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Thomas Alter is the second professor in the state to be terminated for allegedly violating university policy after a video was posted on social media.

A Texas State University professor was fired on Wednesday after he was accused of inciting violence in a video of him speaking at a socialism conference posted on social media.

In a video circulated on social media platform X, Thomas Alter, an associate history professor, can be seen talking during a Zoom meeting as part of the Revolutionary Socialism Conference, an online meeting organized by several socialist groups. During his talk, Alter explains how he feels socialists in the United States can organize an effective party, and criticizes the Democratic Party, the Democratic Socialists of America, China and anarchists for their methods of organization.

The video circulated on X cuts one portion of Alter’s speech in half, during which he criticized “insurrectional anarchists” for their method of protesting, urging organization into a party to better reach people. In the full speech posted on YouTube, he notes that some anarchists have faced jail time for their methods of protest, praising their efforts but questioning whether they can achieve their goals.

“While their actions are laudable, it should be asked, to what purpose do they serve?” Alter said during his speech, which is not included in the video posted on X. The second portion of his statement is included. “Without organization, how can anyone expect to overthrow the most bloodthirsty, profit-driven, mad organization in the history of the world — that of the United States?”

Texas State University President Kelly Damphousse announced Alter was fired after the university was made aware of comments he made at the conference, which Damphousse said constituted “serious professional and personal misconduct.” Damphousse said in the statement the university thoroughly reviewed the video posted publicly for their assessment. Damphousse did not specify what comment Alter made that violated university policy.

“Conduct that advocates for inciting violence is directly contrary to the values of Texas State University,” Damphousse said. “I cannot and will not tolerate such behavior.”

Texas State University System Chancellor Brian McCall commended Alter’s firing in a post on X, and also said the university would not “tolerate conduct by any employee intended to incite violence.” McCall specifically pointed to Alter’s claim about overthrowing the United States as misconduct.

“Video recordings made public this week in which a Texas State University professor advocated for the overthrow of our government are inconsistent with our shared values and demonstrate egregious personal and professional misconduct,” McCall said in the statement.

Currently, any Texas voter can cast a ballot in GOP primaries. The party wants to limit eligibility to registered members.

The Republican Party of Texas filed a lawsuit against Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson on Thursday in a bid to restrict participation in the GOP’s primary elections to only voters registered with the party.

The lawsuit, filed in federal district court, claims Texas’ open primaries violate the Republican Party’s First Amendment associational rights to choose party leaders. The GOP said in its suit that it would prefer the Legislature to pass a law allowing only registered party members to vote in primary elections, but that it could not wait for lawmakers to act.

“[G]iven the steps necessary to transition to a fully closed primary in an orderly fashion, the Party cannot continue to wait and risk further political inaction and delay that could lead to open primaries (or even a bridge election) in 2028 as well,” the lawsuit read.

The Secretary of State’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

ISLAMABAD/WASHINGTON, May 8 (Reuters) - A top Chinese-made Pakistani fighter plane shot down at least two Indian military aircraft on Wednesday, two U.S. officials told Reuters, marking a major milestone for Beijing's advanced fighter jet.

An Indian Air Force spokesperson said he had no comment when asked about the Reuters report.

"Moldovans will be asked on Sunday to decide whether EU membership should be designated a strategic goal in the country’s constitution, a move that would further distance the former Soviet republic politically from Russia. The EU referendum coincides with Moldova's presidential election, where the country’s pro-Western leader Maia Sandu is seeking a second term against a field of mostly pro-Kremlin candidates. Both votes will take place against a backdrop of Russian meddling, including evidence of vote buying and disinformation, according to Moldovan authorities. The Kremlin has denied the allegations.

The European Commission accepted Moldova's candidacy to join the EU in 2022 and opened accession negotiations in June this year. The EU has pledged almost $2 billion in economic support for Moldova to help the country accomplish the necessary reforms to achieve membership, and improve infrastructure badly in need of an upgrade.

While various opinion polls over recent months show that most Moldovans support EU membership, residents in predominantly Russian-speaking regions like the north, or Gagauzia in the south, still favor stronger ties with Russia over EU membership."

BEIRUT, Oct 16 (Reuters) - The batteries inside the weaponised pagers that arrived in Lebanon at the start of the year, part of an Israeli plot to decimate Hezbollah, had powerfully deceptive features and an Achilles' heel.

The agents who built the pagers designed a battery that concealed a small but potent charge of plastic explosive and a novel detonator that was invisible to X-ray, according to a Lebanese source with first-hand knowledge of the pagers, and teardown photos of the battery pack seen by Reuters.

To overcome the weakness - the absence of a plausible backstory for the bulky new product - they created fake online stores, pages and posts that could deceive Hezbollah due diligence, a Reuters review of web archives shows.

The stealthy design of the pager bomb and the battery’s carefully constructed cover story, both described here for the first time, shed light on the execution of a years-long operation which has struck unprecedented blows against Israel's Iran-backed Lebanese foe and pushed the Middle East closer to a regional war.