International
Twitter users vote to oust Elon Musk as CEO
| By AFP |
Twitter users voted on Monday to oust owner Elon Musk as chief executive in a highly unscientific poll he organized and promised to honor, just weeks after he took charge of the social media giant.
A total of 57.5 percent of more than 17 million accounts voted for him to step down. Musk, who also runs car maker Tesla and rocket firm SpaceX, has not yet reacted publicly to the results.
“The question is not finding a CEO, the question is finding a CEO who can keep Twitter alive,” the South African-born billionaire tweeted before the vote closed.
In a response to another tweet, he added: “No one wants the job who can actually keep Twitter alive. There is no successor.”
Musk has fully owned Twitter since October 27 and has repeatedly courted controversy as CEO, sacking half of its staff, readmitting far-right figures to the platform, suspending journalists and trying to charge for previously free services.
Analysts have also pointed out that the stock price of Tesla has slumped by one-third since Musk’s Twitter takeover. The share price briefly rallied by 3.3 percent on Monday before fading.
“It’s hard to ignore the numbers since [the Twitter] deal closed,” tweeted investment expert Gary Black, saying he reckoned Tesla’s board was putting pressure on Musk to quit his Twitter role.
In discussions with users after posting his latest poll, Musk renewed his warnings that the platform could be heading for bankruptcy.
‘Won’t happen again’
Resorting to Twitter’s polling feature has been a favorite strategy of Musk’s to push through policy decisions, including the reinstatement of the account of former president Donald Trump.
Paris-based Reporters Without Borders, which defends press freedom around the world, said the polls were a “crude and cynical” ploy.
“These methods appear to be democratic procedures, but in reality they are… the opposite of democracy,” said the group’s head, Christophe Deloire.
Unpredictable entrepreneur Musk posted his latest poll shortly after trying to extricate himself from yet another controversy.
On Sunday, Twitter users were told they would no longer be able to promote content from other social media sites.
But Musk seemed to reverse course a few hours later, writing that the policy would be limited to “suspending accounts only when that account’s *primary* purpose is promotion of competitors.”
“Going forward, there will be a vote for major policy changes. My apologies. Won’t happen again,” he tweeted.
The attempted ban had prompted howls of disapproval and even bemused Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey, who had backed Musk’s takeover.
Dorsey questioned the new policy with a one-word tweet: “Why?”
‘Perfect storm’
Musk has generated a series of controversies in his short reign, one which analyst Dan Ives from Wedbush described as a “perfect storm.”
He noted that “advertisers have run for the hills and left Twitter squarely in the red ink potentially on track to lose roughly $4 billion per year.”
Shortly after taking over the platform, Musk announced it would charge $8 per month to verify account holders’ identities, but had to suspend the “Twitter Blue” plan after an embarrassing rash of fake accounts. It has since been relaunched.
On November 4, with Musk saying the company was losing $4 million a day, Twitter laid off half of its 7,500-strong staff.
Musk also reinstated Trump’s account — though the former US president indicated he had no interest in the platform — and said Twitter would no longer work to combat Covid-19 disinformation.
In recent days, he suspended the accounts of several journalists after complaining some had published details about the movements of his private jet, which he claimed could endanger his family.
Employees of CNN, The New York Times and The Washington Post were among those affected in a move that drew sharp criticism, including from the European Union and the United Nations.
Washington Post executive editor Sally Buzbee said the suspension of journalist Taylor Lorenz’s account “further undermines Elon Musk’s claim that he intends to run Twitter as a platform dedicated to free speech.”
Some of the suspended accounts have since been reactivated.
On Monday, the head of the European Parliament, speaker Roberta Metsola, sent a letter to Musk inviting him to testify before the legislature, her spokesman said.
The parliament has no power to compel Musk to turn up, and his response was not immediately known.
International
Trump says Jimmy Kimmel show suspension due to poor ratings, not politics
U.S. President Donald Trump dismissed any political motive behind ABC’s suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s show, stating that the decision is due to “poor viewership ratings” and not a reaction to Kimmel’s comments about the death of Charlie Kirk.
The suspension of Kimmel’s program was announced yesterday and coincided with the comedian’s remarks regarding Kirk’s death and the reactions of prominent Republican figures in the United States.
However, Trump, on his social media platform Truth Social, emphasized that the cancellations of both Kimmel’s and Stephen Colbert’s shows are due to low ratings and limited audience reach.
“Good news for the United States: Jimmy Kimmel’s show, with terrible ratings, has been canceled! Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to make this decision. Kimmel has no talent, and his ratings are even worse than Colbert’s, if that’s possible. Now only Jimmy and Seth remain, two failures, on the fake news network NBC. Their ratings are also catastrophic,” Trump wrote.
ABC announced on Wednesday that Jimmy Kimmel’s variety show will be taken off the air “indefinitely,” following threats of legal action from the U.S. government after the host made comments on the political repercussions of conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
International
Padilla and Durbin seek oversight as deportation of Guatemalan minors sparks legal concerns
Democratic Senators Alex Padilla and Dick Durbin have demanded explanations from President Donald Trump’s administration regarding its plans to deport dozens of unaccompanied Guatemalan children in U.S. custody, without allowing them the chance to defend their immigration cases.
The lawmakers said on Wednesday that they have requested oversight hearings in the Senate to compel the White House to respond about the planned deportations, which were initially scheduled for August 31 but remain on hold due to a court order.
According to lawyers representing ten children aged 10 to 16 who filed a lawsuit, the administration violated due process by ignoring ongoing immigration cases and disregarding the special protections granted to minors who crossed the border from Mexico alone.
Under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA), unaccompanied immigrant children in the U.S. generally have the opportunity to appear before an immigration judge before being deported.
Padilla and Durbin’s demand comes after a report by the Government Accountability Project (GAP) alleged that the Trump administration misrepresented the safety of unaccompanied Guatemalan children under its care in order to justify removing them from the country.
The report revealed that at least 30 of the 327 Guatemalan children the administration attempted to deport “show signs” of having been victims of abuse, including death threats, gang violence, human trafficking, or expressed fear of returning to Guatemala.
However, Angie Salazar, director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), which maintains custody of the children, testified in court under penalty of perjury that these children showed no evidence of abuse or neglect by a parent or guardian.
International
Trump criticizes Putin, calls Ukraine war “one of the deadliest conflicts”
U.S. President Donald Trump expressed his disappointment on Thursday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, stating that the war in Ukraine would have been easier to resolve due to the personal relationship they share, but has instead become one of the deadliest conflicts.
During a press conference following a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the official Chequers residence, Trump said he has successfully negotiated the end of seven armed conflicts, though he admitted that the war in Ukraine has been particularly challenging.
The president noted that he initially thought the Russia-Ukraine conflict would be “one of the easiest” to negotiate. However, he cautioned that “you never know in war” and often things “happen in the opposite way than expected.”
When asked why he was disappointed, Trump stated that Putin “is killing a lot of people,” adding that “Russian soldiers are being killed in greater numbers than Ukrainians.”
Prime Minister Starmer emphasized that the United Kingdom continues to work alongside the United States to halt “the killing in Ukraine.” He noted that in recent days, Putin has revealed his true intentions by ordering the most devastating attack since the invasion began in 2022, resulting in more civilian casualties and new violations of NATO airspace.
“President Trump and I have discussed how we can strengthen our defenses, maintain support for Ukraine, and increase international pressure to force Putin to accept a lasting peace agreement,” Starmer said.
The joint statement came on the second day of President Trump’s state visit to the United Kingdom, from the Chequers country residence in Aylesbury, about 60 kilometers from London.
Trump says Jimmy Kimmel show suspension due to poor ratings, not politics
Padilla and Durbin seek oversight as deportation of Guatemalan minors sparks legal concerns
Trump criticizes Putin, calls Ukraine war “one of the deadliest conflicts”
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