as Jung Hoo Lee went to second. Another run shortly followed after Casey Schmitt hit an RBI single to left field that allowed Lee to score.

"The first one's huge," Bader told NBC Sports Bay Area. "Just a matter of going out there and, you know, continuing to process, you know, throwing strikes, taking care of the baseball, getting your swing off as a hitter. You do that, I think good thing happens in the lineup. It felt good to kind of get that off out of the way. Just a good team win."

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San Diego finally got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the ninth inning, when Jackson Merrill hit a two-run home run to right field that scored Jake Cronenworth. However, the Giants got the next batter, Xander Bogaerts, to ground out to shortstop to end the game.

Vitello was doused in beer to celebrate the first major-league win of his career.

"Yeah, it's hard to comprehend, because I got the same disease as every other coach. You're kind of you want the proper guys to get their props. That got it done tonight, which really it was a lot of guys, especially if you include defense," Vitello told reporters after the game.

He added: "Also look ahead in the next game, is an opportunity to win a series down here and continue things in the right direction. So probably soak in getting back to the hotel. But yeah, pretty special looking around the room, whether it's in the office, in the dugout or in the lock, some of these guys have been slower to come out of their shell with me, but it's little moments like that, or breaking camp or opening day where I think, you know, the bond grows a little bit, which, you know, at the end of the day, we want to be a strong unit right now."

Vitello believes that the team will continue grow as a unit as the season wears on. The Giants face the Padres again onMarch 31at Petco Park, with first pitch scheduled for 9:40 p.m. ET.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Giants get first win of Tony Vitello era vs. San Diego Padres