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Elon Musk’s self-proclaimed persona as a top-class gamer took a thrashing on Friday, as video game enthusiasts mercilessly mocked the tech billionaire following a disastrous performance in a livestream.The uproar — tinged with hilarity –- left the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX battling the humiliating accusation that he was faking it as a skilled gamer.It erupted after Musk streamed himself last week playing “Path of Exile 2,” boasting of having one of the highest-ranked characters and inviting scrutiny from seasoned gamers.Many noted that Musk made rookie mistakes and was unfamiliar with basic game mechanics that he should have been familiar with given the advanced level of his avatar in the game.Suspicions swirled that the world’s richest man had hired help, inviting brutal comments that demolished his elite gamer persona.”This sounds like a middle-schooler giving a book report on a book they’ve never read,” said one comment under a YouTube video of Musk’s gameplay.A popular Twitch streamer called Asmongold took the criticism a step further, challenging Musk to prove that he had reached that level himself.The rebuke did not go down well.The billionaire unfollowed Asmongold on X, and soon the streamer lost his blue checkmark. The platform, previously known as Twitter, was purchased by Musk in 2022 for $44 billion.The spat did not end there. Musk shared private direct messages he had exchanged with Asmongold, which insinuated that the streamer’s opinions were not his own.”Asmon behaves like a maverick ‘independent,'” Musk wrote in a post.”But in reality has to ask his boss for permission before he can do anything. He is not his own man.”Provoking titters online, Musk’s post was attached with a Community Note — a crowd-sourced tool to debunk false information — which noted that Asmongold does not have “bosses.” The public spat led to an avalanche of comments that labelled Musk a “man-child” and lampooned his “fragile ego,” while many previous fans added that the billionaire had lost their trust.- ‘Killing the demons’ -The brouhaha punctures Musk’s carefully cultivated persona as something of a superhuman with extraordinary time management skills: running multiple corporations, posting breathlessly on X and excelling at video games — all while being a father to several children.The billionaire is also an an advisor to the incoming administration of US President-elect Donald Trump and has been tapped to run the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), tasked with reducing government spending.”Path of Exile 2″ is considered a challenging game that expert players say requires a serious time commitment to reach the advanced level of Musk’s character — something he likely lacks. The tycoon has frequently shared his gaming experiences on social media, claiming to be one of the top players in various online games.He has said the activity forces him to “concentrate” and “killing the demons in a video game calms the demons” in his mind.The uproar has led users to question Musk’s other purported accomplishments, such as his claim that he was among the top 20 players of role-playing video game “Diablo IV.””As a gamer, you have a lot of pride in your rank/level. Trying to fake that while also being the richest guy in the world is just so absurdly unnecessary,” wrote one user on X. “I would say it also makes me wonder, if he is willing to lie about this, what else is he willing to lie about.”

Former Mozambican finance minister Manuel Chang was sentenced to more than eight years in prison on Friday in connection with a graft scandal that sparked an economic crisis in his home country.Chang, 69, was convicted in a US court in August for his role in the so-called “hidden debt” scandal that saw the Mozambican government contracting $2 billion in secret loans in 2013 and 2014 from international banks to buy a tuna-fishing fleet and surveillance vessels.The loans were hidden from parliament, but the debt came to light in 2016, prompting donors, including the IMF and the World Bank, to turn off financial support.The scandal triggered Mozambique’s worst economic crisis since independence from Portugal four decades earlier.An independent audit later found that $500 million had been diverted and remained unaccounted for.According to the Justice Department, Chang and his co-conspirators diverted more than $200 million of the loan proceeds to pay bribes and kickbacks.Chang was accused of receiving $7 million in bribes to help secure the loans.He was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and sentenced to 102 years in prison. He was also ordered to forfeit $7 million.Chang, who was arrested in South Africa and extradited to the United States, has already spent a total of six years in US and South African prisons and he may only have to serve another 2.5 years.”Chang’s brazen misconduct betrayed his duty to the people of Mozambique and defrauded investors, including those in the United States, of substantial amounts,” Brent Wible, a Justice Department official, said in a statement.”Today’s sentence shows that foreign officials who abuse their power to commit crimes targeting the US financial system will meet US justice,” acting US Attorney Carolyn Pokorny said.

Americans will be hit by a “Trump tariffs tax” if the US president-elect increases customs duties on Canadian products, the Canadian foreign minister said Friday, pledging a hard-hitting response in any trade war.Donald Trump, who returns to the White House next week, has said he plans to slap 25 percent tariffs on Canadian imports as part of his economic and foreign policy plans that also target Mexico, China and other trade partners.”This would be the biggest trade war between Canada and the US in decades,” Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said. “The Americans would be starting a trade war against us.”We are ready to put maximum pressure,” she said at a press conference in Washington, adding that Canada has a series of measures prepared if Trump carries out his threat, which would have a major impact on Canadian consumers and jobs.A government source told AFP that Ottawa is considering higher duties on goods from the United States including steel products, ceramics like toilets and sinks, glassware and orange juice — in a first phase of tariffs that could be extended.”We will be strong and unequivocal in our defense of Canada and Canadians,” said outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.”The proposed tariffs would put American jobs at risk, raise prices for American consumers, put our collective security at risk and raise costs all across the continent.”One scenario from Scotiabank suggests that a trade war could cause Canadian GDP to fall by more than five percent, increase unemployment significantly and fuel inflation.

“I almost, like, don’t know how to define myself without TikTok,” content creator Ayman Chaudhary sighed, reflecting the consternation of millions over US authorities’ scheduled banning Sunday of the hugely popular app.After months of legal tussles, the US Supreme Court on Friday upheld a law that would ban the video-sharing platform — used by 170 million Americans — in the name of national security, unless its Chinese owners reach an 11th-hour deal to sell it to American buyers.”I’m more sad than shocked,” the 24-year-old Chaudhary told AFP. “But still, it’s sad and disappointing that the US government has come together to ban an app instead of banding together to adopt a law that matters about health or education.” It remains uncertain whether TikTok will turn out the lights Sunday — for a single day or forever. Potential buyers exist, though TikTok’s owner, Chinese tech company ByteDance, has systematically refused to part with its crown jewel.President-elect Donald Trump, just days from his second inauguration, said Friday that he “must have time” to decide whether to enforce the high court’s ruling. He promised a decision “in the not too distant future.”Until then, Ayman and countless other content creators have been left gloomily contemplating a future without TikTok.- Mandarin ‘out of spite’? -“I started five years ago in 2020 during (the Covid-19) quarantine, and I’ve been employed, like, through TikTok, and now it just feels like suddenly I’m unemployed,” said Ayman, an avid reader who offers book recommendations on the platform, earning enough from ads and sponsors to pay her bills. Like thousands of other worried TikTok users, she has protectively created a profile on Xiaohongshu (“Little Red Book”), a Chinese social media network similar to Instagram. Nicknamed “Red Note” by its American users, it was the most-downloaded app on the American Apple Store this week. People are turning to Red Note, Ayman said, as “kind of a protest, because it is a Chinese-owned app, and TikTok is being banned because it’s, like, Chinese-owned.”The language-teaching app Duolingo made a clear pitch to people looking for life after TikTok.”Learning Mandarin out of spite? You’re not alone,” Duolingo posted on X. “We’ve seen a 216% growth in new Chinese (Mandarin) learners in the US compared to this time last year.”On TikTok, many American creators have published videos combining their favorite moments on the app with farewell messages urging fans to follow them to other platforms, including Xiaohongshu — while openly mocking the concerns of American lawmakers. – ‘Micro-influencers’ -“Most students don’t buy the narrative that there’s Chinese spies that are controlling the algorithm” on TikTok, said Chris Dier, a history teacher who shares educational videos on TikTok and uses them as well in his classes.He said students “think that the United States government is not a fan of TikTok because… the government can’t easily control it.”Xiaohongshu, which is entirely in Mandarin, would not appear to provide a realistic long-term alternative for frustrated American users. Popular even before the pandemic, TikTok exploded among young people living in quarantine, and became a must-have resource for many small companies and start-ups.”It’s a scary time for a lot of smaller creators, because I think TikTok is one of the very few platforms on the internet where micro-influencers can really thrive,” said Nathan Espinoza, who has more than 550,000 subscribers on the app. Indeed, the social network has built its success not so much via personal recommendations as through its ultra-powerful algorithm, which lets it rapidly identify users’ interests and funnel content of particular interest to them. “I’m a more YouTube-centric creator now,” Espinoza said. “But I wouldn’t be where I am today without TikTok, because that first viral video showed me that it’s possible, and there’s an audience for the type of videos that I make.”

The United States on Friday grounded SpaceX’s Starship and ordered Elon Musk’s company to investigate why the spaceship spectacularly disintegrated in a fiery cascade over the Caribbean during its latest test mission.Authorities in the Turks and Caicos Islands confirmed they diverted all flights from their airspace during the incident and urged residents not to touch fallen debris, warning it could be hazardous.”The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) is requiring SpaceX to perform a mishap investigation into the loss of the Starship vehicle during launch operations on Jan. 16,” the agency said.  “There are no reports of public injury, and the FAA is working with SpaceX and appropriate authorities to confirm reports of public property damage on Turks and Caicos.”It added that during the event, it briefly activated a “Debris Response Area” protocol to slow aircraft outside the area where the debris was falling or stop aircraft at their departure location.”Several aircraft requested to divert due to low fuel levels while holding outside impacted areas.”Under established procedures, SpaceX will now be required to carry out a “mishap investigation” — including the identification of any corrective actions, which the FAA will review before determining the launch vehicle can return to flight. Alternatively, the company may seek an early return to flight if it can demonstrate sufficient safety measures and confirm the mishap posed no public risk.The government of the Turks and Caicos Islands, a British-controlled archipelago, confirmed the diversion of all flights during the incident, which lit up social media with dazzling photos and videos of the meteor-like shower of debris.Officials also met with UK Space Agency experts and reiterated warnings to residents to avoid fallen debris.”If possible, take a photograph of the object (without touching it) alongside another object for scale,” a public advisory read, emphasizing, “Space debris remains the property of the spacecraft owner.”- Mars rocket – Starship is the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built, and is key to Musk’s ambitions of colonizing Mars. NASA hopes to use a modified version of the rocket as a human lunar lander for its Artemis missions to return to the Moon. Thursday’s uncrewed launch was Starship’s seventh orbital test, and the first involving a taller, upgraded version of the rocket.SpaceX, which dominates the commercial launch market through its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket, underscored its technical prowess by catching Starship’s first stage booster in the “chopstick” arms of its launch tower for a second time. But the triumph was short-lived when teams lost contact with the upper-stage vehicle. SpaceX later confirmed it had undergone “rapid unscheduled disassembly,” the company’s euphemism for an explosion.”Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed!” Musk quipped on X , sharing one of the many viral clips of the event. He added the cause of the explosion appeared to be an “oxygen/fuel leak” that caused an excess buildup of pressure. “Nothing so far suggests pushing next launch past next month,” he ventured.

The United States offered to extend its signature African investment project into the troubled east of the Democratic Republic of Congo as an incentive for a peace deal, but Rwanda has backed away, a senior US diplomat said.Molly Phee, the outgoing assistant secretary of state for African affairs, said the United States proposed an expansion of the Lobito railway, a project visited last month by President Joe Biden that aims to speed up the transport of minerals from southern DRC and Zambia to Angola’s Atlantic coast.”We had proposed to both sides that if we could get to stabilization in eastern DRC, we could work on developing a spur from the Lobito Corridor up through eastern DRC,” Phee told AFP in an interview ahead of her exit Monday as the Biden administration comes to an end.”We tried to offer positive incentives. A genuine framework — fundamentally negotiated by the parties — exists, and at the moment, Rwanda seems to have walked away,” she said.Rwanda-backed rebels known as the March 23 (M23) Movement since 2021 have seized swaths of eastern DRC, displacing thousands and triggering a humanitarian crisis.Rwandan President Paul Kagame, while never admitting direct military involvement, has demanded the elimination of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), an armed group in DRC primarily composed of Hutu militants formed in the wake of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.Authorities in Kinshasa accuse Rwanda of seizing valuable mines in the region amid the conflict.Phee, who was part of the Biden administration’s negotiations along with US intelligence chief Avril Haines, said the United States presented a solution that would include a DRC crackdown on the FDLR.”They did not take that action,” she said of Kinshasa.”We put it all back together again and then I thought we were on a good track. And then in the end, President Kagame decided not to go to the Luanda summit in December, and you’ve seen Rwanda and M23 take more territory.”Kagame has dismissed recent peace initiatives such as the summit in the Angolan capital Luanda as little more than photo-ops that do not address “root causes.”- ‘Heavy-handed’ security response in Ethiopia -Biden took office vowing to pay more attention to Africa than Donald Trump, his predecessor and successor, although the administration soon also became focused on the Ukraine and Gaza wars.But one of the most devastating conflicts of this century was a two-year war in Ethiopia’s Tigray region where at least 600,000 people died, according to an African Union envoy.The violence stopped with a ceasefire reached in November 2022 in the South African capital Pretoria.”I’m very proud of the work we did to help end the war in Tigray, which at that time was the largest conflict in the world,” Phee said.But she voiced concern over Ethiopian forces’ actions since then, in conflicts in the separate regions of Amhara and Oromia.”It’s a legitimate and difficult problem, as all insurgencies are, but we feel the security services are heavy-handed and are not as attentive to civilian casualties as they should be,” she said.The Biden administration booted Ethiopia out of a major trade pact in response to rights concerns in Tigray.Phee said the United States “would like to be in a position to resume the kind of partnership that we had” but that Ethiopia still has steps to take.- Still hopeful in Niger -The United States also saw a setback when the military seized power in Niger in 2023 — soon after a visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken — and moved closer to Russia.The junta scrapped a military cooperation deal, forcing Washington to give up a $100 million drone base, soon after Phee voiced concern over Niger potentially selling uranium to Iran, whose nuclear program is under scrutiny.In a diplomatic dustup, Nigerien authorities denied that there was a deal with Iran and called Phee’s attitude “condescending.”Phee said her remarks to Niger should be understood more as an offer than warning.She said she told Niger that “Iran is a bad actor in the world” and that a deal would cause problems due to sanctions on Tehran.But she said she told them, “you deserve to use your uranium to benefit your people. We’ll be happy to find you a reputable buyer.” “I’m hopeful that action on that kind of path will be taken by them.”

The United States unveiled a new rule Friday to tighten an exemption allowing low-value imports to enter the country duty-free, taking aim at Chinese shipments that might be benefiting from it.The proposal disqualifies certain products from the low-value, or “de minimis,” exemption, which allows goods valued at $800 or below to come into the United States without paying duties or certain taxes.”Both the volume and combined worth of low-value, or de minimis, shipments to the United States have risen significantly over the past ten years,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas in a statement.He added that the exemption has “undermined American businesses and workers” while allowing foreign products to flood US ports of entry, making it harder to screen the goods for security risks.”The actions announced today to tighten this exemption will strengthen America’s economic and national security,” he said.The number of shipments claiming the exemption rose from about 139 million in fiscal year 2015 to more than a billion in 2023.US officials have pointed to the growth of Chinese-founded online retailers Shein and Temu — known for selling items at low prices — as a key factor behind this increase.National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard accused Chinese-founded e-commerce platforms of trying to “gain an unfair trade advantage” by using the rules.With the new proposed rule, products subject to tariffs imposed under Section 301 of the Trade Act, for example, would not qualify for duty-free treatment under the de minimis exemption.The section has been a key tool used to justify levies against China in recent years.Section 301 tariffs hit about 70 percent of Chinese textile and apparel imports, meaning the move would reduce the number of shipments entering through this exemption.Packages containing products subject to Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum goods, as well as Section 201 safeguards impacting solar manufacturing, are also targeted.In a notice on Friday, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said low-value e-commerce shipments pose the same risks as higher-value ones.The large volume of imports and smaller amount of data received about low-value shipments make it increasingly tough to “target and block illicit synthetic drugs such as fentanyl and synthetic drug raw materials and related manufacturing equipment from entering the country,” said the CBP.In 2024, more than 120 US lawmakers raised “grave concerns” over the de minimis “trade loophole” in a letter and urged President Joe Biden to close it.Further action on the matter will fall to incoming President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office next week.

Donald Trump confirmed that his inauguration as US president on Monday will move indoors due to expected freezing weather, undercutting the Republican’s hopes for a grandiose spectacle to kick off his second term.”There is an Arctic blast sweeping the Country,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social feed on Friday. “Therefore, I have ordered the Inauguration Address, in addition to prayers and other speeches, to be delivered in the United States Capitol Rotunda.”The change of plan means Trump will not stand on the Capitol steps overlooking the National Mall, which traditionally hosts a large crowd to welcome new presidents. The Rotunda, an ornate, round hall under the dome of Congress, can typically only hold a few hundred people.Washington is forecast to be well below freezing on Monday, with gusty winds adding to the cold.Preparations have already been made in Washington for a huge influx of visitors — including thousands of chairs neatly lined up on the Mall — but most will now have to watch on television.It’s the first time the emergency measure has been taken since the 1985 inauguration of Ronald Reagan, also due to dangerously cold weather.In his post, Trump said that “various Dignitaries and Guests” will attend the events inside the Capitol, including prayers, the inaugural address and the singing of the anthem.The Republican, who has built a political brand around his large rallies, said supporters could watch the event on a live feed in Washington’s Capital One sports arena — and that he would go there after.Trump — who at 78 will be the oldest person ever to assume the presidency — said the ceremonies in the Rotunda “will be a very beautiful experience for all, and especially for the large TV audience!””We will open Capital One Arena on Monday for LIVE viewing of this Historic event, and to host the Presidential Parade. I will join the crowd at Capital One, after my Swearing In.”Trump supporter Matthew Medill, visiting Washington from more balmy California, said some will be disappointed, but “we are expecting a lot of excitement and a lot of jubilation — it doesn’t matter what the weather is.”- Who’s was bigger? -After his first inauguration in 2017, Trump was infuriated by reports that his crowd on the Mall was distinctly smaller than the turnout for Barack Obama in 2009.Trump claimed more than 1.5 million supporters thronged the Mall, far in excess of Obama’s crowd, and his  spokesman announced that the inauguration had been the most attended ever.However, this was immediately proven to be a lie, with aerial photos showing a far sparser crowd at Trump’s event than at Obama’s.The switch this time means Trump will miss out altogether on the traditional address to a sea of people, while looking out toward the soaring Washington Monument.However, as a former reality TV star, Trump will embrace the potential for television-friendly theatrics, both in the elegant Rotunda and afterward in the arena.”This will be a very beautiful experience for all, and especially for the large TV audience!” Trump posted.Capital One Arena, home of the Washington Wizards basketball team and ice hockey’s Washington Capitals, has a seating capacity of around 20,000.Before the decision to scrap the outdoor event, more than 220,000 tickets were distributed to the public via lawmakers’ offices.People braving the cold can still catch a glimpse of the newly sworn-in president as he travels down Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House.The White House, Capitol and parts of the Pennsylvania Avenue parade route are already ringed by eight-foot high (2.4-meter) metal barriers. And around 25,000 law enforcement and military personnel are converging on Washington, according to US Secret Service special agent Matt McCool.The country’s ninth president, William Henry Harrison, decided to ignore bitter weather at his 1841 inauguration, hoping to demonstrate his vigor, given that he was the oldest man elected to the job at that stage, at 68 years old.He went out without a coat or hat — and died a month later from pneumonia.

A former CIA official pleaded guilty Friday to leaking top secret US intelligence documents about Israeli military plans for a retaliatory strike on Iran.Asif Rahman, 34, who worked for the Central Intelligence Agency since 2016 and held a top secret security clearance, was arrested by the FBI in Cambodia in November.Rahman faces up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty in a federal court in Virginia to two counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information.Iran unleashed a wave of close to 200 ballistic missiles on Israel on October 1 in retaliation for the killings of senior figures in the Tehran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah militant groups.Israel retaliated with a wave of strikes on military targets in Iran in late October.According to a court filing, Rahman, on October 17, printed out two top secret documents “regarding a United States foreign ally and its planned kinetic actions against a foreign adversary.”He photographed the documents and used a computer program to edit the images in “an attempt to conceal their source and delete his activity,” it said.Rahman then transmitted the documents to “multiple individuals he knew were not entitled to receive them” before shredding them at work.”Rahman also destroyed multiple electronic devices, including a personal mobile device and an internet router he used to transmit classified information,” the filing said, discarding the destroyed devices in public trash bins.The documents, circulated on the Telegram app by an account called Middle East Spectator, described Israeli preparations for a possible strike on Iran but did not identify any actual targets.According to The Washington Post, the documents, generated by the US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, described aviation exercises and movements of munitions at an Israeli airfield and the leak led Israeli officials to delay their retaliatory strike. “Mr Rahman betrayed the trust of the American people by unlawfully sharing classified national defense information he swore an oath to protect,” Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen said in a statement.Sentencing was set for May 15.

The US Supreme Court on Friday upheld a law that could force TikTok to shut down in the United States, potentially cutting off the app’s 170 million users  within days.The unanimous ruling, which found the law does not violate free speech rights, dealt a major blow to TikTok and created uncertainty about what will happen when the ban takes effect on Sunday.The court agreed with the government’s national security concerns about Chinese company ByteDance’s ownership of the app. The White House-backed legislation, passed overwhelmingly by Congress last year, requires ByteDance to either sell TikTok or cease US operations by January 19. ByteDance has firmly rejected selling its US operation, a stance also taken by Beijing, which has denounced the law as theft.The justices acknowledged that, “for more than 170 million Americans,” the social media giant “offers a distinct and expansive outlet for expression, means of engagement, and source of community.”But, the court concluded, “Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its well-supported national security concerns regarding TikTok’s data collection practices and relationship with a foreign adversary.”Even if the ban now stands, the Biden White House said it won’t enforce it, leaving the matter to incoming president Donald Trump. Trump, who opposes the ban, discussed TikTok with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday.”The Supreme Court decision was expected, and everyone must respect it,” Trump wrote on Truth Social as he said he would need time to find an alternative to the ban. The Department of Justice noted that enforcing the law “will be a process that plays out over time,” in a potential sign that it does not intend to carry out the law for now.Despite the court defeat, TikTok CEO Shou Chew thanked Trump for his “commitment to work with us to find a solution.”Trump “truly understands our platform,” he added.TikTok has been lobbying furiously to thwart the law’s implementation with Chew set to attend Trump’s inauguration on Monday.The law requires Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores, blocking new downloads. The companies could face penalties of up to $5,000 per user who can access the app.Chew gave no indication on whether TikTok would unilaterally shut down its app in the US when the ban kicks in, as reported in US media.TikTok’s lawyer Noel Francisco had warned the platform would shut down Sunday in case of a legal defeat.- ‘Viable deal’ -Trump’s incoming national security advisor Mike Waltz told Fox News the administration would work “to keep TikTok from going dark,” noting the law allows a 90-day delay if the White House can show progress toward “a viable deal.” Frank McCourt, former Los Angeles Dodgers owner, has expressed interest in leading a purchase of TikTok’s US activity and said he’s “ready to work with the company and President Trump to complete a deal.”The ban would hugely benefit US-owned rivals Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, but influencers said that TikTok’s unique abilities could not be matched.”Making videos and reaching people on TikTok is so much easier than a lot of a lot of other platforms,” said Nathan Espinoza, who has more than 500,000 followers on TikTok.Courtney Spritzer, head of digital marketing agency Socialfly, said TikTok creators were in “great uncertainty.” Among advertisers, “some are betting there will be a shutdown while others are more optimistic that it will continue to exist after Sunday.”