Author: ALJAZEERA

Since Elon Musk took over Twitter, and changed its name to X, he has banned journalists critical of him, and been accused of censoring Democratic voices while simultaneously amplifying those of far-right extremists, even while claiming to be a “free speech absolutist”. While BlueSky, Meta’s Threads and others have gained from users disaffected with X, they pale in comparison to X’s hold on the information landscape. His history of censoring views he doesn’t agree with and his full-throated endorsement of Donald Trump has raised concerns that there will be an information void before the consequential United States Presidential election. After…

The Yemeni group has seized the United Nations’ Human Rights Office in the capital Sanaa.The United Nations has condemned the seizure by the Houthis of its Human Rights Office in the Yemeni capital Sanaa. Storming the office earlier this month, the Houthis seized documents, furniture and vehicles, a senior UN official reported on Tuesday. The event was the latest crackdown by the Iran-aligned group on the UN, aid agencies and foreign embassies, amid its campaign over Israel’s war in Gaza, which includes the targeting of ships in the Red Sea. The seizure of the office took place on August 3. Local…

Adani Group’s stock value plunged by nearly $150bn after Hindenburg Research’s first report in January 2023.Adani Group, the Indian conglomerate rocked by a Hindenburg Research report last year, has faced another heavy share selloff after the short seller accused the head of India’s market regulator of having links to offshore funds also used by the group. About $2.43bn, or 1 percent, was wiped off the market value of Adani companies by the end of the trading day on Monday although that was a substantial recovery from earlier losses of more than $13bn. The battle between Hindenburg Research and Adani Group…

There is no place more important for the world’s oil supply than the Strait of Hormuz, which links the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf. But recent global tensions could threaten it. Dareen Abughaida presents this new digital series, Pinch Point, where geography and politics collide.

The US alleges that for years millions of American children under 13 have been using TikTok and the site ‘has been collecting and retaining’ their data.The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a lawsuit against TikTok and parent company ByteDance for failing to protect children’s privacy on the social media app The government said on Friday TikTok violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) that requires services aimed at children to obtain parental consent to collect personal information from users under age 13. The lawsuit is the latest US action against TikTok and its Chinese parent over…

Nominees include a Western-friendly diplomat as foreign minister and a female urban development minister.Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has nominated a moderate diplomat as foreign minister and a female official as urban development minister as he presented his new cabinet. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf announced on Sunday the names of the 19-member cabinet presented by the president during an assembly session broadcast live on state television. The nominations appear in line with the hopes that the election of Pezeshkian last month, to replace the hardline Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in May, could lead to a thaw…

The case depicted Google as a technological bully that methodically thwarted competition to protect its search engine.A judge in the United States has ruled that Google spent billions of dollars to create an illegal monopoly for its search engine, exploiting its dominance to squash competition and stifle innovation. Monday’s landmark decision that Google broke antitrust law marks the first major success for US authorities taking on the dominance of Big Tech, which has come under fire from across the political spectrum. “The court reaches the following conclusion: Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its…

Mina Hamid*, who hails from Kabul, Afghanistan, and moved to the Netherlands at the age of 11, says she will never forget the first time she sent money to help her family members back home. “I was in my late teenage years, and Afghanistan was reeling under the impact of natural disasters and conflicts, making it hard for my extended family members to afford basic necessities. So I began sending between 20 and 30 euros [$21 to $32] occasionally – money I earned from my student job – seeking to support them,” Hamid told Al Jazeera. The 36-year-old, who now…

Brands had been wary of rapid changes initiated on X under Elon Musk’s ownership.Elon Musk’s social media platform X has sued a global advertising alliance and several major companies, including Mars and CVS Health, accusing them of unlawfully conspiring to boycott the site and causing it to lose revenue. X filed the lawsuit on Tuesday in federal court in Texas against the World Federation of Advertisers, Unilever and Danish renewable energy company Orsted, in addition to Mars and CVS Health. The lawsuit said (PDF) advertisers, acting through a World Federation of Advertisers initiative called Global Alliance for Responsible Media, collectively withheld…

Tensions boiled over when Ethiopia agreed to lease 20km (12 miles) of coastline from Somaliland in exchange for recognition of its independence.The Somali and Ethiopian foreign ministers will meet in Ankara next week to discuss disagreements over a port deal Ethiopia signed with the breakaway region of Somaliland this year, Turkey’s foreign minister says. “Tensions between Somalia and Ethiopia would come to an end with Ethiopia’s access to the seas through Somalia as long as Ethiopia’s recognition of Somalia’s territorial integrity and political sovereignty is secured,” Hakan Fidan said at a news conference in Istanbul on Friday. Turkey is mediating…