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Woman at heart of US trial says she was addicted to social media aged six

Woman at heart of US trial says she was addicted to social media aged six

Lead plaintiff, now 20, says use of social media made her anxious and strained relationships with friends and family The young woman at the heart of the landmark trial about the addictive nature of social media testified for the first time on Thursday, saying she got hooked on YouTube starting at age six and Instagram at nine. By the time she was 10, she said she had become depressed and was engaging in self-harm. The woman, who is now 20 and known by her initials KGM, is the lead plaintiff in an expansive lawsuit against YouTube and Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook. The crux of the case alleges social media companies intentionally create addictive products, leading to mental health issues in young people. Continue reading...

Ukraine war briefing: IMF approves $8.1bn loan for Kyiv

Ukraine war briefing: IMF approves $8.1bn loan for Kyiv

Fund says loan will resolve Ukrainian balance of payments problem while boosting reconstruction and growth prospects. What we know on day 1,465 The International Monetary Fund said its executive board had approved an $8.1bn, four-year loan for Ukraine , of which $1.5bn would be disbursed immediately. The IMF said on Thursday the new extended fund facility arrangement for Ukraine would help anchor a $136.5bn international support package for the war-torn country, which this week marked the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion. The IMF managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, said the loan would resolve Ukraine’s balance of payments problem and restore medium-term external viability while boosting prospects for reconstruction and growth after the war ended and helping to facilitate Ukraine’s steps to join the EU. Ukrainian and US officials met in Geneva on Thursday for talks on postwar reconstruction despite a deadlock in negotiations with Russia, and officials in Kyiv hoped to finalise key details of a settlement at a trilateral meeting early next month. Top Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov said the participants at the meeting spoke to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, after its conclusion. Zelenskyy, who spoke to the US president, Donald Trump, on Wednesday, said trilateral talks would probably take place in Abu Dhabi in early March and would aim to prepare the way for a meeting of Ukraine and Russia’s leaders. Russian president Vladimir Putin’s special envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, also held talks with US officials in Geneva on Thursday, Russia’s state-run RIA news agency reported. Dmitriev declined to comment on the outcome of the meeting, RIA said. Umerov said negotiators were working on economic and security issues to “make the next trilateral meeting involving the US and Russia as substantive as possible”. Romania scrambled fighter jets on Thursday when a drone breached its national airspace during a Russian attack on Ukrainian infrastructure near the border, the defence ministry said, in the second airspace breach in as many days. The EU and Nato member shares a 650km land border with Ukraine and has had drones breach its airspace and fragments fall on its territory repeatedly since Russia began attacking Kyiv’s ports across the Danube. Ukrainian missiles struck the Russian town of Belgorod , inflicting serious damage on energy installations and disrupting power, water and heating, the regional governor said early on Friday. The attack on Belgorod, 40km from the Ukrainian border, and the surrounding district was the second in five days to cause serious damage. Russia’s defence ministry said on Thursday its air defence units had downed 220 Ukrainian drones over a nine-hour period, including 24 headed for Moscow. The latest ministry statement said 53 drones were intercepted and destroyed in a three-hour period ending at 11pm. Many of the drones were intercepted over regions in central Russia. The ministry said 12 had targeted Moscow. Continue reading...

Ukraine war briefing: IMF approves $8.1bn loan for Kyiv

Ukraine war briefing: IMF approves $8.1bn loan for Kyiv

Fund says loan will resolve Ukrainian balance of payments problem while boosting reconstruction and growth prospects. What we know on day 1,465 The International Monetary Fund said its executive board had approved an $8.1bn, four-year loan for Ukraine , of which $1.5bn would be disbursed immediately. The IMF said on Thursday the new extended fund facility arrangement for Ukraine would help anchor a $136.5bn international support package for the war-torn country, which this week marked the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion. The IMF managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, said the loan would resolve Ukraine’s balance of payments problem and restore medium-term external viability while boosting prospects for reconstruction and growth after the war ended and helping to facilitate Ukraine’s steps to join the EU. Ukrainian and US officials met in Geneva on Thursday for talks on postwar reconstruction despite a deadlock in negotiations with Russia, and officials in Kyiv hoped to finalise key details of a settlement at a trilateral meeting early next month. Top Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov said the participants at the meeting spoke to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, after its conclusion. Zelenskyy, who spoke to the US president, Donald Trump, on Wednesday, said trilateral talks would probably take place in Abu Dhabi in early March and would aim to prepare the way for a meeting of Ukraine and Russia’s leaders. Russian president Vladimir Putin’s special envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, also held talks with US officials in Geneva on Thursday, Russia’s state-run RIA news agency reported. Dmitriev declined to comment on the outcome of the meeting, RIA said. Umerov said negotiators were working on economic and security issues to “make the next trilateral meeting involving the US and Russia as substantive as possible”. Romania scrambled fighter jets on Thursday when a drone breached its national airspace during a Russian attack on Ukrainian infrastructure near the border, the defence ministry said, in the second airspace breach in as many days. The EU and Nato member shares a 650km land border with Ukraine and has had drones breach its airspace and fragments fall on its territory repeatedly since Russia began attacking Kyiv’s ports across the Danube. Ukrainian missiles struck the Russian town of Belgorod , inflicting serious damage on energy installations and disrupting power, water and heating, the regional governor said early on Friday. The attack on Belgorod, 40km from the Ukrainian border, and the surrounding district was the second in five days to cause serious damage. Russia’s defence ministry said on Thursday its air defence units had downed 220 Ukrainian drones over a nine-hour period, including 24 headed for Moscow. The latest ministry statement said 53 drones were intercepted and destroyed in a three-hour period ending at 11pm. Many of the drones were intercepted over regions in central Russia. The ministry said 12 had targeted Moscow. Continue reading...

Vegetarians have ‘substantially lower risk’ of five types of cancer

Vegetarians have ‘substantially lower risk’ of five types of cancer

Study shows lower risk for multiple myeloma as well as pancreatic, prostate, breast and kidney cancers Vegetarians have a substantially lower risk of five types of cancer, a landmark study on the role of diet has revealed. The research, using data from more than 1.8 million people who were tracked over many years, found that vegetarians had a 21% lower risk of pancreatic cancer, a 12% lower risk of prostate cancer and a 9% lower risk of breast cancer compared with meat eaters. Combined, these cancers account for around a fifth of cancer deaths in the UK. Continue reading...

Vegetarians have ‘substantially lower risk’ of five types of cancer

Vegetarians have ‘substantially lower risk’ of five types of cancer

Study shows lower risk for multiple myeloma as well as pancreatic, prostate, breast and kidney cancers Vegetarians have a substantially lower risk of five types of cancer, a landmark study on the role of diet has revealed. The research, using data from more than 1.8 million people who were tracked over many years, found that vegetarians had a 21% lower risk of pancreatic cancer, a 12% lower risk of prostate cancer and a 9% lower risk of breast cancer compared with meat eaters. Combined, these cancers account for around a fifth of cancer deaths in the UK. Continue reading...