⏳ Tuesday Fix: Tweet Tweet
Morning all,
We're talking numbers today - $44 billion purchase, 217 million users, 119 years and three important meetings...
Until tomorrow,
Hilary
GOOD LISTENER?
Click the screenshot below to access the podcast version of today's NewsFix.
TWEET TWEET
Elon Musk - the world's richest man - has reached an agreement with Twitter to buy and privatise the company for a reported $44 billion.
According to CNN, the deal was unanimously approved by Twitter's board, but it is not clear if the company's management will stay in their positions.
Remember: It has been a very interesting couple of weeks - starting with Musk buying a 9.2% stake in the company, declining to join the board, and then offering to buy it entirely.
Is Musk paying the entire sum himself? according to The Guardian, the purchase will include $21 billion of his own money, "alongside debt funding from Morgan Stanley and other financial institutions".
How many people are on Twitter? The platform reportedly has "217 active daily million users".
What about those not on Twitter? While Musk says he wants to champion free speech, it is not clear whether or not the likes of Donald Trump - who has been banned since January 2021 - would be permitted back onto the platform.
Some organisations, including Amnesty International, have expressed concerns there'll be a rise in hate speech.
Jeff Bezos also (kind of) expressed concerns about the deal and what it might mean for China, based on points made by New York Times reporter, Mike Forsythe.
SPEAKING OF BILLIONAIRE BEZOS...
The Daily had a fascinating podcast episode the other day looking at billionaires, and what it actually means to have that much money. It made for a mind blowing listen 🤯.
According to the piece, in 2002 there were 243 billionaires in the US, and now there are at least 735.
"So a billion is a hard number to wrap your head around... one million seconds is 12 days, and a billion seconds is 31 years. Imagine that Jeff Bezos - who is not even the richest person on the planet currently - has 177 of those. The average full time Amazon employee made $37,930 in 2020. In order to accumulate as much as Jeff Bezos, someone earning that salary would have had to have started working... 4.5 million years ago." - Willy Staley, The New York Times
ON TODAY'S AGENDA...
Three interesting meetings are occurring today in relation to the war in Ukraine.
Firstly, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres will meet with President Putin in Moscow later today. As BBC News noted, the UN chief will focus his talks with Putin on the besieged city of Mariupol - where Ukrainian officials have sought a humanitarian corridor to assist civilians in evacuating.
Secondly, in Germany the US Defence Secretary is set to host 40 other countries to discuss how they can provide Ukraine with further weapons.
Worth noting: Finland and Sweden - two traditionally neutral countries - are on the guest list for that meeting in Germany.
According to RTÉ News, Russia warned of the "real" threat of WWIII breaking out ahead of that meeting in Germany.
Thirdly, President Putin is also expected to meet with his Turkish counterpart, President Erdogan.
WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?
The world's oldest person died in Japan at the age of 119.
Kane Tanaka was born in 1903.
Did you know? Japan has the world's oldest populations - with more than 71,000 centenarians.
STARK STATISTICS
Girls appear in 99% of child sex abuse images, according to the Internet Watch Foundation.
A report in BBC News said this figure is up from 65% just a decade ago, with nearly three quarters of victims aged between 11 and 13.
Furthermore, an estimated 850,000 people in the UK alone are understood to pose a "sexual threat" to children.
MOST READ
- BBC News: Call for extra bank holiday to be made permanent
- The Guardian: Navalny review: one of the most jaw-dropping things you'll ever witness (this documentary is now available on BBC iPlayer and is an absolute must watch)
- The Financial Times: Macron defeats Le Pen to be re-elected French president
- Al Jazeera: Russia's Lavrov accuses NATO of 'proxy war' in Ukraine
- The Irish Times: The single best strength-building exercise - and the proper way to do it
ON A LIGHTER NOTE...
Let the summer travel begin!
