DUBAI: Billionaire Elon Musk said Wednesday that he anticipates finding a CEO for Twitter “probably toward the end of this year.”
Speaking via a video call to the World Government Summit in Dubai, Musk said making sure the platform can function remained the most important thing for him.
“I think I need to stabilize the organization and just make sure it’s in a financial healthy place,” Musk said when asked about when he’d name a CEO. “I’m guessing probably toward the end of this year would be good timing to find someone else to run the company.”
Musk, 51, made his wealth initially on the finance website PayPal, then created the spacecraft company SpaceX and invested in the electric car company Tesla. In recent months, however, more attention has been focused on the chaos surrounding his $44 billion purchase of the microblogging site Twitter.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military’s use of Musk’s satellite Internet service Starlink as it defends itself against Russia’s ongoing invasion has put Musk off and on at the center of the war.
Musk offered a wide-ranging 35-minute discussion that touched on the billionaire’s fears about artificial intelligence, the collapse of civilization and the possibility of space aliens. But questions about Twitter kept coming back up as Musk described both Tesla and SpaceX as able to function without his direct, day-to-day involvement.
“Twitter is still somewhat a startup in reverse,” he said. “There’s work required here to get Twitter to sort of a stable position and to really build the engine of software engineering.”
Musk also sought to portray his takeover of San Francisco-based Twitter as a cultural correction.
“I think that the general idea is just to reflect the values of the people as opposed to imposing the values of essentially San Francisco and Berkeley, which are so somewhat of a niche ideology as compared to the rest of the world,” he said. “And, you know, Twitter was, I think, doing a little too much to impose a niche.”
Musk’s takeover at Twitter has seen mass firings and other cost-cutting measures. Musk, who is on the hook for about $1 billion in yearly interest payments for his purchase, has been trying to find way to maximize profits at the company.
However, some of Musk’s decisions have conflicted with the reasons that journalists, governments and others rely on Twitter as an information-sharing platform.
Musk on Wednesday described the need for users to rely on Twitter for trusted information from verified accounts. However, a confused rollout to a paid verified account system saw some impersonate famous companies, leading to a further withdrawal of needed advertising cash to the site.
“Twitter is certainly quite the rollercoaster,” he acknowledged.
Forbes estimates Musk’s wealth at just under $200 billion. The Forbes analysis ranks Musk as the second-wealthiest person on Earth, just behind French luxury brand magnate Bernard Arnault.
But Musk also has become a thought leader for some as well, albeit an oracle that is trying to get six hours of sleep a night despite the challenges at Twitter.
Musk described his children as being “programmed by Reddit and YouTube.” He warned that artificial intelligence should be regulated “very carefully,” describing it as akin to the promise of nuclear power but the danger of atomic bombs. He also cautioned against having a single civilization or “too much cooperation” on Earth, saying it could “collapse” a society that’s like a “tiny candle in a vast darkness.”
And asked about the existence of aliens, Musk had a firm response.
“The crazy thing is, I’ve seen no evidence of alien technology or alien life whatsoever. And I think I’d know because of SpaceX,” he said. “I don’t think anybody knows more about space, you know, than me.”
Elon Musk hopes to have Twitter CEO toward the end of year
https://arab.news/gkj4z
Elon Musk hopes to have Twitter CEO toward the end of year
- Company will be stabilize and in financial healthy place in coming months, Musk said
Music trade bodies concerned about BBC’s changes to airing live performances
- Move could ‘curtail artistic freedom,’ head of Featured Artists Coalition says
- Move could ‘curtail artistic freedom,’ head of Featured Artists Coalition says
DUBAI: Music trade bodies have accused the BBC of making “arbitrary and disproportionate” changes to its broadcasting and streaming of live music events following the controversy around Bob Vylan’s Glastonbury performance.
During the punk rap duo’s set at the festival on June 28, they led the crowd in pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli military chants like “free, free Palestine” and “death, death to the IDF.”
The BBC livestreamed the performance in full leading to a backlash from the government.
BBC Director-General Tim Davie ordered the content to not be featured in any other coverage. However, due to a technical issue the stream was available on the BBC iPlayer for about five hours.
Davie and BBC chair Samir Shah have both apologized. The BBC said in a statement: “Warnings appeared on the stream on two occasions and the editorial team took the decision not to cut the feed. This was an error.”
Music industry trade bodies and experts now say the BBC is overreacting.
“The BBC is absolutely fundamental to the continued success of British music and particularly vital to supporting our new and emerging artists’ development,” said David Martin, head of the Featured Artists Coalition, a UK trade body that supports music artists.
The FAC supported the network’s public service broadcasting remit, which understandably came with responsibilities and standards, he said.
“If those standards have been breached, then there should be appropriate guidelines to follow. But the idea of preemptively grading artists according to their risk factor feels arbitrary and disproportionate and a dangerous step toward censorship.”
Such an approach could “curtail artistic freedom” and “inadvertently punish those who are simply expressing their views,” he said.
Naomi Pohl, general secretary of The Musicians’ Union, stressed the importance of the BBC and its role in the music industry.
“It’s such a shame there has been this shadow cast over this year’s Glastonbury coverage, because it has had fantastic viewing figures. It’s been all over iPlayer and people have been tuning in live,” she said.
“We need to talk to the BBC about it directly. But I don’t want to see any broadcasters now broadcasting fewer live events because they don’t want to take the risk. The whole of the music industry will be feeling that, because it’s so crucial to us to have the BBC.”
A BBC spokesperson said the broadcaster stood by its decision to make changes to livestreaming music performances.
“We will continue to bring audiences a range of music performances, both live and on-demand and we respect artists’ freedom of expression,” the person said.
“However, Bob Vylan’s offensive and deplorable behavior on one of our Glastonbury livestreams was completely unacceptable and we are sorry it appeared on the BBC.
“This is why we have made immediate changes to livestreaming music events and these, alongside our editorial guidelines, will shape our plans going forward.”
The Destination: Saudi reforms through the lens of a documentary
- Arabic film produced by Konoz, an initiative by the kingdom’s media ministry
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s transformation toward its Vision 2030 goals has been documented in a new film by the Ministry of Media.
Launched by the ministry’s Konoz initiative, “The Destination” highlights the progress made in the political, economic, medical, sporting, cultural, media and artistic fields.
Its title reflects the Kingdom’s path toward becoming a global destination for tourism and investment.
Konoz CEO Abdullah Al-Ahmari credited megaprojects and upcoming events such as the AFC Asian Cup 2027, Expo Riyadh 2030 and FIFA World Cup 2034.
HIGHLIGHT
‘The Destination’ includes interviews with key figures from various fields as well as testimonies, quotes and historical records. It is part of a series of films produced by Konoz in cooperation with almost 90 organizations and more than 2,600 individuals.
“The Konoz initiative aims to document the Kingdom’s achievements through creative productions,” he said, describing the country as a “model admired by the world.”
The film reflected the progress being made on the ground and highlighted the initiative’s focus on Saudi talent in shaping the Kingdom’s future, he said.
“The Destination” includes interviews with key figures from various fields as well as testimonies, quotes and historical records. It is part of a series of films produced by Konoz in cooperation with almost 90 organizations and more than 2,600 individuals.
The Konoz initiative is part of the Human Capacity Development Program under Vision 2030. Its goal is to promote Saudi Arabian culture around the world by highlighting the contributions and success stories of its citizens.
‘Bay of Bengal live’: Bangladeshi fishermen go viral showing life at sea
- Fishermen-turned-influencers have hundreds of thousands of followers on social media
- Content focuses on fishing techniques, daily life on the boats, and marine life
DHAKA: When Shahid Sardar started his Facebook page four years ago, he wanted to share his experience aboard a fishing boat. He did not expect the millions of views he would soon attract as he tapped into a content niche that is rapidly gaining popularity among Bangladeshis: life at sea.
Sardar, 35, lives with his wife and son in the coastal Chittagong district in south-eastern Bangladesh. He started to work as a fisherman in 2013, after leaving a job at a hospital canteen in the capital, Dhaka.
As the chief cook on a vessel with a 50-member crew, Sardar sails across the Bay of Bengal on month-long voyages in search of fish. When his videos documenting deep-sea fishing methods and daily life on the boat began gaining traction, he expanded his content to show various marine species found in Bangladeshi waters — many of which are not widely known.
“I think people generally enjoy fish, especially the kinds caught at sea, which are not usually found in local markets,” Sardar told Arab News.
“The beauty of the deep sea also draws people to my videos. For most viewers, these sights are rare and unfamiliar. They don’t have this experience themselves.”
Posting as BD Fisherman on Facebook, he has more than 360,000 followers. His other account, Fisherman Shahid, has another 240,000.
When two of his videos went viral in December 2023, Facebook approved monetization for his page.
“My first video that went viral showed a bulk of yellowfin tuna and some shrimp. The fish were just dropped on the deck ... it was the rainy season. People liked that video a lot. Within 24 hours, it got 3 million views,” he said.
“As I started receiving some money from the videos, I became more motivated to keep uploading and people started liking my videos more and more.”
He now earns an average of about $500 a month from his two pages. That is in addition to his salary of $120 per voyage, plus bonuses based on the catch — about 60 cents per tonne of fish sold in the market.
“In my locality, everyone knows me as Fisherman Shahid. Wherever I go, people come to me just to know how they can earn through making videos and posting them on social media platforms,” Sardar said. “Recently, the friends of my 7th-grader son also visited my home to learn about my video making.”
While for fellow fishers, Sardar’s content has been an inspiration to start their own pages, for some other followers, like Zaved Ahmed, a Bangladeshi migrant worker in Saudi Arabia, watching his videos is a reminder of his own roots.
“I was born in Cox’s Bazar, a coastal area of Bangladesh, and fishing was our family’s profession. Since 2023, I have been living in Jeddah, which is on the coast of the Red Sea. It seems that sea life is something in my blood. That’s why I love watching Sardar’s videos,” he said.
“Whenever I watch his videos, my mind travels to the sea with the fishing boat, as if I were experiencing it with my own eyes.”
But most of those who follow Sardar and other fishermen-influencers have never experienced life at sea.
Watching it on their mobile or laptop screens helps them connect with the sector that each year contributes about 3.5 percent to Bangladesh’s GDP and is the main source of animal protein in the Bangladeshi diet.
“I think most people generally love the sea, but they don’t have the opportunity to witness the mysteries of the deep sea,” said Karimul Maola, a follower of Sardar from Chittagong.
“Through Sardar’s videos, I’ve learned about many seafish that were previously unknown to me. Also, his videos have given me some idea about how a fishing vessel normally operates — something most people don’t know about.”
There is a similar sentiment among the followers of other Bangladeshi fishermen who have shot to social media fame.
On the page of Ehsanul Haque Shaon, a fisherman who has 172,000 followers on Facebook, one follower says watching his video was “like the Bay of Bengal live in front of my eyes!” while another says in amazement that watching the content made them realize that “life is very interesting.”
“How we survive on a boat in the Bay of Bengal,” a video on Fishiib, a YouTube channel focusing on showing the life of fishermen in the Bay of Bengal, has received more than 10 million views in six months.
“I am truly amazed by how these fishermen adapt to life at sea. They face constant challenges like harsh weather and limited resources, yet they find ways to survive and thrive,” one viewer said.
“Their resilience and ability to work together as a community is truly inspiring. It’s a glimpse into a way of life that most of us can only imagine.”
Condé Nast expands Middle East footprint with full acquisition of WIRED ME
- Transition marks the magazine’s move from a licensing agreement with Dubai-based publisher Nervora to direct ownership by Condé Nast
LONDON: Condé Nast has acquired full ownership of WIRED Middle East, strengthening its presence in the region and bringing the tech, science, and culture magazine into its portfolio of wholly owned titles in Dubai, Arab News has learned.
The transition, announced on Monday, marks the magazine’s move from a licensing agreement with Dubai-based publisher Nervora to direct ownership by Condé Nast.
“Bringing WIRED Middle East into the Condé Nast Middle East portfolio reflects both the region’s rapid evolution and our commitment to spotlighting the ideas and breakthroughs shaping its future,” said Thomas Khoury, Managing Director, Condé Nast Middle East.
“With its authority across technology, science, business and culture, WIRED is uniquely positioned to lead these conversations in the region.
Launched in 2019, WIRED ME has covered regional trends, breakthroughs, and major events such as Expo 2020 Dubai.
Condé Nast said the acquisition marks the next step in the brand’s growth as it looks to expand alongside the region’s fast-developing tech sector.
While the company suggested it will remain commitment to the print edition - currently published quarterly and claiming a readership of over 100,000, according to Advert On Click - it said WIRED Middle East would now serve as its flagship digital-first platform for tech, science, and culture in the region.
Katie Drummond, WIRED’s Global Editorial Director, said the brand is eager to expand its editorial coverage of the Middle East, growing hand-in-hand with the region.
“This is a region driving some of the most dynamic and consequential stories in science, technology, business, and culture,” she said. “We’re excited to build a team dedicated to telling those stories with the ambition and world-class journalism that defines WIRED.”
The move follows a similar shift earlier this year, when Condé Nast took direct control of Vogue Arabia and GQ Middle East, also previously operated under license by Nervora.
The reshuffle has been widely viewed as a strategic realignment of the Arab fashion and media landscape.
With the addition of WIRED ME, Condé Nast’s full Middle East portfolio now includes Vogue Arabia, GQ Middle East, Architectural Digest Middle East, and Condé Nast Traveller Middle East.
Ex-presenter Gary Lineker criticizes BBC for dropping Gaza documentary
- It was the first time he had publicly criticized the BBC since his departure, which followed backlash over a social media post
- He accused BBC executives of bowing to pressure “from the top”
LONDON: Former BBC presenter and football star Gary Lineker said the broadcaster “should hold its head in shame” after deciding not to show a documentary on medics working in Gaza.
Accusing executives of bowing to pressure “from the top,” Lineker made the remarks during a private screening of “Gaza: Doctors Under Attack,” where media reports say he was visibly moved.
It was the first time he had publicly criticized the BBC since his departure, which followed backlash over a social media post perceived as having antisemitic connotations — something he later apologized for.
After the screening, Lineker said the documentary, originally commissioned by the broadcasting giant, “needed to be seen. It really did need to be seen.”
He added: “I think the BBC should hold its head in shame. I’ve worked for the corporation for 30 years; to see the way it’s declined in the last year or two has been devastating really. I’ve defended it and defended it against claims that it is partial.”
The documentary, which features first-hand accounts from Palestinian medical workers and investigates alleged attacks on hospitals and healthcare facilities, was pulled by the BBC over concerns about impartiality. The decision sparked an outcry from pro-Palestinian groups after another documentary on Gaza’s children was taken down when it emerged the main narrator was the son of a Hamas official.
Lineker said that while the BBC “talks about impartiality all the time,” the reality was that the broadcaster was “bowing to pressure from the top,” something he described as deeply concerning.
“I think the time is coming when a lot of people will have to answer for this,” he added, warning that “complicity is something that will come to many.”
The BBC has recently been accused of biased, pro-Israel coverage of the war in Gaza.
Earlier this week hundreds of media professionals, including over 100 current BBC staff, accused the broadcaster of acting as “PR for the Israeli government.” In an open letter, they raised concerns over the role of board member Sir Robbie Gibb in the BBC’s coverage of Gaza.
Gibb helped lead the consortium that purchased The Jewish Chronicle in 2020 and served as a director until August 2024.
The letter described his position on the BBC board — including on the editorial standards committee — as “untenable,” citing the Jewish Chronicle’s alleged history of publishing “anti-Palestinian and often racist content.”
