Many of Twitter’s users are looking to move on in the wake of the site’s latest chaos. In recent days, Elon Musk has announced that his site will apply “rate limits” in an attempt to stop data scraping on the site, by automated tools including those used to train AI systems. But in effect that has meant that Twitter has stopped working properly for many of the people who rely on it. After the latest backlash, some of those users are looking to leave the site entirely, and move instead to other alternatives. As they do, they might wish to delete their account to avoid leaving data and posts up online after they leave. But deleting Twitter is not as easy as you might think. The first step is for a user to deactivate their Twitter account, which starts a process during which the user can decide if they actually want to go through with it. When a user deactivates their Twitter account it is no longer visible on Twitter, but if a log-in is carried out during a specified reactivation period then the account remains useable. Once the reactivation period is over then another Twitter user will be able to utilise the username. Before deleting Twitter account the user can download a copy of their information by going to Your account and selecting Download an archive of your data. Deleting Twitter on iPhone or mobile web. 1. Open Twitter app or go to Twitter.com. 2. Tap profile picture. 3. Choose Settings and privacy and select Your account. 4. Chose Deactivate your account 5. Choose reactivation period - 30 days or 12 months. 6. Read disclaimer and select Deactivate 7. Enter password and follow prompts to delete account. Deleting Twitter account on web 1. Open Twitter.com 2. Click on three dot icon on left 3. Choose Settings and privacy and select Your account 4. Choose reactivation period - 30 days or 12 months 5. Read disclaimer and select Deactivate 6. Enter password and follow prompts to delete acount Read More How to delete your Twitter account What does Twitter’s rate-limiting restriction mean? ‘Rate limits’ and Twitter chaos: What exactly is Elon Musk doing? Twitter to stop TweetDeck access for unverified users Meta’s Twitter alternative Threads to be launched this week How Elon Musk finally broke Twitter – and why it might just be the start

New findings have revealed that time ran five times slower in the early universe, after scientists published new research into quasars. A quasar is a luminous active galactic nucleus and studying them has allowed scientists to measure time. The variation in brightness of quasars from the early universe has been measured to determine time dilation back to a billion years after the Big Bang. Experts have found that there was an era in which clocks moved five times slower than they do in the present day. The findings come as a relief to many cosmologists who have been perplexed by previous results that have come from studying quasars. The discovery that the universe is expanding led to the theorisation of “time dilation” – the idea that time moved slower the smaller the universe was. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Professor Geraint Lewis of the University of Sydney, the lead author of a new study, said in a statement: “Looking back to a time when the universe was just over a billion years old, we see time appearing to flow five times slower.” He continued, explaining: “If you were there, in this infant universe, one second would seem like one second – but from our position, more than 12 billion years into the future, that early time appears to drag.” To measure the extent of time dilation, scientists turned to quasars, as they are able to measure their change in brightness over a period they can estimate. The most distant quasar that is visible is 13 billion back in time and can still be seen despite its far distance. Their brightness varies due to turbulence and lumpiness in their accretion disks. Lewis explained the phenomenon as being “a bit like the stock market”. He said: “Over the last couple of decades, we’ve seen there is a statistical pattern to the variation, with timescales related to how bright a quasar is and the wavelength of its light.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

For many of us, flip-flops are synonymous with sunny days, whether we’re by the pool or meeting friends at the pub. But an expert has rained on the parade of summer’s most ubiquitous footwear by pointing out the significant flaws in their design. Taking to TikTok, Singapore-based podiatrist Paul Macaulay, explained why he, personally, would never wear the thonged slip-ons. However, he also had unfavourable things to say about a number of alternatives – so don’t ditch your flops for Crocs just yet. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter In the clip, he singled out sandals made by the popular brand Havaiiana for featuring a number of red flags. “They’re very flat and very thin, they don’t offer much foot support,” he explained, adding that in order for a flip-flop to get his particular seal of approval they’d need to have “a bit of a heel cup”. He also criticised flip-flops that don’t have built-in arch support, and pointed out that the standard strap offers “no security to the foot”. “We want to see something with a strap around the heel, which will give more stability to the ankle and hold the foot in place, or even the style that has a strap coming over the front, which holds the foot down,” he said (so, good news for slider-fans). @paulthepodiatrist Macaulay also pointed out that the lack of support offered by classic flip-flops means that many people have to grip hold of the shoe with their toes to keep them on. “If you wear it for prolonged periods of time over many years, [your feet] can start to stiffen and claw up, and then that can be hard to reverse,” he warned. Finally, he warned that because they’re so open, flip-flops can dry out your feet. This can be particularly “high risk” for diabetics, he said, because “dryness can open to cracks, and those cracks can turn to wounds.” Still, he insisted, there’s a time and a place for the sandals – namely, for wearing on a trip to the beach or the pool. “If you're only walking, say like 500 to a thousand steps and you're not going to be massively physically active, then I'm all for it,” he said in a second TikTok. “But then for something like [...] you're going to walk like five miles, I'm not for it.” Macaulay’s also “not for” the following four shoe types, which he insisted he’d “never wear” as a podiatrist: slip-on loafers; stilettos; ballet pumps and strapless shoes. He didn’t explain why he wouldn’t wear them, however, so maybe it’s just a taste thing… @paulthepodiatrist Save yourself some problems and avoid these shoes! Podiatrist has warned you! There are better shoe options out there for you! #fypsg #foryoupage #fashion #shoes #feet #footpain #podiatrist And for anyone wondering what shoes they should wear, especially when the sun’s out, he has you covered there, too. In another TikTok, captioned: “Don’t regret your footwear choices this holiday”, he said “People don't realise that when you go on holiday you actually rack up so many steps, so it's really important this holiday season to get yourself a good pair of shoes.” His first recommendation was a sandal made by the company Keen which is made for “multi-terrain”. “You can wear these in a concrete jungle style city, somewhere like New York or Singapore, you can even wear these in a mountainous area, maybe like Snowdonia National Park or in the hills of Hong Kong,” Macaulay said. “What I like about it is the straps – it keeps your foot nice and tightly secure.” His second endorsement was for adidas’s Adilette adventure sandals, which he noted were cheaper and softer than his two alternatives. And finally, he gave a big thumbs up to Dr. Martens’ popular Voss sandals which he said he particularly liked because of their “thick, durable sole,” and “ideal” straps, coviering the foot, ankle and back of the heel. @paulthepodiatrist You dont want to end up with sore feet this holiday season! Check out my three top recommendations to stop blisters and painful feet this summer! #fypsg #fashion #shoes #sandals #summeroutfit #podiatrist #feet He wrapped up his video by reinforcing his point that: “These three options would make great additions to your holiday wardrobe for this summer.” So, in the end, it looks as though it’s time to trade in your flops for Docs, people. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

LONDON Apple Inc infringed two telecommunications patents used in devices including iPhones and iPads, London's Court of Appeal

ESG funds that piled into green bonds sold by Thames Water Plc are now trying to figure out

The European Union must invest an additional €700 billion ($763 billion) a year if it’s to green the

Elon Musk spent the weekend further alienating Twitter users with more drastic changes to the social media giant, and he is facing a new challenge as tech nemesis Mark Zuckerberg prepares...

The rivalry between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk has just kicked up a notch.

Elon Musk has taken part in a training session with former UFC champion Georges St-Pierre ahead of a potential bout with Mark Zuckerberg. The two tech billionaires agreed to a fight last month after Mr Musk accused the Meta chief of ripping off Twitter with a new platform called Threads. “Up for a cage match,” the Twitter owner wrote, to which Mr Zuckerberg replied: “Send me location.” Both men have since sparred with podcaster and jiu jitsu enthusiast Lex Fridman, who joined Mr Musk on Monday in his first training session with Mr St-Pierre. The Canadian fighter is considered to be one of the greatest ever mixed martial artists, winning titles in two weight divisions before retiring in 2019. They were also joined by John Danaher, a grappling coach who is among the best regarded trainers in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and has coached a number of world champions. “Had a great training session with Elon Musk, Georges St-Pierre, and John Danaher last night,” Mr Fridman tweeted. “Everything about this was epic!” Mr Musk replied: “Really fun!” The obvious conclusion is that I need a *lot* more training.” Prior to proposing the fight, Mr Musk claimed to “almost never work out”, while the Facebook founder has been practising jiu-jitsu since 2022. Earlier this year, Mr Zuckerberg competed in a martial arts tournament, winning “some medals” in his weight class. His potential opponent holds a height and weight advantage over him, however Mr Musk is also 13 years older than his tech rival. Following his training session with the SpaceX and Tesla boss, Mr Fridman said he was “extremely impressed” with his “strength, power, and skill, on the feet and on the ground”. Mr Fridman shared photos of his sparring session with Mr Musk, however no video of his training has yet emerged. UFC trainer Javier Mendez recently predicted that Mr Zuckerberg would win the fight, given his apparent fitness and experience. “The big advantage Zuckerberg has over Elon is that he’s actively training and he’s more of a dog right now, because he entered a jiu-jitsu tournament, so that tells me a lot about him,” he said. “All things considered, Zuckerberg is way ahead of Musk, but you won’t really know until you see what Musk possesses... I would want Musk to think about ways to prevent takedowns. But you can’t avoid a takedown just by trying to avoid it; you have to avoid it by striking.” No date or venue has been set for the fight. Read More Twitter to stop TweetDeck access for unverified users How Elon Musk finally broke Twitter – and why it might just be the start Twitter rival Bluesky halts sign-ups after huge surge in demand Elon Musk confirms cage fight with Mark Zuckerberg

IQ tests offer a formula that allows you to compare yourself to other people and see how average (or above average) your intelligence is. The Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT) is dubbed the world’s shortest IQ test because it consists of just three questions. It assesses your ability to identify that a simple problem can actually be harder than it first appears. The quicker you do this, the more intelligent you appear to be. Here are the three questions: 1. A bat and a ball cost £1.10 in total. The bat costs £1.00 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost? 2. If it takes five machines five minutes to make five widgets, how long would it take 100 machines to make 100 widgets? 3. In a lake, there is a patch of lily pads. Every day, the patch doubles in size. If it takes 48 days for the patch to cover the entire lake, how long would it take for the patch to cover half of the lake? Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Here is what a lot of people guess: 1. 10 pence 2. 100 minutes 3. 24 days These answers would be wrong. When you're ready, scroll down for the correct answers, and how you get to them: 1. The ball would actually cost 5 pence or 0.05 pounds If the ball costs X, and the bat costs £1 more, then it will be: X+£1 Therefore Bat+ball=X + (X+1) =1.1 Thus 2X+1=1.1, and 2X=0.1 X= 0.05 2. It would take 5 minutes to make 100 widgets. Five machines can make five widgets in five minutes; therefore one machine will make one widget in five minutes too. Therefore if we have 100 machines all making widgets, they can make 100 widgets in five minutes. 3. It would take 47 days for the patch to cover half of the lake If the patch doubles in size each day going forward, it would halve in size going backwards. So on day 47, the lake is half full. In a survey of almost 3,500 people, 33 per cent got all three wrong, and 83 per cent missed at least one. While this IQ test has its shortcomings – its brevity, and lack of variation in verbal and non-verbal reasoning - only 48 per cent of MIT students sampled were able to answer all three correctly. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

A trade war between China and the United States over the future of semiconductors is escalating.

South Africa will require that crypto exchanges in the country operate with licenses by the end of the