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SpaceX owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks during a conversation with legendary game designer Todd Howard (not pictured) at the E3 gaming convention in Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 13, 2019. Photo by Mike Blake/REUTERS

Elon Musk said Thursday he has found a new CEO for Twitter, or X Corp. as it's now called and it's a woman. He did not name her but said she will be starting in about six weeks.

Musk,who bought Twitter last fall and has been running it since, has long insisted he is not the company's permanent CEO. The Tesla billionaire said in a tweet Thursday that his role will transition to being Twitter's executive chairman and chief technology officer.

In mid-November, just a few weeks after buying the social media platform for $44 billion, he told a Delaware court that he does not want to be the CEO of any company.

While testifying, Musk said "I expect to reduce my time at Twitter and find somebody else to run Twitter over time."

More than a month later, he tweeted in December: "I will resign as CEO as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job."The pledge came after millions of Twitter usersasked him to step down in a Twitter poll the billionaire himself created and promised to abide by.

In February, he told a conference he anticipated finding a CEO for San Francisco-based Twitter "probably toward the end of this year."

READ MORE: Twitter quietly removes policy against deadnaming transgender people

Analysts who follow Twitter's business welcomed the news even without knowing who the replacement will be. Twitter's advertising business has taken a hit under Musk's mercurial rule, though the billionaire told BBC last month that the company is now "roughly" breaking even.

"A new CEO is the only way forward for Twitter," said Insider Intelligence analyst Jasmine Enberg. "The single biggest problem with Twitter's ad business was Elon Musk. As he steps back, Twitter can begin to unravel Musk's personal brand from the company's corporate image and attempt to regain trust among advertisers. The success of those efforts will depend on who takes over, but it's difficult to imagine that the new CEO could be more controversial or damaging to Twitter's ad business than Musk has been."

Shares of Tesla rose about 2 percent Thursday after Musk made the announcement. Shareholders of the electric car company have been concerned about how much of his attention is being spent on Twitter.

Last November, he was questioned in court about how he splits his time among Tesla and his other companies, including SpaceX and Twitter. Muskhad to testify in the trial in Delaware's Court of Chanceryover a shareholder's challenge to his potentially $55 billion compensation plan as CEO of the electric car company.

Musk said he never intended to be CEO of Tesla, and that he didn't want to be chief executive of any other companies either, preferring to see himself as an engineer. Musk also said at the time that he expected an organizational restructuring of Twitter to be completed in the next week or so. It's been nearly six months since he said that.

Musk's tenure at Twitter's helm has been chaotic, and he's made various promises and proclamations he's backtracked or never followed up on. He began his first day firing the company's top executives, followed by roughly 80 percent of its staff. He's upended the platform's verification system and has scaled back content moderation and safeguards against the spread of misinformation.

Bantering with Twitter followers late last year, Musk expressed pessimism about the prospects for a new CEO, saying that person "must like pain a lot" to run a company that "has been in the fast lane to bankruptcy."

"No one wants the job who can actually keep Twitter alive. There is no successor," Musk tweeted at the time.

Left: SpaceX owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks during a conversation with legendary game designer Todd Howard (not pictured) at the E3 gaming convention in Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 13, 2019. Photo by Mike Blake/REUTERS

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Elon Musk says hes found a new CEO to lead Twitter - PBS NewsHour

Syria owes Iran $50 billion according to leaked documents from Irans Foreign Ministry, with fears for Assads possible assassination creating fear in Tehran the money may never be recouped.

The revelations came after the hacktivist group Uprising till Overthrow', affiliated with the Albania-based opposition Mujahideen-e Khalq (MEK) group, hacked the Islamic Republics Foreign Ministry servers, disabling 210 sites and onlineservicesand leaking a large batch of documents.

Minutes from a meeting of Irans Supreme National Security Council show Syrias debt goes back to a long-termagreement signed between the two countries in January2019, under former president Hassan Rouhani.However, the debt has been building for much longer, with roughly $11bn worth of oil given to Damascus from 2012 to 2021.

A combination of aid in the form of military support and cash, the total amount of debt to Iran is estimated to be about$50 billion, though the document said the final amount is still being calculated.

In the first six months of the Iranian year 1400 (from March 2021 to September 2021), whenPresident Ebrahim Raisi was in office,one million barrels of oil were sent to Syria but the Syrians allegedly demanded two million barrels per month.

The commander-in-chief ofIransRevolutionary Guards Hossein Salami proposed a 1.5 million barrel exportfor the second half of the yearupon the suggestion by Esmail Qaani, commander of IRGCs Quds Force a division primarily responsible for extraterritorial military and clandestine operations, read the document.

Esmail Qaani, commander of IRGCs Quds Force

One of the paragraphs of the document referred to Supreme Leader Ali Khameneis urgency to cash in on Syrias debts, fearing a repeat of its investment in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

One of the first Muslim countries to provide support for the Bosnian Muslims in the Bosnian War (199295), theIRGCsentmore than five thousandtonsof arms to the Bosnian Muslims.In spite of massive investment, Tehran's leverage in Bosnia and Herzegovina has decreased significantly, proving a poor asset for the regime.

The document stressed the necessity of having all terms agreed by the two nations parliaments to prevent Irans expulsion from Syria under any circumstances as may happen if Irans proxy leader, President Bashar al-Assad, should be assassinated, a concern raised in the documentation.

It stated that the new term of Assad issensitive and could lead to his elimination, urging that if the document is notfinalized soon,"billions of dollars of Irans assets willbe put in serious danger.Syria is a key strategic asset for Iran as it wields power through its proxies across the region.

The extent of Iranian military expenditures and financial aid to Syria to keep Assad in power is unknown but is believed to have run into billions ofdollarsat the expense of the Iranian people.

But Syria is in the midst of a massive regional power-shift, causing concern to Tehran. In the last month, Assad and hisaideshave met with key figures in countries including the UAE and Turkey as several regional powers see the benefits of bringing Assad, one of Iran's regional puppets, in from the cold, in a bid to lure him away from Tehrans destabilizing influence.

Last week, Syria was also readmitted to the Arab League after more than a decade in isolation, though Qatar said it would not resume diplomatic ties with Syria until its domestic crisis is resolved.

Iranian parliament member, HeshmatollahFalahatpisheh, announced in May 2020 that the country had invested$30 billionin Syria and must recoup it. With reconstruction costs estimated at $250-$400 billion, Syria urgently needs to improve economic ties with regional countries.

Most recently, Iran has been using the earthquake disaster to smuggle weapons and military equipment into Syria to arm its regional proxies within shipments marked as humanitarian aid.

It is not the first time the Uprising till Overthrow' succeeded in hacking and deactivating several regime websites and services. In June 2022, ithackedover 5,000 security cameras of state bodiesand 150 websites belonging to TehranMunicipality,displayinganti-regime slogans on thewebsitesand releasing internal data.

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Syria Owes $50 Billion To Iran, Leaked Document Reveals -

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Tucker Carlsons video announcement earlier this week he would host a show on Twittertwo weeks after the former controversial Fox News host was ousted by the networkbecame the top-performing post on Twitter for the week, beating out Taylor Swift, Elon Musk and others.

Carlsons tweet Tuesdaywhich reads, Were backhas accumulated more than 194,000 retweets and 891,500 likes as of 2:30 p.m. EST Saturday, the most in either category for the week ending on May 13.

Carlson, who parted ways with Fox News after 14 years, announced the return of his primetime news show on the platform with a video accompanying the tweet, suggesting there are limits to the stories that can be told on TV.

The tweet outperformed K-Pop superstars BTSa photo of member Min Yoon-giwhich totaled over 176,600 retweets and 530,600 likes, though the post has been up for less than 24 hours.

Carlson also beat out Taylor Swift, who periodically posted updates from her Eras Tour, with her most-liked post totaling more than 56,000 retweets and 463,400 likes.

Twitter CEO Elon Musk also fell below Carlson, with a tweet announcing Twitters new CEONBCUniversal executive Linda Yaccarinototaling over 36,100 retweets and 408,000 likes.

1,088,201. Thats how many likes Swift received for a tweet announcing a re-recording of her 2010 album Speak Now, as the top-performing tweet last week.

Despite Carlsons announcement, Musk tweeted the social media platform had not signed a deal of any kind whatsoever with Carlson, adding, Tucker is subject to the same rules & rewards of all content creators.

Carlson, who was promoted to Fox News primetime slot in 2016 after first joining the network in 2009, agreed to part ways with the company late last monththough it has since been confirmed through multiple accounts that he was fired from the network. A text message sent by Carlson to one of his shows producers describing a video of three Trump supporters attacking a personnoting he thought it was dishonorable obviously and that was not how white men fightset off a panic among Foxs leadership, according to the New York Times. Carlson also wrote he was rooting for the mob against the man, hoping theyd hit him harder, kill himI could taste it. The message prompted an investigation by an outside law firm into Carlsons conduct, which resulted in his dismissal from the network. Carlson was previously criticized for promoting white supremacist beliefswhich Carlson suggested was not a real problem in the U.S.causing the Anti-Defamation League to condemn him 2021.

Tucker Carlson Will Launch Show On Twitter (Forbes)

Tucker Carlsons Not How White Men Fight Text Led To Firing, Report Says (Forbes)

Tucker Carlson Suddenly Out At Fox News (Forbes)

I cover breaking news for Forbes. Before Forbes, I worked as a reporter for USA Today in Asheville and Black Mountain, North Carolina.

Excerpt from:

Tucker Carlson Beats BTSAnd Taylor Swift, Elon MuskOn Twitter - Forbes

The report, by Iranian daily Donyay-e Eqtesad, said specialists were leaving Iran in pursuit of better opportunities in larger numbers than GPs, whose annual emigration rate after the height of the Coronavirus pandemic had already increased two-fold.

It said between 6,000 to 10,000 specialists were leaving the country every year.

The figures could not be independently verified.

Donyay-e Eqtesad said the variation was due to the fact that authorities were refraining from publishing official records.

It anonymously quoted a specialist as saying that in the Iranian calendar year of 1398, at the end of which the pandemic started, some 3,000 specialists had left the country; in 1400, i.e. two years later, that figure had risen to 5,000.

An Iranian health official said last week that over 800 Iranian midwives had emigrated last year.

The COVID-19 pandemic strained the medical community in all countries. But reports say large numbers of Iranian doctors and nurses decided to emigrate to other countries in the wake of the contagion.

See more here:
More Specialists Migrating From Iran Than GPs: Daily - Iran Front Page - Iran Front Page - IFP News

Twitter CEO Elon Musk is seen on stage sa he speaks at the POSSIBLE marketing conference, Tuesday, April 18, 2023, in Miami Beach, Fla. AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell

Elon Musk's reputation as a free speech absolutist took another hit on Saturday after Twitter sided with the Turkish government and censored the accounts of political opponents ahead of a contentious election.

In an announcement posted Friday evening, at approximately 6 a.m. in the country, Twitter's official Global Government Affairs account declared the platform would "restrict access to some content in Turkey" in response to legal requests made of the social media site.

Turkey's presidential election the most closely contested in years, The Washington Post reported is set for May 14.

"The day before a critical election in Turkey, Twitter appears to be acquiescing to the demands of the country's autocratic ruler, Erdogan, and is censoring speech on the platform," California Representative Adam Schiff tweeted in response to the news. "Given Twitter's total lack of transparency, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that Musk's promises of free speech have again fallen away."

Schiff's office did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

The details of the legal request and which specific accounts were targeted were not made public. Still, Dr. Turulcan Elmas, a postdoctoral researcher focusing on social media manipulation at Indiana University Bloomington, told Insider he tracked roughly a half dozen accounts posting content related to the Turkish election that had been suspended.

According to Elmas, accounts chosen for restriction were some the Turkish government has traditionally targeted because they had ties to political opposition or whistleblowers who have been critical of the country's right-wing leader, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

One account, that of Kurdish businessman Muhammed Yakut, was among those restricted. Yakut had previously shared information about Erdogan's governmental dealings and alleged the Turkish leader had been involved in the disappearance of his son-in-law, Turkish Minute reported last week.

Yakut had also hinted at sharing background information before the election related to a failed 2016 coup in the country, Turkish Minute reported on Saturday, insinuating that Erdogan and his allies had staged the whole thing.

While Yakut and other political opponents were censored, Elmas noted, one troll account known for impersonating a whistleblower named Ali Yeilda was not removed from Twitter despite impersonation being against the platform's terms of service and the account posting fake nude photos of politicians in Turkey that oppose Erdogan.

The troll account not being banned, Elmas hypothesized, is reason to believe the account may be tied to the Turkish government as a propaganda tool, used to discredit Erdogan's opponents by painting them out to be blackmailing each other.

"The fact that the government didn't censor this account is kind of evidence of a false flag operation," Elmas said.

Elmas told Insider that the four or five targeted accounts restricted on the social media site likely would not impact the election outcome since targeted users could still post content to YouTube and Facebook or use a VPN to avoid an IP-address-based ban.

"I think Twitter takes this path because the government demanded it," Elmas said. "I think they also think that these bans can all be easily circumvented, so blocking accounts isn't impactful, so they can just say yes to the government."

Since his takeover last year, Musk's Twitter has complied with more than 80% of government requests for censorship or surveillance of users, according to a report by the technology publication Rest of World up from a compliance rate of about 50% before his leadership.

Observers were quick to seize on Musk's decision to throttle Twitter accounts at the behest of the Turkish government, which has become more authoritarian since Erdogan took power in 2014, with some Twitter users declaring Musk a "free speech opportunist" in response to the news.

Musk, who has touted the social platform as a public town square, did not take kindly to the criticism.

"The Turkish government asked Twitter to censor its opponents right before an election and @elonmusk complied," Matt Yglesias, a Bloomberg columnist, tweeted on Saturday, prompting Musk to fire back in defense of his decision.

"Did your brain fall out of your head, Yglesias?" Musk replied. "The choice is have Twitter throttled in its entirety or limit access to some tweets. Which one do you want?"

Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, chimed in on the thread, saying: "What Wikipedia did: we stood strong for our principles and fought to the Supreme Court of Turkey and won. This is what it means to treat freedom of expression as a principle rather than a slogan."

Wikipedia was banned in Turkey from 2017 to 2020 over an article about state-sponsored terrorism, where the country was described as a sponsor of the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda terrorist groups. After a lengthy legal battle escalated to the country's highest court, the Turkish block of Wikipedia was lifted in January 2020.

Defenders of Musk were quick to label Wales' comparison to Wikipedia as a false equivalency because the encyclopedia site operates as a nonprofit, while Twitter is a for-profit business to which Wales responded: "If Elon is now saying "We don't care about freedom of expression if it interferes with making money" then he should just say that."

Twitter's decision to throttle access to accounts from Turkey comes as Musk's business ties to the country have solidified following increasing communication between Erdogan and Musk, Elmas noted, based on news coverage of their interactions.

The pair first met in 2017, Forbes reported, before sitting down in 2021 to discuss lithium batteries for electric vehicles and launching satellites. That year, Turkey signed its deal with SpaceX to launch its domestically produced communications satellite, Trksat 6A. In 2022, per Forbes, Musk and Erdogan shook hands at the World Cup.

Last month, after years of delays, Turkey's first domestic and national observation satellite was launched into space with the help of a Falcon 9 rocket created by Musk's company, SpaceX, local news outlet Trkiye Newspaper reported.While the deal's financial details remain unclear, Space.com noted that a single Falcon 9 rocket flight costs roughly $62 million.

In February, Musk and Erdogan were also in contact after Turkey declined Musk's offer to activate Starlink capabilitiesin the region after a deadly earthquake rattled the country and left more than 40,000 people dead. The country's communications systems were not disrupted to the point of needing the Starlink system, Insider previously reported.

Twitterwas blocked in the region for about 12 hours following the earthquake, Scientific American reported, amid Turkey's concerns of disinformation circulating on the platform. However, the outage may have hampered the initial emergency response.

"I'm sure this is just a coincidence," users on Twitter posted, some sarcastically,circulating news of Musk's business dealings with Turkey. In contrast, others argued his ties with the authoritarian country were evidence that the self-styled free speech icon "may not be cheap, but he is for sale."

Musk and representatives for Twitter, SpaceX, and the Republic of Turkey did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

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'Free speech opportunist' Elon Musk censored tweets in Turkey - Business Insider