Trump Claims Thailand-Cambodia Ceasefire After Intense Border Clashes 
Bolivia Orders Pre-Trial Detention of Former President Luis Arce Over Embezzlement Probe 
California, 18 States Sue to Block Trump’s $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee 
Trump Signals Conditional Push for Ukraine Peace Talks as Frustration Mounts 
U.S. Lifts Sanctions on Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Amid Shift in Brazil Relations 
Indonesia–U.S. Tariff Talks Near Completion as Both Sides Push for Year-End Deal 
Modi and Trump Hold Phone Call as India Seeks Relief From U.S. Tariffs Over Russian Oil Trade 
Russian Drone Attack Hits Turkish Cargo Ship Carrying Sunflower Oil to Egypt, Ukraine Says 
International Outcry Grows Over Re-Arrest of Nobel Laureate Narges Mohammadi in Iran 
Thailand Vows Continued Military Action Amid Cambodia Border Clash Despite Trump Ceasefire Claim 
Belarus Frees 123 Political Prisoners in U.S.-Brokered Deal Over Sanctions 
Preservation Group Sues Trump Administration to Halt $300 Million White House Ballroom Project 
Ukraine, US and Europe Seek Unified Peace Framework With Security Guarantees for Kyiv 
Israeli Airstrike in Gaza Targets Senior Hamas Commander Amid Ceasefire Tensions 
U.S. Intelligence Briefly Curtailed Information Sharing With Israel Amid Gaza War Concerns 
Judge Orders Return of Seized Evidence in Comey-Related Case, DOJ May Seek New Warrant 
Ireland Limits Planned Trade Ban on Israeli Settlements to Goods Only 
The European Union’s executive branch and the EU Council have announced a ban on the video-sharing app TikTok from staff phones. This comes as the Chinese-owned app is under scrutiny from governments due to concerns that Beijing may use the app to harvest data or advance its interests.
EU industry chief Thierry Breton announced the ban by the EU Commission but did not say whether the bloc’s executive wing was subject to incidents involving the app. An official also said that the EU Council, which brings together representatives of EU countries to lay out policy priorities, also had to uninstall the app from staff phones that have access to EU Council services.
TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company Bytedance, expressed disappointment and surprise that the EU Commission did not inform them before making such a ban. The EU Commission said the ban would apply to both work and personal phones and devices. TikTok is already banned in India, and the US Senate passed a bill back in December barring the app from the phones of federal employees.
“To increase its cybersecurity, the Commission’s Corporate Management Board has decided to suspend the use of the TikTok application on its corporate devices and on personal devices enrolled in the Commission mobile service,” said the EU Commission in a statement.
“This measure aims to protect the Commission against cybersecurity threats and actions which may be exploited in cyber-attacks against the corporate environment of the Commission.”
The European Parliament said it was aware of the EU Commission’s decision. The EU executive also said security developments in other social media platforms would also be under constant review.
EU countries failed to reach an agreement on a new set of sanctions against Russia, missing a deadline that coincides with the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Diplomatic sources told Reuters that the 27 EU countries unanimously voted to introduce new sanctions and that Poland blocked the package over the proposed exemptions to a ban on EU imports of Russian synthetic rubber.
Polish diplomats said the exemptions were so big that the sanctions would end up becoming ineffective. Other sources said the exemptions were proposed to accommodate Italy and were supported by Germany.
