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Musings From Abroad

After banning Instagram, Russia launches clone called Rossgram

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After placing a ban on Instagram in the country following its invasion of Ukraine, Russia is set to launch a ‘perfect’ clone to be called Rossgram, which looks very similar in design to Instagram.

Russian tech developers were charged by the Kremlin to develop a replacement for the online photo sharing and social network platform after the American app was banned in the country.

According to its website, Rossgram is set to roll out Monday, March 28, with the developers sounding out investors, sponsors, and the media, before opening to bloggers and other users.

Alexander Zobov, the co-founder of the app, wrote on the VKontakte social platform, announcing the platform:

“My partner, Kirill Filimonov and our group of developers, were already ready for this turn of events and decided not to miss the opportunity to create a Russian analog of a popular social network beloved by our compatriots.

“Rossgram is a new social network with a familiar and understandable interface, rich features, and simple working conditions.”

Before the ban, Instagram was a hugely popular platform in Russia and a crucial source of income for many small businesses and bloggers.

The app was banned on March 14, following the country’s move to declare the platform’s parent company, Meta, an “extremist organisation” under Russian law.

Musings From Abroad

Angola, Portugal sign 13-point pact spanning finance, law, others    

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Angola and Portugal have signed a Memorandum of Understanding including 13 different agreements that cut across financial, legal and other critical areas.

The Angolan President, João Lourenço, who received his Portuguese counterpart, António Costa on Monday, revealed that the country was enthusiastic about partnering with its erstwhile colonialist.

“I have to say that we sensed a great willingness to collaborate on the part of the Portuguese justice system, with whom we were able to exchange not only information but also the alignment of Angola’s anti-corruption strategy and to say that in principle everything that was asked of the Portuguese authorities so that we could find the right correspondent”, president Lourenço said.

The Portuguese president announced a rise in its financial commitment to Angola which is a top oil producer in Africa.

“To support the Angolan government’s ambition and strategic approach to diversifying the country’s economy, we have significantly increased the credit line from one thousand five hundred to two billion euros”, announced Costa.

The new agreement will run till 2027. The economies of Angola and Portugal are deeply intertwined, and the two countries share a language and cultural heritage.

According to consular statistics, approximately 100,000 Portuguese nationals work in Angola, with approximately 10,000 Portuguese firms operating in a variety of sectors such as construction, engineering, hospitality, law, and financial services.

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Musings From Abroad

Israeli PM, Netanyahu demands investigation over killing of soldiers in Egypt

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Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu has called for an explanation from Egyptian authorities following the reported killing of three Israeli soldiers by a member of the Egyptian security services.

He told his cabinet in televised remarks that “Israel relayed a clear message to the Egyptian government. We expect that the joint investigation will be exhaustive and thorough.

“We will refresh procedures and methods of operations and also the measures to reduce to a minimum the smuggling and to ensure tragic terrorist attacks like this do not happen again.”

Three Israeli soldiers were killed in an attack near Egypt’s border by a gunman wearing an Egyptian police uniform— the first deadly exchange along the border shared by the two countries in more than a decade.

According to the Israeli military, two soldiers were killed by an Egyptian policeman while securing a military post near the Egyptian border early Saturday. According to the report, the Egyptian officer and a third Israeli soldier were killed in a clash on Israeli territory hours later.

Israeli military spokesman, Daniel Hagari, while addressing journalists, said: “From that moment a terrorist event was declared, leading to sweeps of the area.”

He also revealed that “a drone was sent up and 1.5 kilometres inside Israel a suspicious person was identified.”

Egypt’s relationship with Israel is complicated and has evolved significantly over time. Despite having fought four wars, the two countries now work closely together, primarily on security issues.

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