A new bar serving up 30 varieties of “gourmet water" has opened shop in the desert metropolis of Dubai

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told the BBC that Ukraine needs more time to prepare for its anticipated counteroffensive against

Adin Ross, KSI and Tommy Fury along with his father John were doing a livestream when KSI decided to mock his future opponent and his father

Rescuers will make sure no-one is left beneath the rubble, vows a top official in the city of Douala.

X, formerly known as Twitter, filed a federal defamation suit on Monday in Texas against Media Matters for America, accusing the media watchdog group of kicking off an advertiser exodus with a “harmful” article alleging the social network let top brands display ads near antisemitic and pro-Nazi posts. The liberal-leaning media observer allegedly curated a feed specifically with fringe accounts and those belonging to corporations like IBM, Comcast, Apple, and Oracle, then displayed screenshots of the unsavoury posts appearing near company ads in a critical article, according to the lawsuit. The Media Matters analysis, published last week, also alleges that X owner Elon Musk has increasingly begun a “descent into white nationalist and antisemitic conspiracy theories.” The lawsuit does not dispute that some top brands’ ads were featured near the inflammatory content. Rather, it suggests Media Matters gamed X to produce extremely unlikely pairings that are usually screened out by the service’s advertising tools, alleging that one harmful match appeared for “only one viewer (out of more than 500 million) on all of X: Media Matters.” “Not a single authentic user of the X platform saw IBM’s, Comcast’s or Oracle’s ads next to that content, which Media Matters achieved only through its manipulation of X’s algorithms,” the suit continues. “Media Matters created these pairings in secrecy, to manufacture the harmful perception that X is at best an incompetent content moderator (a harmful accusation for any social media platform), or even worse that X was somehow indifferent or even encouraging to Nazi and racist ideology,” the suit argues elsewhere. Media Matters told The Independent in a statement that its analysis of X and its content policies remains valid. “This is a frivolous lawsuit meant to bully X’s critics into silence,” Media Matters President Angelo Carusone said in the statement. “Media Matters stands behind its reporting and looks forward to winning in court.” Top executives at X have railed against Media Matters in recent days. “If you know me, you know I’m committed to truth and fairness. Here’s the truth,” Linda Yaccarino wrote on X on Monday. “Not a single authentic user on X saw IBM’s, Comcast’s, or Oracle’s ads next to the content in Media Matters’ article. Only 2 users saw Apple’s ad next to the content, at least one of which was Media Matters. Data wins over manipulation or allegations.” Mr Musk, meanwhile, called the organisation “pure evil” in an X post of his own. Outside of the disputed accuracy of the Media Matters report, Mr Musk has openly endorsed a right-wing conspiracy theory on X in recent days, prompting criticism that he’s fueling antisemitism. Last Wednesday, the billionaire X owner responded to a tweet echoing claims of the racist and often antisemitic “great replacement” theory, including that Jewish people were “flooding” America with “hordes of minorities” to promote “dialectical hatred against whites.” Mr Musk called the claim “the actual truth.” The theory referenced in the original post was among the hateful ideas directly referenced by the gunman who killed 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018, the deadliest antisemitic attack in US history. “At a time when antisemitism is exploding in America and surging around the world, it is indisputably dangerous to use one’s influence to validate and promote antisemitic theories,” Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League civil rights group, which monitors antisemitism and other forms of extremism, wrote on X in response to Mr Musk. The White House also weighed in, alleging the tech CEO was contributing to the spread of “abhorrent promotion of antisemitic and racist hate.” “It is unacceptable to repeat the hideous lie behind the most fatal act of antisemitism in American history at any time, let alone one month after the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust,” the White House said in a statement. The Independent contacted Mr Musk during the backlash against his response to the post and did not receive an answer. Amid the controversy, Mr Musk has alternatively defended X’s content policies and appeared to mock critics who allege the network is harbouring hateful content. Last week, he shared a clip of someone playing a video game level called “Echo of Hatred,” with the caption “defeating hatred is never easy.” “Clear calls for extreme violence are against our terms of service and will result in suspension,” he wrote elsewhere on X on Friday. This summer, a study from the Center for Countering Digital Hate alleged X failed to take down 99 per cent of a selection of hate content flagged by the group. The group alleged that “the platform is allowing them to break its rules with impunity and is even algorithmically boosting their toxic tweets.” Read More Musk's X sues liberal advocacy group Media Matters over its report on ads next to hate groups' posts Elon Musk and Trump aide want journalists jailed over X Hitler exposé IBM pulls ads from Elon Musk's X after report says they appeared next to antisemitic posts Dates and venues for three 2024 presidential debates announced 2024 polls: Three presidential debates revealed for next year Torso found washed up on New York beach could be missing Irish filmmaker: NYPD

Stellantis and the striking United Auto Workers union have reached a preliminary deal similar to the one struck earlier this week with Ford, the union said Saturday -- allowing members to...

Donald Trump addressed the public by uploading a message on his social media platform called Truth Social

Biden administration attorneys say a Louisiana-based federal judge’s order broadly limiting executive branch communications with social media companies could cause “grave harm” by preventing the government from “engaging in a vast range of lawful and responsible conduct.”

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov came face-to-face with Western critics while attending international security talks on Thursday, amid European protests that Vladimir Putin’s top diplomat was invited to the summit while he wages war against Ukraine. Some European officials present in North Macedonia walked out as the Russian minister addressed a session for foreign ministers of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation of Europe (OSCE), videos of the event showed. A number of foreign ministers refused to attend the event over Russia’s involvement, including those of Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Some states, Ukraine among them, sent no representatives whatsoever. US secretary of state Antony Blinken made only a brief stop in North Macedonia’s capital, Skopje, late on Wednesday, and did not attend Thursday’s talks. Mr Lavrov spoke for15 minutes, during which the walkout occurred. It was not immediately clear from videos which countries’ officials were involved. The Russian foreign minister’s comments followed the now-familiar narrative from the Kremlin that “Nato’s reckless expansion to the East” was to blame for war returning to Europe, rather than his own president’s decision to order the invasion of Ukraine. “Unfortunately, the Western political elites, which have arrogated to themselves the right to decide the fate of humanity, have made a short-sighted choice not in favour of the OSCE, but in favour of Nato. In favour of the philosophy of containment, zero-sum geopolitical games and the ‘master-slave’ logic,” Mr Lavrov told the session. He also attacked the platform of the summit itself, saying that “the OSCE and its relevant institutions are silent” over what he described as the denial of “the very existence of Russians and their decisive contribution to the histroy of Ukraine”. And he blamed the start of the Ukraine war on Western tolerance for the “ruling neo-Nazi regime in Kyiv”. Russian president Vladimir Putin has repeatedly alleged that Ukraine’s government is made up of “neo-Nazis,” even though the country has a democratically elected Jewish president who lost relatives in the Holocaust. Western ministers attending the OSCE meeting were sharply critical of Mr Lavrov after he spoke. “Russia’s attempts to blame others for its own choices are transparent,” said Danish foreign minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, who was speaking when Mr Lavrov himself walked out of the summit. “We will not compromise on the core principles of the European security order or allow Russia to deny Ukraine the right to make its own independent foreign and security policy choices – principles that Russia itself has agreed to,” he continued. Based in Vienna, Austria, the OSCE is an intergovernmental organisation focused on promoting security, stability, and cooperation among its participating states. Nato member North Macedonia lifted a ban on Russian flights to enable Lavrov to attend the meeting. Russian state news agency Tass reported that the minister flew a longer route over Turkey and Greece to reach the summit after Bulgaria blocked his plane from using its airspace. Greek officials did not immediately return a request for comment. Additional reporting by agencies Read More Takeaways from AP's Interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy The AP Interview: Ukraine's Zelenskyy says the war with Russia is in a new phase as winter looms Ukraine war live: Russia sees record losses as baby amongst injured in missile strike Russia’s Supreme Court effectively outlaws LGBTQ+ activism in a landmark ruling UN atomic chief backs nuclear power at COP28 as world reckons with proliferation Russia’s top court bans LGBT+ activism as ‘extremist’ in new crackdown

The Justice Department's internal watchdog says in a report that the top federal prosecutor in Massachusetts, who has announced her resignation, tried to influence the outcome of a race for Boston’s district attorney and violated multiple policies

Nato member Romania said on Saturday morning Russia may have breached its airspace during attacks on southern Ukraine. The Kremlin has stepped up its attacks in Ukraine’s southern Odsea and Mykolaiv regions - near the border with Romanian - in recent days after exiting a deal allowing the safe passage of grain shipments via the Black Sea. “Following the detection of groups of drones heading towards Ukrainian territory near the Romanian border, residents in the Tulcea and Galati municipalities were alerted,” Romania’s defence ministry said in a statement. “The radar surveillance system ... indicated possible unauthorised entry into national airspace, with a signal detected on a route towards the municipality of Galati.” Earlier, Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered a former Wagner boss to take control of “volunteer units” and rejoin the frontline in Ukraine. Signalling the Kremlin’s intention to continue using the mercenaries following the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin told Andrei Troshev in a meeting late on Thursday that his task is to “deal with forming volunteer units that could perform various combat tasks, primarily in the zone of the special military operation.” Read More Ukraine ‘hits power substation’ in drone attacks on Russian border regions Putin’s shameless UN charm offensive - with stolen grain from Ukraine Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva's Olympic doping case will resume for two more days in November Ukraine's Zelenskyy taps celebrities for roles as special adviser and charity ambassador

Eva Longoria's film 'Flamin' Hot' tells the story of Richard Montanez who claimed to be the inventor of Flamin' Hot Cheetos