WhatsApp boss Will Cathcart has announced that he is leaving his role.Cathcart has overseen Meta’s popular messaging platform for nearly seven years – and scaled its private chat functions to more than three billion users worldwide.He said in posts on social media on Monday, external that while the platform was in “the strongest position it’s ever been” it also “felt like the right moment to step back”.Cathcart will continue to play a role within Meta’s leadership ranks, with Kunal Shah, founder of Indian fintech start-up Cred, taking over as head of WhatsApp.Facebook founder and Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said…
Author: Team_Benjamin Franklin Institute
The Japanese government is now openly admitting what I have been warning about for years. Rising interest rates are beginning to dramatically increase the government’s debt-servicing costs. For decades, Japan survived by suppressing interest rates to nearly zero while endlessly rolling over debt. That strategy only works so long as rates remain artificially low. Once rates begin to rise, the mathematics become impossible to hide. Japan’s government debt exceeds 230% of GDP, the highest ratio in the developed world. Politicians, academics, and central bankers have spent years arguing that Japan was different because most of the debt was held domestically.…
For eight years, Melissa Gilbert had a front-row seat to the energy and excitement of Manhattan life. From Broadway outings and dinner dates with friends to quiet neighborhood routines, the actress built a life she clearly adored in her Upper West Side apartment. However, this week, the “Little House on the Prairie” star revealed she’s packing up and leaving New York City behind. Her emotional farewell comes as her husband, Timothy Busfield, continues to fight serious criminal charges in New Mexico, making the couple’s next chapter one that begins under difficult circumstances. Melissa Gilbert took to Instagram on Tuesday to…
WASHINGTON: Chinese tech giant Alibaba has filed a federal lawsuit against the US Defense Department for designating it a military-linked firm, with the company telling AFP on Wednesday (Jun 24) that the labelling is “arbitrary and capricious”.The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in San Jose federal court, contests the Pentagon’s decision to include Alibaba in a list released this month of companies it says have ties to the Chinese military.”The determinations have no basis in fact or law,” the complaint said.”Alibaba is not a Chinese military company nor part of any military-civil fusion strategy,” a company spokesperson told AFP on Wednesday.”The decision…
EXPLAINERIran and the US clash over nuclear inspections and Hormuz as negotiators push for a final deal within 60 days.Published On 24 Jun 202624 Jun 2026Iran and the United States have offered conflicting accounts of key issues as negotiators work towards a final agreement within a 60-day window. Differences remain over nuclear oversight and the implementation of any deal, underscoring the challenges facing both sides.US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran would not be allowed to charge tolls in the Strait of Hormuz under a final agreement, stressing that the strategic waterway must remain open to international shipping.Meanwhile, Iran…
Things got a little heated when the Indiana Fever took down the Phoenix Mercury on Monday night.Caitlin Clark had another strong outing, dropping 24 points with nine assists to help her team snap a two-game skid with an 86-77 win.However, the Iowa product was far from satisfied, as she was tabbed with yet another technical foul after a late-game altercation with Mercury star DeWanna Bonner.That’s why, following the game, Clark made sure to give the referees a piece of her mind, and she didn’t hold back on her criticism of the officials. Caitlin Clark complains about latest technical foul“Yeah, it’s…
Gloria Steinem is ensconced in a plush red armchair in her living room. On her right is Louise McDonald Herne, a Mohawk Bear Clan Mother, dressed in white linen with burgundy and purple ribbons. On her left is Michelle Schenandoah from the Oneida Nation Wolf Clan, creator of a show on PBS discussing rematriation: the process of centering Indigenous women’s voices and philosophies into daily life. On this Monday afternoon, Steinem’s living room is filled with 20 or so people: a diplomat from the Netherlands, a publisher, an impact investor, Emmy nominee and comedian Baratunde Thurston, as well as members…
The Mayan site of Xunantunich in BelizeMichael Robinson/Getty Images The teeth of some important members of the Maya civilisation were removed and kept in a cave far from their tombs. It may have been done to venerate ancestors or ensure they made it to the underworld. During the Classic period (AD 250-900), Maya communities lived in cities spread across what is now southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and northern Honduras. They spoke many languages, but were unified by a political and religious system in which lineage and rituals legitimised power. As such, the dead were important, and the living often kept…
Flouris is a little sceptical of sweat-sensing.Referring to various unnamed devices that analyse sweat, which he has evaluated in the lab, he says, “Most of these products that we’ve tested do not show the level of accuracy that you would expect.” The results of his experiments are as-yet unpublished.Sweat sensors, Flouris suggests, work best when worn during long bouts of physical activity – such as a marathon. But they struggle when the exertion is more varied and intermittent. Think a footballer switching from walking to suddenly running very quickly.In response, Ghaffari says he and his colleagues have published peer-reviewed papers,…
A new report from Realtor.com found that nearly one-third of employed young adults in the United States are now living with their parents. These are people with jobs. They are working, earning income, and still cannot afford to establish independent households. The politicians and economists who constantly celebrate employment statistics fail to understand that a job is meaningless if it no longer provides a path to basic economic independence. For decades, homeownership was the foundation of the middle class. A young person could graduate, find employment, purchase a starter home, build equity, raise a family, and gradually accumulate wealth. That…