Meta agrees to pay $25 million to settle Trump's 2021 lawsuit over suspended accounts
Washington, D.C.: Meta, the social media conglomerate led by Mark Zuckerberg, has agreed to pay former U.S. President Donald Trump $25 million (approximately ₹216 crore) as part of a lawsuit settlement.
Trump had sued Meta after his Facebook and Instagram accounts were suspended in 2021 following his incendiary remarks and false claims related to the January 6 U.S. Capitol riots. The lawsuit argued that the ban was unjust and violated his rights.
Zuckerberg, who initially distanced himself from Trump, has since engaged more with him. Reports indicate that Meta has also cut back on its fact-checking mechanisms, replacing them with a system similar to X’s community notes, a move seen as an effort to align with Trump’s interests.
Meanwhile, Meta’s stock performed well despite a broader market decline. On Wednesday, while major indices like Dow Jones, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 closed in red following the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to hold interest rates, Meta’s shares ended the day at $676.49, marking a 0.32% gain.
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ISRO successfully conducts second integrated air drop test for Gaganyaan mission
New Delhi (PTI): Space agency ISRO has successfully conducted the second integrated air drop test (IADT-02) for the upcoming Gaganyaan mission at the space station in Andhra Pradesh's Sriharikota.
The system is essential to ensure a safe recovery of the crew module -- the capsule in which astronauts sit during a human flight -- during re-entry and landing.
Union minister Jitendra Singh congratulated the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for successfully conducting the test.
"Congratulations #ISRO for the successful accomplishment of Second Integrated Air Drop Test (IADT-02) for #Gaganyaan, India's first Human Space flight scheduled next year. The second Integrated Air Drop Test (IADT-02) was successfully conducted at Satish Dhawan Space Station Sriharikota," Singh said in a post on X.
The IADT-02 follows the successful completion of the first IADT, which took place on August 24, 2025, at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
Air drop tests recreate the last leg of a spacecraft's return to Earth. An aircraft or helicopter drops the spacecraft from a height to test various systems under different scenarios.
These are the deployment of the parachute system in case the mission is aborted mid-flight, system performance when one parachute fails to open and the spacecraft's orientation and safety during splashdown etc.
In the IADT-02 test, a simulated crew module, weighing about 5.7 tonnes, was lifted by an Indian Air Force Chinook helicopter to an altitude of about three kilometres and released over a designated drop zone in the sea, near the Sriharikota coast.
In a statement, the ISRO said, "Ten parachutes of four types were deployed in a precise sequence during the descent of the crew module, gradually reducing the velocity for safe touchdown. Subsequently, the simulated crew module was successfully recovered in coordination with the Indian Navy."
