'Risk of more violence': Twitter permanently suspends Trump's account

Agencies
January 9, 2021

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Washington, Jan 9: Twitter said Friday it has permanently suspended President Donald Trump's account, citing the risk of further violence following the assault on the US Capitol by his supporters.

"After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account," Twitter said in a blog post explaining its decision, "we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence."

Twitter -- Trump's favourite megaphone -- blocked him for 12 hours after the deadly attack on the US Capitol on Wednesday and threatened permanent suspension if he continued breaking its rules.

Trump returned to Twitter late Thursday, posting a video message that seemed aimed at calming tensions after the mayhem caused by his supporters. He acknowledged his presidency was ending and promised a smooth transition to Joe Biden, although he did not go so far as to congratulate or even say the name of his successor.

Twitter said at the time it was continuing to watch Trump's social media activity to determine whether further action was needed.

The decision to suspend Trump's account came after a pair of tweets on Friday, according to the one-to-many messaging platform.

In one of the tweets, Trump vowed that none of his supporters would be "disrespected," and in another, he said he would not be attending Biden's inauguration on January 20, as is customary.

"These two Tweets must be read in the context of broader events in the country and the ways in which the President's statements can be mobilized by different audiences, including to incite violence, as well as in the context of the pattern of behaviour from this account in recent weeks," Twitter said.

The company determined the tweets violated its "Glorification of Violence Policy," and that "user @realDonaldTrump should be immediately permanently suspended from the service."

Twitter said it also factored in that plans for more armed protests have been proliferating on and off the service, including a proposed second attack on the US Capitol and state capitol buildings on January 17.

Trump's tweeted statement about not attending the Inauguration has been received by some supporters as his continued rejection of the election's legitimacy and a sign that the event would be a "safe target" since he won't be there, according to Twitter.

Wording in Trump's Friday tweets was seen by some supporters as praise for those involved in what has been described as a coup attempt, and indication he does not plan to smoothly yield power to Biden, Twitter said in the post.

Twitter confirmed that several hundred employees signed a letter to chief executive Jack Dorsey saying they were disturbed by the "insurrection" carried out by Trump supporters, who had been rallied by the president.

The employees called for Twitter to assess the role its platform played in Wednesday's events.

"Twitter encourages an open dialogue between our leadership and employees, and we welcome our employees to express their thoughts and concerns in whichever manner feels right to them," a company spokesperson said of the letter.

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News Network
September 12,2024

Indore: Two Army officers were thrashed and one of their two women friends was allegedly gang-raped by armed miscreants when they were out on a picnic in Madhya Pradesh's Indore district in the wee hours of Wednesday.

Additional SP Rupesh Dwivedi said on Wednesday night that six suspects had been identified, two of whom have been detained from the jungles.
Both Army officers were injured in the mob attack. One of them managed to dial his senior officers but by the time police arrived from Mhow, 30km away, the woman had already been gang-raped.

The two Armymen are undergoing the Young Officers course at Infantry School, Mhow, SP Rural Hitika Vasal said.

According to the complaint filed by one of the lieutenants, the four of them had driven to Ahilya Gate near Jam Gate on Mhow-Mandleshwar road on Tuesday night. Built in 1791 by Rani Ahilyabai Holkar, Jam Gate is a popular picnic spot for its stunning views of the valley below, and the temple near Ahilya Gate draws a lot of devotees.

Around 2.30am, one of the officers and his female friend were in the car when 6-7 men attacked them. The other pair was atop a nearby hillock then and rushed down on hearing the confrontation.

The complaint says that the attackers held the pair they had attacked in the car hostage at gunpoint. They asked the other officer to bring Rs 10 lakh in ransom. This gave the officer - who was accompanied by the other woman - a chance to inform his seniors at Mhow, who in turn alerted police.

A large police force was dispatched to the spot but the attackers had escaped into the forest by then. All four of them were brought to Mhow Civil Hospital around 6.30am where a medical examination confirmed one of the women had been gang-raped. As per the duty doctor, there were injuries on both officers' bodies. "The complainant has alleged that the woman who was with him was raped, and they were looted as well," SP Vasal said.

Badgonda police registered a case under BNS sections 70 (gang-rape), 310-2 (dacoity), 308-2 (extortion) and 115-2 (voluntarily causing hurt), plus sections of Arms Act.

Forces from four police stations combed the jungles near Chhoti Jaam village and picked up two suspects.

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News Network
September 18,2024

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The founder of Taiwan's Gold Apollo, Hsu Ching-Kuang denied that his company manufactured the pagers used in the explosions that occurred in Lebanon on Tuesday, resulting in at least nine fatalities and nearly 3,000 injuries.

The detonations were triggered simultaneously by pagers used by militant-group Hezbollah members across the country.

News agency Reuters reported that images of the destroyed pagers revealed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with those produced by Gold Apollo.

A high-ranking Lebanese security official said that Hezbollah had placed an order for 5,000 pagers from the Taiwanese company.

Earlier, a New York Times (NYT) report said that pagers used by Hezbollah members that simultaneously exploded on Tuesday came from Taiwan, with Lebanon claiming that explosives packed in sometime before they arrived in Lebanon.

However, Hsu clarified that the pagers involved in the incident were manufactured by a European company called BAC, which had the right to use Gold Apollo's brand. "The product was not ours. It was only that it had our brand on it," he said, without disclosing the name of the European manufacturer. Hsu further said that Gold Apollo was also a victim in this situation.

"We are a responsible company. This is very embarrassing," Hsu said.

According to media reports, Hezbollah's fighters started using pagers believing they could avoid Israeli tracking of their locations.

Hezbollah blames Israel, vows 'punishment'

Hezbollah vowed revenge against Israel following accusations that the latter was responsible for detonating pagers throughout Lebanon.

Ziad Makary, the Lebanese information minister, denounced the detonation of the pagers, which are commonly used by Hezbollah and other groups in Lebanon for communication purposes. He labeled the incident as an "Israeli aggression". Meanwhile, Hezbollah declared that Israel would face "its fair punishment" for the explosions.

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News Network
September 17,2024

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday halted unauthorised bulldozer action against private property, anywhere in the country, till October 1, dismissing concerns by the government that demolitions sanctioned after following due process could be impacted. 

The "heavens won't fall if we ask you to hold your hands till the next hearing", a bench of Justice BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan declared.

An irate top court - which has already come down hard, twice this month, on 'bulldozer justice' meted out by various state governments - also warned the government against "grandstanding" and "glorification" of this practice. "No demolition, till next, date, without permission of this court," the government was told, and warned the Election Commission may also be put on notice.

The court's reference to the poll panel is significant given elections are due in Jammu and Kashmir (the first Assembly election in a decade) and Haryana, where the Bharatiya Janata Party is looking to return to power. Elections are also due this year in BJP-ruled Maharashtra and Jharkhand.

The court, however, also clarified its order is not applicable to removal of encroachments in public spaces such as roads, railway tracks, water bodies, etc.

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