Biden at the UN urges the world to stand firm in support of Ukraine's fight against Russian invasion
President Joe Biden on Tuesday made a forceful call for the world to stand up to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, calling for leaders to stand firm in their support of President Volodymyr Zelensky and his nation as the war heads toward its second autumn.
2023-09-20 08:55
Explainer-China's politburo meeting leaves many economic headaches unaddressed
HONG KONG China's leadership pledged at a key Communist Party meeting this week to support the economy through
2023-07-26 13:51
More than 1.5 million dehumidifiers recalled for fire and burn hazards
Chinese home appliance manufacturer Gree is recalling 1.56 million humidifiers for fire and burn hazards, including reports of 23 units catching on fire, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission announced Wednesday.
2023-08-17 08:22
Elon Musk says Twitter to move behind paywall as all users forced to pay ‘small’ monthly fee
Elon Musk said X is looking to charge users a “small monthly payment” to tackle bots on the social network. X, previously known as Twitter, underwent a number of changes soon after Mr Musk, the multibillionaire owner of X Corp, bought it. The platform is now “moving to having a small, monthly payment for use of the X system” to combat “vast armies of bots”, Mr Musk said during a livestreamed conversation with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday. However, the Tesla and SpaceX boss did not reveal how much the new plan would cost X users or what additional features subscribers would get. During the interaction with Mr Netanyahu, the Tesla titan said X currently has 550 million “monthly users” who generate 100-200 million posts per day, adding that the new change to include a “small amount of money” would be necessary to deal with the problem posed by bots. It is unclear whether the multibillionaire’s figure of 550 million monthly users includes bots and also doesn’t allow comparison with the metric the company has used to estimate its user base, called the “average monetizable daily active users” or mDAUs. But the Tesla chief said a subscription fee would make it more difficult for bots to create accounts as each bot would need a new credit card to register on the platform. “It’s the only way I can think of to combat vast armies of bots,” Mr Musk said. “Because a bot costs a fraction of a penny – call it a tenth of a penny – but even if it has to pay a few dollars or something, the effective cost of bots is very high,” he explained. The platform has historically struggled to curb the activity of bots, with the company’s former security chief Peiter Zatko telling the US Congress last year that Twitter does not even know how many automated accounts are on the site. Mr Musk even cited bots as a reason to back out of buying the social platform before he went on to complete the deal. He has also previously discussed putting all of Twitter behind a paywall. Now the Tesla boss says the rebranded X plans to introduce a new “lower tier pricing” than the $8 monthly fee it currently charges subscribers of its premium Blue service. The conversation between Mr Musk and the Israeli prime minister also touched on topics like AI regulation as well as hate speech and antisemitism on X. Mr Musk claimed during the discussion that he’s “against antisemitism” and “anything that promotes hate and conflict”. “I’m sort of against attacking any group, you know. Doesn’t matter who it is,” the Tesla chief said. Online safety experts have warned about the social media platform under “free speech absolutist” Mr Musk offering “amnesty” to accounts previously suspended for hate speech and instigating violence. Under the Tesla titan, the platform restored the account of former US president Donald Trump who was banned following the 2021 Capitol riots, as well as the profiles of Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene and neo-Nazi website founder Andrew Anglin. Read More The ex factor: the very complex love life of Elon Musk Netanyahu visits Elon Musk in California with plans to talk about artificial intelligence Turkey's President Erdogan and Elon Musk discuss establishing a Tesla car factory in Turkey Elon Musk’s X finally agrees to try and settle Twitter’s mass layoffs lawsuit Musk the messiah (or a very naughty boy?) Elon Musk warns of ‘civilisational risk’ posed by AI at historic gathering
2023-09-19 13:23
An app shows how ancient Greek sites looked thousands of years ago. It's a glimpse of future tech
Greece has become a late but enthusiastic convert to new technology as a way of displaying its famous archaeological monuments and deepening visitors' knowledge of ancient history
2023-10-08 12:28
SS Badger, ferry that carries traffic across Lake Michigan, out for season after ramp system damaged
The operators of a historic ferry that carries traffic across Lake Michigan between Michigan and Wisconsin say it is out of service for the rest of the season after its ramp system was damaged in July
2023-08-02 21:21
South Korea factory output unexpectedly jumps in August
SEOUL South Korea's factory output unexpectedly jumped in August by the fastest rate in more than three years,
2023-10-04 07:20
Tennessee company refuses US request to recall 67 million potentially dangerous air bag inflators
A Tennessee company is heading for a legal battle with U.S. auto safety regulators after refusing a request to recall millions of potentially dangerous air bag inflators
2023-05-13 06:29
Spain's Socialists have won the Barcelona mayor's office after getting help from conservative rivals
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's Socialists have received an unexpected boost from its main rival in next month’s national elections after his party won the mayor’s office of Barcelona following a tight vote at city hall
2023-06-18 03:58
Toyota recalls Tundra models in largest recall this year
Toyota has issued a voluntary recall for certain 2022 and 2023 Tundra and Tundra Hybrid trucks in its largest recall of 2023.
2023-08-13 03:50
AP PHOTOS: Lifelike robots and android dogs wow visitors at Beijing robotics fair
BEIJING (AP) — Winking, grimacing or nodding their heads, robots mimicked the expressions of visitors at a robot expo in Beijing.
2023-08-18 16:51
New Zealand, Australia to Explore Shift to ‘Seamless Travel’
New Zealand and Australia are to explore options for more simplified border checks when people travel between the
2023-07-26 13:53
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