Google, Meta and TikTok sue California to block law protecting children from addiction risk

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Law bans social media platforms from providing minors features such as autoplay that lead to compulsive use

Google, Meta and TikTok sued California to block enforcement of ⁠a new state law intended ⁠to limit the risk ​of addicting children under 16 to social media platforms.

The law, known as Assembly Bill 1709, prohibits such platforms from offering underage children “psychologically exploitative features” that could lead to compulsive use, such as providing ⁠personal recommendations and sending videos through autoplay features. It also requires the deletion of children’s accounts with those features.

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British Ebola patient evacuated from DRC arrives at London hospital

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Doctor who was helping response to outbreak in Africa taken to specialist isolation unit at Royal Free hospital

A British doctor who tested positive for Ebola while working in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has returned to the UK for specialist treatment.

The patient, whose identity is unknown, was transported home on a medical evacuation flight, the Department of Health and Social Care said on Thursday. They are now being cared for in a specialised high-level isolation unit at the Royal Free hospital in Hampstead, north London.

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Gavin Newsom commutes more than 500 death sentences in California

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Democrat’s move prevents these people from executions under future governors, after Christa Pike’s failed execution

Gavin Newsom, California’s governor, has commuted the death sentences of more than 500 people on the state’s death row on Thursday, a move that ensures they can never be executed under future administrations.

The Democrat’s mass commutation at the end of his term has converted all of the state’s death sentences to life without the possibility of parole, the largest clearing of any US death row in modern history.

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Cancer diagnoses in England hit record high of more than 1,000 people a day

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While NHS is identifying more cases, it is failing to meet timescale targets on diagnosis and treatment, experts say

Cancer diagnoses in England have hit record highs, with more than 1,000 people a day diagnosed, NHS figures show.

But experts warned that although the health service was identifying more cases, it was still failing to meet timescale targets on diagnosis and treatment.

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Paraguay’s president quits after millions of people’s savings frozen in bank crisis

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Santiago Peña’s rightwing administration had authorised Ueno Bank to drastically expand operations before collapse

Paraguay’s rightwing president, Santiago Peña, resigned on Thursday after a political and financial crisis collapsed the South American country’s banking system in recent days.

At the centre of the crisis is Ueno Bank, which in just a few years under Peña went from an obscure digital bank to one of the country’s largest lenders, claiming to have about 60% of Paraguay’s adult population as customers.

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Herzog to meet Israeli election rivals as decision nears on path to power

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President calls on all parties to help avoid new election after Netanyahu and Eisenkot blocs fell short of majority

Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, was due to meet Benjamin Netanyahu and his chief political rival, Gadi Eisenkot, on Thursday with less than a week left before he decides which of the two men should first try to form a government.

A bitterly contested election last month, seen by many observers as one of the most consequential for Israel in many decades, ended with neither Netanyahu nor Eisenkot, a former military general and chief of staff, securing a clear pathway to power.

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Bank of England raises interest rates to 4%, the first increase for more than three years

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Base rate increases from 3.75% and Bank governor signals another rise in near future to combat rising inflation

The Bank of England has raised interest rates for the first time in three years and warned of another increase to combat inflationary pressure unleashed by the Iran war.

Eight members of the Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) voted for the rise, which takes the base rate from 3.75% to 4%. The ninth member, Catherine Mann, preferred a more dramatic half-point increase.

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Duchess of Sussex’s estranged half-brother ‘person of interest’ in child sexual abuse inquiry

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Philippine official says there are ‘signs that point to Thomas Markle Jr’s involvement in crime’, but he’s not yet being treated as a suspect

The Duchess of Sussex’s estranged half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr, has been named as a “person of interest” in the Philippine authorities’ inquiry into child sexual abuse image allegations made against her father, Thomas Markle Sr.

The country’s interior and local government secretary, Jonvic Remulla, told a press conference in Manila there were “signs that point that the son is involved in the crime as well”.

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Henry Nowak’s killer has sentence extended by court of appeal

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Vickrum Digwa’s ‘unduly lenient’ term for Southampton teenager’s murder increased after attorney general’s appeal

Henry Nowak’s killer has seen his sentence extended by the court of appeal after it ruled that his original sentence was “unduly lenient”.

Vickrum Digwa’s original sentence of life with a minimum term of 21 years was lengthened to a minimum of 24 years and 190 days after a successful appeal by the attorney general, Ellie Reeves.

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Protesters march in cities across France as unions stage general strike

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Hundreds of thousands demonstrate over cost of living and cuts to public services as 70,000 police officers deployed

Hundreds of thousands of people have marched in cities across France in the latest round of street demonstrations, as trade unions put pressure on the government with a general strike over the cost of living and cuts to public services.

Striking teachers, hospital staff and rail workers joined high school and university students in largely peaceful demonstrations in Paris and other cities on Thursday amid a high police presence of 70,000 officers.

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Beware ‘sun, sea and surgery’ cosmetic tourism packages, experts advise

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British College of Aesthetic Medicine launches checklist as part of ‘vet it before you get it’ campaign

Cosmetic tourism is often sold as a package of sun, sea and surgery, but experts have said travelling overseas for procedures can end in infections, disfigurement and death.

Nora Nugent, a consultant plastic surgeon and former president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, said travelling to countries such as Turkey for surgery came with myriad risks – and not just on the operating table.

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