Trump signs order banning transactions with 8 Chinese apps

Agencies
January 6, 2021

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Washington, Jan 6: U.S. President Donald Trump Tuesday signed an executive order banning transactions with eight Chinese software applications, including Ant Group's Alipay that is resulting in escalating tensions with Beijing before President-elect Joe Biden takes office this month.

"The following actions shall be prohibited beginning 45 days after the date of this order, to the extent permitted under applicable law: any transaction by any person, or with respect to any property, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, with persons that develop or control the following Chinese connected software applications, or with their subsidiaries, as those transactions and persons are identified by the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) under subsection (e) of this section: Alipay, CamScanner, QQ Wallet, SHAREit, Tencent QQ, VMate, WeChat Pay, and WPS Office," the order said on Tuesday.

Trump in his executive order said that the "pace and pervasiveness" of the spread in the United States of certain connected mobile and desktop applications and other software developed or controlled by persons in the People's Republic of China, to include Hong Kong and Macau (China), continue to threaten the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.

"At this time, action must be taken to address the threat posed by these Chinese connected software applications," he added.

The order stated that by accessing personal electronic devices Chinese connected software applications can access and capture vast swaths of information from users, including sensitive personally identifiable information and private information.

"This data collection threatens to provide the Government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) with access to Americans' personal and proprietary information--which would permit China to track the locations of Federal employees and contractors, and build dossiers of personal information," the order read.

The outgoing President stated that "the continuing activity of the PRC and the CCP" to steal or otherwise obtain United States persons' data makes clear that there is an intent to use bulk data collection to advance China's economic and national security agenda.

The order also mentioned India's efforts to curb the threat posed by Chinese apps to ban all such apps that were made by Chinese developers. "In fact, the Government of India has banned the use of more than 200 Chinese connected software applications throughout the country; in a statement, India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology asserted that the applications were "stealing and surreptitiously transmitting users' data in an unauthorized manner to servers which have locations outside India'," the order stated.
The order released by the White House names "Alipay, CamScanner, QQ Wallet, SHAREit, Tencent QQ, VMate, WeChat Pay, and WPS Office.

US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross on President Trump's Executive Order said, "Consistent with the authorities designated to the Secretary of Commerce from the President, I have directed my Department to begin implementing the E.O.(Executive Order) 's directives, including identifying prohibited transactions related to certain Chinese connected software applications."

He added, " stand with President Trump's commitment to protecting the privacy and security of Americans from threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party, and the Department of Commerce will leverage the authorities of the E.O. to continue our mission to secure the nation, the economy, and the people of the United States."

National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien on the Executive Order Addressing Chinese Software Applications said that China's Military-Civil Fusion strategy explicitly aims to co-opt or coerce civilian enterprises into assisting the People's Liberation Army.

He added, "This executive order tasks the Secretary of Commerce to identify prohibited transactions involving eight Chinese software applications, including payment services; directs the Secretary of Commerce to identify and take appropriate action against other software applications; and develops a program to control the export of exploitable United States user data to foreign adversaries."

Under the Trump administration, ties between the two countries had deteriorated over issues such as human rights violations in Xinjiang, encroachment on the special status of Hong Kong, accusations of unfair trade practices by Beijing, lack of transparency concerning the pandemic and China's military aggression in various parts of the world.

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News Network
November 3,2024

Mangaluru, Nov 3: A quiet morning turned perilous for a farmer in Elathur, near Kinnigoli on the outskirts of the city, as a leopard attacked him while he was cutting grass. 

Ligori, a resident of Kalkare, was startled by the sudden assault and suffered injuries to his face but managed to escape and reach safety. He was promptly taken to the hospital for medical care.

Residents in Elathur have been on edge for over a week following reports of leopard sightings in the area. Today’s incident has heightened concerns among the local farming community, who now fear for their safety.

With a significant population of farmers in the region, villagers are demanding immediate action from the forest department to capture the leopard and ensure their safety. 

The community awaits a response, hoping for swift intervention to prevent further attacks.

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News Network
November 13,2024

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Bengaluru: An estimated overall 10.14 per cent voter turnout was recorded during the first two hours, since the voting began for bypolls to three Assembly segments in Karnataka on Wednesday, election officials said.

The voting began at 7 am and will go on till 6 pm.

More than seven lakh voters are eligible to cast their votes in about 770 polling stations in Shiggaon, Sandur and Channapatna, where a total of 45 candidates are in the fray.

While Channapatna recorded 10.34 per cent voter turnout till 9 am, it was 10.08 per cent in Shiggaon, and 9.99 per cent in Sandur, election officials said.

Voters, including women and elderly were seen queuing up in front of polling booths in these segments.

By-polls for Sandur, Shiggaon, and Channapatna are necessitated, as the seats fell vacant following the election of their respective representatives -- E Tukaram of Congress, former CM Basavaraj Bommai of BJP, and Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy of JD(S) -- to Lok Sabha in May elections.

As many as 31 candidates are in the fray from Channapatna, while Sandur and Shiggaon have six and eight contenders, respectively.

Elaborate security arrangements have been made in the three segments for the smooth conduct of the polls.

The by-polls will witness a straight fight between the ruling Congress and BJP in Sandur and Shiggaon segments, while in Channapatna, JD(S) which is part of the NDA alliance is in contest against the grand old party.

Among the three segments, Channapatna is considered to be a "high profile", where the contest is between C P Yogeeshwara, a five time MLA from the segment and former Minister, who joined the Congress quitting BJP ahead of nomination, and actor-turned -politician Nikhil Kumaraswamy, who is Kumaraswamy’s son and former PM H D Deve Gowda's grandson.

BJP's Bharath Bommai, son of Basavaraj Bommai, is fighting Congress Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan, who had faced defeat against the former Chief Minister in the 2023 Assembly polls, in Shiggaon.

Bharath Bommai and his father cast their vote at a polling booth in Shiggaon segment.

In Sandur, Bellary MP Tukaram's wife E Annapurna of Congress is contesting from the seat vacated by her husband, against, BJP ST Morcha president Bangaru Hanumanthu, who is considered close to party leader and former mining barron G Janardhan Reddy.

Annapurna, Tukaram and other family members cast their votes at a booth in the segment.

With Nikhil Kumaraswamy and Bharath Bommai contesting, the third generation of Gowda and Bommai families are in the fray in this by-poll. Both their fathers and grandfathers have served as Karnataka's Chief Ministers in the past.

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News Network
November 6,2024

TRUMP.jpg

On the verge of a landslide win in the U.S. election, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump delivered a powerful victory speech, calling it a "magnificent victory for the American people." Reflecting on the July 13 assassination attempt, Trump said, "God spared my life for a reason," underscoring his belief that his leadership has a higher purpose.

The 78-year-old is currently projected to secure 267 electoral votes, just three shy of the pivotal 270. His opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, trails with 224 votes. Trump hailed his campaign as the "greatest political movement of all time," vowing, "We are going to help our country heal, fix our borders, and made history for a reason tonight. I will fight for you and your family with every breath in my body."

The Democrats face a formidable Republican lead, with Trump’s team predicting an ultimate tally of 315 electoral votes. A pivotal element in Trump's success was a sweeping takeover in key battleground states. From a Democratic lead of 6-1 in these areas during the 2020 elections, the scales shifted to a 7-0 advantage for Trump, with decisive wins in Georgia, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina and leads in Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Nevada.

The significance of this Republican victory deepens as the party also takes control of the Senate and holds a commanding lead in the House of Representatives race.

Trump expressed deep gratitude to his supporters, his running mate JD Vance, wife Melanie, and his children for standing by him throughout the challenging campaign. He also extended a special thanks to Tesla CEO and tech mogul Elon Musk, a prominent Trump supporter.

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