QUICK READ
Trump
BANISHED from Twitter and Facebook, former president Donald Trump is setting out – again – to create a platform where he can communicate easily with his base and the rest of the world.
Trump announced this week that his company, Trump Media and Technology Group, would be launching a new social media platform called Truth Social.
The media company and platform were created, Trump said in a statement, to “stand up to the tyranny of Big Tech”.
“We live in a world where the
Taliban has a huge presence on Twitter, yet your favorite American President has been silenced,” he said. “This is unacceptable.” | Washington Post
Afghanistan
The UN launched a funding programme this week to help prevent the Afghan economy from collapsing during winter by getting cash flowing through the local economy again.
The UN Development Programme has set up a fund through which governments can channel finance, rather than sending money government-to-government, with Afghanistan now controlled by the Taliban.
“What we are witnessing is not only a nation and a country in the midst of political turmoil; what we are also witnessing is an economic implosion,” UNDP chief Achim Steiner told a news conference in Geneva. | AFP
Abortion
PARLIAMENTARIANS in Benin have voted to legalise abortion in the West African country, where it was already authorised under restricted conditions.
Under the new law, passed this week, women can terminate a pregnancy within the first three months if it is likely to “aggravate or cause material, educational, professional or moral distress, incompatible with the woman or the unborn child’s interest”.
Previously, abortion was authorised if pursing the pregnancy “threatened the life of the mother”, was “the result of a rape or incest” or when “the unborn child has a particularly severe affection”. | AFP
FACEBOOK’S oversight panel announced a probe of the “cross-check” or “Xcheck” system that has reportedly exempted high-profile users from its rules, accusing the company of a lack of transparency.
A series of damning Wall Street Journal stories driven by leaks have drawn outrage and fresh scrutiny of Facebook’s impact on mental health but also how it treats celebrities.
The system shields millions of elite users from rules that Facebook claims to apply equally, according to Journal reports citing internal documents. | AFP