BBC temporarily suspends journalists' work in Russia over new law
London, Mar 4: The BBC said on Friday that it had no choice but to temporarily suspend its journalists' work in Russia after the Kremlin brought in a new law that could mean a jail term of up to 15 years for anyone spreading "fake" information about the country's armed forces.
BBC Director-General Tim Davie said the legislation "appears to criminalise the process of independent journalism" and that safety of the British Broadcasting Corporation staff is "paramount".
It said that its news service in Russian will continue to operate from outside Russia.
The move follows a new law passed in the Russian Duma, the Lower House of its Parliament, on Friday, which warns of imprisonment if so-called fake news leads to serious consequences.
"It leaves us no other option than to temporarily suspend the work of all BBC News journalists and their support staff within the Russian Federation while we assess the full implications of this unwelcome development, said Tim Davie.
He added: Our BBC News service in Russian will continue to operate from outside Russia. The safety of our staff is paramount and we are not prepared to expose them to the risk of criminal prosecution simply for doing their jobs. I'd like to pay tribute to all of them, for their bravery, determination and professionalism.
"We remain committed to making accurate, independent information available to audiences around the world, including the millions of Russians who use our news services. Our journalists in Ukraine and around the world will continue to report on the invasion of Ukraine."
The new law is designed to give Russia powers to suppress information that it deems as "fake" about its invasion of Ukraine, which the Kremlin calls a special military operation.
Russia's Upper House of Parliament approved the law on Friday, and it could take effect in the coming days after President Vladimir Putin signs it off.
Access to BBC websites had already been restricted in Russia. News outlets Deutsche Welle, Meduza and Radio Liberty also had their services limited, Russia's state-owned news agency RIA said.
Twitter and Facebook have both reported having their services restricted and deliberately slowed down.
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FM Sitharaman launches 'VijAIpatha' labs in govt schools in Karnataka
Hampi (PTI): Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday launched Cyient AI Labs (CyAILS) -- 'VijAIpatha', aimed at democratising access to Artificial Intelligence, STEM and Robotics education in government schools here.
In a series of posts on 'X', the minister's office shared pictures of the initiative launched at a girl's government school in Hosapete taluk and said that under the pilot phase, five world-class AI, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and Robotics laboratories are being established in government schools.
Each lab will be equipped with high-performance computers, AI-ready software, robotics kits, IoT devices, sensors and secure broadband connectivity.
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"Aligned with NEP 2020, Digital India and Hon'ble Prime Minister @narendramodi's mission of Viksit Bharat 2047, the programme integrates CBSE's AI curriculum and strengthens technology-enabled learning in public education," it said.
Focusing on rural and semi-urban India, the initiative introduces future technologies at the school level, helping build early digital fluency, computational thinking and innovation capacity among students, the minister's office said.
"Benefiting over 2,000 students and training more than 200 teachers, 'VijAIpatha' is a scalable CSR model fostering innovation, career readiness and grassroots digital empowerment," it added.
According to the office, the initiative has been designed as a scalable, replicable and sustainable model that can be adopted across districts and states in collaboration with government education departments, positioning it as a benchmark CSR model for a national AI education rollout.
