HONG KONG—Chinese state media took turns denouncing a White House-approved plan to turn TikTok into a U.S.-based company, casting more doubt over the fate of the Chinese-owned short-video app that needs nods from both Beijing and Washington to avoid a ban in the U.S. Over the weekend, TikTok appeared to narrowly avoid having to shut … Read more
HONG KONG—At least five organizations say they won’t help companies audit their supply chains in China’s Xinjiang region, where human-rights activists say a police-state atmosphere and government controls make it too difficult to determine whether factories and farms are relying on forced labor. China’s increasingly repressive tactics in the northwestern region, where large numbers of … Read more
A White House-approved plan to transform TikTok into a U.S.-based company would keep the operation of the viral short-video app, and likely the algorithm that has powered its rise, in Chinese hands. This structure improves the deal’s chances of finding favor in Beijing, which had threatened to veto a sale. President Trump said Saturday he … Read more
Russia has struck preliminary agreements to sell its Covid-19 vaccine to more than 10 countries in Asia, South America and the Middle East, a development that could give Moscow valuable economic and political leverage internationally. Russian officials say they have secured preliminary deals for the vaccine to be delivered to countries such as Brazil, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and … Read more
Islamic State remains flush with cash despite setbacks in the past year, holding financial reserves and a range of revenue streams that U.S. and Western security officials warn could pay for a dangerous resurgence. The extremist organization and its affiliates have assets ranging into the hundreds of millions of dollars across the Middle East and … Read more
WASHINGTON—President Trump has told advisers he is uncomfortable with a pending deal for Oracle Corp. to become TikTok’s U.S. technology partner, according to people familiar with conversations, in another sign that the proposed tie-up isn’t yet a done deal. Mr. Trump’s private concerns were echoed publicly on Thursday by White House chief of staff Mark … Read more
A group of developing countries, backed by United Nations agencies and activist groups, is pushing to limit patent protections for Covid-19 vaccines being tested by some of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical companies so that inexpensive copies can be produced for poorer nations. South Africa, Ghana, Senegal, Pakistan and others argue they won’t be able to … Read more
TOKYO—Yoshiyuki Kasai, longtime boss of Japan’s biggest bullet-train line, says he thinks Tokyo’s alliance with the U.S. comes first and China needs to hear that message. If Beijing doesn’t like it, he says, tough luck. Hiroaki Nakanishi, head of Japan’s most powerful business federation, says he thinks that attitude is self-defeating. After all its work … Read more
The U.S. added 41,471 cases of the new coronavirus on Saturday, a decline from a day earlier, while India reported its fourth straight day with more than 90,000 cases. The new U.S. cases are significantly higher than the daily tallies reported earlier in the week and bring the country’s infection total to about 6.49 million, … Read more
At least 50 miners died after flooding at an unregulated gold mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a local official said, adding to the deadly tally of recent accidents at illegal and small-scale mines around the developing world. The mainly young victims were working at a large, unregulated mine in the east of the country Friday … Read more