International
Musk ‘kills’ new Twitter label, hours after launch
| By AFP | Julie Jammot |
Twitter launched two new verification tools Wednesday but “killed” one of them hours later in a messy start to owner Elon Musk’s campaign to revamp the influential platform following his $44 billion buyout.
The social media platform unveiled its long-awaited Twitter Blue subscription service, which allows users to pay $7.99 per month for a coveted blue tick, as well as a separate gray “official” badge for some high-profile accounts.
But the new gray label was almost immediately scrapped, overshadowing the launch of Twitter Blue, which is currently only available on the mobile app on iPhones and in the United States.
“I just killed it,” Musk tweeted hours after the new tag was added to government accounts, big companies and major media outlets.
“Please note that Twitter will do lots of dumb things in coming months. We will keep what works & change what doesn’t,” the world’s richest man added.
The U-turn invited further scrutiny of Musk’s plans for Twitter a week after he laid off thousands of workers and drew a massive drop in spending by advertisers, who are wary of the site’s direction.
The blue tick has been a mark of an account’s authenticity and doubts emerged that public figures or media outlets would pay for it. The official gray tag was seen by observers as a workaround to solve that problem.
The launch of the new official label began Wednesday and was on the accounts of companies such as Apple and BMW, as well as public ones such as the White House and major media outlets.
But only hours later, it was gone for many of them.
Accounts that had received the “official” badge — including Agence France-Presse, BBC News, Pope Francis and Kanye West — saw the mention disappear.
‘A lot of work’
Esther Crawford, an executive who announced the gray tick on Tuesday, insisted that the official label was still going to be part of the relaunch, but that “we are just focusing on government and commercial entities to begin with.”
“There are no sacred cows in product at Twitter anymore. Elon is willing to try lots of things — many will fail, some will succeed,” she tweeted Wednesday.
“The goal is to find the right mix of successful changes to ensure the long-term health and growth of the business.”
During a panel for advertisers broadcast on Twitter, Musk exercised some damage control, admitting that a lot of work lay ahead to get the site to the place he wished to reach.
“We’ve got a lot to do on the software side. I can’t emphasize that enough,” he said.
Musk took control of Twitter after a drawn-out legal battle in which the mercurial tycoon tried to renege on a deal that many believe he overpaid for.
It emerged on Tuesday that Musk sold $4 billion worth of shares in Tesla to help pay for a transaction in which he took on billions of dollars in debt.
Twitter Blue is seen as one way to overcome the loss in advertisers since Musk took over.
Twitter last week fired half of its 7,500 employees, which Musk said was necessary as the company was losing $4 million a day.
International
U.S. Proposes Higher Citizenship Fees and Limits on Immigration Fee Waivers
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has proposed increasing fees related to citizenship applications, while also seeking changes to programs that reduce or waive immigration-related costs for certain applicants.
The proposal would eliminate fee waivers and reduced-fee programs for immigrants whose household incomes are at or below 400% of the federal poverty level.
However, the changes would not take effect immediately. Before receiving final approval, the proposal must go through a 60-day public comment period, allowing individuals and organizations to submit feedback.
DHS justified the proposed increases by stating that the goal is to fully cover the costs associated with processing citizenship and naturalization applications.
“Although the Department of Homeland Security has historically limited form fees to promote naturalization, the agency no longer considers that these applications should have lower costs at the expense of other immigration benefits,” the department said in the proposal document.
If approved, the reform would modify the current immigration fee structure and could impact thousands of applicants who rely on financial assistance programs to complete their citizenship process.
U.S. authorities said the measure is part of a broader review of immigration service fees and the mechanisms used to fund the administration of these programs.
International
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes History as First Player to Score in Six World Cups
Cristiano Ronaldo made football history on Tuesday by becoming the first player ever to score in six different editions of the FIFA World Cup.
The Portuguese forward opened the scoring in Portugal’s Group K match against Uzbekistan in Houston. Just six minutes into the game, Ronaldo found the back of the net with a right-footed strike from inside the box, sending the Portuguese fans into celebration.
The “Commander” sparked excitement throughout the stadium with his iconic celebration, as supporters joined in with his famous “Siuuu!” chant to honor another milestone in the career of one of football’s greatest stars.
At 41 years old, Ronaldo has now scored in Germany 2006, South Africa 2010, Brazil 2014, Russia 2018, Qatar 2022, and North America 2026. With his two goals in this tournament, he has surpassed Lionel Messi’s record, as the Argentine has scored in every World Cup he played except South Africa 2010.
The Portuguese captain has also reached nine World Cup goals, matching Eusébio as Portugal’s all-time top scorer in the history of the tournament.
Ronaldo’s achievement came just one day after Messi also made history by becoming the outright leading scorer in World Cup history, reaching 18 goals after scoring twice in Argentina’s 2-0 victory over Austria.
With his appearance at the 2026 World Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo has also extended another remarkable record by becoming the first player to participate in six consecutive editions of the tournament, further cementing his legacy as one of the most influential players in football history.
International
Mbappé Ties Klose on All-Time World Cup Scoring List After Brace Against Iraq
Kylian Mbappé moved another step closer to World Cup history on Monday, scoring twice against Iraq to reach 16 career goals in the tournament and draw level with German legend Miroslav Klose on the all-time scoring chart.
The French forward found the net in the 14th and 54th minutes of France’s Group I clash in Philadelphia, registering his second consecutive brace of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Mbappé’s achievement came on the same day that Argentina captain Lionel Messi set a new all-time World Cup scoring record. The Argentine star scored twice against Austria to raise his career total to 18 goals, surpassing the previous mark of 16 held by Klose.
Klose established his record on July 8, 2014, during Germany’s historic 7-1 victory over Brazil in the World Cup semifinals in Belo Horizonte.
Before facing Iraq, Mbappé was tied with German striker Gerd Müller on 14 World Cup goals. His first goal of the match lifted him to 15, drawing level with Brazilian great Ronaldo Nazário.
The second strike moved the Real Madrid forward to 16 goals, allowing him to surpass Ronaldo, match Klose’s tally, and position himself just two goals behind Messi in the race for World Cup immortality.
The match also marked a personal milestone for Mbappé, as he made his 100th appearance for the French national team.
At 27 years old, the French superstar remains firmly in pursuit of Messi’s newly established record and continues to strengthen his legacy as one of the most prolific scorers in World Cup history.
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