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Quad leaders to meet Sept 24
Joe Biden will host the prime ministers of India, Japan and Australia for an in-person summit September 24, the first-ever White House gathering of the "Quad" grouping, the president's office said. "The Quad Leaders will be focused on deepening our ties and advancing practical cooperation on areas such as combatting Covid-19, addressing the climate crisis, partnering on emerging technologies and cyberspace, and promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific," White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement. The diplomatic grouping, seen as a counter to China's growing influence, held online leaders' talks in March, and ministers from the four countries have also held in-person discussions.
Facebook's double standard
Facebook exempts certain celebrities, politicians and other high-profile users from some its own rules for posts as part of a program launched as a quality-control mechanism, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. The program, referred to as "cross check" or "XCheck," shields millions of elite users from rules that Facebook claims to apply equally at the social network, according to a report citing internal documents. XCheck grew to include at least 5.8 million users in 2020, the report indicated. The article cites examples of posts from high-profile people, including one from soccer star Neymar showing nude images of a woman who accused him of rape and that Facebook subsequently removed. A double-standard regarding content moderation would defy assurances Facebook gave to an independent board set up as a final arbiter of disputes regarding what is allowed to be posted at the leading social network. Facebook spokesman Andy Stone in a series of tweets defended the program, but noted the social media giant is aware its enforcement of rules is "not perfect".
Covid scare: Putin self-isolates
Russian President Vladimir Putin is self-isolating after members of his entourage fell ill with Covid-19 and will therefore not travel to Tajikistan this week for planned regional security meetings, the Kremlin said yesterday. Putin, 68, was due to travel to Tajikistan for high-level meetings of the CSTO and SCO regional alliances with the rapid deterioration of security in neighbouring Afghanistan in focus. The Kremlin yesterday said in a statement that Putin had called Tajikistan's President Emomali Rakhmon to explain he could not travel due to his self-isolation regime and would take part in the meetings via video link instead. The Russian leader has taken an array of health precautions throughout the pandemic and has had two doses of the Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine.
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