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At least 80 people killed in northeast Colombia as ELN peace talks fail

Around The Globe - Sun, 01/19/2025 - 20:00
Attacks by rebel ELN fighters in the Catatumbo region have forced thousands of people to flee the area.

School forced to close after 'ransomware attack'

Education - Sun, 01/19/2025 - 19:22
The school will be closed on 20 and 21 January while the data breach is investigated.

First aid trucks enter Gaza on Day 1 of ceasefire deal

Around The Globe - Sun, 01/19/2025 - 19:12
The first trucks carrying humanitarian aid have entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing as part of the ceasefire deal.

What does the resilience of Gaza’s people tell the world?

Around The Globe - Sun, 01/19/2025 - 19:10
Ceasefire comes after 15 months of Israel's devastating war on the Palestinian territory.

Man Utd suffer 3-1 loss to Brighton as Onana error compounds misery

Around The Globe - Sun, 01/19/2025 - 18:17
Andre Onana's howler seals United's home loss as struggling Spurs endure another Premier League defeat at Everton.

Hamas releases first three Israeli captives as Gaza ceasefire takes hold

Around The Globe - Sun, 01/19/2025 - 17:31
The first phase of the agreement is supposed to last 42 days and see the release of more captives and prisoners.

One more broken promise to close Guantanamo

Around The Globe - Sun, 01/19/2025 - 17:11
US President Biden could have closed Guantanamo, but like his predecessors, opted to maintain this symbol of injustice.

Chaotic scenes as Hamas releases Israeli captives to ICRC in Gaza

Around The Globe - Sun, 01/19/2025 - 17:00
Watch as Al Jazeera live broadcast the tense moment the armed wing of Hamas handed over three Israeli female captives.

Syrian minister rejects Kurdish-led SDF’s proposal for own military bloc

Around The Globe - Sun, 01/19/2025 - 16:39
Integrating Syria's myriad armed groups into unified command structure is a priority of the new government.

TikTok: it's restoring service to US users based on Trump's promised executive order 

Technology - Sun, 01/19/2025 - 16:24
Washington — TikTok said Sunday it was restoring service to users in the United States after the popular video-sharing platform went dark in response to a federal ban that President-elect Donald Trump said he would try to pause by executive order on his first day in office.  Trump said he planned to issue the order to give TikTok’s China-based parent company more time to find an approved buyer before the popular video-sharing platform is subject to a permanent U.S. ban. He announced the move on his Truth Social account as millions of U.S. TikTok users awoke to discover they could no longer access the TikTok app or platform.  Google and Apple removed the app from their digital stores to comply with the law, which required them to do so if TikTok parent company ByteDance didn’t sell its U.S. operation by Sunday. The law, which passed with wide bipartisan support in April, allowed for steep fines for non-compliance.  The company that runs TikTok said in a post on X that Trump's post had provided “the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans.”  Some users reported soon after TikTok's statement that the app was working again, and TikTok’s website appeared to be functioning for at least some users. Even as TikTok was flickering back on, it remained unavailable for download in Apple and Google’s app stores.  The law that took effect Sunday required ByteDance to cut ties with the platform’s U.S. operations due to national security concerns posed by the app’s Chinese roots. However, the statute gave the sitting president authority to grant a 90-day extension if a viable sale is under way.  Although investors made a few offers, ByteDance previously said it would not sell. In his post on Sunday, Trump said he “would like the United States to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture,” but it was not immediately clear if he was referring to the government or an American company.  Trump said his order would “extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect” and "confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order.  “Americans deserve to see our exciting Inauguration on Monday, as well as other events and conversations,” Trump wrote.  The on-and-off availability of TikTok came after the U.S. Supreme Court held in a unanimous ruling Friday that the risk to national security posed by TikTok’s ties to China outweighed concerns about limiting speech by the app or its millions of users in the United States.  When TikTok users in the U.S. tried to watch or post videos on the platform as of Saturday night, they saw a pop-up message under the headline, “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now.”  “A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S.,” a pop-up message informed users who opened the TikTok app and tried to scroll through videos on Saturday night. “Unfortunately that means you can’t use TikTok for now.”  The service interruption TikTok instituted hours earlier caught most users by surprise. Experts had said the law as written did not require TikTok to take down its platform, only for app stores to remove it. Current users had been expected to continue to have access to videos until the app stopped working due to a lack of updates.  “The community on TikTok is like nothing else, so it’s weird to not have that anymore,” content creator Tiffany Watson, 20, said Sunday.  Watson said she had been in denial about the looming shutdown and with the time on her hands plans to focus on bolstering her presence on Instagram and YouTube.  “There are still people out there who want beauty content,” Watson said.  The company’s app also was removed late Saturday from prominent app stores, including the ones operated by Apple and Google. Apple told customers with its devices that it also took down other apps developed by TikTok’s China-based parent company, including one that some social media influencers had promoted as an alternative.  “Apple is obligated to follow the laws in the jurisdictions where it operates,” the company said.  Trump's plan to issue an executive order to spare TikTok on his first day in office reflected the ban's coincidental timing and the unusual mix of political considerations surrounding a social media platform that first gained popularity with often silly videos featuring dances and music clips.  During his first term in the White House, Trump issued executive orders in 2020 banning TikTok and the Chinese messaging app WeChat, moves that courts subsequently blocked. When momentum for a ban emerged in Congress last year, however, he opposed the legislation. Trump has since credited TikTok with helping him win support from young voters in last year's presidential election.  Despite its own part in getting the nationwide ban enacted, the Biden administration stressed in recent days that it did not intend to implement or enforce the ban before Trump takes office on Monday.  In the nine months since Congress passed the sale-or-ban law, no clear buyers emerged, and ByteDance publicly insisted it would not sell TikTok. But Trump said he hoped his administration could facilitate a deal to “save” the app.  TikTok CEO Shou Chew is expected to attend Trump’s inauguration with a prime seating location.  Chew posted a video late Saturday thanking Trump for his commitment to work with the company to keep the app available in the U.S. and taking a “strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship.”  Trump's choice for national security adviser, Michael Waltz, told CBS News on Sunday that the president-elect discussed TikTok going dark in the U.S. during a weekend call with Chinese President Xi Jinping “and they agreed to work together on this.”  On Saturday, artificial intelligence startup Perplexity AI submitted a proposal to ByteDance to create a new entity that merges Perplexity with TikTok's U.S. business, according to a person familiar with the matter.  Perplexity is not asking to purchase the ByteDance algorithm that feeds TikTok user’s videos based on their interests and has made the platform such a phenomenon.  Other investors also eyed TikTok. “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary recently said a consortium of investors that he and billionaire Frank McCourt are part of offered ByteDance $20 billion in cash. Trump’s former treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, also said last year that he was putting together an investor group to buy TikTok.  In Washington, lawmakers and administration officials have long raised concerns about TikTok, warning the algorithm that fuels what users see is vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese authorities. But to date, the U.S. has not publicly provided evidence of TikTok handing user data to Chinese authorities or tinkering with its algorithm to benefit Chinese interests.

Al Jazeera reporter captures relief, joy and hope as Gaza ceasefire begins

Around The Globe - Sun, 01/19/2025 - 15:50
Al Jazeera's digital correspondent Maram Humaid captured the reactions of Palestinians in Gaza.

Alim Qasimov: The voice of mugham tradition

Around The Globe - Sun, 01/19/2025 - 15:00
Legendary Azerbaijani singer Alim Qasimov shares his journey, preserving and redefining the ancient art of mugham music.

Video: Palestinians returning to north Gaza shocked by destruction

Around The Globe - Sun, 01/19/2025 - 14:40
With a ceasefire in force, Palestinians have begun returning to what remains of their homes in northern Gaza.

The Palestinians killed waiting for the Gaza ceasefire to come into force

Around The Globe - Sun, 01/19/2025 - 14:31
During the wait between the Gaza ceasefire announcement and its implementation, Israel killed another 141 Palestinians.

I’m a Latino preparing for Trump’s mass deportation of migrants | Close Up

Around The Globe - Sun, 01/19/2025 - 14:10
He arrived in the US as an undocumented child. Now a permanent resident, he fears Trump will deport his loved ones.

How does the use of AI affect human relationships?

Around The Globe - Sun, 01/19/2025 - 14:00
Is the intersection of technology and psychology possible through the use of AI in human relationships?

The ceasefire will not bring our lives back

Around The Globe - Sun, 01/19/2025 - 13:46
I have experienced the pain of war in exile for almost a year. It hurts me to know our return is not possible.

‘Joy beyond measure’: Celebrations in Gaza as long-awaited ceasefire begins

Around The Globe - Sun, 01/19/2025 - 13:23
Palestinians in Gaza hail ceasefire as thousands start preparations to return home following 15 months of war.

What to know about Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration

Around The Globe - Sun, 01/19/2025 - 13:07
Who will be attending? How does an inauguration work? Will there be protests? We answer these questions and more.

Ceasefire: Gaza’s day of hope

Around The Globe - Sun, 01/19/2025 - 13:00
After more than 15 months of war, Israel and Hamas have reached a ceasefire deal.

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