TikTok says it will go dark Sunday in US without assurance from Biden

TikTok was is due to go dark on Sunday. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Updated 18 January 2025
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TikTok says it will go dark Sunday in US without assurance from Biden

WASHINGTON: 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 it 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 American users — into limbo, and its fate in the hands of Donald Trump, who has vowed to rescue TikTok after returning to the presidency on Monday.
“Unless the Biden Administration immediately provides a definitive statement to satisfy the most critical service providers assuring non-enforcement, unfortunately TikTok will be forced to go dark on January 19,” the company said.
The White House declined to comment.
Apple, Alphabet’s Google, Oracle and others could face massive fines if they continue to provide services to TikTok after the ban takes effect.
The law was passed by an overwhelming bipartisan majority in Congress last year and signed by Biden, though a growing chorus of lawmakers who voted for it are now seeking to keep TikTok operating in the United States.
TikTok, ByteDance and some of the app’s users challenged the law, but the Supreme Court decided that it did not violate the US Constitution’s First Amendment protection against government abridgment of free speech as they had argued.
ByteDance has done little to divest of TikTok by the Sunday deadline set under the law. But the app’s shutdown might be brief. Trump, who in 2020 had tried to ban TikTok, has said he plans to take action to save the app.
“My decision on TikTok will be made in the not too distant future, but I must have time to review the situation. Stay tuned!” Trump said in a social media post.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew plans to attend Trump’s second inauguration on Monday in Washington.
Trump said he and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed TikTok in a phone call on Friday.

‘Foreign adversary control’
For years TikTok’s Chinese ownership has raised concerns among US leaders, and the TikTok fight has unfolded at a time of rising trade tensions between the world’s two biggest economies.
Lawmakers and Biden’s administration have said China could use TikTok to amass data on millions of Americans for harassment, recruitment and espionage.
“TikTok’s scale and susceptibility to foreign adversary control, together with the vast swaths of sensitive data the platform collects, justify differential treatment to address the government’s national security concerns,” the Supreme Court said in the unsigned opinion.
TikTok has become one of the most prominent social media platforms in the US, particularly among young people who use it for short-form videos, including many who use it as a platform for small businesses.
Some users reacted with shock that the ban could actually happen.
“Oh my god, I’m speechless,” said Lourd Asprec, 21, of Houston, who has amassed 16.3 million followers on TikTok and makes an estimated $80,000 a year from the platform. “I don’t even care about China stealing my data. They can take all my data from me. Like, if anything, I’ll go to China myself and give them my data.”
The company’s powerful algorithm, its main asset, feeds individual users short videos tailored to their liking. The platform presents a vast collection of user-submitted videos, that can be viewed with a smart phone app or on the Internet.
As the Jan. 19 deadline approached, millions of users jumped to other Chinese-owned apps like RedNote, finding they had to decipher its all-Mandarin platform to kickstart their feeds.
“China is adapting in real-time to the ruling,” said Craig Singleton, a China expert at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank, which submitted a brief in the case against TikTok. “Beijing isn’t just building apps; it’s building a discourse power ecosystem to shape global narratives and influence societies.”
Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement the ruling affirmed that the law protects US national security.
“Authoritarian regimes should not have unfettered access to millions of Americans’ sensitive data,” Garland added.

What happens next
The Biden administration has emphasized that TikTok could continue operating if it is freed from China’s control. The White House said on Friday that Biden will not take any action to save TikTok.
Biden has not formally invoked a 90-day delay in the deadline as allowed by the law.
“This decision’s going to be made by the next president anyway,” Biden told reporters.
The law bars providing certain services to TikTok and other foreign adversary-controlled apps including by offering it through app stores such as Apple and Google.
Google declined to comment on Friday. Apple and Oracle did not respond to requests for comment.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said action to implement the law “must fall to the next administration” while the Justice Department said “implementing and ensuring compliance with the law after it goes into effect on January 19 — will be a process that plays out over time.”
TikTok said those statements “have failed to provide the necessary clarity and assurance to the service providers that are integral to maintaining TikTok’s availability to over 170 million Americans.”
A viable buyer could still emerge, or Trump could invoke a law called the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, stating that keeping TikTok is beneficial for national security.
Only one notable bidder has emerged so far — Frank McCourt, former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team, who said he believes TikTok is worth about $20 billion without its algorithm.
“Beijing needs TikTok more than Washington does,” said Michael Sobolik, a senior fellow and expert in US-China relations at the Hudson Institute think tank.
“With that leverage, Trump has a better chance of getting what he wants: TikTok’s continued operation in America without any national security threats.”


Afghan national confesses to Munich car ramming that injured 36, prosecutor says

Updated 57 min 56 sec ago
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Afghan national confesses to Munich car ramming that injured 36, prosecutor says

  • At least 36 people including a child were hurt on Thursday

MUNICH: An Afghan national has admitted to purposefully driving into a crowd in the German city of Munich and authorities have determined an Islamist motive for the crime, a prosecutor said on Friday.
At least 36 people including a child were hurt on Thursday when the 24-year-old man plowed into demonstrators gathered in the city center, putting security back in focus before next week’s federal election.
“He has admitted that he deliberately drove into the participants of the demonstration,” prosecutor Gabriele Tilmann told a press conference.
“I’m very cautious about making hasty judgments, but based on everything we know at the moment, I would venture to speak of an Islamist motivation for the crime,” she added.
The suspected attack came hours before international leaders including US Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in the southern German city for the Munich Security Conference.
Tilmann said there was no evidence to suggest the suspect, identified as Farhad Noori, was affiliated with any Islamist or terrorist organizations.
She added that there was no indication of any accomplices, but that investigators were evaluating his communications and items obtained during searches to ascertain whether anyone had prior knowledge of the crime or was involved.
German authorities say the Afghan national arrived in Germany as an unaccompanied minor in 2016, and that he was in Germany legally with a work permit and was therefore not due to be deported. He does not have any prior convictions.
Immigration and security issues have dominated campaigning ahead of the February 23 election, especially after other violent incidents in recent weeks, with polls showing the center-right conservatives leading followed by the far right.


At India’s flagship industry event, entrepreneurs present solutions to fuel energy transition

Updated 19 min 36 sec ago
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At India’s flagship industry event, entrepreneurs present solutions to fuel energy transition

  • Local and international exhibitors display their new technology at India Energy Week 2025 in New Delhi
  • Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister highlights adoption of biofuels, renewables and hydrogen

NEW DELHI: Hundreds of Indian entrepreneurs and innovators have presented their inventions and new solutions at India Energy Week 2025 in New Delhi, displaying their efforts to contribute to the country’s energy transition programs.

Tens of thousands of visitors, officials and delegates took part in the Indian government’s flagship annual energy event, which ran at the Yashobhoomi convention from Tuesday through Friday, featuring exhibitions by 700 local and international industry players.

Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, who opened India Energy Week, highlighted the country’s vision of transformation and decarbonization, as the world’s third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases seeks to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2070

“What we are seeing today is a recalibration of strategy — prioritizing near-term profitability while keeping long-term transition efforts in play ... the primary focus remains on increasing the adoption of biofuels, renewables and hydrogen,” he told the event’s participants.

“The transition isn’t about eliminating hydrocarbons overnight but leveraging them strategically while scaling renewables to mitigate emissions ... Even when renewables become the dominant energy sources, oil and gas will continue to play a pivotal role — not just in power generation but in stabilizing grids, industrial hydrogen and energy storage innovations.”

India aims to generate 500 GW of electricity from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030, under its nationally determined contributions to the Paris Agreement.

The solar power sector is the dominant contributor to the country’s renewable energy growth, accounting for 47 percent of the total installed renewable energy capacity. It has observed a 3,450 percent increase in capacity over the past decade, rising from 2.82 GW in 2014 to 100 GW in January 2025, according to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

The country is also heavily investing in green hydrogen — and emerging future alternatives to fossil fuels. Developing technologies to produce it is part of India’s flagship initiatives.

Also known as renewable hydrogen, green hydrogen can be used as fuel and is produced from the electrolysis of water. The process does not generate polluting carbon emissions but is currently very expensive.

India’s National Green Hydrogen Mission launched in 2023 aims to reduce production costs and increase the scale of the industry by 2030, as it targets the production of 5 million tons of green hydrogen generating 125 GW of power a year.

Renewable energy growth is fueled by local production and inventions, with India’s private sector being a top contributor to the transition process.

“There is a green hydrogen mission from the government of India to produce 5 million metric tons of green hydrogen by 2030 ... there are incentive programs run by the government,” said Rohish Kalvit, vice president of Pune-based h2e Power Systems, one of India Energy Week’s exhibitors, told Arab News.

His company is manufacturing electrolyzer stacks and fuel cell stacks, which are critical components in the production and use of hydrogen energy,

“We are helping in the national green hydrogen mission in terms of manufacturing that particular molecule ... as well as doing a lot of R&D (research and development) activities on the material part and the technology part (to) produce cheap and affordable hydrogen in the near future,” Kalvit said.

“India Energy Week is a platform which is being set up by the government of India to bring all the OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), vendors, suppliers as well as offtakers to come and understand at what level each company is working in the hydrogen sector ... people are coming with open minds in order to join hands together at multiple levels to grow in this particular business.”

Raj Process Equipments and Systems, one of the leading process equipment manufacturers in India, was presenting its biogas-based solutions.

“The future is completely about biogas, compressed natural gas. We will be replacing petrol and diesel with this CBG — compressed Biogas ... it is the same as CNG (compressed natural gas), but in case of compressed biogas we get the gas from waste. From municipal waste we make biogas, we upgrade it we make it equivalent to CNG and this we use for vehicles,” said Binu Panickar, the company’s vice president.

“Biogas will be the future. It will completely replace the oil, petrol, diesel. People will completely rely on this technology.”

For him, India Energy Week was like “Maha Kumbh Mela” of the country’s energy sector — a reference to the country’s biggest religious pilgrimage, which draws millions of worshippers.

“Various technology providers are taking participating in it and we have seen a good platform to show the people what we can provide. We can see good number of visitors coming. They are getting knowledge from this event.”


Pope Francis being hospitalized for medical tests and to treat bronchitis, Vatican says

Updated 14 February 2025
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Pope Francis being hospitalized for medical tests and to treat bronchitis, Vatican says

  • Francis was diagnosed with bronchitis last Thursday
  • Ever since his diagnosis, Francis has appeared bloated

ROME: Pope Francis is being hospitalized to treat his bronchitis and undergo some necessary diagnostic tests, the Vatican said Friday in confirming the latest threat to the 88-year-old’s pontiff’s health.
Francis was diagnosed with bronchitis last Thursday, but he has continued to hold daily audiences in his Vatican hotel suite and preside over general audiences and even presided at an outdoor Mass last Sunday. He has however handed off his speeches for an aide to read aloud, saying he was having trouble breathing.
Francis, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, has long battled health problems, especially long bouts of acute bronchitis in winter. He uses a wheelchair, walker or cane when moving around his apartment and recently fell twice, hurting his arm and chin.
Ever since his diagnosis, Francis has appeared bloated, an indication the medication he was taking to treat the lung infection was making him retain water.
Francis was being hospitalized at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, where he was last hospitalized in June 2023 to have surgery to remove intestinal scar tissue and repair a hernia in the abdominal wall. A few months before that, he spent three days in the hospital to receive intravenous antibiotics for a respiratory infection.
A Vatican statement said Francis would be admitted at the end of his Friday audiences. In addition to regular Vatican officials, the pope met Friday morning with the Slovak prime minister, Robert Fico and the head of CNN, Mark Thompson.
“This morning, at the end of the audiences, Pope Francis will be admitted to the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic for some necessary diagnostic tests and to continue in a hospital setting treatment for bronchitis that is still ongoing,” the statement said.


India, US agree to resolve trade and tariff rows after Trump-Modi talks

Updated 14 February 2025
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India, US agree to resolve trade and tariff rows after Trump-Modi talks

  • Initial segments of trade deal to be negotiated by fall 2025
  • India to raise US energy purchases to $25 billion from $15 billion

WASHINGTON: India and the US agreed on Thursday to start talks to clinch an early trade deal and resolve their standoff over tariffs as New Delhi promised to buy more US oil, gas and military equipment and fight illegal immigration.
The series of agreements emerged after talks between US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House, just hours after Trump railed against the climate for US businesses in India and unveiled a roadmap for reciprocal tariffs on countries that put duties on US imports.
“Prime Minister Modi recently announced the reductions to India’s unfair, very strong tariffs that limit us access to the Indian market, very strongly,” Trump said. “And really it’s a big problem I must say.”
The deal to resolve trade concerns could be done within the next seven months, said India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.
A joint statement after the meeting said Washington welcomed New Delhi’s recent steps to lower tariffs on select US products and increase market access to US farm products, while seeking to negotiate the initial segments of a trade deal by the fall of 2025.
While both leaders “had their perspectives” on tariffs, “what is more remarkable...is the fact that we have a way forward on this issue,” Misri said.
Some of the leaders’ agreements are aspirational: India wants to increase by “billions of dollars” its purchases of US defense equipment and may make Washington the “number one supplier” of oil and gas, Trump said at a joint press conference with Modi.
And Delhi wants to double trade with Washington by 2030, Modi said. Long-planned cooperation on nuclear energy, also discussed by the leaders, faces ongoing legal challenges.
“We’re also paving the way to ultimately provide India with the F-35 stealth fighters,” said Trump.
Misri, the Indian official, later said the F-35 deal was a proposal at this point, with no formal process underway. The White House did not respond to a request for comment on any deal.

WHAT TRUMP WANTS

Although Trump had a warm relationship with Modi in his first term, he again said on Thursday that India’s tariffs were “very high” and promised to match them, even after his earlier levies on steel and aluminum hit metal-producing India particularly hard.
“We are being reciprocal with India,” Trump said during the press conference. “Whatever India charges, we charge them.”
Modi vowed to protect India’s interests.
“One thing that I deeply appreciate, and I learn from President Trump, is that he keeps the national interest supreme,” Modi said. “Like him, I also keep the national interest of India at the top of everything else.”
The two leaders praised each other and agreed to deepen security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, a thinly veiled reference to competition with China, as well as to start joint production on technologies like artificial intelligence.
Asked before the meeting about the steps India was taking, one source described it as a “gift” for Trump designed to lower trade tensions. A Trump aide said that the president sees defense and energy sales to India lowering the US trade deficit.
India’s energy purchases from the US could go up to $25 billion in the near future from $15 billion last year, India’s Misri said, adding that this could contribute to reducing the trade deficit.
Tariffs will continue to dominate the two countries’ relationship, said Richard Rossow, head of the India program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank.
“It’s going to be a boxing match,” he said. “India is willing to take a few hits, but there’s a limit.”
The US has a $45.6 billion trade deficit with India. Overall, the US trade-weighted average tariff rate has been about 2.2 percent, according to World Trade Organization data, compared with India’s 12 percent.

FIGHT ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

Trump wants more help from India on unauthorized immigration. India is a major source of immigrants to the United States, including a large number in the tech industry on work visas and others in the US illegally.
The joint statement said the two countries agreed to aggressively address illegal immigration and human trafficking by strengthening law enforcement cooperation.
India may prove critical to Trump’s strategy to thwart China, which many in his administration see as the top US rival. India is wary of neighboring China’s military buildup and competes for many of the same markets.
Modi also worries that Trump could cut a deal with China that excludes India, according to Mukesh Aghi, president of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum lobbying group.
India has continued its ties with Russia as it carries out its war with Ukraine. India has remained a major consumer of Russian energy, for instance, while the West has worked to cut its own consumption since the war started.
“The world had this thinking that India somehow is a neutral country in this whole process,” said Modi. “But this is not true. India has a side, and that side is of peace.”


Judge orders US to restore funds for foreign aid programs

Updated 14 February 2025
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Judge orders US to restore funds for foreign aid programs

  • Order blocks Trump administration from canceling foreign aid contracts, awards in place before Trump took office
  • Trump has attempted to dismantle government agencies and ordered them to prepare for wide-ranging job cuts

WASHINGTON: A federal judge ordered the administration of US President Donald Trump to restore funding for hundreds of foreign aid contractors who say they have been devastated by his 90-day blanket freeze, Politico reported late on Thursday.
The order blocks the Trump administration from canceling foreign aid contracts and awards that were in place before Trump took office on January 20.
The stated purpose in suspending of all foreign aid was to provide the opportunity to review programs for their efficiency and consistency with priorities, US District Judge Amir Ali wrote in a filing in the US District Court for the District of Columbia.
He added: “At least to date, defendants have not offered any explanation for why a blanket suspension of all congressionally appropriated foreign aid, which set off a shockwave and upended reliance interests for thousands of agreements with businesses, nonprofits, and organizations around the country, was a rational precursor to reviewing programs.”
Trump has attempted to dismantle government agencies and ordered them to prepare for wide-ranging job cuts, and several have already begun to lay off recent hires who lack full job security.
The Republican has also embarked on a massive government makeover, firing and sidelining hundreds of civil servants and top officials at agencies in his first steps toward downsizing the bureaucracy and installing more loyalists.