U.S. TikTok Hangs in the Balance as Trump Lines Up Wealthy Buyers

Since President Donald Trump’s announcement that a cadre of “very wealthy people” stands ready to purchase TikTok’s U.S. operations, the app’s future in America has taken on fresh urgency and uncertainty. Facing a September divestiture deadline under the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA), ByteDance—the Beijing‑based parent company—must navigate complex regulatory reviews,…

France Backs Eutelsat as Europe’s Strategic Rival to Starlink

France has doubled down on its commitment to transform Eutelsat into a homegrown alternative to Elon Musk’s Starlink, underlining Paris’s ambition to secure Europe’s digital sovereignty in space-based broadband. With a landmark €1.35 billion capital injection earlier this month, the French state has become Eutelsat’s largest shareholder, holding roughly 30 percent of the company. Officials in Paris…

OpenAI Broadens Infrastructure Strategy with Google TPUs

OpenAI has expanded its hardware toolkit by renting Google’s tensor processing units (TPUs) to power ChatGPT and its suite of AI products. The move marks the first time the company has meaningfully deployed non‑Nvidia accelerators and signals a calculated shift driven by cost pressures, supply constraints and the quest for greater operational flexibility. By integrating…

Meta Braces for Multimillion-Dollar Daily Penalties as EU Pulls No Punches

Meta Platforms is on the brink of a potentially punishing showdown with European regulators over its “pay-or-consent” privacy scheme for Facebook and Instagram users. If the company’s recent tweaks fail to satisfy the European Commission’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) requirements, Meta could incur fines of up to 5 percent of its average daily global revenue—translating…

Choice Screen on the Horizon as UK’s CMA Targets Google’s Search Dominance

Britain’s antitrust authority is poised to compel Google to provide users with prominent links to rival search engines, marking a significant intervention in the digital marketplace. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has invoked new powers under the UK’s Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill to address concerns that Google’s entrenched market position—accounting for more…

Rising Doubts Cast Shadow Over China’s ‘Summer Davos’

China’s flagship “Summer Davos” forum in Tianjin has long been hailed as a symbol of the country’s commitment to global economic engagement. Yet this year’s Annual Meeting of the New Champions is unfolding against a backdrop of mounting uncertainty—raising questions about whether the event can live up to its lofty ambitions. From faltering domestic growth…

YouTube Exemption Under Fire as Australia’s eSafety Chief Pushes for Uniform Under-16 Ban

Australia’s landmark social media age-restriction law is set to take effect this December, barring children under 16 from creating accounts on major platforms. Yet a fierce debate has erupted over whether YouTube should be exempted from the rules—a dispute that pits the country’s eSafety Commissioner against the government and the Silicon Valley giant alike. As…

Local Chinese governments promote ‘automated exports,’ inflating car sales and growth figures

Local authorities across China have increasingly turned to “zero-mileage” car exports as a shortcut to bolster auto sales figures and inflate regional growth statistics. By registering brand-new vehicles as used and shipping them overseas, municipal and provincial governments are helping prop up domestic production numbers while meeting ambitious economic targets set by Beijing. This strategy…

Blistering Heat Waves Tied to Global Warming Spark Health Alerts Across US East and Midwest

Millions of Americans from New England to the Great Lakes have been grappling with “oppressive” heat this week as temperatures soar into record territory, prompting health warnings, travel disruptions and renewed scrutiny of climate change’s role in extreme weather. With high humidity pushing heat index values above 110°F in some areas, authorities are urging residents…

Greenpeace Condemns Bezos’ Venice Wedding for Environmental and Social Costs

Global environmental organization Greenpeace made headlines Monday by staging a protest in St. Mark’s Square against Jeff Bezos’ upcoming wedding to journalist Laura Sanchez. Unfurling a 20-by-10-meter banner depicting the Amazon founder laughing beside the slogan “If you can rent Venice for your wedding, you can pay more tax,” activists from Greenpeace Italy and the…