International
Zuckerberg’s Meta Faces Competition Lawsuit in U.S.
The trial will extend until July 2025. If the FTC wins this first phase, a second and even tougher stage would begin, aiming to argue that forcing Meta to sell Instagram and WhatsApp would directly benefit competition and consumers.
Zuckerberg is back in the news, this time not to announce the purchase of another company, but quite the opposite.
Union Rayo, reported that this time, Zuckerberg has had to defend himself in a trial that could redefine the history of digital business.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has taken Meta (the parent company led by the mogul) to court, accusing them of eliminating competition through “killer acquisitions” (buying the competition to shut it down).
That’s exactly the case here, and Zuckerberg might have to say goodbye to his last two purchases: WhatsApp and Instagram. How legal is it to buy your competitors so they won’t outshine you? That’s for a judge to decide.
This trial has been open since April 14, and it has revealed some incredible facts, such as that the purchase of those last two social networks, WhatsApp (one billion dollars) and Instagram (19 billion dollars), could be an illegal strategy.
On the stand, Zuckerberg himself admitted that Facebook is no longer used to connect with family and friends. Want to know more about what’s happening to Meta? We’ll tell you below.
“Facebook no longer serves its original purpose”
During his testimony, Zuckerberg admitted that the social network that made him a billionaire is no longer what it used to be.
Today, he explained, Meta is no longer about personal relationships.
Meta is focused on content, discovering viral trends, and following global conversations.
He said it himself: what used to be a platform to share pictures of your cat with distant relatives or childhood classmates is now a showcase where the algorithm is in charge.
Justifying the most controversial acquisitions
The trial also focused (a lot) on Meta’s two most controversial acquisitions: Instagram (in 2012) and WhatsApp (in 2014). Zuckerberg defended both decisions.
He said those platforms wouldn’t have survived without Meta’s investment, and now they’re essential tools for billions of people. Basically, his argument was: “We didn’t destroy them, we made them bigger”
The FTC’s accusations: a strategy to eliminate competition?
In search of a solo reign? Of course, the FTC didn’t see it that way at all.
During the trial, internal emails were shown where Zuckerberg described Instagram as a “terrifying threat” that had to be neutralized “at all costs”.
A rejected 6 billion dollar offer for Snap in 2013 was also revealed, which, according to prosecutors, proves a systematic policy of eliminating rivals.
Was it then a strategy to get rid of the competition? Naturally, the ghost of monopoly is hanging over them, since they have 2 billion direct users between WhatsApp and Instagram alone, with these two companies generating more than half of Meta’s advertising revenue.
“We are not a monopoly”
Meta insists it’s not acting alone. Platforms like TikTok, Reddit, YouTube and X (formerly Twitter) are cited as direct competition.
The company also reminds everyone that all of its acquisitions were legally approved at the time. And of course, undoing them now would just be changing the rules of the tech game.
What’s coming: a battle
The trial will extend until July 2025. If the FTC wins this first phase, a second and even tougher stage would begin, aiming to argue that forcing Meta to sell Instagram and WhatsApp would directly benefit competition and consumers.
What’s at stake?
Basically, the future of how large digital platforms work.
If Meta loses, it wouldn’t be surprising if other giants like Google or Amazon start facing similar lawsuits.
Pressure against big tech isn’t new, but this time, the one on the ropes is Zuckerberg. And this time, there’s no “like” button to save him
International
US vice president’s wife, Usha Vance, announces fourth pregnancy
The couple, who married in 2014, already have three children — Ewan, Vivek, and Mirabel.
FILE – Vice President JD Vance, right, and second lady Usha Vance.
Usha Vance, the wife of United States Vice President JD Vance, has announced that she is pregnant with her fourth child.
In a post on X on Tuesday, the second lady said she is expecting a baby boy in late July.
“Usha and the baby are doing well,” a statement posted on Tuesday to the second lady’s social media account read.
The couple, who married in 2014, already have three children — Ewan, Vivek, and Mirabel.
Usha Vance, née Chilukuri, was born and raised in the working-class suburbs of San Diego, California, to a mechanical engineer father and a molecular biologist mother who moved to the US from Andhra Pradesh, India.
International
South Korea Confirms New African Swine Fever Outbreak, Culls 20,000 Pigs in Swift Response
Authorities in South Korea have confirmed a fresh case of African Swine Fever (ASF) at a pig farm in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, marking the country’s first outbreak in nearly two months since November 2025.
The infection was detected after 32 pigs died at the facility on January 16, 2026, with laboratory tests confirming that 29 of them tested positive for the highly contagious and fatal virus.
The outbreak, reported by the Gangwon provincial government and covered by major outlets including Yonhap News Agency and The Korea Herald, prompted immediate quarantine measures.
In response, officials culled approximately 20,000 pigs at the affected farm to halt the spread of the disease.
A 48-hour standstill order was also imposed on pig farms across six neighboring cities and counties, restricting movements to prevent further transmission.
Prime Minister Kim Min-seok directed emergency containment efforts, including restricted site access, intensive disinfection protocols, and investigations into the outbreak’s origin.
The government is prioritizing rapid tracing and biosecurity enhancements to safeguard the nation’s pork industry.
ASF, a viral disease devastating to domestic pigs and wild boars, causes high mortality rates but poses no risk to human health or food safety when pork is properly cooked.
This incident in Gangwon Province — the first ASF case recorded in the region in about 14 months — underscores ongoing challenges in controlling the virus, which has affected South Korea since 2019 through both farm infections and detections in wild boars.
Officials continue monitoring nearby farms and wild populations as part of heightened national vigilance.
International
High-speed train collision in Spain kills at least 39
Spanish Transport Minister Óscar Puente described the incident as “extremely strange” as officials launched an investigation.
At least 39 people have died in a train collision in southern Spain and dozens more have been injured in the country’s worst rail crash in more than a decade, according to Spain’s Civil Guard.
Carriages on a Madrid-bound train derailed and crossed over to the opposite tracks, colliding with an oncoming train in Adamuz, near the city of Córdoba.
Four hundred passengers and staff were onboard both trains, the rail networks said.
At least 73 people were taken to hospital – 24 of them seriously injured, including four children – according to Andalusia’s emergency services.
Spanish Transport Minister Óscar Puente described the incident as “extremely strange” as officials launched an investigation.
All the railway experts consulted by the government “are extremely baffled by the accident”, Puente told reporters in Madrid.
Rail network operator Adif said the collision happened at 19:45 local time (18:45 GMT), about an hour after the train left Málaga heading to Madrid, when it derailed on a straight stretch of track.
The force of the crash pushed the carriages of the second train into an embankment, Puente said.
He added that most of those killed and injured were in the front carriages of the second train, which was travelling from Madrid to Huelva.
The type of train involved in the crash was a Freccia 1000, which can reach top speeds of 400 km/h (250 mph), a spokesperson for the Italian rail company Ferrovie dello Stato told the Reuters news agency.
Credit: BBC
-
News2 days agoLagos urges residents to prepare for 64 days traffic from Lekki Phase 1–Ajah Bridge as reconstruction begins
-
News3 days agoLASEMA Averts Tanker Explosion in Lagos
-
Crime3 days agoFather of Kano serial killer calls for son’s execution
-
International3 days agoHigh-speed train collision in Spain kills at least 39
-
News3 days agoFG declares Sowore Sole defendant in Cyberbullying Charges
-
Entertainment3 days agoValentino Garavani, Italy’s fashion king, dies at 93
-
News3 days agoNOA DG Urges National Assembly to criminalise Fuel Scooping
-
News3 days agoSanwo-Olu says ₦4.4trn 2026 budget for prosperity of Lagos residents
