Happening now: President Cyril Ramaphosa has taken to the podium to deliver the #SONA2021 before a hybrid sitting.

#SONA2021 | Ramaphosa briefly commemorates the release of the late former president Nelson Mandela from the Victor Verster Prison in Cape Town in 1990.

'It was clear that freedom was tangible.'
#SONA2021 | Ramaphosa likens the country's resilience to that of the fynboos.

"We have risen time and time again from the depths of darkness to herald a new day."
#SONA2021 | Ramaphosa hails the efforts of front liners and essential workers amid the raging coronavirus pandemic. We have made mistakes but we have also stood together.

"It is a story of solidarity and compassion."
#SONA2021 | Ramaphosa: This year is about change, progress and rebirth.
#SONA2021 | Ramaphosa says the year's plan will centre on four pillars:

-Defeat the Covid-19 pandemic
-Accelerate economic recovery
-Job creation and ensure inclusive growth
-Strengthen fight against corruption
#SONA2021 | Ramaphosa speaks on the vaccine developments, lamenting the setback suffered recently.
It should not delay the rollout but it will impact the choice and manner of rollout.
#SONA2021 | Ramaphosa: Alternatively, we have secured 9 million Johnson and Johnson doses - 80 000 of which will arrive next week.
#SONA2021 | Ramaphosa: We will overcome and we will rise. But we must also also overcome poverty and inequality.
#SONA2021 | Ramaphosa: This time last year, we could have never been prepared for what was to come. As a result, we had to alter plans and budgets based on the crises.
#SONA2021 | Ramaphosa: This time last year, we could have never been prepared for what was to come. As a result, we had to alter plans and budgets based on the crises.
#SONA2021 | Ramaphosa says he will give feedback on progress made on the economic recovery and reconstruction plan.

On infrastructure:
-headway has been in energy and telecomms infrastructure
-we have launched 2 major human settlement projects
#SONA2021 | Ramaphosa: "This evening we stand here not to make promises but to report on the process of the recovery plan."

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🧵 ⚡️ #Navalny, in handcuffs, expects his second verdict in one day NOW, about to be ready any minute now. He’s joking about cucumbers he pickles in his cell. I will translate his SECOND last address in one day but here is the previous trial coverage


Extracts from #Navalny last address #2 today: “Putin’s party is akin a swine devouring oil and gas dollars from a trough, & when poked & reminded that $ are for everyone, growls, “What about the WWII? What about veterans?!” The verdict is due any minute now. #FreeNavalny 👇🏼☝🏼

The judge is back and reads the verdict now.

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The judge says Navalny pleaded not guilty and called the persecution politicized.

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The entire discussion around Facebook’s disclosures of what happened in 2016 is very frustrating. No exec stopped any investigations, but there were a lot of heated discussions about what to publish and when.


In the spring and summer of 2016, as reported by the Times, activity we traced to GRU was reported to the FBI. This was the standard model of interaction companies used for nation-state attacks against likely US targeted.

In the Spring of 2017, after a deep dive into the Fake News phenomena, the security team wanted to publish an update that covered what we had learned. At this point, we didn’t have any advertising content or the big IRA cluster, but we did know about the GRU model.

This report when through dozens of edits as different equities were represented. I did not have any meetings with Sheryl on the paper, but I can’t speak to whether she was in the loop with my higher-ups.

In the end, the difficult question of attribution was settled by us pointing to the DNI report instead of saying Russia or GRU directly. In my pre-briefs with members of Congress, I made it clear that we believed this action was GRU.