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Elon Musk’s X updates policies to formally allow adult content

Elon Musk’s X updates policies to formally allow adult content

Social media platform says sexualised content can be ‘legitimate form of artistic expression.’ Elon Musk’s social media platform X has updated its policies to formally allow adult content. Under the updated guidelines, the platform formerly known as Twitter will allow users to share sexualised content so long as it is consensual and clearly labelled. The revised policy, which was updated over the weekend, states that “users should be able to create, distribute, and consume material related to sexual themes as long as it is consensually produced and distributed”. “Sexual expression, whether visual or written, can be a legitimate form of artistic expression,” it says. “We believe in the autonomy of adults to engage with and create content that reflects their own beliefs, desires, and experiences, including those related to sexuality.” We have launched Adult Content and Violent Content policies to bring more clarity of our Rules and transparency into enforcement of these areas. These policies replace our former Sensitive Media and Violent Speech policies – but what we enforce against hasn’t changed. Adult… — Safety (@Safety) June 3, 2024 Exposure to graphic material will be restricted for children and adult users who choose not to see it, and users will not be allowed to share content “promoting exploitation, nonconsent, objectification, sexualization or harm to minors, and obscene behaviours”, according to the policy. The change, first reported by TechCrunch, formalises a relatively tolerant attitude towards adult content that pre-dates Musk’s purchase of Twitter in October 2022. Unlike platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube, Twitter has never expressly banned nudity and sexualised content. Under Musk’s tenure, X has dramatically scaled back moderation on the platform and reinstated previously banned accounts, including those of former United States President Donald Trump and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. Musk has argued that he is upholding freedom of speech, but critics have accused the Tesla CEO of encouraging hate speech and misinformation. Adblock test (Why?)

China’s Chang’e-6 lifts off from far side of Moon with rock samples

China’s Chang’e-6 lifts off from far side of Moon with rock samples

Probe’s successful departure from the Moon means China is closer to becoming the first country to return samples from the far side of the Moon. A Chinese spacecraft carrying rock and soil samples from the far side of the Moon has lifted off from the lunar surface to start its journey back to Earth, according to state media. The achievement on Tuesday is a world first and the latest leap for Beijing’s decades-old space programme, which aims to send a crewed mission to the Moon by 2030. The Xinhua News Agency, citing the China National Space Administration (CNSA), said that the ascender of the Chang’e-6 probe took off at 7:38am local time on Tuesday (23:38 GMT) and entered a preset orbit around the moon. It described the move as “an unprecedented feat in human lunar exploration history”. The Chang’e-6 probe was launched last month and its lander touched down on the far side of the Moon on Sunday. It used a drill and robotic arm to dig up soil on and below the Moon’s surface, according to Xinhua. After successfully gathering its samples, the Chang’e-6 unfurled China’s national flag for the first time on the far side of the Moon, it said. The agency cited the CNSA as saying that the spacecraft stowed the samples it had gathered in a container inside the ascender of the probe as planned. The container will be transferred to a reentry capsule which is due to return to Earth in the deserts of China’s Inner Mongolia region sometime around June 25. Missions to the Moon’s far side are more difficult because it does not face the Earth, requiring a relay satellite to maintain communications. The terrain is also more rugged, with fewer flat areas to land. Xinhua said the probe’s landing site was the South Pole-Aitken Basin, an impact crater created more than 4 billion years ago, which is 13km (8 miles) deep and has a diameter of 2,500km (1,500 miles). It is the oldest and largest of such craters on the moon, so may provide the earliest information about it, Xinhua said, adding that the huge impact may have ejected materials from deep below the surface. The mission is the sixth in the Chang’e Moon exploration programme, which is named after a Chinese Moon goddess. It is the second designed to bring back samples, following the Chang’e 5, which did so from the near side in 2020. Scientists around the world are following the return of the lunar samples and hope the soil collected by Chang’e-6 can help answer questions about the origins of the solar system. China’s Moon programme is part of a growing rivalry with the United States – still the leader in space exploration – and others, including Japan and India. China has put its own space station – the Tiangong – into orbit and regularly sends crews there. The emerging global power aims to put a person on the Moon before 2030, which would make it the second nation after the US to do so. The US is planning to land astronauts on the Moon again – for the first time in more than 50 years – although its space agency NASA pushed the target date back to 2026 earlier this year. Adblock test (Why?)

India election live results 2024: By the numbers

India election live results 2024: By the numbers

Al Jazeera breaks down the results of the Lok Sabha after a seven-week voting process. After 44 days of an election across seven phases, The Election Commission of India (ECI) has begun its count of more than 600 million votes cast by Indians as they choose their next national government. The vote count started at 8am local time (02:30 GMT), and the final results should be clear later on June 4. At stake are 543 seats in the Lok Sabha – the lower house of India’s Parliament. Here is how the main two alliances are doing, according to the latest updates from the ECI. India election results map The map below represents the 543 seats in India’s lower house of Parliament. As results are announced, seats will be shaded to indicate preliminary “leading” or finalised “winning” outcomes. Why does the map look like that? Each hexagon represents one seat, so densely populated but geographically small constituencies are shown equally with large districts to better reflect the democratic power in parliament. The geographical map is shown below for reference. (Al Jazeera) Which are the two big alliances facing off? National Democratic Alliance (NDA): The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), comprises more than three dozen parties and is expected, by exit polls, to win a majority in the general election. Modi, 73, who has been in power since 2014, is seeking a third term. Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA): The opposition INDIA alliance, led by the Indian National Congress (INC) party, is a group of more than two dozen political outfits hoping to remove the BJP’s Hindu majoritarian government. How does the vote count work? Since 2004, India has used electronic voting machines (EVMs) instead of paper ballots. These machines, which are not connected to the internet, have been sealed and stored in a strongroom in the parliamentary constituency. On the day of counting, the EVMs are taken out and unsealed in the presence of representatives from all participating political parties. (Al Jazeera) What time will vote counting start and end? Counting for all constituencies will begin at 8am local time (02:30 GMT) on Tuesday, June 4 with most results expected to be in by the early evening. Seven phases of voting An estimated 969 million people were registered to vote in the world’s largest democratic exercise. To facilitate the process, the voting took place over seven phases from April 19 to June 1. (Al Jazeera) How is the government formed? There are 543 directly elected seats in the national assembly called the Lok Sabha, and two seats are nominated by the president. To form the parliament, the winning party or alliance must have 272 seats. The prime minister is elected by the parliament as the leader of the house. [Al Jazeera] Who is in India’s current parliament? With 37 percent vote share in the 2019 election, the right-wing BJP won 303 of 543 seats in the lower house of parliament. The Indian National Congress (INC) won 52 seats. (Al Jazeera) Adblock test (Why?)