The ‘00s Irish boy band-turned-pop group Westlife are set to embark on their first-ever run of North American tour dates in 2024, surrounding St. Patrick’s Day

Latvia's foreign minister Edgars Rinkevics was elected as the Baltic country's new president on Wednesday, the first openly gay person...

As a mama of her lovely Havanese bichon herself, she went on to make a video to help her followers plan their trips according to their furry friends

Max Verstappen has criticised the “99% show, 1% sporting event” nature of this weekend’s inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix and lambasted Wednesday’s opening ceremony. F1 is returning to Vegas for the first time in more than 40 years with a new street circuit, with F1 themselves promoting the event and building a new pit building to the tune of $500m. But three-time world champion Verstappen, who was among the 20 drivers dramatically introduced to the crowd during Wednesday’s lavish opening ceremony via a lift onto a string of podiums, did not pull any punches about the spectacle of the event in Sin City. “I don’t like all the things around it,” said the Red Bull driver. “I’m looking forward to trying to do the best I can but I’m not looking forward to this. “For me you can skip these kind of things. It’s just standing up there, you look like a clown. “I fully understand and you can look at it two ways, business side or sport side. So, of course, I understand their side of it. “I’m just voicing my opinion on the performance side of things.” Wednesday’s opening ceremony started with spectacular drone sequences, preceding a number of performances from artists such as Kylie Minogue, John Legend and Tiesto. All 20 drivers then briefly appeared to rapturous applause from the crowd in the grandstands. Read More F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix LIVE: Opening ceremony updates and news Lewis Hamilton makes F1 ‘circus’ plea after backlash from Las Vegas locals Celebrities and sponsors descend on Las Vegas as F1 returns to Sin City

Journalists are no longer the gatekeepers. The reality is that many young people are now bypassing the websites and apps of traditional news outlets and seeking information on social media platforms, including TikTok. It’s the ‘fastest growing social network’, according to the Reuters Institute Digital News Report, and new research has found that 20% of 18-24 year olds use the app solely to find their news. While a massive 44% of that age group use the short-form video hosting service for any and every other purpose. The younger generation have “little interest in many conventional news offers oriented towards older generations’ habits, interests, values, and instead embrace the more personality-based, participatory, and personalised options offered by social media”, said Reuters Institute director Rasmus Nielsen. Under 18s are big users too, so for parents whose teens get their news via TikTok, what do you need to understand about the social network and the evolution of digital media literacy? What is TikTok? Every so often a new app emerges and redefines the way we use social media. It’s what TikTok went and did in 2016. Starting as a small niche social media network – founded by Chinese tech giant Zhang Yiming – that attracted lip-synching teens as a short-form video hosting site, it almost knocked Facebook off its perch, and blew up during the coronavirus pandemic to a mega global platform. Do news organisations share news on it? Yes, they do. In many ways, traditional news organisations were forced to join TikTok to avoid being left behind, reach new and younger audiences and ensure they are continuing to find creative ways to pivot in a constantly evolving digital space. “Given the popularity and high engagement level, it’s not surprising that TikTok has become an important news platform for younger audiences, and it makes sense that news organisations are using it,” said Mark Brill, a senior lecturer in Future Media at Birmingham City University. “This, however, is a continuation of an existing trend. For well over a decade social media such as Facebook has been the primary news source for under 25s.” Anna Lee, founder at the Fr. App, added: “We can see that Gen Z individuals are turning to TikTok for any and all searches. While the funniest sound bites and newest dance trends will always have a home on TikTok, you can also equally expect to find videos explaining an arbitrary housing act.” How is it shared? There are various types of videos that can be shared on TikTok. Alongside the short bite-sized videos sharing the latest news, you can share trending sounds, things creators have posted, or videos with friends, family, and your larger community within TikTok or through other social media platforms. Videos can also be shared directly to other users, as long as the user has allowed for it. How do algorithms work? The TikTok algorithm is a recommendation system that determines which videos will appear on your (unique and highly personalised) For You page, which is also known as the homepage. Brill, who has 25 years of experience applying emerging technologies to engage audiences, said: “Much of the success of TikTok is the way that their algorithm decides which videos to show their users. TikTok’s system is based entirely on their interests and previous viewing. “This ‘more of what you like’ approach means that users spend more time each month in TikTok than any other platform. In the UK it adds up to over 27 hours per user per month and 23 hours globally. It shows how the platform’s algorithm can be highly addictive.” Is it OK that TikTok is how young people learn about what’s happening in the world? Some experts believe it is important for young people to be taught digital literacy at an increasingly earlier age – especially with the prevalence of fake news and artificial intelligence and its ability to forge fake articles and pictures. “Users of TikTok and all other social media apps must understand how to evaluate every piece of information they come across,” Lee said. “All parents worry about their child viewing harmful content on the internet. However, most leading internet providers provide extensive parental controls, including blocking and filtering unsuitable content.” Should they be encouraged to look elsewhere? For Brill, there are both benefits and challenges from using social media as a news source. He also cites the recent Reuters Institute report, which noted that TikTok users tend to look for good-news stories, avoiding the ‘doom scrolling’ found in web-based internet sites, which can have a negative impact on mental health. “The big question with social media sources, however, is that of veracity. A lack of fact checking and or acknowledgment of authoritative sources makes it difficult to identify fake stories and information. The short-form video format does not bring an in-depth analysis, where opinions are often presented as fact,” he said. “Perhaps the biggest challenge for TikTok users is with the algorithm itself. By giving more of what they like, it leads to confirmation bias that reinforces existing perceptions.” While child and behavioural expert Amanda Jenner, would encourage parents to tell their children to look elsewhere. “I am not a believer in directing children to learn through TikTok at all. Children can easily become addicted to social media and [it] can quickly escalate and [they could] be looking at other things they shouldn’t be watching. “I genuinely do feel parents need to be worried. I would encourage parents to set an age where it’s acceptable to have TikTok (over the age of 13 preferably) and have a parental control app so you can monitor and control what both they are seeing and the amount of time they spend on [it]. They need to be safeguarded.” Who knows what social network will be the next big thing but right now it’s difficult to get young people to migrate to another platform. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live How to take care of pets in the heat Struggling with menopause symptoms in the heat? An expert shares tips Men and women with migraine both have increased risk of stroke – study

A world facing catastrophic climate change is perilously off course in meeting goals for slashing carbon pollution and boosting finance for the developing world, according to the UN's first...

Save up to $300: As of October 10, for the Prime Big Deal Days sales

Intel’s Arc graphics card line is one of the most exciting developments in a GPU

UPDATE: Jun. 30, 2023, 3:45 p.m. EDT This list has been updated with the latest

Leslie Jones has opened up about her experience with abortion in her new memoir. In her book, Leslie F*cking Jones: A Memoir, which was released on 19 September, the Saturday Night Live alum revealed that she terminated three pregnancies throughout her early to mid-20s. In an excerpt obtained by Page Six, Jones wrote she became pregnant multiple times during her on-again, off-again relationship with a man named Richard Brooks. The first time she had an abortion was when she was 18 and Brooks was 27. According to the outlet, Jones said that their relationship lasted “too many years” and they did not use birth control. By her mid-20s, the comedian had undergone three abortions when she came to the realisation that abortion “is not a birth control method”. “My mom got sick early in my life and she wasn’t there to teach me about [sex education],” Jones wrote, noting that her mother suffered a massive stroke when she was young. The Ghostbusters star added that she wished she had been taught properly about pregnancy prevention and admitted she just “didn’t know any of that stuff”. She eventually learned how to practice safe sex and prevent pregnancy through educational services offered by Planned Parenthood. “I still give money to them to this day,” Jones said about the non-profit. “When I went to Planned Parenthood, I finally learned how to prevent pregnancies and take care of myself. Thank God for those people and what they do.” Speaking about her choice not to have children, Jones recently revealed to People that she developed a fear of childbirth early on, after watching a video in her ninth grade health class. “I remember running all the way home and I looked right at my mom and said: ‘I will never do that!’” Jones recalled. These days, she’s remained steadfast in her decision to be child-free, saying: “I didn’t get married and have kids, but I don’t know if that’s what I wanted. I’ve always wanted to take care of myself.” Jones has previously spoken out against conservative legislators passing restrictive abortion laws across the United States. In 2019, she criticised Alabama’s Human Life Protection Act, which sees women who are the victims of incest or rape unable to get abortions. During an appearance on SNL’s “Weekend Update” segment, she dressed up as one of the characters from the dystopian TV series, The Handmaid’s Tale, to slam the abortion ban. “We are all handmaids now,” she said. ”My name actually is OfJost. But I don’t know how much of a good babymaker I’m going to be, because my eggs are dusty as hell. But I’ll give it a shot.” Jones then took off the robe to reveal a shirt with the word “Mine” on it and an arrow pointing down. She proceeded to speak how the abortion law is only the start of women’s rights being taken away. “The next thing you know, I’m at Starbucks and they won’t take my credit card because I’m a woman, instead of the regular reason which is I don’t have no money on me,” she said. Jones then showed a picture of the 25 white, male Alabama state senators who passed the vote. “Why do all of these weird a** men care what women choose to do with their bodies?” she asked. “When women have a choice, women have freedom,” Jones continued. “The fact that nine states are doing this means this really is a war on women. You can’t tell me what to do with my body.” In June 2022, the US Supreme Court voted to overturn Roe v Wade when it ruled in favour of the state of Mississippi blocking abortion at 15 weeks of pregnancy. The ruling struck down a 50-year precedent established by the landmark Roe v Wade court case, which had guaranteed federal protections for abortion access since 1973. Since then, more than a dozen states have banned abortion or issued restrictions to abortion access. Read More Leslie Jones criticises Alabama abortion ban on SNL: 'This really is a war on women' Planned Parenthood resumes offering abortions in Wisconsin after more than a year Women who were denied emergency abortions file lawsuits in three states: ‘Torture no one should have to face’ US prepares for potential end of Roe v Wade - live When will there be a Roe v Wade decision? Why these prosecutors are refusing to enforce anti-abortion laws

By Anirban Sen Subway has agreed to sell itself to private equity firm Roark Capital in a deal valuing the

Thousands of air travelers faced flight cancellations and delays this weekend as thunderstorms rolled in across the U.S. East Coast and Midwest