Day: January 10, 2025

US President Joe Biden said Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin was in “tough shape,” after Washington and London imposed sweeping sanctions against Moscow’s energy sector over its invasion of Ukraine.

“Putin is in tough shape right now, and I think it’s really important that he not have any breathing room to continue to do the god-awful things he continues to do,” Biden told reporters at the White House.

Biden added that there was a “real chance Ukraine can prevail” if it continues to get Western support, with just days until Donald Trump takes over the US presidency.

A January 6 rioter who fled the United States after being sentenced for his role in the 2021 Capitol assault was arrested on the four-year anniversary in western Canada, authorities told AFP Friday.

The 32-year-old man, Antony Vo of Indiana, had been sentenced to nine months behind bars and ordered to report to a US federal prison on June 14, 2024, but instead fled north.

He later told reporters he escaped to Canada in hopes of being pardoned when President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House.

“We can confirm that Mr Vo, a fugitive from US justice, was arrested without incident in Whistler, British Columbia on January 6,” the Canada Border Services Agency said in a written statement to AFP.

The agency added that it had no record of Vo’s entry into Canada through an official border crossing and had “a legal obligation to return all foreign nationals who are not allowed in Canadian territory.”

A hearing in Canada regarding Vo’s request to remain in the country is scheduled for January 15, his lawyer told media.

Vo was convicted at a jury trial in Washington of four counts of entering a restricted building and disorderly conduct related to his actions.

More than 1,500 people have been charged in connection with the January 6, 2021 assault on Congress, which sought to disrupt certification of President Joe Biden’s election victory.

Trump, who falsely claims he won the 2020 election, has called the rioters “patriots” and “political prisoners” and has said he is inclined to pardon many of them after he takes office again on January 20.

Vo previously told AFP he hopes to stay in Canada “until the situation is safe for me to return” to the United States.

“When Donald Trump takes office, I hope he pardons me and the rest of the January 6 protestors.”

The White House on Friday refused to comment on tech giant Meta’s shock announcement earlier this week that it was ending its third-party fact-checking program in the United States.

“When any corporation or company makes a decision… we just are not going to comment,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.

“So I’m not going to comment on this,” she said, adding that about content moderation.

She said, however, that social media companies have an “important role to play in enforcing their own rules to prevent to spread of misinformation.”

Meta founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg triggered alarm on Tuesday when he announced his tech company was ditching fact-checking on its platforms in the United States.

The tech tycoon said that fact-checkers were “too politically biased” and the program had led to “too much censorship.”

As an alternative, Zuckerberg said Meta’s platforms, Facebook and Instagram, would use “Community Notes,” similar to the Elon Musk-owned platform X.

Community Notes is a crowd-sourced moderation tool that X has promoted as the way for users to add context to posts, but researchers have repeatedly questioned its effectiveness in combating falsehoods.

Meta’s decision comes after years of criticism from supporters of President-elect Donald Trump, among others, that conservative voices were being censored or stifled under the guise of fighting misinformation, a claim professional fact-checkers vehemently reject.

US President Joe Biden will give a televised farewell address to the nation on Wednesday, the White House said, five days before Donald Trump returns to power.

“On Wednesday, January 15 at 8:00 pm, the President will deliver a Farewell Address to the nation from the Oval Office,” the White House said in a statement on Friday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he spoke with US counterpart Joe Biden on Friday and thanked him for his “unwavering support”, less than two weeks before the Democrat leaves office.

Biden has raced to provide as much aid to Kyiv as possible ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20, amid fears the Republican will slash support for the US ally once in power.

“I spoke with (Biden) and expressed my condolences over the devastating wildfires in California and the tragic loss of lives,” Zelensky said in a post on X.

“I also thanked him for the unwavering support of Ukraine’s independence and for the vital role the United States has played in uniting the international community,” he added.

The Biden administration has been steadfast in its support for Ukraine, announcing almost $6 billion in new military and budget assistance last month ahead of Trump’s return.

Trump has promised to resolve the conflict in “24 hours” once in office, raising fears in Ukraine that it will be forced to make major concessions in exchange for peace.

Moscow accelerated its advances in Ukraine last year, as Kyiv’s overstretched army suffered from exhaustion and a lack of manpower.

The decomposed body of a woman was found inside a refrigerator in a house in Madhya Pradesh’s Dewas city on Friday, following which a former tenant was taken into custody for questioning, police officials said.

The saree-clad woman, who was wearing jewellery and whose hands were tied along with a noose around her neck, may have been killed last year, an official said.

The house is located in Vrindavan Dham Colony under Bank Note Press police station limits, the official added.

“The woman is in her 30s. We suspect she was killed in June 2024. After a foul smell started emanating, neighbours called the landlord who opened a portion of the house. The woman’s body was found in the refrigerator, the shelves of which had been removed. He then alerted police,” Dewas Superintendent of Police Puneet Gehlot told reporters.

The house is owned by one Dhirendra Shrivastava, who lives in Indore, the SP said.

“Shrivastava had rented his house to one Sanjay Patidar of Ujjain in June 2023. A year later, Patidar vacated the house but continued to keep his belongings in a study room and the master bedroom. He told Shrivastava he would vacate this portion later,” Mr Gehlot said.

“Patidar used to visit the house once in a while. Recently, the current tenant asked the landlord to unlock this portion of the house. The landlord showed this portion of the house to the tenant but then locked it again, since Patidar’s belongings were inside, and switched off power supply on Wednesday,” said Bank Note Press police station inspector Amit Solanki.

The incident came to light since the refrigerator stopped working after electricity was switched off and a foul smell started emanating from that portion of the house, Solanki added.

“Patidar has been taken into custody and is being questioned,” the inspector informed.

Meta Platforms is ending its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, including those for hiring, training and picking suppliers, it said in a memo to employees posted on an internal company forum on Friday.

The move comes in the run-up to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, as the company attempts to mend relations with the leader who has criticized its political content policies and threatened its CEO with imprisonment.

“The legal and policy landscape surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the United States is changing,” Janelle Gale, Vice President of Human Resources at Meta, said in the memo, which was seen by Reuters.

Gale cited recent Supreme Court decisions “signaling a shift” in how U.S. courts will approach DEI programs going forward.

“The term ‘DEI’ has also become charged, in part because it is understood by some as a practice that suggests preferential treatment of some groups over others,” she wrote.

Meta will continue to source job candidates from different backgrounds, but it will stop using a “Diverse Slate Approach”, said Gale.

The company will no longer have a dedicated team focused on DEI, she wrote. Chief Diversity Officer Maxine Williams will be taking on a new role at Meta, focused on accessibility and engagement, per the memo.

One employee comment on Gale’s memo called it “upsetting to read”.

The U.S. tech giant elected three new directors to its board on Monday, including Dana White, CEO of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and close friend of Trump.

Last week, Meta elevated prominent Republican Joel Kaplan to be its chief global affairs officer, replacing Nick Clegg.

Pentagon Press Briefing LIVE | Pentagon Holds Presser As LA Battles Wildfires | California

It’s been four days since Los Angeles became an inferno – and my home became a pile of smouldering embers.

I’m now staying at a friend’s house in La Crescenta, north of the city, after evacuating my condo in the Palisades, 30 miles (48km) away from where the fires first started on Tuesday morning.

I thought we’d be safe here, but with six active fires now burning across the city, nowhere feels safe. So far, LA’s fires have forced more than 179,000 people including myself to evacuate.

Many people I know thought they had found refuge, only to have to flee again.

We’ve had our bags packed by the door, just in case we were ordered to leave for the second time in 48 hours.

On Thursday afternoon, the moment we were dreading happened – we got an emergency evacuation notice.

We panicked, and ran to load the cars again. I checked my car – low on gas – and sent my partner out to find some. He had to drive to four different stations before he found one with any supply.

The alarm, it turned out, was false, a mistake that rattled America’s second-largest city, which was already on edge.

As a climate reporter, I am used to covering extreme weather events. Just a few weeks ago I was interviewing residents who had fled the Malibu fires. Now I’m on the other side of the story.

The Palisades Fire has already been dubbed a historic wildfire. And it will forever be burnished in my memory because it’s the wildfire that burned down my community and my home.

It began on the morning of 7 January. Small flames on the Santa Monica mountain-side that I could see from the Palisades Village. I watched it for a short while, the smoke stretching across the clear blue sky. Locals were taking photos of it.

An hour later, the flames had jumped across the ridgelines and descended down the mountain. I watched as the fire began to engulf homes and smoke billowed across the sky.

I was already extremely concerned about the Santa Ana wind warnings we’d received two days prior – up to 80mph (129kmh) wind gusts were forecast. Those, and the lack of rain we’d had made ideal conditions for a fire to spread quickly and intensely.

I felt how quickly the wind was changing, blowing embers and smoke across the town. And I could see the fire spreading, jumping from spot to spot so that it was soon surrounding the Palisades.

The scene was truly apocalyptic – a bright red sun cast an orange glow over us, and ash rained down like snow.

I ran back home and started making plans if I needed to evacuate. There didn’t feel much point in leaving right at that moment because the one road out, Sunset Blvd, was gridlocked.

I packed the important stuff first – passports, birth certificates – and then when I felt I had a bit more time, I hosed down the front of the house, hoping the water would keep my condo, one of several terraced buildings in a small development, from succumbing to the fire.

I finally decided to leave when we were told there was a mandatory evacuation order for the entirety of the Palisades. I was also getting more concerned as the fire had spread to the mountains directly in front of my house, and I had heard the winds were only going to get stronger going into the evening.

I never received a message about any evacuations or fire warnings on that first terrible day and nor did my partner. I was informed by neighbours.

I’m lucky I have a press pass and I could approach emergency services to find out what news I could. I’m so grateful that everyone I know managed to get out on time. A lot of us didn’t realise how close the flames were to our homes, due to the lack of communication and information available.

It took a while to get out. There were thousands of cars trying to leave, all desperate to flee the flames. The frustration and fear was palpable.

I thought my home would be safe as it sits on the other side of Sunset Blvd, across from the mountains. I didn’t think the fire would jump the road.

But when I got a text from a neighbour to say she saw Palisades High School on fire as she was evacuating, I knew that the fire was spreading further than anyone could have predicted. I had been watching the news – it was hard to look away – and it has been heartbreaking to see the school in flames, as well as some of our cultural landmarks, such as our local theatre.

Knowing that the wind speeds were only going to pick up as night fell, and it’s much harder to fight a fire in the dark, I realised in that moment that my home might not make it. It was a sobering thought that I might be six months pregnant and homeless.

We arrived in La Crescenta Tuesday evening. The next morning I received the news from a neighbour that our house had made it through the night. I cried with relief.

When we started to read about looting that was happening in the Palisades, we decided we would go and check on our house, and retrieve some of the irreplaceable belongings we’d left behind – photographs, journals and family jewellery.

We returned Wednesday afternoon and were allowed to drive in because of my press credentials. When we reached Sunset Blvd, our road, we saw flames and fire engines and in front of our block of condos. My heart sank.

We drove past and saw our entire cluster of condos had been levelled.

We parked the car, and raced around the back. As soon as I saw the scene I doubled up like I’d been hit. Where about 20 condos once stood there was a pile of burning rubble. The firefighters, their faces covered in ash, kept apologising that they couldn’t save our home. I was sobbing and thanking them for doing so much already.

I had to call and tell all of my neighbours that their homes were gone. I could barely get the words out.

Most of my village, I’d say about 90%, has been razed to the ground. It’s all gone. I’m reeling from the shock, from the devastation and from everything my community has lost.

I’m planning to leave the city and stay with friends further north where it’s safe and there’s no smoke. I think it will be a while before I want to come back to LA.

It’s surreal to think there’s literally nothing to go back to. No home, no library, no stores, no kids’ karate dojo, no theatre, no community centre. It’s all just gone. I keep thinking “I should have grabbed more of my stuff before I fled”.

But then I think back to one crystal clear moment before I fled my house: standing in my bedroom, trying to choose which pair of earrings to take with me – a gold pair of hoops my sisters had gifted me for my 30th, or a pair of handmade abalone shell earrings that a Native American woman had given me after reporting on her community.

I told myself, out loud: “Only take what you need. What do you need?” And I realised in a moment of clarity, whilst I was frantically scanning all of my favourite clothes, shoes, and jewellery, that I really didn’t need any of it.

I grabbed my grandmother’s ring, passports, birth certificates, and left everything else to burn.

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Trump avoids prison or fine in hush-money case sentencing

A judge has sentenced US President-elect Donald Trump to an “unconditional discharge,” bringing to an end the first criminal trial of a former US president.

The sentence in the hush-money payment case means the incoming president has been spared any penalty, including jail time or a fine, but he will still take office as the first US president with a felony conviction.

“Never before has this court been presented with such a unique and remarkable set of circumstances,” Justice Juan Merchan said shortly before announcing the sentence, calling it a “truly extraordinary case”.

Appearing via video call from Florida and flanked by his attorney and two prominent American flags, Trump declared he was “totally innocent”.

It was the first time in this year-and-half long legal saga that Trump had uttered more than a “not guilty” or given a brief affirmative answer.

Granted the chance to speak ahead of his sentencing, Trump railed against the case for several minutes.

“This has been a very terrible experience,” he said.

He claimed there had been a “weaponisation” of the judicial system and claimed the case was brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for political reasons.

“I would like to explain that I was treated very, very unfairly, and I thank you very much,” he said, before falling silent.

As Bragg watched Trump address him directly for the first time, he maintained a mostly stoic expression. He did, however, chuckle when Trump claimed Bragg had never wanted to bring the case.

After Trump had his say, Justice Merchan then took several moments to reflect on the “paradox” of the trial.

Justice Merchan noted that despite the media and political circus outside, “once the courtroom doors were closed, it was no more unique than all the other cases taking place at the same time”.

But he added that after Trump was convicted, the case took another turn when the American people elected him in November to a second presidential term.

After careful consideration, he had determined that “the only lawful sentence, without encroaching upon the highest office of the land”, was unconditional discharge – a sentence that would allow the American people a president unencumbered by pending court proceedings.

The end of a historic trial

Trump was found guilty by a New York jury of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in May 2024. His sentencing was delayed multiple times due to Supreme Court rulings and the November presidential election.

The charges stemmed from a plot to cover up a hush-money payment to an adult film star in the waning days of the 2016 election. Prosecutors argued the payment was a form of election interference aimed at keeping vital information from voters, and therefore broke the law.

In October 2016, Trump’s then-attorney, Michael Cohen, paid a woman named Stormy Daniels $130,000 (£106,000) to remain silent about a years-old alleged sexual encounter with the soon-to-be president.

After he was elected, Trump reimbursed Cohen in installments – and then falsely recorded them as legal expenses. Each of Trump’s guilty verdicts correlates to a false document related to the cover-up.

Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges and denied the sexual encounter with Ms Daniels. He repeatedly claimed the case was politically motivated persecution.

The six-week trial became a legal, political and media firestorm. Larger-than-life characters like Cohen and Daniels took the stand to face questioning from Trump’s attorneys.

Trump brought a string of family members and Republican allies to court with him each day to fill the benches behind his defence table. Each day, he turned a small media pen in the hallway outside the courtroom into his personal pulpit, using the opportunities to rail against the justice system, the press, and other adversaries.

Trump also used the furore of the trial to raise millions from supporters for his legal battles, and his campaign to retake the White House.

In the four years between his terms in office, Trump was indicted in four separate criminal cases, including his New York case. In the end, this was the only one to go to trial.

On the campaign trail and social media, Trump used his legal quagmires to portray himself – and his supporters – as victims of a rigged justice system.

Despite the multiple indictments, including two that centred on his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, Trump decisively defeated Vice-President Kamala Harris in November.

His victory quashed the two federal prosecutions against him, including his federal election interference case and one involving alleged mishandling of classified documents. The third, an election interference case in Fulton County, Georgia, has been stuck in a series of delays and side dramas for months.

Only Trump’s hush-money trial ever reached its conclusion, after Justice Merchan dug his heels in early January and demanded Trump appear virtually or in person for his sentencing.

The battles did not stop there, however. Trump’s lawyers frantically filed appeals and even petitioned the US Supreme Court to halt the Friday hearing.

The Supreme Court rejected him in a brief order issued Thursday night.

They also fought to have the case dismissed by arguing that presidents-elect have immunity from criminal prosecution, an argument Justice Merchan rejected but they have continued to argue to higher courts.

When Trump’s New York trial adjourned with a final bang of the gavel on Friday, it also brought to a close this particularly fraught chapter in his personal and political history.

When he is sworn in 10 days from now, he will do so as the first US president to have ever been convicted of a felony.

As he concluded his sentencing on Friday, Justice Merchan had one final message for Trump.

“I wish you Godspeed as you assume your second term in office,” he said.

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A village chief from the Kuki tribes has termed as “baseless” an allegation by a woman that Kuki villagers assaulted her when she tried to build a house in Manipur’s K Lungwiram Naga village in Kangpokpi district.

Haopu Vaiphei, the chief of Leilon Khunou village, in a statement said no assault or misunderstanding happened as alleged by the woman to reporters. The Vaiphei tribe is part of the umbrella term Kuki.

“… Team of Leimakhong police station led by the OC [officer in charge] timely reached the spot and prevented all possible misunderstandings between the two parties,” the village chief said in the statement.

The woman and her brother had said when they went to build a house on a plot in K Lungwiram Naga village, some men from the Kuki tribes came and allegedly assaulted her. K Lungwiram village falls under Kangchup Geljang subdivision in Kangpokpi district.

In the statement, the Leilon Khunou village chief said the woman’s unfounded allegation has flared up emotions, and appealed to the public not to be misled by such baseless claims.

“… The fact was that, on seeing the levelling of the ground with JCB [bulldozer], some village elders including some women approached her and cordially asked her to stop the work as it was not appropriate to take up such activities during this time due to the prevailing unrest in the state.

“To avoid further misunderstanding and complications, each party agreed not to take any video dips of the incident at the site. The team of Leimakhong police station led by the OC timely reached the spot and prevented all possible misunderstandings between the two parties.

“Further, the sub-divisional officer of Kangchup-Geljang visited the site on the same day, met both the parties and verbally requested not to take up any further issue as he would call for a hearing within a few days. Accordingly, the hearing at the office of Deputy Commissioner, Kangpokpi is scheduled on January 10,” the village chief, Haopu Vaiphei, said.

“It was unfortunate that the said lady, later in the evening, made a video clip alleging physical assault which was totally baseless. Further, such unfounded allegation has flared up emotions from our Eastern Liangmai Women Union to block the road at Makhan village, causing immense misery to commuters including the sick, children and the elderly…” Mr Vaiphei said.

“Our Side Of Story”

Rufina Chindeiniang from the village chief’s family in a nearly eight-minute video statement said the woman does not live in the village, and she came from the state capital Imphal.

“Let us all remember that every coin has two sides. You all have heard their story. Now please listen to our side of the story. She does not live in Lungwiram. She came from Imphal. The incident is not linked to Lungwiram village. She bought the land in her individual capacity from another person, Amson, who is the chief of Konsakhul, meaning he is the king there, and he sold land from our Leilon Khunou village. We never knew about it,” Ms Chindeiniang said.

“For example, if somebody comes suddenly to your land without any prior notice to build a house, what would you think… In brief, on January 6, we requested earnestly, very humbly, that till there is some clarity, please stop the work since it was Leilon Khunou village land. Once clarity comes, they can continue their work. They came the next day with workers. Despite requesting them again, they continued working on the land…” Ms Chindeiniang said, adding the woman must instead question how did Amson sell the land that did not belong to him.

Ms Chindeiniang said they have all relevant documents to prove land and village ownership, and asked the woman to bring her papers if she wishes to put up a challenge. She also asked the woman, who wanted to build a house, not to drag in the entire Naga tribes at a sensitive time in Manipur just to solve her individual issue.

The civil society group World Kuki-Zo Intellectual Council (WKZIC) has already condemned a “quit notice” served to Kukis by the Konsakhul Village Authority, “based on invalid British India 2 anna revenue stamp of 1893 (manipulated and forged land lease agreement written in ballpoint ball ink), appropriated for 12th October 1920 when ballpoint pen was invented only in 1938…”

WKZIC appeal to the villagers of Khonsakhul pic.twitter.com/gtBf2JETnY

— WORLD KUKI-ZO INTELLECTUAL COUNCIL (WKZIC) (@wkzic) January 9, 2025

The Konsakhul (Konsaram) Village Authority in a memorandum on Wednesday said the “Leilon Vaiphei were allowed to settle as tenants on land of the Konsaram Naga,” and they must vacate the village land in 15 days.

The WKZIC in a statement posted on X said, “Leilon Vaiphei Kuki village and its hamlet villages are located within the British Jampi Area 1907 of Khongjai Hills (1741-42) and Kuki Hills (1852-1949), respectively.”

Naga Organisation’s Claims

The Foothill Naga Joint Action Committee in a statement questioned claims by the Kangpokpi-based Kuki organisation Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU) that the Konsakhul-Leilon boundary dispute was a village-level issue.

“… Why did CoTU representatives arrive at our gate late at night on January 8, seeking to apologise? Besides, how can you explain the involvement of your so-called ‘tiger party/refugee militants’ outraging modesty of a Naga woman on January 7 K Lungwiram. Your actions contradict your words, and now your modus operandi has already been exposed,” the joint action committee said.

“Our commitment to neutrality in the conflict between the Kuki-Zo and Meitei communities remains steadfast. This neutrality does not grant you the right to mock or challenge our position. We have consistently demonstrated our dedication to peace and neutrality, yet you continue to test our patience with your immature provocations…” it said.

President-elect Donald Trump and former President Barack Obama were seen engaging in a friendly conversation at President Jimmy Carter’s funeral on January 9, 2025.

This unexpected moment of camaraderie between the two political rivals quickly went viral on social media. Trump, who was unaware of how their interaction looked, later commented on the moment, saying, “I said, ‘Boy, they look like two people that like each other.’ And we probably do.” Despite their differing political philosophies, Trump expressed that they simply “got along” and enjoyed the ceremony.

The funeral, held at Washington’s National Cathedral, brought together five living former US presidents, including Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and outgoing President Joe Biden. Vice President Kamala Harris, who had a contentious 2024 election loss to Trump, was also in attendance and appeared intrigued by the exchange between the two former presidents. However, she did not greet Trump during the service.

Trump and Obama have a history of criticising each other, with Trump spreading the birther conspiracy theory about Obama and repeatedly attacking the Obamas. However, in August, Trump issued unusual praise for his predecessor, calling him “a nice gentleman” and saying he respects the Obamas, per CNN.

The state funeral of President Jimmy Carter offered a fleeting moment of national unity, just 11 days before Trump’s inauguration on January 20. Carter was remembered for his character, humanitarian efforts, and significant contributions to foreign policy. Outgoing President Joe Biden, delivered a eulogy highlighting Carter’s foresight and character.

The moment between Trump and Obama has sparked conversations online, with many commenting on the unexpected display of friendship between the two political figures. As one user commented, “He was expecting a hello from Kamala”. The interaction has also been seen as a rare moment of unity among the living former US presidents, who were all in attendance at the funeral.
 

A video of Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s brother Tirupati Reddy arriving for a school function in a convoy led by a police car and being welcomed with a marching band and a parade has gone viral, igniting controversy and attracting barbs from opposition parties BRS and BJP. Tirupati Reddy holds no official position in the state.

The video, from the state’s Vikarabad district, shows the convoy pulling up near the school and Mr Reddy being handed a bouquet of flowers as he exits a black SUV. Students are lined up on either side of the road and a band marches towards the chief minister’s brother. Mr Reddy is then welcomed by one of the students leading a mini parade.

Taking to X on Friday, BRS working president KT Rama Rao took a veiled dig at Revanth Reddy and his brothers and said Telangana has got half a dozen chief ministers after the Congress came to power, even though it elected only one.

Continuing in a sarcastic vein, Mr Rao said, “My wishes to Vikarabad chief minister Tirupati Reddy.”

Tamil Nadu BJP Spokesperson NV Subhash said Tirupati Reddy enjoys privileges like a police convoy even though he is not an MP, MLA or even a corporator. The Vikarabad District Collector, Mr Subhash alleged was acting like Mr Reddy’s “personal bodyguard” during the school event.

Congress Spokesperson Sama Rammohan Reddy told news agency PTI that it is for a school’s management to decide who it wants to invite for its events and how it wants to welcome the person.

He also alleged that family members of the then Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao violated rules and protocols several times during the party’s nearly decade-long rule in the state.

Internet giant Meta’s fact-checking programme aims to counter false information on its social platforms — Facebook, Instagram and Threads — with the help of media organisations, including AFP.

Here is a guide to how it works, following Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement on January 6 that he was halting the programme in the United States.

Who does fact-checking?

Meta has since 2016 tasked journalists with assessing false information on its platforms under its “third-party fact-checking” programme — which currently has 80 media organisations working on it.

In the United States, for example, Meta has 10 media partners for the programme, including AFP, USA Today and specialist fact-check sites Lead Stories and PolitiFact.

The partners are certified by the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), set up in 2015 by the Poynter Institute, a US-based non-profit media training and advocacy group.

To be certified by the IFCN, media organisations must meet its standards of editorial quality, neutrality and independence.

Zuckerberg said he will replace the fact-checks with user-generated “community notes” similar to those used on rival platform X, formerly Twitter, owned by Elon Musk.

What do fact-checkers do?

AFP publishes fact-check articles in 26 languages, aimed at readers of posts published in those tongues.

The articles explain why claims are misleading and provide correct information for readers.

To start their articles, AFP’s 150 fact-checkers identify claims that are misleading, potentially dangerous and circulating widely on the platforms.

They verify facts, not opinions or beliefs.

They do so by assembling concrete evidence that is transparently sourced and cross-checked.

They explain the steps of their investigation and publish weblinks to their sources where possible.

The media organisation that produces a fact-check article publishes it on their own website.

In the case of AFP fact checks published in English, this site is factcheck.afp.com.

How does Meta use fact-checks?

To apply a fact-check to a claim circulating online, the media organisation enters the web address of its article into an interface provided by Meta.

This interface associates the article with the social media post containing the false or misleading information.

This causes the misleading post to become less widely viewed on the social platform and a rating such as “false” or “misleading” to appear alongside the post.

The post is not removed from the platform — instead, a link to the fact-checking article appears under the post, directing readers to the verified information.

Users who have shared the misleading post receive a notification providing them with a link to the fact-check article.

If the author of the post corrects it, the rating is removed and the restriction on how many users see the post is lifted.

When are fact-check articles paid for?

Meta pays the media organisations for publishing the articles that are linked to the misleading posts.

The media organisations may write articles on any subject they choose — even concerning misinformation that is not circulating on Meta’s platforms.

But Meta only pays them for the articles that are linked to specific posts on its platforms.

Meta does not apply ratings or attach fact-checks to posts by political figures.

This does not prevent the media organisations from publishing articles about such posts — as AFP regularly does. But they do not receive payment from Meta for those articles.

Fact-checkers are not to be confused with Meta’s content moderators.

Moderators remove posts that break a platform’s rules, for example ones that feature pornography or racist content, or incite terrorism or violence.
 

Russia’s shadow, or ghost, fleet was back in focus Friday after the country was hit by Western sanctions on its key oil sector.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the number of oil tankers with opaque ownership or without proper insurance has soared, enabling Moscow to keep on exporting its crude.

The United States and Britain on Friday announced sanctions against Russia’s energy sector, including oil giant Gazprom Neft.

The US designated more than 180 ships as well as Russian oil majors Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas as subject to sanctions.

The UK also announced sanctions against the two companies.

“Western governments’ efforts to reduce the shadow fleet through sanctions on individual vessels have only been marginally effective,” US think tank Atlantic Council said in a December report.

What is a ghost fleet?

The Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) defines a ghost fleet as commercial vessels that are neither owned by countries in the G7 coalition with the European Union, or that do not use protection and indemnity (P&I) insurance.

Such ships, also called “dark fleets”, are used additionally by Iran and Venezuela as a way of getting round US sanctions.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago, “the shadow fleet — which previously mostly transported goods to and from Iran and Venezuela — has exploded in size”, according to the Atlantic Council.

It estimates that around 17 percent of all oil tankers currently belong to the shadow fleet, which also comprises other merchant vessels.

KSE on Friday noted that in November, Russian oil export revenues dropped $1.1 billion to $14.6 billion on lower prices and export volumes.

At the same time, “greater coordination between jurisdictions is needed to strengthen sanctions enforcement and close loopholes, making it harder for Russia to sustain shadow fleet operations”, it added.

Ghost fleet risks?

Prior to Friday’s events, Russia had been slapped with an oil embargo, a price cap on its crude and a ban on providing services to ship oil by sea to stop it financing its war with Ukraine.

To get around them, Moscow has had to reduce its dependence on Western maritime services by buying tankers and providing its own insurance.

None of the ships in the Russian ghost fleet has adequate P&I insurance — a must for commercial vessels to cover risks from war, collisions or environmental damage such as oil spills.

Up to 95 percent of the P&I insurance market is made of insurers from the European Union and the UK, both of which have slapped several rounds of sanctions on Russia since the start of the war.

For the Atlantic Council, the shadow fleet is a non-military but powerful weapon because Ukraine backers would pay the price in the event of an accident at sea with a Western ship, or an oil spill.