Government spokesman Siripong Angkasakulkiat told Reuters the move followed a disagreement with the largest grouping in parliament, the opposition People’s Party

International News via Reuters:

Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul announced on Thursday that he is “returning power to the people”, moving to dissolve parliament and clear the way for elections earlier than previously anticipated.

Government spokesman Siripong Angkasakulkiat told Reuters the move followed a disagreement with the largest grouping in parliament, the opposition People’s Party.

“This happened because we can’t go forward in parliament,” he told Reuters.

The political turmoil coincides with a fourth day of a fierce border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia in which at least 20 people have been killed and nearly 200 wounded.

Anutin told reporters on Wednesday that dissolving parliament would not impact Thailand’s military operations along the frontier, where clashes have broken out at more than a dozen locations, some involving exchanges of heavy artillery.

“I am returning power to the people,” Anutin said on social media late on Thursday.

He is Thailand’s third prime minister since August 2023, and political instability is taking a toll on Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, which is grappling with U.S. tariffs, high household debt and weak consumption.

If the king approves a request for the dissolution of parliament by the prime minister, polls must be held within 45-60 days, according to the Thai constitution.

ACCELERATED TIMELINE FOR ELECTIONS

In September, Anutin had said that he planned to dissolve parliament by the end of January, with a general election to be held in March or early April, but this move would accelerate that timeline.

Anutin took power after pulling his Bhumjaithai party out of a ruling coalition and securing the backing of the People’s Party, which put forward a number of demands – including a referendum on constitutional amendments – as part of a deal to support him.

“When the People’s Party couldn’t get what they want, they said they will submit a no-confidence motion and asked the PM to dissolve parliament immediately,” Siripong said.

Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, leader of the People’s Party, told reporters late on Thursday that the Bhumjaithai party did not follow the terms of their agreement.

“We have tried to use the voice of the opposition to push forward amending the constitution,” he said.

Reporting by Bangkok newsroom, Writing by Devjyot Ghoshal, Editing by Andrew Heavens and Philippa Fletcher

The three-year partnership announced on Thursday is a pivotal step in Hollywood’s embrace of generative artificial intelligence

International News via Reuters:

Walt Disney is investing $1 billion in OpenAI and will let the startup use characters from Star Wars, Pixar and Marvel franchises in its Sora AI video generator, a crucial deal that could reshape how Hollywood makes content.

The three-year partnership announced on Thursday is a pivotal step in Hollywood’s embrace of generative artificial intelligence, side-stepping the industry’s concerns over the impact of AI on creative jobs and intellectual property rights.

As part of the licensing deal, Sora and ChatGPT Images will start generating videos using licensed Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse, Cinderella and Mufasa, from early next year. The agreement excludes any talent likenesses or voices.

“Through this collaboration with OpenAI we will thoughtfully and responsibly extend the reach of our storytelling through generative AI, while respecting and protecting creators and their works,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said.

TALKS BEGAN LONG AGO

Iger and OpenAI’s Sam Altman began talking years ago, as they explored a way to do more to showcase the potential of generative AI, when combined with Disney’s characters and stories, according to one person familiar with the talks.

Prior to the launch, OpenAI offered the studio early looks at its image-generation tool Sora, the source who requested anonymity to discuss the negotiations said, adding that Disney found OpenAI willing to engage constructively in this dialogue.

Iger previewed part of the strategy during an investor call in November, saying AI would allow the company to provide Disney+ users with tools to create and consume user-generated content, mainly in short form.

As part of the agreement with OpenAI, a selection of the videos by users will be made available for streaming on Disney+, allowing the streaming platform to capitalize on the growing appeal for short-form video content.

The media conglomerate will also receive warrants to purchase additional equity in the ChatGPT maker.

The companies will use OpenAI’s models to build new products and customer experiences, including for Disney+ subscribers, while Disney will deploy ChatGPT for its employees.

The deal also includes guiderails to protect against the characters being depicted in inappropriate situations and Disney also plans to use OpenAIs tools for its internal purposes to support film production as it looks to gain efficiency, the source said.

The partnership comes months after Creative Artists Agency, Hollywood’s premier talent agency, criticized OpenAI for exposing artists to “significant risk” through Sora and questioned if creative professionals would be compensated for their work.

“An entertainment giant partnering with an AI company will inevitably invite backlash from labor groups in the entertainment industry,” Emarketer analyst Ross Benes said. “But unions’ power is limited and they will unlikely be able to stem the momentum of AI-produced media.”

CNBC reported earlier in the day that Disney sent a cease and desist letter to Google alleging the company infringed its copyrights.

Disney and Comcast’s Universal had in June filed a copyright lawsuit against AI photo generation firm Midjourney for its use of the studios’ best-known characters.

Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski in San Francisco and Deborah Sophia and Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur

On Wednesday, clashes at more than a dozen locations along the 817-km (508-mile) Thai-Cambodian border saw some of the most intense fighting since a five-day battle in July

International News via Reuters:

Fighting between Thailand and Cambodia entered its fourth day on Thursday as both sides waited for a promised telephone call from U.S. President Donald Trump, who says he believes he can again end the conflict between the two Southeast Asian nations.

On Wednesday, clashes at more than a dozen locations along the 817-km (508-mile) Thai-Cambodian border saw some of the most intense fighting since a five-day battle in July, which was the worst conflict in recent history.

In July, Trump stopped the fighting with calls to both leaders in which he threatened to halt trade talks unless they ended the conflict. Trump says he expects to speak with the countries’ leaders on Thursday.

“I think I can get them to stop fighting,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday. “I think I’m scheduled to speak to them tomorrow.”

However, Thailand has reacted more warily this time to overtures from Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who helped broker the July deal, which resulted in an extended ceasefire signed in October. Thailand insists the matter is for the two countries to resolve.

Anwar said he had spoken with leaders of Thailand and Cambodia on Tuesday and, though no definitive resolution was reached, he appreciated “the openness and willingness of both leaders to continue negotiations in order to ease tensions”.

Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Thursday he would “explain and clarify” the situation if Trump called.

“He will need to hear the details directly from me if he contacts me,” he told reporters. “I believe the foreign minister will already be providing information at the diplomatic level.”

Thailand and Cambodia have blamed each other for the latest clashes that started this week, and have traded accusations that civilians were being targeted in artillery and rocket attacks.

“Right now, no one wants conflict, especially with neighboring countries,” Anutin said. “But Thailand is very confident that it has been invaded. Therefore, it is necessary to safeguard the country’s independence and sovereignty.”

In a Wednesday evening update, Cambodia’s Interior Ministry said homes, schools, roads, pagodas and ancient temples had been damaged by “Thailand’s intensified shelling and F-16 air strikes targeting villages and civilian population centres up to 30 km inside Cambodian territory”.

On Thursday, Cambodia’s defence ministry accused Thailand of committing “brutal acts of aggression” against civilian targets, including schools and temples.

Thailand denies that it targets civilian infrastructure.

The clashes have already taken a heavy toll on civilians, with 10 people killed in Cambodia, including an infant, and 60 people wounded, according to its government.

Nine Thai soldiers have been killed in the fighting and more than 120 were wounded, the Thai army said. Hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated from border areas in both countries.

Reporting by Reuters Staff, Panarat Thepgumpanat, Orathai Sriring and Devjyot Ghoshal in Bangkok; Writing by John Mair and David Stanway; Editing by Michael Perry

A day after the law took effect with bipartisan support from the major political parties, the country’s social media feeds were flooded with comments from people claiming to be under 16

International News via Reuters:

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday took aim at young people parading themselves on social media a day after a world-first ban on under-16s went live, saying the rollout was always going to be bumpy but would ultimately save lives.

A day after the law took effect with bipartisan support from the major political parties and backing by some three-quarters of Australian parents, the country’s social media feeds were flooded with comments from people claiming to be under 16, including one on the prime minister’s TikTok account saying “I’m still here, wait until I can vote”.

Under the law, 10 of the biggest platforms including TikTok, Meta’s Instagram and Alphabet’s YouTube must bar underage users or face a fine of up to A$49.5 million ($33 million). The government has said it would take some time for the platforms to set up processes to do this.

“This is the law, this isn’t something that can be flouted,” Albanese said on News Corp’s Sky News.

“Some young people who haven’t yet been pulled off social media are sending out notices bragging about it. That just tells the platforms who they are, and so it will be taken down.”

Governments around the world have said they would monitor the Australian ban as they weigh whether to do something similar. U.S. Republican senator Josh Hawley endorsed the ban as it took effect, Nine newspapers reported, while France, Denmark, Malaysia and others have said they plan to emulate the Australian model.

The Australian internet regulator, the eSafety Commissioner, would ask all affected platforms to report numbers of under-16 accounts on the days before and after the ban went live on Wednesday, Communications Minister Anika Wells said.

Albanese has pitched the ban as an intervention to protect young people from mental health risks associated with social media, including bullying, body image problems and addictive algorithms.

While some teens trumpeted their ability to flout the ban, Australian content creators are reporting large falls in follower numbers and views. The government says some 200,000 accounts have been deactivated on TikTok alone since the ban went live.

Meta repeated its opposition to the law, saying some experts, advocates and parent groups were concerned it was driving teenagers to less regulated parts of the internet and that there was “little interest in compliance”.

“This will result in inconsistent application of the law and ultimately does not make young people safer,” a spokesperson said.

TikTok and Snap, owner of Snapchat, declined to comment on the implementation, while YouTube, X, Amazon’s Twitch, Reddit and Australian-owned Kick – all of which are covered by the ban – were not immediately available for comment.

HEATED GLOBAL REACTIONS

The ban generated impassioned reactions across the spectrum of global commentators – including from U.S. psychologist Jonathan Haidt, whose book “The Anxious Generation” featured prominently in the Australian debate.

The ban was “the most significant measure to protect children from social media harms”, he wrote on social media.

“Dr” Phil McGraw, the U.S. television presenter, in an interview on NewsNation’s “On Balance with Leland Vittert”, said the measure would “help immensely and force them to engage with the environment, with friends, get out into the real world”.

A week earlier, American talk show host Oprah Winfrey said the ban would change the lives of a generation.

The United Nations children’s agency UNICEF warned in a statement the ban might encourage children to visit less regulated parts of the internet and could not work alone.

“Laws introducing age restrictions are not an alternative to companies improving platform design and content moderation,” the statement said.

Albanese, visiting a school in Canberra, said the ban would lead to better educational outcomes and behaviour” since “you get better social interaction when students aren’t subject to looking at their devices constantly”.

Australian searches for virtual private networks (VPNs), which can mask an internet user’s location, surged to the highest level in about 10 years in the week before the legislation took effect, according to publicly available Google data.

All 10 platforms named by the ban opposed it before saying they would comply. As the legislation came into force, some platforms not covered by the ban rose to the top of app download charts, prompting the Australian government to say the platform list was “dynamic”.

One app, Lemon8, which is owned by TikTok parent ByteDance, introduced an age minimum of 16. Photo-sharing app Yope told Reuters it had experienced “very fast growth” to about 100,000 Australian users. About half its users were over 16.

The company told Reuters it had told the Australian internet regulator overseeing the ban that it considered itself a private messaging service, not social media.

($1 = 1.4995 Australian dollars)

Reporting by Byron Kaye; Additional reporting by Alasdair Pal; Editing by Stephen Coates