Twitter has received an unlikely endorsement from a Taliban leader amid woes as the number of users of the Elon Musk-owned platform is “tanking” following the release of Meta’s rival app Threads. Taliban leader Anas Haqqani tweeted his approval of Twitter over other social media platforms, highlighting what he thought were some advantages of the Musk-owned site. “Twitter has two important advantages over other social media platforms,” Mr Haqqani tweeted. “The first privilege is the freedom of speech. The second privilege is the public nature & credibility of Twitter. Twitter doesn’t have an intolerant policy like Meta. Other platforms cannot replace it,” he said. Twitter has been facing major hurdles since the Tesla and SpaceX chief took over the company last year with further hardship after Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg launched the Threads app. It appears that the number of Twitter users may also be “tanking” following the release of Threads, according to Cloudflare’s chief executive Matthew Prince. Mr Prince showed a graph last week highlighting an apparent decline in Twitter’s popularity since Mr Musk’s takeover of the company, along with a steep drop after the launch of Threads. A record number of users have flocked to Mr Zuckerberg’s Twitter-clone with the app gaining over 100 million sign ups within days of its launch. “That’s mostly organic demand and we haven’t even turned on many promotions yet. Can’t believe it’s only been five days!” the Meta boss said. While Twitter appears to have fallen out of favour with many users, The Taliban, however, still seems to prefer it over Threads. After “free-speech absolutist” Mr Musk took over Twitter and fired over three-fourths of the company’s workforce, including entire teams behind content moderation, social media experts expressed dissatisfaction over the rise of hate speech on the platform and advertisers as well as regular users have exited the site. But according to Mr Haqqani, a Taliban thought-leader, the biggest draw of Twitter – where the militant group continues to post updates – is the site’s flexible moderation policy. This is in contrast to Meta’s Facebook which views the Taliban as a terrorist organisation and disallows it from posting on the platform. Read More Who are the key members of the Taliban’s new all-male government? It’s wishful thinking to believe in a more moderate Taliban Taliban rename women’s ministry as office for group’s moral police $44 billion and eight months later. It’s finally all over for Elon Musk Instagram Threads hits 100 million users, becoming easily the fastest growing app ever Twitter traffic ‘tanking’ after record-breaking Threads launch

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Newcastle have completed their swoop for Leicester frontman Harvey Barnes after a protracted pursuit. The 25-year-old wide-man, who has been in the Magpies’ sights for sometime, has signed a five-year contract after the two clubs agreed an undisclosed fee which it is understood could eventually amount to £38million. Newcastle said in a statement: “Newcastle United are delighted to announce the signing of winger Harvey Barnes for an undisclosed fee. “The 25-year-old has signed a five-year contract.” Barnes, who travelled to Tyneside last week to undergo a medical, is the third addition to a squad which finished fourth in last season’s Premier League with AC Milan midfielder Sandro Tonali and Odense striker Yankuba Minteh, who has been sent out on loan to Feyenoord, having arrived earlier this month. A graduate of the Foxes’ Academy, he made 187 appearances for the club, which was relegated to the Sky Bet Championship at the end of last season, and is an FA Cup winner as well as a full England international. Barnes, who scored 13 Premier League goals for City during the 2022-23 season, said: “I’m delighted. It’s an amazing club and for me it’s a massive opportunity to come and be involved in a successful team that’s doing exciting things, so I’m absolutely buzzing to be here. Harvey is an exciting talent who I have admired for a long time, so I'm delighted to welcome him to Newcastle United. Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe “I think it’s an attacker’s dream to come into a team like this; it’s high paced, it’s physically demanding, but you can see the rewards of that with the chances and the goals scored, so I think I’ll certainly suit the style.” Barnes’ capture is reward for the Magpies’ persistence and head coach Eddie Howe was delighted to have finally got his man. Howe said: “Harvey is an exciting talent who I have admired for a long time, so I’m delighted to welcome him to Newcastle United. “He is strong, quick and very good technically, and he showed last season in particular that he has an eye for goal from wide positions. “He will add a different element to our play and we look forward to working with him as we prepare for the season ahead.” Leicester thanked the player for his contribution during his time with the club. A statement said: “After a proud 16-year association with Leicester City, Harvey departs with the thanks of all friends and colleagues at the football club for his contribution during that time and best wishes for his future career.” Barnes’ arrival is likely to signal the departure of Frenchman Allan Saint-Maximin, who was left out of the party which has travelled to the United States for the inaugural Premier League Summer Series as he held talks over his future having been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Lucy Staniforth hopes to have England future as she prepares to leave camp Scottie Scheffler’s impressive run set to end despite strong finish at the Open Weather frustrates England as first session is wiped out at Old Trafford

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