Author: Disha Mishra
(Reuters) – TikTok buzzed with nervous anticipation across the U.S. on Saturday as a looming federal ban threatened to sever access to the Chinese-owned app that has captivated nearly half of all Americans, powered small businesses and shaped online culture. The company said late Friday that it will go dark in the United States on Sunday unless President Joe Biden’s administration provides assurances to companies like Apple and Google that they will not face enforcement actions when a ban takes effect. The ban would be enacted under a law signed by President Joe Biden in April and mark the first…
(Reuters) – Companies transporting their products around the world are not ready to return to the Red Sea trade route in the wake of a Gaza ceasefire deal because of uncertainty over whether Yemen’s Houthis will continue to attack shipping, industry executives said. The leader of Yemen’s Houthis said on Thursday that the Iran-aligned group would monitor the implementation of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas aimed at ending the war in Gaza and continue its attacks on vessels or Israel if it is breached. The Houthi militia has carried out more than 100 attacks on ships since November…
(Reuters) – A group of Republican-led states filed a lawsuit on Friday challenging a ban announced by outgoing Democratic U.S. President Joe Biden earlier this month on new offshore oil and gas development along most U.S. coastlines. The lawsuit seeks a reversal of Biden’s ban with declaratory and injunctive relief, according to a court filing that argued Biden did not have the authority to impose such a ban and that the power to do so rests with the U.S. Congress. Biden’s move announced on Jan. 6 was considered mostly symbolic, as it will not impact areas where oil and gas…
(Reuters) – President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration will take place inside the U.S. Capitol on Monday rather than outdoors because of severe cold, the first time in 40 years that U.S. presidential inaugural ceremonies will be moved indoors. “There is an Arctic blast sweeping the Country. I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform 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,” Trump added. The last time an inauguration was moved indoors because…
(Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden called the Equal Rights Amendment “the law of the land,” on Friday, backing an effort to enshrine the change into the U.S. Constitution even though it long ago failed to secure the approval of enough states to become an amendment. “Today, I affirmed the Equal Rights Amendment to have cleared all the necessary hurdles to be added to the U.S. Constitution now,” Biden said. “The Equal Rights Amendment is the law of the land now. It’s the 28th amendment to the Constitution now.” t was unclear what practical impact Biden’s comments might have. The…
(Reuters) – TikTok warned late Friday it will go dark in the United States on Sunday unless President Joe Biden’s administration provides assurances to companies like Apple and Google that they will not face enforcement actions when a ban takes effect. The statement came hours after the Supreme Court upheld a law banning TikTok in the United States on national security grounds if its Chinese parent company ByteDance does not sell it, putting the popular short-video app on track to go dark in just two days. The court’s 9-0 decision throws the social media platform – and its 170 million…
(Reuters) – Four people were killed early on Saturday in the centre of Kyiv in a night-time Russian attack, said Timur Tkachenko, head of the Ukrainian capital’s military administration. Tkachenko posted on the Telegram messaging app that the deaths had occurred in the city’s Shevchenkivskyi district. He said falling debris had also hit the Holosiivskyi district on the west bank of the Dnipro River that runs through the capital and in the Desnyanskyi district on the opposite bank. Public broadcaster Suspilne posted on Telegram pictures of emergency crews working amid piles of shattered glass. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said air…
(Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping said Beijing is ready to work with Hanoi to build a community with a shared future of strategic significance, China’s official Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday. The remark came in a congratulatory message by Xi to Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party chief To Lam and President Luong Cuong to mark the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries. China’s concept of building a “community with a shared future” is extended to countries with which it desires to build a long term relationship based on strong alignment of goals, interests and even ideology.…
(Reuters) – South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol attended a court hearing on Saturday to fight a request by investigators to extend his detention on accusations of insurrection, his lawyer said. Yoon on Wednesday became the country’s first sitting president to be arrested, in a criminal probe related to his short-lived declaration of martial law on Dec. 3. Investigators requested a detention warrant on Friday to extend their custody of Yoon for up to 20 days. He has been refusing to talk to investigators and has been held in Seoul Detention Centre since his arrest. Police were seen breaking…
(Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian deepened military ties between their countries on Friday by signing a 20-year strategic partnership that is likely to worry the West. Under the agreement, Russia and Iran will boost cooperation in a range of areas including their security services, military drills, warship port visits and joint officer training. Neither will allow their territory to be used for any action that threatens the other and will provide no help to an aggressor attacking either nation, according to the text, which also said they would work together to counter military…