Source: Sky News
Security & Justice
Southern Lebanon Endures Massive Damage: 40,000 Homes Leveled Across 37 Towns
Israeli forces have systematically destroyed entire neighborhoods in southern Lebanon, leveling more than 37 towns and wiping out over 40,000 residential units, according to Lebanon's National News Agency.
Tuesday, November 5, 2024
Gaps in Coastal Radar Enabled Israeli Raid in Batroun, Army Commander Says
Lebanon’s army chief, General Joseph Aoun, detailed to Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati how Israeli forces likely exploited gaps in the country's coastal radar system during the recent raid carried out in Batroun. The briefing comes as Lebanese officials seek answers on how Israel’s elite Shayetet 13 unit carried out the landing undetected.
Monday, November 4, 2024
Opinion
The Emptying of Baalbek Is a Moment to Take Stock
“Large numbers of people continue to flee their homes every day, as Israel’s military operations in Lebanon have been going on unabated.” These disturbing words could be from almost any news report about Israel’s invasion of its northern neighbour over the past month. However, they can be found in a report by the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre issued on July 27, 2006.
Saturday, November 2, 2024
A Future Without Hezbollah
At the end of September, when Israel’s campaign to destroy Hezbollah was reaching its height, I met one of the group’s supporters in a seaside café in western Beirut. He was a middle-aged man with a thin white beard and the spent look of someone who had not slept for days. He was an academic of sorts, not a fighter, but his ties to Hezbollah were deep and long-standing.
Thursday, October 31, 2024
Sports
Tottenham Forward Son Heung-min Crowned Asia’s International Player of the Year
Tottenham forward Son Heung-min was crowned as Asia’s International Player of the Year for the fourth time by the Asian Football Confederation at its annual awards ceremony Tuesday.
Wednesday, October 30, 2024
Real Madrid Launch Investigation into Racist Insults After El Clasico Defeat
Real Madrid has launched an investigation into racist insults directed at players during Saturday’s 4-0 home loss to Barcelona in LaLiga, it said on Sunday.
Monday, October 28, 2024
Friday 24 March 2023 15:30:22
Twitter Users to Start Losing Blue Ticks From Next Month - Unless They Pay
Many verified Twitter users are set to lose their blue ticks at the beginning of next month.
The social media platform has said that on 1 April it will start removing its "legacy" verified checkmarks.
These cover most blue-tick accounts that are not government officials or organisations - meaning many musicians, actors, journalists, authors, among others, will lose their tick.
The blue ticks confirm that an account is verified by Twitter.
Twitter boss Elon Musk had previously vowed to remove legacy blue ticks, reportedly saying they were handed out in a "corrupt and nonsensical" way.
In order to keep their ticks, accounts will have to subscribe to Twitter Blue, which has a monthly fee of up to £11 for those based in the UK.
Business accounts may also subscribe to Twitter Verified Organisations, which means they can add gold checkmarks to their accounts.
However, the subscription service would cost them a base price of £950 a month.
Announcing the move, Twitter said it will "begin winding down our legacy verified programme".
'Absolutely no way this won't backfire'
Verified Twitter users joked about the announcement, particularly the decision to start removing the ticks on April Fool's Day.
"They're eliminating legacy verified on April Fool's Day, absolutely no way this won't backfire," civil rights lawyer Alejandra Caraballo said.
American screenwriter Mark Royce joked about Twitter's reminder that legacy verified accounts "may or may not be notable".
"Since verified checks will be taken away on April Fool's Day (not at all a confusing day to do that), I want to provide closure for my many superfans who have puzzled over one mystery for months," he wrote.
"The answer is no. This account is not, in fact, notable. Godspeed".
Ariel Dumas, head writer for The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, joked: "Please rid me of this plague. My verified check has made me too rich and famous.
"I get stopped at stores. My large adult sons are tired of fighting off my hordes of fans, chasing me with their chants of 'blue check blue check'."
Mr Musk faced a backlash over the rollout of the paid-for verification feature after it led to a number of fake accounts buying verification and then posing as public figures to spread abusive content.
The multibillionaire acquired Twitter last October as part of a $44bn (£36bn) deal, and quickly earned criticism after he fired top executives at the company.
