WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden won’t enforce a ban on the social media app TikTok that is set to take effect a day before he leaves office on Monday, a US official said Thursday, leaving its fate in the hands of President-elect Donald Trump.
Congress last year, in a law signed by Biden, required that TikTok’s China-based parent company ByteDance divest the company by Jan. 19, a day before the presidential inauguration. The official said the outgoing administration was leaving the implementation of the law — and the potential enforcement of the ban — to Trump.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss internal Biden administration thinking.
Trump, who once called to ban the app, has since pledged to keep it available in the US, though his transition team has not said how they intend to accomplish that.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is expected to attend Trump’s inauguration and be granted a prime seating location on the dais as the president-elect’s national security adviser signals that the incoming administration may take steps to “keep TikTok from going dark.”
Incoming national security adviser Mike Waltz on Thursday told Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends” that the federal law that could ban TikTok by Sunday also “allows for an extension as long as a viable deal is on the table.”
The push to save TikTok, much like the move to ban it in the US, has crossed partisan lines. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said he spoke with Biden on Thursday to advocate for extending the deadline to ban TikTok.
“It’s clear that more time is needed to find an American buyer and not disrupt the lives and livelihoods of millions of Americans, of so many influencers who have built up a good network of followers,” Schumer said Thursday on the Senate floor.
Democrats had tried on Wednesday to pass legislation that would have extended the deadline, but Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas blocked it. Cotton, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said that TikTok has had ample time to find a buyer.
“TikTok is a Chinese Communist spy app that addicts our kids, harvests their data, targets them with harmful and manipulative content, and spreads communist propaganda,” Cotton said.
TikTok CEO’s is expected to be seated on the dais for the inauguration along with tech billionaires Elon Musk, who is CEO of SpaceX, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, according to two people with the matter. The people spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal planning.
Last week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a legal challenge to the statute brought by TikTok, its China-based parent company ByteDance, and users of the app. The Justices seemed likely to uphold the law, which requires ByteDance to divest TikTok on national security grounds or face a ban in one of its biggest markets.
“If the Supreme Court comes out with a ruling in favor of the law, President Trump has been very clear: Number one, TikTok is a great platform that many Americans use and has been great for his campaign and getting his message out. But number two, he’s going to protect their data,” Waltz said on Wednesday.
“He’s a deal maker. I don’t want to get ahead of our executive orders, but we’re going to create this space to put that deal in place,” he added.
Separately on Wednesday, Pam Bondi, Trump’s pick for attorney general, dodged a question during a Senate hearing on whether she’d uphold a TikTok ban.
Trump has reversed his position on the popular app, having tried to ban it during his first term in office over national security concerns. He joined TikTok during his 2024 presidential campaign and his team used it to connect with younger voters, especially male voters, by pushing content that was often macho and aimed at going viral. He pledged to “save TikTok” during the campaign and has credited the platform with helping him win more youth votes.
Biden won’t enforce TikTok ban, official says, leaving fate of app to Trump
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Biden won’t enforce TikTok ban, official says, leaving fate of app to Trump
- A law signed by Biden last year required that TikTok’s China-based parent company ByteDance divest the company by Jan. 19
- Incoming President Donald Trump, who once called to ban the app, has since pledged to keep it available in the US
Boris Johson says Gaza cannot be ruled by a government that ‘wants to exterminate Israel’
- Johnson says not for him to try to analyze what Trump was saying about Gaza
- The ex-PM said that it didn’t seem to him that since 2005 the lives of Gazans had “notably improved under the rule of Hamas”
DUBAI: Britain’s former prime minister, Boris Johnson, said on Wednesday that he did not believe the lives of the people of Gaza had “notably improved under the rule of Hamas” since 2005.
“I think that the problem in Gaza is that you cannot go on with a situation in which you have a Gaza ruled by a government that wants to exterminate Israel,” Johnson told a crowded auditorium during a World Governments Summit session that was conducted by Richard Quest, CNN’s correspondent and anchor.
When asked by Quest why he thought that he was invited to Trump’s inauguration ceremony, Johnson replied: “Well I think because… look, I am sympathetic to many of the things that I think Donald Trump is trying to do. And I think that the world is, on the whole, better when America is strong and providing a strong leadership, and I think that is certainly what Trump is capable of providing.”
“Is he providing it at the moment?” asked Quest as he interrupted Johnson.
“Well, you certainly couldn’t say he wasn’t delivering action and event, and there are plenty of things going on … whether I agree with absolutely everything that he’s doing is another matter.”
Quest then steered the conversation to the topic of Gaza.
“What’s happened and what’s been happening in Gaza is an absolute tragedy,” Johnson said. “It needs to end, and the suffering of the people of Gaza needs to end, and the hostages need to come back …” he said, maintaining that the conditions in which the hostages were being held were “horrific.”
He added: “It’s not for me to try to analyze what the president (Trump) is suggesting.”
Johnson mentioned that earlier he was giving a speech in Florida and “I looked at the beach at Mar-a-Lago, and thought that it must be a fantastic place if you want to resettle millions of people from the Middle East … it’s beautiful with lots and lots of space here, but it’s not going to happen because somebody else owns it.
“Gaza is in law owned and occupied by people who have the right to be there, so that is not going to happen,” he said.
When the CNN anchor suggested it was destabilizing to suggest that Gazans move out, Johnson responded: “Well, but what Hamas did frankly was destabilizing … and I think that the problem in Gaza is that you cannot go on with a situation in which you have Gaza ruled by a government that wants to exterminate Israel.”
He reiterated that it was not for him to try to analyze what Trump was saying, but he thought that the US president was inviting people to ask: “Well, look, this place mainly does have great potential and it does have wonderful location… What is it? What is this failure? And it is a failure of governance.”
The tragedy of Gaza in Johnson’s view was, “there are many tragedies,” but one of them was that “to put it mildly, it is not a model of sensible municipal government, is it?”
“I think it is reasonable to point that out, and to ask people to speculate, and to ask people in this part of the world to speculate about how it could be improved and how collectively working together, life for people in Gaza could be improved,” Johnson said.
The ex-PM said that it didn’t seem to him that since 2005 the lives of Gazans had “notably improved under the rule of Hamas.”
Of the Ukraine-Russia conflict, Johnson said: “To say that Ukraine might be Russian again, you might as well say that the US could return to the British empire … it is just not going to happen. I don’t think so anyway.
“I think so far what has happened with the new administration in Washington has been encouraging. There hasn’t been an instant capitulation to Putin, which I think would have been a disaster.”
Any kind of solution to the situation in Ukraine that involved Putin keeping some territory, freezing the conflict without giving the Ukrainians the security guarantees they needed, represented, “I’m afraid a success for Putin … I don’t think that Donald Trump is going to want that. I think actually he is being very clever, and he is thinking very hard about how to deliver the right result for the West, America and for himself.”
Indonesia, Turkiye agree to set up drone factory during Erdogan’s visit
- Indonesian, Turkish leaders agree to speed up CEPA talks, increase trade to $10 billion
- Drone factory joint venture deal signed by Turkiye’s Baykar and Indonesia’s Republikorp
JAKARTA: Indonesian and Turkish defense companies agreed on Wednesday to set up a jointly operated drone factory, as the two countries signed a series of deals during Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to the Southeast Asian nation.
Erdogan arrived in Indonesia on Tuesday to co-chair with his Indonesian counterpart, Prabowo Subianto, the first meeting of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council — a bilateral mechanism for state-level negotiations.
After the council meeting, the two leaders witnessed the signing of a joint venture deal between Turkish drone maker Baykar and Indonesian defense firm Republikorp at the Bogor Palace, West Java.
“Indonesia and Turkiye will also strengthen our defense and security cooperation, including education and training for our armed forces, intelligence partnership and counter-terrorism efforts. We also agreed to increase our cooperation and joint production in the defense industry,” Prabowo said during a joint press conference.
“Our meeting was active and productive, we have the same commitment to strengthen our partnership.”
The agreement to set up a drone factory in Indonesia was signed by Baykar CEO Haluk Bayraktar and Republikorp Chairman Norman Joesoef. Details of the deal were not immediately available.
Baykar drones, particularly unmanned aerial combat vehicle Bayraktar TB2, gained global prominence after they were used by Ukraine’s military against Russian forces following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Indonesia and Turkiye — both members of the Group of 20 biggest economies — also agreed to speed up negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, or CEPA, to boost bilateral trade, worth about $2.4 billion in 2024.
They signed nine agreements, which besides defense, covered trade, higher education, health care and agriculture.
“We considered it important to enhance our cooperation across various fields,” Erdogan said.
“We will work toward increasing our annual bilateral trade to $10 billion with balanced values. We are committed to do all things necessary to realize this commitment.”
UK Muslim, Jewish leaders present reconciliation accord to King Charles after summit
- Chief rabbi: Agreement represents ‘bold first step towards rebuilding meaningful trust’
LONDON: Senior Muslim and Jewish leaders from Britain held a secret summit that resulted in the signing of a historic reconciliation accord that was presented to King Charles III, The Times reported.
The summit was hosted last month at the 17th-century Drumlanrig Castle in Scotland and involved 11 religious leaders.
The resulting agreement, dubbed the Drumlanrig Accord, was presented to the king on Tuesday.
He hailed the “marvellous exercise” and said the “least he could do” was host the religious leaders.
The summit, held at the invitation of the duke of Buccleuch, aimed to repair ties between the UK’s Muslim and Jewish communities in the wake of the Gaza war.
“The leaders were honoured to be able to present a copy of the accord to his majesty the king at Buckingham Palace, underscoring its profound national and societal significance,” the group of faith leaders said.
“A new framework for engagement … built on mutual respect, dialogue and practical collaboration” between British Muslims and Jews was laid out in the accord. It highlights the shared spiritual heritage of the two faiths.
Both communities committed to working together on “practical initiatives that support the most vulnerable.”
Observers hope that the accord will lead to the establishment of a joint body that could monitor Islamophobic and antisemitic incidents in Britain.
The idea for the summit was put forward by the chief imam of the Scottish Ahlul Bayt Society, Sayed Razawi, who had been working for a year to bring Muslim and Jewish figures together for dinners and meetings.
Ephraim Mirvis, chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, also played a key role.
Sunni and Shiite sects of Islam were represented. Civil servants and community groups also attended.
Razawi said: “Initially people were slightly nervous as they were coming in and saw this huge castle that takes your breath away, but within an hour and a half people were best of friends, joking, talking about each other’s families, discussing issues and problems.”
After eight hours of discussion, the faith leaders agreed upon the accord. They met again on Tuesday at Spencer House in London to sign the document, before walking together to Buckingham Palace to present it to the king.
Mirvis said the accord represents “a bold first step towards rebuilding a meaningful trust between Muslim and Jewish communities over the long term.
“They do not gloss over our differences; they acknowledge them. But they also send out a powerful message that in times of division, when it is far easier to retreat into fear and suspicion, we are prepared to take the more challenging path to reconciliation.”
Gaza family gets UK residency through Ukraine visa program
- Home Office rejection of family’s claim breached their human rights: Judge
- They faced ‘dire situation’ amid ‘daily threats to their lives from Israeli military attacks’
London: A Palestinian family fleeing Gaza have been granted the right to live in Britain through a scheme for Ukrainian refugees.
The family of six refugees were granted anonymity and permitted to join their brother in the UK following the ruling.
It is believed to be the first time refugees from outside Ukraine have used the Ukraine Family Scheme to receive residency rights.
An original rejection of the family’s claim by the Home Office breached their human rights, an immigration judge, Hugo Norton-Taylor, ruled.
More than 70,000 visas were granted to Ukrainians and their family members through the scheme, which launched in March 2022 and closed in February last year.
The Palestinian family applied through the scheme in January 2024, a month before it closed, arguing that their situation was “compelling” enough to justify an exception to the rules.
The mother, father and four children aged 7, 8, 17 and 19 were living in a Gaza refugee camp.
They faced “daily threats to their lives from Israeli military attacks” after an airstrike destroyed their home, the judge said. The family’s sponsor arrived in Britain in 2007 and is now a citizen.
Documents show that Norton-Taylor found that they were living in a “dire situation.” The family were exposed to a humanitarian crisis resulting from “the Israeli government’s indiscriminate attempts to eliminate Hamas.”
An initial rejection of their claim by a Home Office tribunal argued that instituting a resettlement scheme for Palestinians was not the body’s responsibility.
But Norton-Taylor found that the rejection interfered with their right to a family life. He highlighted the “incredibly dangerous” situation for Palestinians in Gaza and warned of the family’s “high risk of death.”
A Home Office spokesperson said the department had contested the claim “rigorously,” adding: “The latter court ruled against us on the narrow facts of this specific case.
“Nevertheless, we are clear that there is no resettlement route from Gaza, and we will continue to contest any future claims that do not meet our rules.”
Bangladesh cuts airfare for Saudi-bound migrant workers
- Under the new scheme, base fares for flights to the Kingdom are set at $360
- Workers must be registered with Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training
DHAKA: The Bangladeshi government has introduced a special discounted airfare to reduce migration costs for expat workers traveling to Saudi Arabia and other foreign employment destinations, the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism said on Wednesday.
The decision was issued by the ministry in a circular on Tuesday, directing all airlines and travel agencies operating in the country to provide special fares for Bangladeshis traveling on work visas.
“It’s an inter-ministerial coordinated decision aimed at reducing the burden on our remittance earners. We have instructed all airlines operating in Bangladesh to adhere to these base fare guidelines,” said Abu Naser Khan, additional secretary at the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism.
“Our migrants have been burdened by the high cost of airfare. Our chief adviser, Prof. Muhammad Yunus, is deeply sympathetic to the plight of migrant workers, and this base fare reduction has been implemented following his guidance and approval.”
The national flag carrier, Biman Bangladesh Airlines, has already approved the reduced fare scheme, while other carriers need to take measures by the end of next week to decrease ticket prices.
“A task force has been formed to monitor the situation on the ground. Led by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, this task force will include representatives from all relevant stakeholders,” Khan said.
“Bangladeshi migrants who are traveling as new recruits to any country with a smart card issued by the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training are eligible for this opportunity.”
The decision is to prevent travel agencies from manipulating ticket prices.
“There was a trend here in Bangladesh to book the air tickets much earlier without the details of the passengers. This practice creates a crisis in the availability of the tickets, forcing the migrants to pay a high fare,” said Afsia Jannat Saleh, secretary general of the Association of Travel Agents of Bangladesh.
“This system was called group booking. The agents booked tickets at the rate of $300-400, but the migrants needed to pay up to $900 for a one-way ticket.”
Most Bangladeshi expat workers look for opportunities in Saudi Arabia, where about 3 million of them live and work. They are the largest expat group in the Kingdom and the largest Bangladeshi community outside Bangladesh.
“At the moment, most of our migrants are traveling to Saudi Arabia ... Since September last, the number of migrants travel has just doubled. Earlier, it was around 44,000 per month, and now it stands around 84,000,” Saleh told Arab News.
“In the case of traveling to Saudi Arabia, now migrants will be able to save around $100.”
Under the new airfare structure, base fares — excluding taxes — are set at $360 for flights on the Dhaka-Jeddah, Dhaka-Madinah and Dhaka-Riyadh routes. Earlier, the cheapest price ranged between $430 and $480.
