Elon Musk arrives at Twitter HQ with a sink as deal nears completion

Elon Musk, the world's richest person, turned up at Twitter's headquarters in San Francisco on Wednesday with a kitchen sink.

“Entering Twitter HQ — let that sink in!” he tweeted, with the court-ordered deadline for his $44 billion deal to buy the social media platform approaching.

Mr Musk and Twitter were given until October 28 to finalise the deal, which has rumbled on since April.

“Meeting a lot of cool people at Twitter today!” he also tweeted, after earlier changing his title in his Twitter bio to “Chief Twit”.

Mr Musk told Twitter employees that he was not planning to cut thousands of jobs, Bloomberg reported.

The Washington Post reported last week that the billionaire told prospective investors in his proposed deal to buy Twitter that he planned to eliminate about 75 per cent of the platform's 7,500 workers, citing interviews and documents.

However, he denied the previously reported number in an address to employees at the Twitter office, Bloomberg said.

Mr Musk had tried to walk away from the deal to buy Twitter in May, alleging that the company understated the number of bot and spam accounts on the social media platform, which started a series of lawsuits between the two parties.

Twitter chief executive Parag Agrawal hit back at Mr Musk's concerns and said spam accounts accounted for less 5 per cent of users. The digital platform locks millions of accounts each week that it suspects could be fake, he said.

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Elon Musk's ex-girlfriend auctions mementos — in pictures

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Earlier this month, Mr Musk reversed course and said he would proceed with the deal on original terms.

“I think on Friday, we will get an announcement that says that Elon Musk has purchased Twitter,” Adam Badawi, a University of California law professor at the Berkeley campus, told AFP.

“I'm excited about the Twitter situation,” Mr Musk said during a recent Tesla earnings call.

“I think it's an asset that has just sort of languished for a long time but has incredible potential, although obviously myself and the other investors are overpaying for Twitter right now.”

Mr Musk indicated earlier this month that buying Twitter would speed up the creation of something he called “X, the everything app". He called the acquisition “an accelerant” to building a kind of multi-function app.

He has drawn parallels to so-called super apps that are widely used in parts of Asia.

Twitter shares will be suspended from trading on Friday, the New York Stock Exchange's website showed.

Reuters reported on Tuesday that equity investors, including Sequoia Capital, Binance, Qatar Investment Authority and others, had received the requisite paperwork for the financing commitment from Mr Musk's lawyers.

The deal's completion would mark an end to a lawsuit by Twitter, which, along with investors, now expects the deal to be completed on its original terms of $54.20 per share.

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Neighbourhood Watch

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Classification of skills

A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.

A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.

The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.

All Blacks line-up for third Test

J Barrett; I Dagg, A Lienert-Brown, N Laumape, J Savea; B Barrett, A Smith; J Moody, C Taylor, O Franks, B Retallick, S Whitelock, J Kaino, S Cane, K Read (capt).

Replacements: N Harris, W Crockett, C Faumuina, S Barrett, A Savea, TJ Perenara, A Cruden, M Fekitoa.

Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.

- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law

SOUTH%20KOREA%20SQUAD

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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE

Join parent networks
Look beyond school fees
Keep an open mind

Muslim Council of Elders condemns terrorism on religious sites

The Muslim Council of Elders has strongly condemned the criminal attacks on religious sites in Britain.

It firmly rejected “acts of terrorism, which constitute a flagrant violation of the sanctity of houses of worship”.

“Attacking places of worship is a form of terrorism and extremism that threatens peace and stability within societies,” it said.

The council also warned against the rise of hate speech, racism, extremism and Islamophobia. It urged the international community to join efforts to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence.

While you're here

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The specs

Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 640hp
Torque: 760nm
On sale: 2026
Price: Not announced yet

Mobile phone packages comparison

Milestones on the road to union

1970

October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.

December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.

1971

March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.

July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.

July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.

August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.

August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.

September 3: Qatar becomes independent.

November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.

November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.

November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.

November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties

December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.

December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.

COMPANY PROFILE

Founders: Sebastian Stefan, Sebastian Morar and Claudia Pacurar

Based: Dubai, UAE

Founded: 2014

Number of employees: 36

Sector: Logistics

Raised: $2.5 million

Investors: DP World, Prime Venture Partners and family offices in Saudi Arabia and the UAE