X complies with Indian gov’t order to take down accounts, posts
India’s government ordered X to take down certain accounts and posts to prevent social media users from seeing them. X said it will comply but disagrees with India’s request.
A post on the social platform’s global government affairs account says in part, “in compliance with the orders, we will withhold these accounts and posts in India alone; however, we disagree with these actions and maintain that freedom of expression should extend to these posts.”
The post also explained that details of the executive order cannot be made public, something it also disagrees with and wants changed for the sake of transparency.
Local media reports in India are associating its government’s demands with the farmers’ protests currently taking place in the country.
Press Trust of India — the largest news agency in India — reported that government agencies demanded the removal of nearly 200 X accounts linked to the protests.
Its sources also said those accounts can be restored after the farmers’ upheaval against government policies ends.
This is not the first time a foreign government has called on X to censor certain content going against a regime. It’s also not the platform’s first time receiving orders from India to censor posts and accounts.
In 2023, Elon Musk faced criticism after calling X a place of free speech but censoring over 100 prominent accounts belonging to politicians, journalists and activists on India’s command.
X also restricted posts ahead of a presidential election in Turkey after the Turkish government threatened to shut down the platform if it didn’t comply.
Musk is challenging the Indian government’s blocking orders in a pending case. India is the third largest market for X, following the U.S. and Japan. In the past, India has issued similar censorship demands to Meta, YouTube and other big tech platforms.
“Security forces are throwing tear gas shells from the other side. Landowners and farmers are sitting here,” Balbir Singh, a farmer, told reporters. “Some of the people are being moved as they have sustained injuries. People have hurt their eyes, legs, a lot of damage has been caused.”
As authorities reportedly drop tear gas from drones, detain protesters, and cut off internet, farmers unions in India said they don’t want to clash with police. Still, union leaders added that they would not stop making their way to the capital until their demands were met.
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The protest on Friday, Feb. 16, is related to protests from 2021 when farmers camped in New Delhi for more than a year, demanding that India’s government guarantee minimum crop prices and throw out what were newly introduced agricultural laws.
As a result of the record-breaking protests in 2021, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration promised to set up a panel of farmers and officials to ensure guaranteed minimums for all crops, but farmers now accuse the government of not following through on that promise, or at least taking too long to.
In 2016, Modi also promised to double farmers’ wages by 2022, but farmers said that had not happened either, and with cultivation costs rising over the last few years, farming in India has become unprofitable.
While the protest will affect farming production, it also could affect an upcoming election as Modi looks to maintain his seat as prime minister. Farmers represent a large, influential group of voters as most of India’s population lives in the countryside. Still, experts concluded that what farmers in India are asking for — all produce to be bought at state minimum support prices — is not viable.
Meanwhile, back in Europe, protests against the European Union’s climate change policies, the rising cost of farming, and what farmers say is unfair competition from other countries like Ukraine, are expected to continue. In Poland, as a part of a 30-day farmers’ strike, farmers are expected to block all border crossings between Poland and Ukraine beginning on Tuesday, Feb. 20.
How ‘sanctioned’ Russian diamonds made their way to the US
For two years now, Ukraine has battled for its sovereignty. Russia’s invasion is reducing cities to rubble and thousands of civilians have died in the conflict. A new report said Russia can sustain its assault for another two to three years, maybe even longer. Did diamonds purchased in the U.S. help pay for this war?
Russia produces about a third of the world’s diamonds. Those diamonds bring in an estimated $4 billion per year. While President Joe Biden did sanction imports of Russian diamonds in March 2022, the order carried little consequence.
“The first thing they did, which is typical of government, is they fudged it,” said Martin Rapaport, founder and chairman of the Rapaport Group, a primary source of global diamond prices.
“You got to take an understanding of what’s going on here,” he said. “India is buying almost all of those Russian diamonds and cutting them in India. So when the president used the phrase, Russian origin, it was a whitewashing exercise because all the diamonds are cut anyways in India, and once they’re cut in India, they’re no longer Russian origin. Now they’re Indian origin.”
Roughly 90% of the world’s rough diamonds are cut and polished in India. India is a strategic partner of the U.S., which makes any action on diamonds politically challenging.
In 2024, the U.S. is ready to close the loophole. The Treasury Department announced changes to these diamond sanctions to include those that are “mined, extracted, produced or manufactured wholly or in part in the Russian Federation.” In other words, diamonds with any history in Russia fall under the rule.
On March 1, the ban goes into effect for non-industrial diamonds 1 carat or greater. By September, it includes diamonds weighing half a carat. The latest sanctions are not just from the U.S. but done together with G7 nations. G7 nations are giving themselves until September to announce a system to trace the gems’ origins.
“Now we have all these self-interested foreign parties who are literally pigging out on the idea that they can control the diamond markets,” Rapaport said.
Belgium wants all diamonds to be certified through Antwerp, known as the diamond capital of the world. It’s a proposal the diamond industry is pushing hard against. De Beers CEO Al Cook warned Bloomberg about potential unintended consequences.
“We certainly believe that we should avoid a single node, a single place of certification, and instead we should allow African countries that have produced ethical diamonds for decades to have the freedom to export those diamonds where they want in the world,” Cook said.
Anything else, Cook warned, could make ethical diamonds far more expensive.
“We all want to be in a situation where we can have sanctions that are effective and efficient,” Rapaport said.
Rapaport has proposed the U.S. use existing blockchain technology, like Tracr, which tracks diamonds from mine to market. A diamond may change hands a dozen times or more in this journey.
“So United States Customs can sit back and say, ‘Oh, you’re importing diamonds, give me the number, give me the Tracr number for this diamond,’ and they can see the entire supply chain,” he explained. “So even if it came from a legitimate mine but it was handled or traded somewhere by a sanctioned entity, bingo, the United States says these diamonds cannot come into the United States.”
Rapaport’s proposed U.S. Diamond Protocol would put the onus on the government to clear diamond imports, not jewelers. It’s a proposal he’s also shared with G7 countries.
If achieving effective sanctions on Russian diamonds were easy, it likely would not have taken two years of war to get to this point. But now G7 is months away from requiring a process with real prongs.
The United States and India are not military allies, but they’re pretty good partners. If the last two years are any indication of what’s ahead, that partnership will only get stronger.
The U.S. and India are the world’s two oldest democracies. India’s population makes it the world’s biggest democracy. But the U.S. and India didn’t always see eye to eye on most things. India is a part of BRICS, the group of countries trying to overthrow the dollar as the global reserve currency.
Typically, India tries to stay out of most global conflicts. Even though New Delhi has nukes, most of its military armaments are Russian. In the last 20 years, India spent more than $60 billion on weaponry, and 65% of that came from Russian factories.
However, there are several factors at play leading to changes in the relationship between India, the United States and Pacific allies.
First, the war in Ukraine is straining Russia’s ability to fulfill its current weapons contracts. Concerns about Russia’s ability to supply parts for the weapons systems it already sold has India looking elsewhere for its future defensive needs.
Russia wants India to sign contracts for new weapons deliveries, but India indicated that wouldn’t be happening. The two countries will still have some form of a defensive relationship for some time though, at least until India no longer needs parts for its Russian-made weaponry.
The second factor forcing India to expand its horizons is the current activity in the Pacific — specifically what China is doing. China wants to take over Taiwan, it wants to control international waters and claim other nation’s territorial waters as its own. It’s similar to the situation playing out in the Himalayas along India’s border with China.
In 2020, Chinese and Indian troops in the frontier region fought briefly. More than 20 soldiers died.
The third major factor prompting India’s pivot away from Russia is that the country wants to grow its own domestic weapons production. Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants India to export $5 billion worth of military hardware in 2025.
In this regard, the United States wants to see India succeed, as the two countries don’t need a signed treaty to benefit from what the other can bring to the table. A strong India, with a watchful eye on China, is a good thing for U.S. interests abroad, as well as beneficial in the Pacific.
The Indian Navy recently rescued several ships from Somali pirates and put out a fire on a container ship hit by Houthi missiles in the Red Sea. Washington wants to see more of that kind of commitment to the international rules-based order in the Pacific.
India is set to deliver the first of three batteries of BrahMos anti-ship supersonic cruise missiles to the Philippines by the end of March. The BrahMos was co-developed with Russia, which currently relies on China as its biggest trade partner, and the Philippines is going to use the BrahMos batteries to deter Chinese naval aggression.
In addition to selling weapons to U.S. allies, India also has an agreement in place with GE to domestically produce jet engines for its air force. India is also participating in more military exercises with the United States than it ever has before, and is a founding member of the Quad, or Quadrilateral Security Dialogue with the U.S., Japan and Australia.
Maybe the biggest sign India and the U.S. are going to be partners for years to come is the creation of the U.S.-India Defense Acceleration Ecosystem, also known as INDUS-X. It’s a small business incubator designed to develop the next generation of defensive technologies that both countries think they’ll need.
So, whether it’s cyber warfare, stealth tech or quantum engineering, any insights or knowledge gained under the INDUS-X will be shared by each country’s respective militaries. The word gets thrown around a lot these days, but that sort of agreement between the U.S. and a non-military ally is unprecedented.
Massive Russian missile attack on Ukraine kills at least 12: The Morning Rundown, Dec. 29, 2023
At least a dozen people are dead after Russia launched one of its largest missile attacks on Ukraine. And the U.S. military’s space plane takes off on a secret mission with the help of a SpaceX rocket. These stories and more highlight The Morning Rundown for Friday, Dec. 29, 2023.
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Ukrainian officials said most of Russia’s missiles, as well as drones, were shot down, but not all. The strikes killed at least 12 civilians, with dozens reported injured and many others believed to be buried under rubble.
The approximately 18-hour barrage began Thursday, Dec. 28, and continued through the night, hitting six cities, including the capital, Kyiv, with the mayor confirming at least two people were killed there. The Ukrainian Air Force spokesman said Russia “apparently launched everything they have.” The attack comes days after Ukraine struck a Russian landing warship in Crimea.
Israeli army admits fault in two deadly strikes on Gaza
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said the two strikes killed at least 70 people. An Israeli military official told Israel’s public broadcaster that an improper choice of munition was to blame. The military said it “regrets the harm to uninvolved individuals and is working to draw lessons from the incident.”
The Gaza Health Ministry said more than 21,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began, though the U.S. has cast doubt on its figures in the past since Hamas controls the agency.
Maine drops Trump from ballot, Trump remains on California ballot
I am also mindful, however, that no presidential candidate has ever before engaged in insurrection.
“I am mindful that no secretary of state has ever deprived a presidential candidate of ballot access based on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment,” Bellows wrote about her decision. “I am also mindful, however, that no presidential candidate has ever before engaged in insurrection.”
Colorado’s secretary of state said Trump will remain on the state’s ballot until the U.S. Supreme Court weighs in on the case following an appeal by the Colorado Republican Party.
The Trump campaign said it would appeal Maine’s decision to the state court system.
The ruling further heightens tensions around U.S. elections as calls for the U.S. Supreme Court to step in grow louder.
In California, the most populated state in the country, the secretary of state ruled Thursday night that Trump will remain on the state’s ballot in 2024, echoing recent decisions in Michigan and Minnesota.
The terms of Thursday’s Dec. 28 settlement were not disclosed, but the lawsuit filed in 2020 covered “millions” of Google users and sought at least $5,000 in damages per user. A federal judge in California had scheduled a February 2024 trial date for the case, but that has been put on hold as the settlement is finalized.
US population grew by nearly 2 million in 2023
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. population grew by 1.75 million people in 2023. When the clock strikes midnight on 2023, the bureau estimates the U.S. population will be 335,893,238. According to the bureau’s data released on Thursday, Dec. 28, the majority of growth happened in the South and the West, with smaller population growth in the Midwest and the Northeast.
The agency added that the U.S. will likely see one birth every 9 seconds and one death every 9.5 seconds in January, and immigration is expected to account for one new person every 28.3 seconds. Overall, it is estimated that the U.S. will grow by one person every 24.2 seconds.
Fast-forward to 2080, and the Census Bureau says the U.S. population could be as high as 370 million. The U.S. is the third most populated country in the world, behind only China and India. Globally, the population grew by 75 million people in 2023, surpassing 8 billion people. According to the census data, the world expects to see 4.3 births and two deaths every second in January.
U.S. military’s mysterious spaceplane launches via SpaceX rocket
This was the first time the plane was launched atop SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Where the space plane is headed for in its seventh mission is anyone’s guess. The U.S. Space Force disclosed few details, but since the plane was launched by SpaceX’s powerful rocket, experts suggest X-37B could be heading for distant orbits, like the moon or Mars.
We know one test the plane is carrying, a NASA experiment to study how plant seeds are affected by the radiation in space, but other than that, the goals of the military’s space plan remain a mystery.
India builds world’s largest renewable energy project
India’s Adani Green Energy is constructing a 30-gigawatt hybrid renewable energy park, combining wind and solar on the salt flats of Gujarat, one of the largest salt deserts in the world. The Khavda Renewable Energy Park spans 280 square miles and aims to contribute significantly to India’s goal of installing 500 gigawatts of clean energy by 2070.
On Tuesday, Dec. 5, Adani Green Energy announced a $1.36 billion USD green loan from an international bank to support the expansion of its renewable power capacity.
The Rann is an unforgiving salt desert and marshland. It is considered a “wasteland” by Indian government standards. Environmental experts and social activists disagree with that assessment.
“The salt desert is a unique landscape” that is “rich in flora and fauna,” including flamingos, desert foxes and migratory bird species that fly from Europe and Africa to winter in this region, according to Abi T. Vanak, a conservation scientist with the Bengaluru-based Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment.
Regarding renewable energy projects exempt from environmental impact assessments, “there is no system in place” to determine the best places for them, according to Sandip Virmani, an environmentalist based in Kutch.
He fears that dairies and other local businesses in the region might be impacted by large-scale projects.
“It has to be in the context of not compromising on another economy,” Virmani said.
Flamingos — among other migratory birds — typically arrive in the southern and western coastal regions of India in December after completing their breeding cycle in the Rann.
This cycle involves mating, building mud nests, laying eggs and hatching.
41 workers rescued from a collapsed tunnel in India after 17 days
More than six hours after breaking through rock and debris, rescuers initiated the evacuation of 41 construction workers trapped for 17 days in a collapsed 3-mile tunnel in the Uttarakhand state of India. Ambulances, with lights flashing, awaited at the tunnel’s mouth to transport the laborers approximately 20 miles to the nearest hospital.
Despite receiving essential supplies through a pipe, previous attempts to dig a rescue tunnel using high-powered drilling machines faced numerous setbacks. The workers had been trapped in the tunnel since its collapse on Nov. 12, following a landslide.
The evacuation involved pulling each worker, one at a time, on wheeled stretchers through a narrow pipe. The trapped workers, who endured repeated setbacks in the rescue operation, had plenty of space in the tunnel and received food, water and other necessities.
“I am feeling very excited that after so many days of waiting my brother is about to come out …whatever (joy) I am feeling now, after they actually get out, it will be something else altogether,” said Devender Kishku, a relative of trapped tunnel worker.
Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, expressed relief and happiness on X, formerly twitter, after the successful rescue of all workers from the Silkyara Tunnel in Uttarkashi.
“I am very happy that all the 41 trapped workers have come out and their lives have been saved,” Gadkari said in the video.
He commended the well-coordinated effort by multiple agencies, highlighting it as one of the most significant recent rescue operations.
Workers trapped for 10th day in collapsed Indian tunnel
Rescue efforts for 41 construction workers trapped in a collapsed tunnel face multiple challenges, including machine malfunctions and the constant threat of additional collapses. On Tuesday, Nov. 21, rescuers released video footage of construction workers who have been trapped in the tunnel for more than a week in mountainous northern India.
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The workers have been stranded since a landslide triggered the collapse of a section of the 2.7-mile tunnel, situated about 500 feet from the entrance, on Sunday, Nov. 12. The hilly terrain, prone to landslides and subsidence, complicates the rescue mission.
“We will reach you all soon, don’t worry,” an official told a trapped worker.
Rescuers initially attempted to drill into the collapsed debris but shifted strategy after days of efforts were hindered by technical malfunctions. The Indian Air Force had to fly in equipment twice.
Authorities are exploring five alternative plans to free the workers, with one involving vertical drilling from the mountaintop. Drilling operations were temporarily suspended on Friday, Nov. 17, due to a machine snag and concerns about the stability of the site.
AP Images
“If the strata permits, then we would try a 3-foot diameter hole. People can come up from there directly,” R. S. Rao, the director of Border Roads Organisation, said about the vertical drilling plan.
A new American Auger machine has been shipped in, which has a drilling capacity of up to 16 feet per hour and is equipped with a 2.9-foot diameter pipe to clear debris.
AP Images
About 200 disaster relief personnel have been tirelessly working at the scene. The challenging conditions, combined with the urgency of the situation, demand innovative and meticulous approaches.
State officials have contacted Thai experts who helped rescue a youth soccer team trapped in a cave in Thailand in 2018, state government administrator Gaurav Singh said. They have also approached the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute for possible help.
Deepa Gaur, a government spokesperson, said the trapped workers are healthy, and they’re receiving food like nuts, roasted chickpeas and popcorn through a pipe.
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The tunnel, part of the Char Dham Highway project, an ambitious federal government initiative to connect four significant Hindu pilgrimage sites, plays a crucial role in the infrastructure development plan. The incident underscores the risks associated with such large-scale projects in geographically complex regions.
40 trapped Indian workers to wait a second night in collapsed tunnel
Forty workers trapped in a collapsed tunnel in northern India face a second night awaiting rescue as crews work to clear debris. The incident occurred on Sunday, Nov. 12, in Uttarakhand, a mountainous state renowned for Hindu temples that draw pilgrims and tourists.
Authorities successfully established contact with the trapped workers on Sunday night using walkie-talkies.
On Monday, National Disaster Response Force Assistant Commander Karamveer Singh Bhandari announced that the trapped workers have received food and water.
SDRF via AP Images
All construction workers are safe, according to police officer Prashant Kumar, who added that they have been provided with oxygen and water. A pipeline initially laid for construction water supply is now repurposed to deliver oxygen, food and water to the workers.
Reports suggest a section of the tunnel collapsed after a landslide sent heavy debris piling onto the structure. However, there is no official word on the cause of the collapse.
Source: SDRF via AP Images
The Silkyara tunnel is integral to the government’s project linking prominent pilgrimage spots in the state. Massive construction of buildings and roadways has taken place in recent years.
The Char Dham pilgrimage route is one of the most ambitious projects of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, aiming to connect four important Hindu pilgrimage sites in North India through a 551-mile, two-lane road being built at a cost of $1.5 billion.
Why are Halloween candy prices up this year? Blame the weather
Dry conditions in Mexico, West Africa, and India are pushing the cost of candy up which could leave trick-or-treaters with less bounty this Halloween. According to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, candy prices are up 7.5% compared to last year, and are 20% higher than 2021.
Cocoa prices are trading at a 44-year-high, and global sugar prices are at 12-year highs.
The rise in candy cost is thanks to poor harvests related to dry weather along with the high cost of fertilizer. West Africa, which produces most of the world’s cocoa, is facing one of its worst droughts in 20 years.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Mexico, a top U.S. sugar supplier, saw its sugar production fall more than 15% this year due to drought.
The USDA said the decrease in production in Mexico “is due to high fertilizer prices and drought conditions in the main growing regions like Veracruz and Jalisco.”
India, another top sugar producer, has also been hit with dry weather which has affected this years harvest. India has restricted sugar exports to protect its domestic supply.
The rise in candy cost comes as Americans have already been dealing with high food costs. According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, from 2021 to 2022, retail food prices rose 11%, the largest annual increase in more than 40 years.
“Many factors that affect the food supply chain can affect retail food prices,” the GOA said. “Such factors include global trade issues, weather events and climate change, animal and plant disease, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.”
Shoppers are expected to spend $3.6 billion on Halloween candy this year, up 16% from last year, per the National Retail Federation.
Straight Arrow News business correspondent Simone Del Rosario has more spooky stats in her latest Five For Friday.
