Source: BBC
Security & Justice
Southern Lebanon Endures Massive Damage: 40,000 Homes Leveled Across 37 Towns
Israeli forces have systematically destroyed entire neighborhoods in southern Lebanon, leveling more than 37 towns and wiping out over 40,000 residential units, according to Lebanon's National News Agency.
Tuesday, November 5, 2024
Gaps in Coastal Radar Enabled Israeli Raid in Batroun, Army Commander Says
Lebanon’s army chief, General Joseph Aoun, detailed to Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati how Israeli forces likely exploited gaps in the country's coastal radar system during the recent raid carried out in Batroun. The briefing comes as Lebanese officials seek answers on how Israel’s elite Shayetet 13 unit carried out the landing undetected.
Monday, November 4, 2024
Opinion
The Emptying of Baalbek Is a Moment to Take Stock
“Large numbers of people continue to flee their homes every day, as Israel’s military operations in Lebanon have been going on unabated.” These disturbing words could be from almost any news report about Israel’s invasion of its northern neighbour over the past month. However, they can be found in a report by the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre issued on July 27, 2006.
Saturday, November 2, 2024
A Future Without Hezbollah
At the end of September, when Israel’s campaign to destroy Hezbollah was reaching its height, I met one of the group’s supporters in a seaside café in western Beirut. He was a middle-aged man with a thin white beard and the spent look of someone who had not slept for days. He was an academic of sorts, not a fighter, but his ties to Hezbollah were deep and long-standing.
Thursday, October 31, 2024
Sports
Tottenham Forward Son Heung-min Crowned Asia’s International Player of the Year
Tottenham forward Son Heung-min was crowned as Asia’s International Player of the Year for the fourth time by the Asian Football Confederation at its annual awards ceremony Tuesday.
Wednesday, October 30, 2024
Real Madrid Launch Investigation into Racist Insults After El Clasico Defeat
Real Madrid has launched an investigation into racist insults directed at players during Saturday’s 4-0 home loss to Barcelona in LaLiga, it said on Sunday.
Monday, October 28, 2024
Wednesday 13 March 2024 16:56:19
China Says Tiktok Ban Would 'Come Back To Bite' The US
China has warned that a proposed ban on TikTok would "come back to bite" the US, ahead of a congressional vote that could lead to the app being banned.
The bill in the House of Representatives would force the Chinese-owned app to sever ties with China or become unavailable in the US.
US officials have long expressed concern about TikTok, citing potential national security risks.
TikTok's owners have repeatedly rejected that it poses any threat.
Ahead of Wednesday's vote, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin accused the US of "suppressing TikTok" despite the fact that it "never found evidence that TikTok threatens national security."
"This kind of bullying behaviour that cannot win in fair competition disrupts companies' normal business activity, damages the confidence of international investors in the investment environment, and damages the normal international economic and trade order," Mr Wang added.
"In the end, this will inevitably come back to bite the United States itself."
The move was similarly pilloried by Chinese media, with several newspapers featuring satirical cartoons ridiculing the US effort to ban the app.
As is the case with other social media platforms, TikTok is banned in China. Users in the country use a similar app, Duoyin, which is only available in China and subject to monitoring and censorship by the government.
The House vote on the bill - officially known as the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act - is expected to take place at 10am ET (1400 GMT).
It is widely expected to pass, with bipartisan support from both sides of the political spectrum.
The bill would then head across Capitol Hill to the Senate, where it is unclear if it has enough support to pass.
If it does, the White House has said that President Joe Biden will sign it into law.
TikTok is owned by a Beijing-based, Cayman Islands-registered firm, Byte Dance.
If the US bill becomes law, ByteDance would be required to sell TikTok within six months or face a ban from US app stores and web hosting platforms.
Last week, TikTok distributed a message to many of its American users, calling on them to call their representatives to prevent the government from stripping "170 million Americans of their Constitutional right to free speech."
This, in turn, prompted a letter from the House China Select Committee telling the company to stop "spreading false claims in its campaign to manipulate and mobilise American citizens on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party".
TikTok has denied it has any links with China's government and said it has restructured the company to keep US data in the US.
Former President Donald Trump unsuccessfully tried to ban the app in 2020.
Mr Trump, who on Tuesday passed the delegate threshold to clinch the Republican nomination to become its presidential candidate, is now against the ban, saying it would unfairly benefit Facebook.
