Will the United States ban Tiktok? |

The future of Tiktok is at risk in the United States - with a possible ban being considered in Washington. The popular video-sharing app is used by millions of Americans every day - and is owned by a Chinese company. Republicans and Democrats say there's nothing stopping China from using its data to alter algorithms and influence voters in an election year. Critics say that's nonsense and a clear violation of freedom of speech.

After US threatens ban, what could TikTok’s next move be? | DW News

The US is poised to ban TikTok unless the social media app cuts its ties to China. US lawmakers overwhelmingly voted for a bill which forces the Chinese owner to sell the app to an owner from a country other than China or face a total ban.

Why does the US refuse to call for a ceasefire in Gaza?

US political scientist Stephen Walt says Israel has changed over the years, but Biden’s policy is stuck in the past.

The United States’ support for Israel’s war on Gaza makes the country look ineffectual and hypocritical to the rest of the world, according to Harvard University professor Stephen Walt, co-author of The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy.

Walt tells host Steve Clemons that Israel and the US-Israel relationship have changed over the decades, but US President Joe Biden is holding on to a view of Israel formed in the West in the 1970s.

Is the US complicit in the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza? | Inside Story

As Israel continues its assault on Gaza, there is growing concern over humanitarian conditions in the besieged enclave.

Before the Israel-Hamas war, more than 500 aid trucks entered Gaza every day through the Karem Abu Salem crossing with Israel and the Rafah crossing with Egypt.

Those deliveries halted when Israel imposed a complete blockade on October 7 after Hamas carried out attacks on southern Israel.

How a new Christian right is changing US politics - BBC News

 

A new battle of faith is being driven by some pastors and politicians in the United States. Their central message is that the country's conservative Christian way of life is under threat, and American society is moving in the wrong direction.

Denmark, Netherlands to send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine

The Netherlands and Denmark have agreed to supply F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine to boost its counteroffensive against Russia. President Zelenskyy met the Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. The two leaders posed in the cockpit of an F-16. Denmark says it hopes to provide six fighter jets. Earlier in the day, he met with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte who said his country will deliver the aircraft once the conditions are right. It's not clear how many will come from the Netherlands.

From flooding to heatwaves...US lives weather extremes

 

July 2023 was the hottest month on record - and likely Earth's hottest in 120,000 years, according to the European Union and the World Meteorological Organization. Unrelenting storms and heatwaves, combined with off-the-charts ocean temperatures engulfed the United States.

China vs US: Competing interests, conflicting narratives

China and the US say they want to improve communications, but mutual suspicion runs deep. Plus, Kenya’s TV evangelists and their hold over viewers.

The United States-China relationship is a complex one. Beneath the diplomatic niceties lies deep mutual suspicion – two governments fully engaged in a bigger battle of narratives.

Taiwan, US to 'bolster military exchanges' amid tensions with China

 Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-Wen has said Taipei will boost 'military exchanges' with the United States, at a time when tensions with Beijing remain high.

The cooperation with the US has picked up pace especially since the start of the Ukraine War and renewed concerns over the threat of an invasion from China.

A short history of the spy balloon

The US shot down what they believed to be a Chinese spy balloon at the start of February, sparking a global discussion on what the UFO could have been.

 

An endless war: Iran, Israel and the United States (1/2) |

 

Since the Islamic Republic of Iran was founded in 1979, there has been a war between Iran, Israel and the US. The war has never been officially declared, and there has been no real reconciliation.

Germany and US agree to send armored vehicles to Ukraine

Germany and the United States will send armored vehicles to Ukraine, the leaders of the two countries said in a joint statement. The announcement came after a phone call between German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President Joe Biden on Thursday.
 

China Wants You to Have a S**t New Year

 

Tensions rise between EU and US over Inflation Reduction Act

The European Union is adapting its rules in the wake of a new green energy subsidies program introduced by the United States.

Gujarat: The difficult lives of India's salt workers

India is the world’s third largest producer of salt after China and the United States.

More than 70% of this salt is produced in the western state of Gujarat.

But salt farmers in the state continue to work and live in dire conditions.

How NASAMS anti-aircraft missile systems enhance Ukrainian air defense capabilities |

Ukraine is aiming to deploy more advanced weapons in its push-back against Russian forces. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says Ukraine has taken deilvery of a sophisticated air defence system, called NASAMS from the US.

Why are these Americans turning in (some of) their guns?

 

In the United States there are more guns than people. On a recent Saturday morning, hundreds queued up in Houston, Texas, to turn their guns over to police.

More than 800 guns were collected in this effort by local law enforcement to make the city safer - but many who gave up their firearms have many more at home.

Solomon Islands: West fears Chinese foothold in South Pacific | DW News

 

Officials from both China and the Solomon Islands have yet to formally sign a security pact that the islands' South Pacific neighbors, as well as the United States, claim could threaten regional stability.

Coronavirus: Are parasitic worms responsible for low fatality rates in Africa?

Africa has recorded a little over 1.4 million cases of coronavirus. That's less than a quarter the figure for the United States alone. Almost half of the continent's confirmed cases were in South Africa, but even there, the death rate is surprisingly low. People may have a better chance of surviving COVID-19 if they have parasitic worms.

Chronicles of a Pandemic

 

Did errors and delays at the World Health Organization make the global spread of the coronavirus inevitable?

When, on March 11, 2020, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, formally announced that the pathogen known as COVID-19 had developed into a pandemic, it came as little surprise to anyone. By then, from its origins in Wuhan, China, the coronavirus had been spreading internationally for at least two months – already infecting 118,000 people in 114 countries and alarming many more.