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If there is one thing that strikes me about the UAE, it is that the government goes to great lengths to make life comfortable for the residents. It is ready to face challenges, such as
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As fears of a wider regional conflict escalate following US and Israeli strikes on Iran that began in late February, Pakistan has emerged as an unexpected mediator, offering to help bring Washington and Tehran to
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Recent jury verdicts in California and New Mexico involving Meta Platforms and Alphabet’s Google are sharpening scrutiny of social media companies as plaintiffs advance legal theories aimed at holding platforms liable for harm to children. Here’s a look at how the cases could be an early test of how courts may handle similar claims going forward. The jury ordered Meta and Google on Wednesday to pay a combined $6mn in damages to plaintiff Kaley GM, a 20-year-old who said she suffered from depression and suicidal thoughts after becoming addicted to the companies’ platforms at a young age because of their attention-grabbing design. The jury found that both Meta and Google were negligent in designing their platforms and failed to warn consumers about their risks. Separately, a jury in New Mexico on Tuesday ordered Meta to pay $375mn after finding the company misled users about the safety of Facebook and Instagram while enabling child sexual exploitation on those platforms in a lawsuit brought by the state’s attorney general. The trials were the first to test whether Big Tech can be held liable for the design of apps blamed for harming young people’s well-being. Meta, Snapchat and parent Snap Inc, Google’s YouTube, and TikTok and parent ByteDance are facing thousands of lawsuits in federal and state courts over claims they knowingly designed their platforms with features that addict children and teens, fueling a mental health crisis. The Los Angeles trial is meant to serve as a bellwether, or test case, for the thousands of similar lawsuits consolidated in California state courts. Verdicts in bellwethers are often used by judges and attorneys to assess the potential value of remaining claims and guide settlement negotiations. Typically, multiple bellwethers will be tried before a broader settlement or resolution is reached. Beyond the California state court cases, more than 2,400 lawsuits against Meta and other social media companies that make similar claims have been centralized in the California federal court. The federal litigation also includes lawsuits brought by state attorneys general alleging harm to their states, as well as cases by school districts that say social media addiction has caused costly disruptions and problems. While there can be some coordination between state and federal courts overseeing similar claims, verdicts in state court do not typically have a direct impact on the federal litigation. Both the New Mexico and the California cases highlighted a central legal dispute that is likely to shape future cases: how much federal law shields social media companies from liability. Meta, Google and other social media companies have argued such lawsuits are barred by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which generally protects platforms from liability over user-generated content. Plaintiffs counter that their claims target the sites’ design features that cause harm rather than the content itself. The judges in Los Angeles and Santa Fe rejected that argument when they allowed the cases to go to trial. The verdicts could form the basis of appeals that would give higher courts a chance to weigh in on the key question of whether Section 230 applies to claims focused on platform design rather than content. In May, the judge in New Mexico will oversee a second phase of that trial where the state attorney general will ask for a court order directing Meta to make changes to its platforms and for additional monetary damages. Meta said it will appeal both verdicts. Google said it will appeal in the Los Angeles case. In addition to the Section 230 question, the companies could also base appeals on events surrounding the trial, including the judge’s decision-making on evidence, or jury or attorney conduct. Yes, in both state and federal courts. A trial is scheduled for June in federal court in a lawsuit brought by a school district in Breathitt County, Kentucky, against Meta, ByteDance, Snap and Google, according to court records. In California state court, another trial is slated to begin in July involving claims against Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat.
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Giorgia Meloni’s defeat in a justice reform referendum has thrust the Italian leader into the toughest phase of her premiership, with her authority weakened, her reform programme in tatters and no easy way to regain the initiative. The prime minister’s right-wing coalition suffered a resounding loss in the March 22-23 vote, puncturing the aura of political invincibility she has cultivated since taking office in 2022. As the result came in, Meloni made clear she had no plans to resign, but none of her options looks attractive, political analysts say. Governing as if nothing has changed risks leaving her a lame-duck prime minister, with the anaemic economy under growing strain and her closeness to US President Donald Trump seen by pollsters as an increasing liability. Alternatively, she could seek to reshape the electoral law to try to boost her chances of winning the next general election, due in 2027, but would open herself to charges of upending the rules to suit her political interests. A third option could be to gamble on forcing an early ballot this spring before the full impact of the Iran war hits Italy’s already fragile economy, hoping to catch the fragmented centre-left opposition unprepared. “It’s clear that what’s at stake is the end of the legislature. Even the date of the next election is uncertain,” said Nicola Lupo, director of the Centre for Parliamentary Studies at Rome’s Luiss University. OPPOSITION BLOC REMAINS FRAGMENTEDFor all the damage, the referendum did not amount to a blanket rejection of Meloni, with 37% of those who voted “No” telling Youtrend pollsters she should remain in office. “This wasn’t an opposition victory so much as a victory for the judiciary,” said Massimiliano Panarari, a political analyst at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. The centre-left opposition hailed Monday’s result as evidence the political cycle was turning its way, but its two main components, the Democratic Party and 5-Star Movement, remain deeply divided over key issues, including foreign policy. These splits could tempt Meloni to resign shortly and force a snap election, Luiss’ Lupo said, adding that the government had pushed for a swift referendum in March to have the eventual option of holding a pre-summer vote. “Meloni knows the next budget won’t allow for generous spending, so she might say it would be better to go to elections now and not give the opposition time to organise,” he said. While none of her allies are openly suggesting this, some of her partners — including Maurizio Lupi, head of the small “Us Moderates” party — are urging a change to the electoral law to introduce a system based solely on proportional representation. Latest polls show the conservative bloc, including Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, the League and Forza Italia, in the lead, but vulnerable to defeat in a future ballot because of the way seats are distributed under the current system. Studies have suggested a pure PR system could give the ruling coalition a comfortable majority. Although government parties presented a draft bill on this last month, some of Meloni’s allies urged caution after the referendum, saying voters would not approve. “It would be stupid,” Stefano Candiani, a League lawmaker in the lower chamber, told Reuters. “There are so many problems facing Italians, including the Iran war and (high) cost of living, that anyone who wants to tie up parliament with this electoral law is crazy.” TRUMP TIES, WEAK ECONOMY DRAG ON MELONIPollsters confirmed an unexpectedly high turnout in the justice referendum was driven by voters motivated by broader political and economic concerns rather than the technical details of the complex judicial reform. “In the last 10 days, the number of people saying they would vote grew by 10 percentage points. We had never seen such a surge,” said pollster Antonio Noto. The referendum’s timing proved challenging for Meloni, with the US-Israeli war on Iran turning a spotlight on her friendship with Trump and costing her votes, analysts said. “Even if she has tried to put a bit of distance between herself and him in recent days, the shift hasn’t been very noticeable,” said political analyst Panarari. Meloni risks treading water for the next 12 months, with her reform agenda in shreds and little time left to enact meaningful change. “From this day forward, she is a lame duck,” said centrist leader Matteo Renzi, who quit as prime minister in 2016 after losing a referendum on his own constitutional reform agenda. He told La7 news channel that opposition parties would draw strength from Monday’s result, saying the Meloni-backed “Yes” camp had until recently enjoyed a big lead. “If beating Meloni in the referendum wasn’t easy, it will be far easier to beat her on issues like inflation, fuel taxes, the cost of living, and public safety in major cities,” he said.
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Balendra Shah, a structural engineer who rose to fame as a rap artist before becoming Kathmandu’s mayor, is poised to become Nepal’s next prime minister, after his party swept a parliamentary election earlier this month,
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North Korea and Belarus’s strongmen leaders signed a “friendship and cooperation” treaty on Thursday after Kim Jong Un gave a lavish welcome to President Alexander Lukashenko on his maiden visit.Besides supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine
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Spring is peak season in Louisiana for crawfish, the hard-shelled star of outdoor parties. But a shortage of foreign workers is dampening the mood. Deep in Louisiana’s bayous, where crawfish production is a $300 million
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When you dream you think you’ve been dreaming all night because they seem so long and complicated, almost like watching a movie. But in reality, dreams only happen in the last few moments before you
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It is raining heavily in Sharjah for the last three days and more is expected on Friday, but the way Sharjah Municipality is working round the clock to keep the city clean and dry is
