If you were tasked with predicting what the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, might do next, you’d have a difficult job on your hands.
Few public figures would post an image on Twitter comparing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Adolf Hitler, but Musk did. No one would have put money on him naming his son X Æ A-12, but that’s what happened. When he made unguarded public pronouncements about the status of his company, Tesla, which caused big shifts in stock prices, investors and regulators were flabbergasted.
The reasons for his capricious behaviour are often dismissed as mere eccentricities. However, the news this week that he spent close to $3 billion on a 9.2 per cent stake in social media platform Twitter, and that he has been appointed to its board of directors, has prompted a bucketload of analysis.
For all his peculiarities, Musk can at least claim to be a successful businessman, with an estimated net worth of $267bn. Twitter, by contrast, reported an operating loss of $493 million in the past financial year and has consistently struggled to prove the viability of its business model.
Why would he become the largest shareholder of a service he openly criticises, and yet also seems addicted to?
He could seek to exert influence over aspects of the service that he has loudly criticised in recent months.
One of those is the status of Twitter’s current chief executive, Parag Agrawal. While Musk has had jovial, even friendly public exchanges with Twitter’s founder and previous chief executive Jack Dorsey, he made his view of Agrawal clear. In December, he tweeted a meme equating Agrawal to Joseph Stalin, implying that Dorsey should beware of his successor’s intent. But by far the most pressing issue on Musk’s mind in relation to Twitter would appear to be that of free speech — or rather what Musk believes constitutes free speech, which aren’t necessarily the same thing.
He has repeatedly stated his belief that social media platforms such as Twitter have no place in regulating the content it hosts, and described himself last month as a “free speech absolutist”. He illustrated his credentials by dismissing the suggestion of blocking Russian news sources from his satellite broadband company Starlink, over the war in Ukraine. (“Unless at gunpoint,” he said.)
Then, on March 25 he tweeted a poll. “Free speech is essential to a functioning democracy,” he said. “Do you believe Twitter rigorously adheres to this principle?” He added below: “The consequences of this poll will be important. Please vote carefully.” Respondents to the poll wouldn’t have known why Musk was telling them their vote would matter, but now we know: he’d purchased his stake in the platform 11 days previously.
The results of the rather unscientific poll went the way Musk wanted: 70 per cent expressed the opinion that Twitter has been playing fast and loose with free speech. But as many observers noted, Musk’s commitment to free speech appears to stop when it doesn’t serve his own interests.
Last month, Tesla fired an employee for posting a YouTube video that was critical of the company, while Musk’s annoyance at the automated Twitter account that posts the publiclyavailable movements of his private plane is well documented.
His views on free speech on social media, say critics, ignore the right of companies to have rules and policies in place, while noting that the social networks set up in support of free speech also have a record of banning people whose tone and politics they find unacceptable.
The notion that Musk’s “free speech” poll might influence Twitter’s policy has been openly mocked by Agarwal. On Tuesday, Musk posted another poll, with the simple question “Do you want an edit button?”
This issue has received disproportionate attention from Twitter users for many years, with one side arguing for the right to be able to correct spelling mistakes or other errors, and the other pointing out that the ability to substantially edit a tweet after it has gained traction could lead to misinformation and abuse of the platform.
Again, unsurprisingly, the poll went Musk’s way, with 72 per cent voting “yes”. Agarwal reposted the poll on his own account, repeating Musk’s stern pronouncement from last month with ironic relish: “The consequences of this poll will be important. Please vote carefully.”
Predictions of how Musk’s purchase will play out veer between the nonchalant — ie it’s just a rich man playing games — to the fatalistic prediction that this will ultimately lead to the downfall of western democracy. One thing we do know, however, is that Musk likes attention, and it’s perfectly possible that he’s done this because he wants us to wonder why he’s done it. In that regard, he’s been spectacularly successful.
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Muslim Council of Elders condemns terrorism on religious sites
The Muslim Council of Elders has strongly condemned the criminal attacks on religious sites in Britain.
It firmly rejected “acts of terrorism, which constitute a flagrant violation of the sanctity of houses of worship”.
“Attacking places of worship is a form of terrorism and extremism that threatens peace and stability within societies,” it said.
The council also warned against the rise of hate speech, racism, extremism and Islamophobia. It urged the international community to join efforts to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Crops that could be introduced to the UAE
1: Quinoa
2. Bathua
3. Amaranth
4. Pearl and finger millet
5. Sorghum
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Best Academy: Ajax and Benfica
Best Agent: Jorge Mendes
Best Club : Liverpool
Best Coach: Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Best Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker
Best Men’s Player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Best Partnership of the Year Award by SportBusiness: Manchester City and SAP
Best Referee: Stephanie Frappart
Best Revelation Player: Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid and Portugal)
Best Sporting Director: Andrea Berta (Atletico Madrid)
Best Women's Player: Lucy Bronze
Best Young Arab Player: Achraf Hakimi
Kooora – Best Arab Club: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)
Kooora – Best Arab Player: Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al-Nassr FC, Saudi Arabia)
Player Career Award: Miralem Pjanic and Ryan Giggs
OPINIONS ON PALESTINE & ISRAEL
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
The biog
Age: 59
From: Giza Governorate, Egypt
Family: A daughter, two sons and wife
Favourite tree: Ghaf
Runner up favourite tree: Frankincense
Favourite place on Sir Bani Yas Island: “I love all of Sir Bani Yas. Every spot of Sir Bani Yas, I love it.”
The view from The National
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
Stage results
1. Julian Alaphilippe (FRA) Deceuninck-QuickStep 4:39:05
2. Michael Matthews (AUS) Team BikeExchange 0:00:08
3. Primoz Roglic (SLV) Jumbo-Visma same time
4. Jack Haig (AUS) Bahrain Victorious s.t
5. Wilco Kelderman (NED) Bora-Hansgrohe s.t
6. Tadej Pogacar (SLV) UAE Team Emirates s.t
7. David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ s.t
8. Sergio Higuita Garcia (COL) EF Education-Nippo s.t
9. Bauke Mollema (NED) Trek-Segafredo s.t
10. Geraint Thomas (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers s.t
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
|
1.
|
United States
|
|
2.
|
China
|
|
3.
|
UAE
|
|
4.
|
Japan
|
|
5
|
Norway
|
|
6.
|
Canada
|
|
7.
|
Singapore
|
|
8.
|
Australia
|
|
9.
|
Saudi Arabia
|
|
10.
|
South Korea
|
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
