Trump Threatens ICE Airport Deployment Amid TSA Shutdown Crisis 
S&P 500 Rebounds After Netanyahu's Statements on Iran's Military Setbacks 
Trump's Shifting War Goals Against Iran: A Timeline of Contradictions 
Belarus Frees 250 Political Prisoners in Landmark U.S. Sanctions Deal 
U.S. Officials Express Optimism Over New CDC Director Selection Amid Vaccine Policy Turmoil 
Federal Reserve Crisis: DOJ Standoff Threatens Powell's Succession and Rate Stability 
Trump Issues 48-Hour Ultimatum to Iran Over Strait of Hormuz, Threatens Power Grid Strikes 
Trump White House Unveils National AI Policy Framework for Congress 
Australian PM Albanese Heckled at Sydney Mosque During Eid al-Fitr Prayers 
Trump Compares Iran Strikes to Pearl Harbor in Awkward Exchange with Japanese PM 
Trump Signals U.S. Nearing End of Military Goals in Iran War, Shifts Hormuz Responsibility to Regional Nations 
Russia Calls for Ceasefire in Gulf Conflict, Offers Diplomatic Mediation 
Robert Mueller, Former FBI Director and Special Counsel, Dies at 81 
DOJ Backs Jeanine Pirro-Led Investigation Into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell 
US-Iran War: Trump Eyes Military Exit as Markets React to Potential De-escalation 
U.S. Prosecutors Scrutinize Colombian President Petro in Drug Trafficking Probes 
Ukraine-U.S. Peace Talks Resume in Florida Amid Ongoing Russia-Ukraine War 
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.
