By Rowaida Mahmoud
Social media users spoke last week about Former US president Donald Trump making history by becoming the first US president to seat at the defence table; Elon Musk planning to charge new X (formerly Twitter) users a ‘small fee’ before they post on the social media platform and Zamalek securing a crucial 2-1 victory over Al-Ahly a breathtaking derby.
Google Doodle marks Etel Adnan
Last week, Google Doodle celebrates Lebanese American poet and artist Etel Adnan, who is considered one of the most accomplished Arab American authors of her era.
Adnan was the daughter of a Greek mother and Turkish father who were migrants to Lebanon. Adnan had a diverse upbringing as she spoke Greek and Turkish at home, attended a French language school, and lived in a primarily Arabic speaking country.
At age 23, she moved to France to study philosophy and art at University of Paris and then moved to the states to continue her studies at the University of California Berkeley and Harvard. She eventually returned to Lebanon to serve as a journalist and editor for the newspapers Al Safa and L’Orient le Jour, where she helped develop a section dedicated to culture in Lebanon and the Middle East.
As a writer, her novels and poems explored themes of identity, memory, feminism, and the human experience.
These written works spanned across languages, cultures, continents, reflecting the many identities and experiences she had. She authored several books and poetry collections such as Moonshots (1966), Sitt Marie Rose (1978), Paris, When It’s Naked (1993), and Master of the Eclipse (2009) among others.
Etel Adnan’s contributions to the arts earned her several different awards and accolades including the Lambda Literary Award in 2013, France’s Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres in 2014, the Griffin Poetry Prize Lifetime Recognition Award in 2020, and more. She leaves behind a rich legacy of artistic and literary achievements that continue to capture and inspire audiences today.
Donald Trump 1st US President facing criminal case
Former US president Donald Trump made history by becoming the first US president to seat at the defence table. The first criminal trial started last Monday.
Trump faces 34 low-level felony counts of falsifying business records in connection with his reimbursements to his then-fixer, Michael Cohen, for paying porn actress Stormy Daniels $130,000 in October 2016 to stay quiet about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump.
Trump consistently criticises his legal challenges, alleging that judges, prosecutors, and even President Biden are politically targeting him to prevent him from seeking office again.
“They weaponise government, and they take me to court on bullshit,” Trump said in a video posted to Truth Social last week.
White Knights secures crucial victory over Red Devils
In a breathtaking derby between the Red Devils and the White Knights, Zamalek secured a crucial 2-1 victory in a breathtaking derby. The match was postponed from the tenth round of the Egyptian Premier League. Al-Ahly in a postponed match from the tenth round of the Egyptian Premier League.
With this victory, the white knights reach tenth place in the Egyptian Premier League table with 21 points.
Al-Ahly, on the other hand, remains in ninth place with the same number of points.
The derby’s goals were netted by Tunisian forward Seifeddine Jaziri one in the 45th minute and another in the 86th minute for Zamalek, as well as, Ahmed Abdel Qader in the 74th for Al Ahly.
Zamalek’s star midfielder Ahmed Sayed “Zizou” got injured in the fourth minute of the match.
Elon Musk plans to make new X users pay to post for the first three months
Tech mogul Elon Musk has plans to charge new X (formerly Twitter) users a ‘small fee’ before they post on the social media platform.
Replying to a thread by X Daily News on Tuesday, Musk said the measure is necessary to prevent bot accounts from flooding the social media platform.
“Unfortunately, a small fee for new user write access is the only way to curb the relentless onslaught of bots.
“Current AI (and troll farms) can pass ‘are you a bot’ with ease,” Musk wrote, referring to tools like CAPTCHA.
“The onslaught of fake accounts also uses up the available namespace, so many good handles are taken as a result,” he added.
Musk, however, said that the new users will be able to post for free after three months of creating their X account.
In October 2023, X launched the “Not A Bot” programme that charged an annual fee of US$1 for new X users in New Zealand and the Philippines to post, like, bookmark and reply to other posts in an attempt to reduce spam.
New users, however, were still allowed to browse X and follow other accounts for free.
Brazil legend Romario announces surprising comeback at age of 58
Age doesn’t hinder the World Cup winner Romario from resuming his history with football.
The now 58-year-old surprised all this week with his decision to play for America Football Club of Rio de Janeiro, which he also happens to be president of.
The chance to play alongside his 30-year-old son Romarinhoalso seemingly convinced the Brazilian to put the boots back on.
“I’m ready to try to give my beloved America a little help,” Romario wrote on Instagram.
“Thank you everyone for your support!
“It will be a dream come true to share the pitch with my son. I just want to play some matches with my beloved team and realise the dream of playing alongside my son.”
