Elon Musk challenges Twitter CEO to public debate on bots

Elon Musk on Saturday challenged Twitter Inc Chief Executive Officer Parag Agrawal to a public debate about the percentage of bots on the social media platform. “Let him prove to the public that Twitter has 5% fake or spam daily users! ,” Musk said in a tweet. Twitter on Thursday dismissed a claim by Musk that he was hoodwinked into signing a $44 billion agreement to buy the company.

Blast hits Afghan capital Kabul, many feared injured

A bomb blast hit Afghanistan’s capital Kabul on Saturday and many people were feared injured, witnesses said. The blast hit a busy shopping street in the western part of the city where members of the Shi’ite Muslim community regularly meet. No militant group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which came ahead of Ashura, a commemoration of the martyrdom of Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, which is marked mainly by Shi’ite Muslims.

Former President Gotabaya to stay in Singapore for two more weeks

The Sri Lanka government has requested Singapore authorities to allow former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to stay in the country for another 14 days, local media reported on Saturday citing sources. Rajapaksa, who is currently staying in Singapore, was expected to depart the country on August 11 when his visa expired. However, Rajapaksa will remain in Singapore for some more time at the government’s request, reported Daily Mirror.

Ukraine says it disconnected generator at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

Ukraine’s nuclear power authority said it disconnected a generator at Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant from the electrical grid after the facility’s grounds came under Russian shelling. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Moscow’s shelling of the facility was “an act of terror.” President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russian forces fired at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest atomic facility, twice on Friday and called for sanctions against Moscow’s nuclear industry.

Covid outbreak: Tropical Sanya, ‘China’s Hawaii’ locked down, trapping 80,000 tourists

Chinese authorities on Saturday indefinitely locked down the beach resort city of Sanya, often called “China’s Hawaii”, trapping at least 80,000 tourists in an effort to curb a fast-spreading Covid-19 outbreak. Sanya, a city of more than 1 million people, is a tourist hotspot and the capital of Hainan province, off the country’s southern coast. “We urge the general public and tourists to understand and give their support,” the Sanya government announced on social media.