Meta drops $23bn to settle lawsuit + Are...

Thursday Headlines: 

• Meta agrees to settle for $23bn in teen social media addiction lawsuit
• More than 150 dead in devastating flash floods in Nepal and China
• Albanese caves on data centre renewables as Queensland wins coal-and-gas carve-out
• Antisemitism royal commission wraps up with powerful message from Sydney Rabbi
• Legendary actor Tim Curry dead at 80
• Miley Cyrus pays tribute to Dolly Parton

Deep Dive: Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February of 2022, the country hasn't held an election due to martial law, which bans a vote while the war is on. 

Volodymyr Zelensky's term expired back in 2024, and now, for the first time, a senior figure inside his own camp is demanding a vote, with former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov breaking ranks to call for a wartime election. 

So is this a genuine democratic reckoning, or an opening for Russia to destabilise Ukraine from within? 

In this episode of The Briefing, Sacha Barbour Gatt is joined by Politico journalist Ryan Heath to unpack the turmoil and corruption in Kyiv, whether Ukrainians support the idea of a wartime election and what it could mean for the country and its fight against Russia. 

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