US state bans children under 14 from having social media accounts

Florida State Governor, Ron DeSantis signed a bill on Monday that will prohibit children younger than 14 from joining social media in the state, reports NBC News.

According to the report, those who are 14 or 15 will need a parent’s consent before they join a platform.

The bill, HB3, also directs social media companies to delete the existing accounts of those who are under 14.

Companies that fail to do so could be sued on behalf of the child who creates an account on the platform. The minor could be awarded up to $10,000 in damages, according to the bill.

Companies found to be in violation of the law would also be liable for up to $50,000 per violation, as well as attorney’s fees and court costs.

“Ultimately, [we’re] trying to help parents navigate this very difficult terrain that we have now with raising kids, and so I appreciate the work that’s been put in,” DeSantis said in remarks during the bill-signing ceremony.

DeSantis previously vetoed a more restrictive version of the bill that would have banned social media accounts for kids under 16. That bill also required Florida residents to submit an ID or other identifying materials in order to join social media.

HB3, which is slated to take effect in January 2025, comes as efforts to regulate social media continue to ramp up across the U.S. amid concerns from some parents that the platforms don’t do enough to keep their kids safe online.

In December, more than 200 organisations sent a letter urging Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to schedule a vote on the Kids Online Safety Act, or KOSA, which seeks to create liability, or a “duty of care,” for apps and online platforms that recommend content to minors that can negatively affect their mental health.

In January, lawmakers grilled CEOs from TikTok, X and Meta about online child safety. The tech executives reaffirmed their commitment to child safety, and pointed to various tools they offer as examples of how they are proactive about preventing exploitation online.

Florida House Speaker Paul Renner and other advocates of the new law argue that social media use can harm children’s mental health and can lead to sexual predators communicating with minors.

“None of us can afford to be on the sidelines when it comes to social media,” Renner said in remarks made at the bill signing.

Several states that have enacted similar laws to limit teen social media — including Ohio and Arkansas — have been challenged by NetChoice LLC, a coalition of social media platforms whose members include Meta, Google and X, among others.

Florida’s law is also expected to face legal challenges over claims that it violates the First Amendment.

“We’re disappointed to see Gov. DeSantis sign onto this route,” Carl Szabo, vice president and general counsel for NetChoice, said in an email statement, calling the law “unconstitutional.”

“There are better ways to keep Floridians, their families and their data safe and secure online without violating their freedoms.”

Both DeSantis and Renner alluded in their remarks to the potential legal hurdles ahead.

“You will not find a line in this bill that addresses good speech or bad speech because that would violate the First Amendment,” Renner said.

“We’ve not addressed that at all. What we have addressed is the addictive features that are at the heart of why children stay on these platforms for hours and hours on end.”

He specifically called out NetChoice, saying, “We’re going to beat them, and we’re never ever going to stop.”

DeSantis argued the bill is constitutionally sound.

“Any time I see a bill, if I don’t think it’s constitutional, I veto it,” he said. He described the bill as “a fair application of the law and Constitution.”

 

Former Senegalese PM concedes defeat to opposition candidate day after presidential vote

Former Senegalese Prime Minister Amadou Ba has conceded defeat to leading opposition figure Bassirou Diomaye Faye in the western African country’s presidential elections.

“With regard to the provisional results and awaiting the official proclamation, I congratulate President Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye for his victory in the first round,” Ba, 62, said in a statement.

“I wish him lots of success and success for the well-being of the Senegalese people,” he added.

Outgoing President Macky Sall also congratulated Faye, describing the “smooth running” of the election as a “victory of Senegalese democracy.”

Early unofficial results showed Faye with a clear lead of 57% of votes while Ba came second with 31% of the votes, independent Senegalese radio station, Futurs Médias reported Monday.

Senegalese presidential candidates Bassirou Diomaye Faye, left, and Amadou Ba.

One of Senegal’s main opposition presidential candidates, Anta Babacar Ngom, conceded defeat to Faye on Sunday, writing on X: “I wish Mr. Faye every success at the helm of Senegal.”

Dethie Fall, one of 19 candidates in the election, also congratulated Faye “for his beautiful victory clearly achieved in view of the very strong trends that have emerged” in a statement Sunday.

Faye was also congratulated early Monday by another presidential candidate, Khalifa Sall.

Ba of the ruling coalition, who left his role as prime minister earlier in March to kickstart his campaign for the Senegalese top job called on people to “remain calm” while waiting for official results, saying celebrations were premature.

Official results will be announced by Saturday at the latest, according to an official from Senegal’s Autonomous National Electoral Commission.

From prisoner to president

Faye, 44, a former tax inspector and political detainee who had been imprisoned since April last year until his release on March 14, was chosen as a backup candidate for popular opposition leader Ousmane Sonko. Sonko was barred from the polls after the Senegalese Supreme Court upheld his conviction over a defamation case in early January. Both men were released 11 days ago after President Sall granted amnesty to political prisoners.

Despite a shortened campaign period, Faye and Sonko, who enjoys widespread support among Senegalese youth who account for over 60% of the country’s population, sparked fierce support and debates across the country.

President Sall, whose second and final term expires on April 2, has promised to peacefully hand over to his elected successor after the country’s top court blocked his attempts to delay the election – originally scheduled for February 24 – for 10 months.

 

Report: Six killed in militant attack on Pakistan naval base

Militants attacked a Pakistan naval airbase killing at least one paramilitary soldier while security forces killed all five of the assailants in retaliatory fire, officials said on Tuesday.

Monday’s attack on the Turbat base in southwestern Pakistan was the second assault by ethnic Baloch militants on a military facility in the past week.

“We escaped a huge loss,” said a statement from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office.

A Pakistan Navy spokesman said all five attackers were killed after they tried to break into the base.

One paramilitary soldier was also killed, said a military statement.

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the most prominent of several separatist groups in Balochistan, claimed responsibility for the assault in a statement.

The BLA has previously been involved in attacks on Pakistani and Chinese interests in the region and elsewhere.

China has invested heavily in the mineral-rich southwestern province of Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, including developing the port of Gwadar, despite a decades-long separatist insurgency.

The naval base is significant to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor that also encompasses roads and energy projects and is part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative.

Pakistani security forces said last week they repulsed a gun and bomb attack by the BLA militants on a complex outside Gwadar, which in which two soldiers and all eight militants were killed.

 

China’s Xi Jinping to meet with American executives on Wednesday

China’s President Xi Jinping will meet with American business leaders in Beijing on Wednesday, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter, in a follow up to his November dinner with U.S. investors in San Francisco.

The meeting was proposed by chief executive of U.S. insurer Chubb (CB.BN), opens new tab, Evan Greenberg, said one of the sources who has direct knowledge of the matter. Other attendees include Stephen Orlins, president of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, and Craig Allen, president of the U.S.-China Business Council.

The audience with Xi follows Chinese Premier Li Qiang not meeting visiting foreign CEOs at the China Development Forum in Beijing on March 24-25, which prompted concerns over transparency in the world’s second-largest economy.

The chance to exchange views with Beijing’s second-ranking leader had become a key element of the summit in previous years.

Foreign businesses have been trying to reconcile Chinese leaders’ public overtures towards overseas investment with the rolling out of a broader anti-espionage law, raids on consultancies and due diligence firms, and exit bans.

“The lack of presser for Li Qiang at the Two Sessions and meeting with foreign executives at the China Development Forum shows Xi is very much in charge,” said Alfred Wu, associate professor, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore.

“Xi authorises everything, and Li Qiang doesn’t want to overshadow his boss,” he added.

Xi received a standing ovation when he dined with U.S. executives at a dinner hosted by the U.S.-China Business Council and the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations in November.

Two sources said the meeting with Xi was not part of the China Development Forum agenda and was deliberately scheduled for Wednesday to separate it from the high-profile forum for senior foreign executives and China’s leaders.

The meeting was first reported by the Wall Street Journal last week.

China’s State Council Information Office, the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, the U.S.-China Business Council, and Chubb did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Officials who spoke at the opening of the forum this weekend expressed confidence China would hit its economic targets, including growth of about 5% this year, and pledged further support for companies in strategically important sectors, an area Xi has dubbed “new productive forces.”

In November, Xi told American business leaders in San Francisco that China is ready to be a partner and friend of the U.S., and there is plenty of room for cooperation, in a bid to overcome China’s struggles to entice foreign investment.

 

Russian investigators query families of shooting suspects in Tajikistan

Russian investigators were in Tajikistan on Tuesday, questioning the families of four men charged with carrying out a deadly attack on a concert hall near Moscow, three Tajik security sources told the Newsmen.

The sources, who were not authorised to comment publicly, said Tajik security officials had brought the families to the capital of Dushanbe from the towns of Vakhdat and Gissar, and from the Rudaki district.

Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon was personally overseeing the investigation on the Tajik side, the sources said.

On Monday, making his first public comment on the attack, Rakhmon called it a “shameful and terrible event” and urged Tajiks to protect their children from harmful influences.

Four men of Tajik origin have been remanded in custody on terrorism charges, on suspicion of carrying out the attack. Three others, also of Tajik origin, were remanded on suspicion of complicity.

Islamic State has said it was responsible for the attack and has released video footage that it says shows the massacre.

 

Belarus’ Lukashenko inspects forces near Lithuanian border

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko inspected a tank battalion near the Lithuanian border and gave orders that any “provocation” there must be met with force, a Telegram channel close to his administration said on Tuesday.

“I will say publicly: any provocation must be stopped by military means,” Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was quoted as saying.

“Any violation of the state border is a shoot-to-kill.”

Lithuania, a European Union and NATO member that has offered support to Belarus’ opposition, has seen its relations with Minsk deteriorate sharply in recent years.

 

Donald Trump’s hush-money trial to begin 15 April

Former President Donald Trump leaves a pre-trial hearing on charges stemming from hush money paid to a porn star, during a recess, with his defense team, in New York CityReuters

Donald Trump will face the first ever criminal trial of a former US president on 15 April over alleged hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

Justice Juan Merchan denied the defence’s request to delay the case.

Mr Trump faces four criminal cases, but this may be the only one to make it to a courtroom before November’s election.

He has pleaded not guilty to all 34 felony charges, arguing the claims do not constitute “a crime”.

After spending much of Monday morning sitting next to his attorneys inside the courtroom, Mr Trump told reporters that the case should be considered “election interference”.

“It’s a disgrace, and we will obviously be appealing,” he said. “But this is a pure case of voter intimidation and election interference, and it shouldn’t be allowed to happen.”

During his bid to retake the White House, the former president and his legal team have sought to delay as many of his trials as possible.

The trial was originally set to begin with jury selection on Monday, but it was delayed after thousands of documents were released last week from the 2018 federal investigation into the payments to Ms Daniels.

Judge Merchan held a hearing on Monday centred on whether there had been any wrongdoing in the sudden release last week of more than 200,000 pages of documents related to the federal prosecutors’ case.

Mr Trump’s legal team claimed the Manhattan district attorney’s office had engaged in misconduct by not doing enough to get the federal prosecutors to hand over the documents in a timely manner. They alleged prosecutors were attempting to “suppress” evidence.

The document release followed a request by Mr Trump’s attorneys in January for records from the federal case. Justice Merchan questioned why the defence had not discussed the long wait with him earlier.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s office had agreed to a delay of 30 days for the documents to be reviewed, but prosecutors said at the hearing that they believed only 300 new documents needed to be considered.

Mr Trump’s legal team demanded more time to review the documents, and pushed for a 90-day delay.

On Monday, Justice Merchan grilled Mr Trump’s lawyer to specify how many of the “thousands” of documents they would consider relevant and requiring review for this case.

Mr Trump’s attorney, Todd Blanche, painted a broad picture of what was in the new batch, which he said included records from the Robert Mueller investigation – the federal inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Though Justice Merchan pressed him to narrow his focus to the case at hand, Mr Blanche maintained that the relevant records numbered in the thousands.

“We got the material a week ago,”he said. “We’re still going through them.”

The judge, however, appeared impatient and unpersuaded by the attorney’s arguments, including the claim that prosecutors had acted unethically.

During a tense exchange, Mr Blanche could not give a satisfactory argument that Mr Bragg’s team had violated a statute concerning how prosecutors must share evidence.

“That you don’t have a case right now is really disconcerting,” Justice Merchan told Mr Blanche.

The judge said that the defence appeared keen on accusing prosecutors of misconduct “and trying to make me complicit in it”, without providing a compelling legal argument.

“It’s odd that we’re even here and that we’ve taken this time,” he said.

Justice Merchan ultimately ruled that the district attorney’s office was “not at fault” for the late production of evidence from federal prosecutors, and made “diligent efforts” to produce the relevant documents.

As he gaveled the hearing to a close, Justice Merchan told Mr Trump and the dozens of assembled lawyers and press: “See you all on the 15th.”

 

Supreme Court to hear arguments in abortion pill case

The US Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on whether to restrict access to mifepristone, a commonly used abortion pill.

It is considered the most significant reproductive rights case since the court ended the nationwide right to abortion in June 2022.

The Biden administration hopes the court will overturn a decision to limit access to the drug over safety concerns raised by anti-abortion groups.

The pill has been legal since 2000.

The current legal battle in the top US court began in November 2022 when the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, an umbrella group of anti-abortion doctors and activists, filed a lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration, or FDA.

The group claims that mifepristone is unsafe and further alleges that the federal agency unlawfully approved its use in September 2000 to medically terminate pregnancies through seven weeks gestation.

Mifepristone is used in combination with another drug – misoprostol – for medical abortions, and it is now the most common way to have an abortion in the US.

Medical abortions accounted for 63% of all abortions in 2023, up from 53% in 2020, according to the Guttmacher Institute.

In total, more than five million US women have used mifepristone to terminate their pregnancies.

The court has previously ruled that it would not consider a challenge of the FDA’s approval of the drug. This case will instead centre on the federal agency’s decision to loosen restrictions of its use since 2016.

The FDA announced in 2016 that it would allow mifepristone’s use until the 10-week mark, and then in 2021 it lifted in-person dispensing requirements – a move that allowed providers to send it to patients by mail.

In 2022, the FDA moved further by allowing retail pharmacies to dispense the drug, meaning medical professionals – not just doctors – could prescribe it. The following year, a judge in Texas revoked the FDA’s approval of mifepristone.

Now, the nine judges of the conservative-leaning Supreme Court must first determine whether the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine can legally challenge the FDA in court, before ultimately deciding on whether the FDA’s changes to access were lawful.

Its decision could force the FDA to tighten the restrictions again and make it harder for Americans to access the pill.

Marsha Henderson, the former FDA associate commissioner for women’s health, said that reversing the 2016 and 2021 changes “will make reproductive care more resource-intensive and less safe”.

Ms Henderson noted that mifepristone is regulated “more strictly and studied more intensely” than most other drugs. She added that a reversal would “undermine the FDA’s congressionally granted authority and confuse patients”.

 

NSA launches global manhunt as Binance official flees custody

The Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA, has called on the public and the international community to provide information that can assist law enforcement agencies in apprehending the Executive Manager of Binance for the African region, Mr Nadeem Anjarwalla, who escaped from detention.

Head of Strategic Communication, ONSA, Mr Zakari Mijinyawa, who made the call yesterday, said a manhunt had been launched for Anjarwalla’s re-arrest.

He said: “The Federal Government, like other governments around the world, has been investigating money laundering and terrorism financing transactions perpetrated on the Binance currency exchange platform.

“Until his escape, Nadeem Anjarwalla, who holds British and Kenyan nationalities and serves as Binance’s Africa regional manager, was being tried by Nigerian courts.

“The suspect escaped while under a 14-day remand order by a court in Nigeria, and was scheduled to appear before the court again on April 4, 2024.

“The Office of the National Security Adviser confirms that Nadeem Anjarwalla, a suspect in the ongoing criminal probe into the activities of Binance in Nigeria escaped from lawful custody on Friday, March 22, 2024.

“Upon receiving this report, this office took immediate steps, in conjunction with relevant security agencies, MDAs, as well as the international community, to apprehend the suspect.

FG contacts Interpol

“Security agencies are working with Interpol for an international arrest warrant on Nadeem Anjarwalla

“Preliminary investigation shows that Mr Anjarwalla fled Nigeria using a smuggled passport.

The personnel responsible for the custody of the suspect have been arrested, and a thorough investigation is ongoing to unravel the circumstances that led to his escape from lawful detention.”

Reports said 38-year-old Anjarwalla, who was detained by Nigerian authorities on allegations of tax evasion and other charges, fled on Friday, from a guest house in Abuja where he and a colleague were being held when security personnel on duty allowed him to visit a nearby mosque for prayers in the spirit of the on-going Ramadan fast.

Anjarwalla, and Tigran Gambaryan, another Binance executive, were arrested and detained on their arrival in Nigeria on February 26, 2024, resulting in a series of legal actions against them and the cryptocurrency exchange.

The Briton, who also has Kenyan citizenship, is believed to have flown out of Abuja using a Middle East airliner.

How the Binance executive whose British passport with which he entered Nigeria is still in the custody of Nigerian authorities escaped using an international flight, is still being investigated.

Security agencies are said to be working to unravel his intended destination to apprehend him.

An Immigration official reportedly said Anjarwalla fled Nigeria on a Kenyan passport, adding that security agencies were trying to determine how he obtained the passport, given that he had no other travel document on him apart from the British passport when he was arrested.

A source said the two Binance officials were detained at a “comfortable guest house” and allowed many privileges, including use of telephones, a loophole he exploited to plot an escape.

 

We want the safety of our officers, the resolution of issues with Nigeria–Binance

Meanwhile, Binance has said it is aware that one of its two executives detained in Nigeria was no longer in Nigeria’s custody.

However, the company said it is more interested in their safety and is working closely with the Nigerian government towards resolving all issues.

A reliable source in the Crypto company who spoke to Vanguard on condition of anonymity, said: “We were made aware that Nadeem is no longer in Nigerian custody. Our primary focus remains the safety of our employees, and we are working collaboratively with Nigerian authorities to quickly resolve this issue.”

Pressed further on whether the escapee had contacted the office on his whereabouts, the source said: “Unfortunately, there is nothing more I can share with you at this point.”

Vanguard also tried to contact the family of the escaped Binance executive without success. Sources close to the family said: “Since the arrest of the two executives, the families have been traumatized but at this point, there is nothing to share from the families.

‘’They just want the issues resolved and the detained executives returned to meet their loved ones who have missed their presence all this time they’ve been away.”

Charges against them

A criminal charge had been filed against the two executives before a Magistrate Court in Abuja.

The charges were filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, according to the Special Adviser (Media) to the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, Mr. Dare Adekanbi.

The lawsuit, designated as suit number FHC/ABJ/CR/115/2024, implicates Binance with a four-count tax evasion accusation.

On February 28 2024, the court granted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, an order to remand the duo for 14 days.

The court also ordered Binance to provide the Nigerian government with the data/information of Nigerians trading on its platform.

Following Binance’s refusal to comply with the order, the court extended the remand of the officials for an additional 14 days to prevent them from tampering with evidence. The court then adjourned the case till April 4, 2024.

Also on March 22, the Nigerian government approached the Federal High Court in Abuja and slammed another four-count charge on Binance Holdings Limited, Mr Anjarwalla and Mr Gambaryan, accusing them of offering services to subscribers on their platform while failing to register with the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, to pay all relevant taxes administered by the Service and in so doing, committed an offence, contrary to and punishable under Section 8 of the Value Added Tax Act of 1993 (as Amended).

The defendants were also accused of offering taxable services to subscribers on their trading platform while failing to issue invoices to those subscribers to determine and pay their value-added taxes and, in so doing, committed an offence contrary to and punishable under S.29 of the Value Added Tax Act of 1993 (as amended).

The Nigerian government said over $21.6 billion was traded by Nigerians whose identities were concealed by Binance.

The government also claimed its investigations revealed that unscrupulous elements were using Binance for money laundering, terrorist financing, currency speculation and market manipulation, distorting the Nigerian economy and weakening the naira against other currencies.

In the suit, the Federal Government also accused Binance of failure to register with FIRS for tax purposes and contravening existing tax regulations within the country.

One of the counts in the lawsuit pertains to Binance’s alleged failure to collect and remit various categories of taxes to the federation as stipulated by Section 40 of the FIRS Establishment Act 2007 as amended.

Section 40 of the Act explicitly addresses the non-deduction and non-remittance of taxes, prescribing penalties and potential imprisonment for defaulting entities.

The charges further detailed specific instances where Binance purportedly violated tax laws, such as failing to issue invoices for VAT purposes, thus obstructing the determination and payment of taxes by subscribers.

“Any company that transacts business over N25 million annually is deemed by the Finance Act to be present in Nigeria.

“According to this rule, Binance falls into that category. So, it has to pay taxes like Company Income Tax (CIT) and also collect and pay Value Added Tax (VAT).

“But Binance did not do this properly. So, the company broke Nigerian laws and could be investigated and taken to court for this infraction,” Adekanmbi said.

He added that the federal government remained resolute in its commitment to ensuring compliance with tax regulations and combating financial impropriety within the cryptocurrency sector.

Guilty in US

The detention of a Binance executive and his colleague who escaped from Nigeria, began months after the crypto exchange platform pleaded guilty and agreed to pay $4.3 billion to settle criminal money laundering charges levelled by the US Department of Justice.

Binance founder and CEO, Changpeng Zhao, also known as CZ, pleaded guilty and agreed to resign. His criminal trial has been postponed to April 30 by a US court.

 

US bridge collapses after cargo ship collision

The Francis Scott Key Bridge in the US city of Baltimore collapsed after a ship collided with it, the Maryland Transportation Authority said early Tuesday.

“I-695 Key Bridge collapse due to ship strike,” the MTA posted on social media platform X, referring to the interstate highway. It urged drivers to avoid the route over the Patapsco River, which it called an “active scene”.

Earlier, the MTA had said interstate lanes in both directions were closed due to an “incident” on the bridge and that traffic was being redirected.

A police spokesperson from the Baltimore Police Department told NBC News that people were possibly in the river.

“I can confirm at 1:35 a.m., Baltimore City police were notified of a partial bridge collapse, with workers possibly in the water, at the Francis Scott Key Bridge,” Detective Niki Fennoy said in a statement.

Ship monitoring website MarineTraffic showed a Singapore-flagged container ship called the Dali stopped under the bridge early Tuesday.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scoot and Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr both said they were aware of the incident and that rescue efforts were underway.

“Please pray for those impacted,” Olszewski posted on X.