BYD Launches Another Premium SUV in Push for EV Market Dominance
BYD Co., China’s best-selling car brand, unveiled a new electric sport utility vehicle — the Denza N7 —
2023-07-04 12:25
Lawsuit alleges Harvard gives preferential treatment to legacy admissions, who are 'overwhelmingly' White
Three minority advocacy groups are suing Harvard University's governing body, accusing the school of discrimination by giving preferential treatment to children of wealthy donors and alumni, and are citing the recent US Supreme Court ruling that gutted affirmative action to bolster their lawsuit.
2023-07-04 08:27
Brazil soccer star Neymar fined $3.5 million for environmental offense
RIO DE JANEIRO Brazilian authorities said on Monday that soccer star Neymar was fined 16 million reais ($3.33
2023-07-04 06:49
UN council to hold first meeting on potential threats of artificial intelligence to global peace
The U.N. Security Council will hold a first-ever meeting on the potential threats of artificial intelligence to international peace and security organized by the United Kingdom
2023-07-04 06:48
The Highest-Rated Book in Each Country, Mapped
If you read to explore different worlds, this map of Goodreads' top book by a local author in each country is for you.
2023-07-04 03:15
Federal complaint challenges Harvard legacy admissions
Petitioners allege it benefits the white and wealthy while discriminating against minority students.
2023-07-04 02:55
Twitter rival Bluesky halts sign-ups after huge surge in demand following Musk’s rate limits
Twitter rival Bluesky has been forced to temporarily pause sign-ups after experiencing a surge of interest following Elon Musk’s decision to introduce new limits to his social network. The tech billionaire began limiting the number of tweets people can read on Saturday, claiming that it was necessary to address “extreme levels of data scraping and system manipulation”. The move prevents unverified users from seeing more than 600 Twitter posts a day, while paid subscribers can view up to 6,000. It prompted renewed interest in rival apps, including Mastodon, whose creator said 110,000 new users joined the platform in just one day. Bluesky, which was founded by former Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey, is currently in private beta, meaning people can only sign up if they have an invite code from another user. “We will temporarily be pausing Bluesky sign-ups while our team continues to resolve the existing performance issues,” the company said over the weekend. “We’ll keep you updated when invite codes will resume functionality. We’re excited to welcome more users to our beta soon!” Among those making the transition from Twitter to Bluesky to Twitter is Paul Cooper, host of the Fall of Civilization podcast. Last month, Mr Musk encouraged the history podcast to “please upload your podcasts” to Twitter, though Mr Cooper replied that he considered the platform “too compromised” to make such a move. “It’s become a safe haven for hate speech, and meanwhile crypto scammers and bots are paying to be boosted to the top of replies,” the podcast host wrote. “Everything that once made Twitter special seems to be leaching away.” Mr Musk said the limits introduced for Twitter users would be temporary, though did not specify when they would be removed. Twitter responded to a request from The Independent for more information with its customary poop emoji. Read More Twitter alternative Bluesky launches as Android app
2023-07-04 00:55
Elon Musk put new limits on tweets. Users and advertisers might go elsewhere
TikTok and Instagram users can scroll with abandon
2023-07-04 00:22
Twitter down: Rival Mastodon sees huge increase in users as Elon Musk ‘destroys his site’
Chaos at Twitter has seemingly led to a new surge of activity on Mastodon, a rival social network, according to its creator. Mastodon has seen some success since Elon Musk took over at Twitter, as users search for alternatives. Unlike its rival, Mastodon has a decentralised structure that relies on users to support and build the network itself. “Looks like Mastodon‘s active user base has increased by 110K (110,000) over the last day. Not bad,” Eugen Rochko, creator and chief executive of Mastodon, wrote on the platform late on Sunday. “I would prefer it if Elon Musk was destroying his site during the work week. This isn’t the first time,” another post from Rochko read. On Saturday, Twitter boss Elon Musk announced new limits on the number of posts accounts can read in a day. Previously, he had expressed displeasure with artificial intelligence firms like OpenAI, the owner of ChatGPT, for using Twitter’s data to train their large language models. Musk took over Twitter in October 2022. Since then, his erratic management style has prompted some users and advertisers to turn away from the site. Mastodon has similar features to Twitter but rather than being controlled by one company, it is installed on thousands of computer servers, largely run by volunteer administrators who join their systems together in a federation. After Mr Musk’s announcements over the weekend, Twitter is also now requiring people to log on to view tweets and profiles - a change in its long-time practice to allow everyone to peruse the chatter on what Mr Musk has frequently touted as the world’s digital town square. The restrictions could result in users being locked out of Twitter for the day after scrolling through several hundred tweets. Thousands of users complained on Saturday of not being able to access the site. In a tweet on Friday, Mr Musk described the new restrictions as a temporary measure that was taken because “we were getting data pillaged so much that it was degrading service for normal users”. Additional reporting by agencies Read More Twitter is breaking more and more What Twitter’s ‘rate limit’ message means and why Elon Musk has imposed restrictions Jack Dorsey calls for ‘open internet’ as Musk imposes new reading limits on Twitter
2023-07-04 00:20
A flying car prototype just got an airworthiness certificate from the FAA
A California startup says it has been certified by the Federal Aviation Administration for testing what it describes as the first flying car with US government approval — a fully electric vehicle that can both fly and travel on roads.
2023-07-03 23:26
Harvard sued over ‘legacy admissions’ after Supreme Court targets affirmative action
Days after the US Supreme Court struck down race-conscious university admissions, civil rights groups have filed a federal lawsuit targeting so-called “legacy” admissions at Harvard University. The lawsuit, alleging widespread discrimination at the college in violation of the Civil Rights Act, is the latest challenge to the practice of prioritising university admissions for the children of alumni. “There’s no birthright to Harvard. As the Supreme Court recently noted, ‘eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it.’ There should be no way to identify who your parents are in the college application process,” said Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal, executive director of Boston-based Lawyers for Civil Rights, which filed the complaint on 3 July. “Why are we rewarding children for privileges and advantages accrued by prior generations?” he said in a statement. “Your family’s last name and the size of your bank account are not a measure of merit, and should have no bearing on the college admissions process.” The group filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Chica Project, the African Community Economic Development of New England and the Greater Boston Latino Network. Last week, the conservative supermajority on the nation’s highest court ruled that private and public colleges and universities may not consider race as a factor in admissions, striking down the precedent affirmed in the 2003 ruling in Grutter v Bollinger. Civil rights advocates and justices who supported the decades-long precedent, intended to promote racially diverse college campuses, derided what they argue is the court’s ongoing perversion of the 14th Amendment and the foundational concept of equal protection. The latest lawsuit points to Harvard data finding that 70 per cent of the college’s donor-related and legacy applicants are white. So-called “legacy” applicants have a roughly six times greater chance of admission, according to records, pointing to a “custom, pattern and practice” that is “exclusionary and discriminatory” and “severely disadvantages and harms applicants of color,” plaintiffs argued. The complaint calls on the US Department of Education to initiate a federal investigation into Harvard’s application process and for the federal government to declare such practices illegal. “Harvard’s practice of giving a leg-up to the children of wealthy donors and alumni – who have done nothing to deserve it – must end,” Lawyers for Civil Rights litigation fellow Michael Kippins said in a statement accompanying the complaint. Following the Supreme Court ruling, Democratic lawmakers and President Joe Biden urged universities to reconsider their legacy admissions, which he said “expand privilege instead of opportunity.” The Independent has requested comment from Harvard. Read More Biden condemns Supreme Court striking down affirmative action: ‘This is not a normal court’ Biden reveals ‘new path’ to student debt relief after Supreme Court strikes down president’s plan Pence ‘doesn’t believe’ racial inequality exists in schools as he celebrates SCOTUS affirmative action ban
2023-07-03 22:57
Ambani’s Jio Unveils $12 Phone That Streams Video, Moves Money
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s group Monday announced an internet-enabled phone at an entry price of 999 rupees ($12) as
2023-07-03 22:47