Japanese trading houses — a darling of Warren Buffett’s — posted strong earnings last quarter, despite a drop

‘Today’ host Al Roker’s daughter, Courtney Laga Roker, gave birth to her daughter, Sky, on July 3

Heavy rain and high water levels of China's northeastern rivers are threatening cities downstream, prompting the evacuation of thousands

Freddie Freeman had three hits, Miguel Rojas and Amed Rosario both drove in two runs, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Oakland Athletics 8-2 to complete a three-game sweep

Lebanon on Friday marks three years since one of history's biggest non-nuclear explosions rocked Beirut. Yet nobody has been held to account as political and...

In a recent case that shocked not just the country but the whole world, a woman was almost severely scammed for thousands of dollars through deepfakes

Meta’s Twitter rival Threads appears to be struggling to hold on to users as its daily active user count is down by about four-fifth since its launch – just days after it broke records as the fastest-growing app ever. Within a few days of its launch, Instagram’s threads reached 100 million users, making it the most rapidly growing app ever developed. In comparison, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which was the previous fastest-growing app, took two months to reach 100 million users. Growing at such a rapid rate, Threads easily became the leading competitor of X (formerly Twitter) with about three times as many users as all other rivals combined within hours of launching. But new data assessed by market research firm Sensor Tower suggests Threads is facing challenges in retaining its user base. The firm’s analysis points out that the daily active user count of Threads is down by 82 per cent since the app’s launch as of 31 July, CNN reported. Fewer users are opening the app and doing so less frequently, apart from spending less time there, according to Sensor Tower. Citing the market research firm, CNN said users spent barely three minutes per day on Threads, compared to nearly 20 minutes during its initial launch. Analysis by another firm Similarweb also pointed out that Threads is struggling to retain its users. While the app’s usage peaked on 7 July – immediately after its launch – with over 49 million daily active users on Android alone, this number had fallen to 12.6 million by 23 July, according to a blog post by Similarweb. At its peak, Threads reportedly had over a third of X’s audience on that platform, but by 23 July, this had dropped to about 12 per cent of the users on the Elon Musk-owned platform. Sensor Tower noted that Threads’ daily active user count is still falling at about 1 per cent each day. “Threads took off like a rocket, with its close linkage to Instagram as the booster. However, the developers of Threads will need to fill in missing features and add some new and unique ones if they want to make checking the app a daily habit for users,” Similarweb noted in its blog post. Despite falling numbers, Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg is “quite optimistic” about the app, intending now to focus on “retention and improving the basics”, according to CNN. “And then after that, we’ll focus on growing the community to the scale we think is possible,” Mr Zuckerberg said. Read More Meta is secretly building an AI chatbot with the personality of Abraham Lincoln Are you a Facebook user? Here’s how to claim your share of $725m settlement in privacy lawsuit Elon Musk red-faced as police halt Twitter sign removal leaving company called ‘ER’ Mark Zuckerberg reveals his 4,000 calorie diet and large McDonald’s order Meta is secretly building an AI chatbot with the personality of Abraham Lincoln Here’s how to claim your share of $725m settlement in Facebook’s privacy lawsuit

U.S. authorities are sharply expanding the reach of curfews for the heads of asylum-seeking families while they wait for initial screenings after crossing the border

Diana Taurasi, the Phoenix Mercury star who stands atop the WNBA's all-time leading scorer list, reached another milestone in her highly decorated career by becoming the first player to score 10,000 points in league history.

Vodafone Group Plc’s biggest shareholder is pushing ahead with an ambitious global expansion strategy, undeterred by a slump

(Corrects attribution in paragraph 4 to Yuan Da of the NDRC, not Zou Lan of the central bank) BEIJING (Reuters)

Mac Miller‘s estate has teamed up with Vans to create a pair of shoes in honour of the five-year anniversary of the rapper’s last album. The late rapper released his album Swimming on 3 August 2018. To celebrate the five-year anniversary of the album this year, Miller’s estate selected appropriate motifs based on both the late rapper’s style and what best represents him for a pair of Vans, one of his favourite sneaker brands. “A pair of black Vans Authentics - one of Malcolm’s favourite shoes, which he wore around the world many times over,” the estate’s Instagram announcement began. “Thanks to our friends at Vans for helping us create a special pair in celebration of the five-year anniversary of Swimming.” The shoes look similar to Vans classic black authentic shoes with a couple of extra details. They feature a yin-yang symbol in black and white with the words “Swimming by Mac Miller” surrounding them in a circle formation. Around the white trim towards the bottom of each shoe, it reads “Mac Miller 1992 to [infinity symbol]” to represent the scope and timelessness of Miller’s influence. Apart from the sentimental details, the shoes have their same original Vans logo on the heel of the sneaker and the iconic white laces. They will come in a pink and purple gradient box with “Swimming Mac Miller” stamped on the side, complete with the Vans logo next to another yin-yang symbol. The special collab can be found only be purchased on Mac Miller’s website, where the shoes will retail for $100. Part of the profit will go to the Mac Miller Fund, which is a part of the Pittsburgh Foundation. The fund is meant to support “young musicians with resources to help realise their full potential through exploration, expression and community,” per their website. Miller’s fifth and final album went on to debut at number three on the Billboard 200 upon release and entered the top 10 a second time one week after the late rapper’s death in 2018. It featured singles including “Self Care”, “What’s the Use?” and “Small Worlds”. Miller died from an accidental overdose on 7 September 2018, a little over a month after the release of Swimming. In 2019, the album was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Rap album category. The album lost to Cardi B’s Invasion of Privacy. One year later, Miller’s record label, Warner Music, released an album that the rapper was in the middle of recording called Circles, which was meant to be a companion album to Swimming. Together, they were supposed to fit the theme of swimming in circles. “He had been working with Jon Brion, who after hearing some early versions of songs cleared his calendar to help Malcolm fine-tune them,” a statement on the rapper’s Instagram read. “After his passing, Jon dedicated himself to finishing Circles based on his time and conversations with Malcolm.” Released in January 2020, the album featured the singles “Good Blues” and “New World.” Swimming was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in 2021. Read More Angus Cloud gave final verdict on playing Mac Miller in biopic before his death Demi Lovato says she has ‘survivor’s guilt’ over Mac Miller’s death Mac Miller: Second drug supplier sentenced to 17 years in prison for giving rapper fentanyl-laced pills Vans and Mac Miller’s estate create shoes honouring late singer’s album anniversary Sweet moment UPS driver surprises his children after long week of deliveries Blackpink’s Jisoo confirmed to be dating K-drama actor Ahn Bo Hyun