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BBC News with Roisin Hastie.
The future shape of social media platforms is at stake in a trial which has got underway in California. Lawyers for 29 U.S. states accuse Meta of making Facebook and Instagram addictive to children while misleading the public about the risks. Hannah Clowney is an activist from the U.K.-based pressure group Delay Smartphones. "All these platforms care about is how much time they're spending on these apps. And in that way, the algorithm will just keep on looking at what keeps us hooked. And for kids that is more and more extreme content. You know, radicalized videos, you know, extreme violence, car crashes, self-harm, suicides and things like that. And what unfortunately happens is because they start seeing this kind of content, it becomes just normalized." Meta denies the allegations but has acknowledged that some social media users face struggles. The states are seeking financial penalties amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars. Ukraine's ousted defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov, whose sacking last month prompted mass protests, has called for elections. He's the first senior Ukrainian politician to demand new polls which are prohibited during wartime. In a video posted online, Mr. Fedorov said Ukraine was facing a crisis of government and corruption. "We must answer a fundamental question - how should the state function if the war lasts for years? Can Russia in effect gain the right to decide when Ukrainians will again be able to elect their authorities? I am convinced that it cannot." The U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced sanctions against the president and a senior lawyer of the International Criminal Court. It's the latest escalation of a campaign by the Trump administration to dismantle the court which is empowered to investigate war crimes. The United Arab Emirates has suspended all trade and financial transactions with Iran until further notice. Hours earlier, the UAE accused Iran of firing two ballistic missiles at its territory. Iran has rejected the allegation, calling it baseless. According to the Emirati defense ministry, both missiles fell into the sea. Here's our business reporter David Waddell. When the Middle East war began at the end of February, the UAE found itself in the front line of Iran's campaign, with nearly 3,000 missiles and drones directed at it, killing 15 people and injuring hundreds more. It's been relatively calm since a memorandum of understanding was signed between the United States and Iran in June. That agreement expired earlier this week. Abu Dhabi has now suspended all trade with Iran. Direct trade is worth over $6 billion a year, but the wider impact could be significantly greater. If enforced in full, the Emirati measures could create a major logistical and financial headache for Iran. The Israeli Prime Minister's Office has said Syria was on the verge of breaching the security status quo between the two countries by allowing Turkish troops to deploy at an airbase which was hit by Israeli airstrikes on Tuesday. Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Syria had chosen to ignore warnings against such a deployment. Both Turkey and the U.S. have condemned the attack on the disused Abu al-Dahour base. Liberia has agreed to take in more than 1,000 third-country deportees from the United States over the next year. It's one of the biggest deals agreed so far by Washington as it continues its clampdown on illegal migration. Liberia will receive people from North and South America, the Caribbean and fellow African countries. A new study suggests London's strict vehicle emissions rules have led to better lung health in children. The Ultra Low Emission Zone, or ULEZ, charges drivers of older, more polluting cars in certain parts of the city. Children from London and the nearby town of Luton took part in the study. Here's our health reporter Smitha Mundasad. The lung capacity and function of more than 3,000 primary school children in London and Luton were compared over five years. At the start, the London group had significantly lower lung capacity than those in less polluted Luton. After the Ultra Low Emission Zone was launched in London, the measurements suggested the group there had all but caught up. The levels of nitrogen dioxide found in vehicle exhaust fumes fell faster in London than Luton, suggesting the ULEZ helped. The researchers say while other factors may have contributed, the results are promising and could have global significance. And an Australian woman who killed three relatives by feeding them a meal laced with poisonous mushrooms has begun an appeal against her murder conviction. Erin Patterson's lawyers say she did not receive a fair trial last year. BBC News. |