الكاتب: kafej

President Putin’s highly choreographed Q&A session went largely as expected, giving him a chance to show he’s in control and listening to the people.

The questions were handpicked to avoid anything awkward – and ranged from talking tough on Ukraine to addressing concerns about egg prices, and even speaking to an AI version of himself.

However, a few text messages from viewers flashed up on screens that appeared a bit too close to the bone to put to Mr Putin.

Here are a few of them, caught by reporters in the studio:

‘Make peace, deaths are unacceptable’

‘Time to call it a day’

‘Real help for ordinary people’

‘Praying for a miracle’

‘Who’s helping us in Russia?’

‘When will the war end?

‘Why can’t we look after our soldiers?

Read more:
Ukraine war latest – Putin ‘twin’ makes debut in Q&A
Are we ready for a world where Ukraine loses the war?

An After School Satan Club will go ahead despite opposition from faith and education leaders in Tennessee.

Around 40 members of the faith community joined leaders at Memphis-Shelby County Schools to criticise the planned club and to question The Satanic Temple’s intentions in offering it.

According to local newspaper the Commercial Appeal, the protesters wanted to make it clear that students would need signed permission slips to attend and to express support for religious organisations that had partnered with the district.

“You see the faith-based community standing here,” board chair and local pastor Althea Greene told the publication.

“We’re going to stand up and we’re going to be vocal. Satan has no room in this district.”

The After School Satan Club (ASSC) is a federally recognised non-profit organisation and national after-school program with local chapters across the US.

The club, which is associated with the Satanic Temple, plans to host sessions at Chimneyrock Elementary School in Cordova from 10 January in the library.

A flyer about the club describes the Satanic Temple a nontheistic religion that views Satan “as a literary figure who represents a metaphorical construct of rejecting tyranny and championing the human mind and spirit”.

It says it does not attempt to convert children to any religious ideology but offers activities that “emphasise a scientific, rationalistic, non-superstitious worldview”.

Memphis-Shelby County Schools said in a statement that the district would rent out the space to the non-profit organisation under its current rules.

Since the announcement, interim Superintendent Toni Williams said some have demanded that the district ban all faith-based organisations from schools.

She added: “As a superintendent, I am duty bound to uphold our board policy, state laws, and the Constitution.

“But let’s not be fooled. Let’s not be fooled by what we’ve seen in the past 24 hours, which is an agenda, initiated to make sure that we cancel all faith-based organisations that partner with our district.”