Twitter is currently revising the way it verifies users, new owner Elon Musk has said, without offering further details.
The billionaire, who completed his $44 billion acquisition of the San Francisco-based microblogging platform on Thursday, made the suggestion in response to a Twitter user who was apparently having trouble with being verified on the platform.
“The whole verification process is being revamped right now,” said Mr Musk, a prolific Twitter user known to send out tweets that are often vague or cryptic.
The issue has been a hot topic at Twitter and was put in the spotlight when Mr Musk began his takeover bid.
The microblogging platform places a blue tick next to an account's user name to denote that it is a real account.
Current Twitter rules stipulate that users can receive a blue tick if they provide links to an official website, provide a photo of a valid official government-issued identification document or an official email address.
The company also launched its first subscription service, Twitter Blue, in June last year, which offers users access to premium features and editing tweets.
The edit button — a long-awaited feature — was introduced in a few select countries earlier this month.
Mr Musk completed the acquisition following a whirlwind several months in which he went back-and-forth with Twitter's executives.
A US judge gave both parties until last Friday to finalise the deal, which had dragged on since April when the Tesla chief executive made a surprise offer to buy the company at $54.20 a share.
Throughout the saga, both sides accused each other on a variety of issues, especially on the number of fake or spam accounts on the platform, which almost killed the deal.
Mr Musk, the world's wealthiest person who has about 112.3 million followers, tried to walk away from the deal in May after accusing the social media company of understating the number of bot and fake accounts on the platform.
Twitter repeatedly denied Mr Musk's accusations, saying its figures were accurate. This led to a series of lawsuits between the two parties.
Mr Musk had said in April that he would ensure all users are human, a reference to another of his pledges to combat bots — automated programs designed to do certain tasks, such as interacting with users — on the platform.
“I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots and authenticating all humans,” he said, without, again, providing specific details.
Twitter chief executive Parag Agrawal, who replaced founder Jack Dorsey last November, and finance chief Ned Segal have left the company and will not be returning, CNBC reported.
Vijaya Gadde, the head of legal policy, trust and safety, was reportedly fired, the Washington Post reported.
In a separate tweet, Mr Musk put out a poll asking users whether to bring back Vine, the short video app that was shut down by Twitter in 2016 and is considered to be the precursor to TikTok.
While it is unclear why Mr Musk released the poll, it is known that he seeks the opinion of his users on certain issues, such as when he was considering selling a 10 per cent stake in Tesla and if Twitter needs an edit button.
It is also unclear how much sway the poll results have on his decisions.
The Vine poll has garnered more than 1.11 million votes, with about three quarters in favour of the potential move.
Twitter bought Vine in 2012, reportedly for $30 million, and helped content creators to reach a wider audience.
However, they eventually left the platform after disagreements on compensation. In 2016, Twitter discontinued the service, after it refused to continue investing in the app.
The following year, China's ByteDance acquired Musical.ly, which it then merged with its own short-video application TikTok.
Recent winners
2002 Giselle Khoury (Colombia)
2004 Nathalie Nasralla (France)
2005 Catherine Abboud (Oceania)
2007 Grace Bijjani (Mexico)
2008 Carina El-Keddissi (Brazil)
2009 Sara Mansour (Brazil)
2010 Daniella Rahme (Australia)
2011 Maria Farah (Canada)
2012 Cynthia Moukarzel (Kuwait)
2013 Layla Yarak (Australia)
2014 Lia Saad (UAE)
2015 Cynthia Farah (Australia)
2016 Yosmely Massaad (Venezuela)
2017 Dima Safi (Ivory Coast)
2018 Rachel Younan (Australia)
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
England Test squad
Ben Stokes (captain), Joe Root, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Jack Leach, Alex Lees, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts
Punchy appearance
Roars of support buoyed Mr Johnson in an extremely confident and combative appearance
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
Country-size land deals
US interest in purchasing territory is not as outlandish as it sounds. Here's a look at some big land transactions between nations:
Louisiana Purchase
If Donald Trump is one who aims to broker "a deal of the century", then this was the "deal of the 19th Century". In 1803, the US nearly doubled in size when it bought 2,140,000 square kilometres from France for $15 million.
Florida Purchase Treaty
The US courted Spain for Florida for years. Spain eventually realised its burden in holding on to the territory and in 1819 effectively ceded it to America in a wider border treaty.
Alaska purchase
America's spending spree continued in 1867 when it acquired 1,518,800 km2 of Alaskan land from Russia for $7.2m. Critics panned the government for buying "useless land".
The Philippines
At the end of the Spanish-American War, a provision in the 1898 Treaty of Paris saw Spain surrender the Philippines for a payment of $20 million.
US Virgin Islands
It's not like a US president has never reached a deal with Denmark before. In 1917 the US purchased the Danish West Indies for $25m and renamed them the US Virgin Islands.
Gwadar
The most recent sovereign land purchase was in 1958 when Pakistan bought the southwestern port of Gwadar from Oman for 5.5bn Pakistan rupees.
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What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
The flights: South African Airways flies from Dubai International Airport with a stop in Johannesburg, with prices starting from around Dh4,000 return. Emirates can get you there with a stop in Lusaka from around Dh4,600 return.
The details: Visas are available for 247 Zambian kwacha or US$20 (Dh73) per person on arrival at Livingstone Airport. Single entry into Victoria Falls for international visitors costs 371 kwacha or $30 (Dh110). Microlight flights are available through Batoka Sky, with 15-minute flights costing 2,265 kwacha (Dh680).
Accommodation: The Royal Livingstone Victoria Falls Hotel by Anantara is an ideal place to stay, within walking distance of the falls and right on the Zambezi River. Rooms here start from 6,635 kwacha (Dh2,398) per night, including breakfast, taxes and Wi-Fi. Water arrivals cost from 587 kwacha (Dh212) per person.
List of alleged parties
May 12, 2020: PM and his wife Carrie attend 'work meeting' with at least 17 staff
May 20, 2020: They attend 'bring your own booze party'
Nov 27, 2020: PM gives speech at leaving party for his staff
Dec 10, 2020: Staff party held by then-education secretary Gavin Williamson
Dec 13, 2020: PM and his wife throw a party
Dec 14, 2020: London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey holds staff event at Conservative Party headquarters
Dec 15, 2020: PM takes part in a staff quiz
Dec 18, 2020: Downing Street Christmas party
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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
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