While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Aug 3
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Chinese-owned TikTok is currently fighting a new US law that would force parent company ByteDance to divest TikTok’s US assets by Jan 19 or face a ban.
PHOTO: AFP
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US sues TikTok over child privacy violations
The US Justice Department filed a lawsuit on Aug 2 against TikTok and parent company ByteDance for failing to protect children’s privacy on the social media app as the Biden administration continues its crackdown on the social media site.
The government said TikTok violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (Coppa) that requires services aimed at children to obtain parental consent to collect personal information from users under age 13.
The Chinese-owned short-video platform boasts around 170 million US users, and is currently fighting a new law that would force ByteDance to divest TikTok’s US assets by Jan 19 or face a ban.
The lawsuit is the latest US action against TikTok and its Chinese parent over fears the company improperly collects vast amounts of data on Americans for the Chinese government, while influencing content in a way that could harm Americans.
Harris secures votes needed to be Democratic nominee
NYT
Kamala Harris on Aug 2 secured the delegate votes needed to clinch the Democratic US presidential nomination and become the first woman of colour at the top of a major party ticket.
Ms Harris, the US vice-president, became the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination after President Joe Biden bowed to pressure from within the party and dropped out of the race in July.
Ms Harris quickly won the support of party heavyweights and was the only candidate to qualify for the Democratic presidential ballot, which ensured the outcome of the delegate voting was never in doubt.
Russian troops inch forward in Ukraine’s east
AFP
Russian assaults are raising pressure on the strategic eastern logistics hub of Pokrovsk, Ukraine said on Aug 2, as waves of guided bombs and infantry lead to some of Moscow’s largest territorial gains since the spring.
The push is fuelling a surge in civilians fleeing, with requests for evacuation in the area increasing about tenfold over the past two weeks.
Russian forces have been steadily inching forward on several fronts in the eastern Donetsk region, staging particularly fierce attacks near Pokrovsk with Kyiv’s troops stretched thin 29 months since Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Loh Kean Yew loses to defending champ Axelsen
The Straits Times
Loh Kean Yew’s dream of delivering Singapore’s first Olympic badminton medal was dashed by his pal and defending champion Viktor Axelsen, who won 21-9, 21-17 at the Porte de la Chapelle Arena on Aug 2.
The Danish world No. 2, who had a last-16 bye, will meet India’s 22nd-ranked Lakshya Sen on Aug 4 for a place in the final.
It was an uphill task for Loh to begin with, as he had just two wins in their 10 previous meetings. But he was not helped by his own passivity and scrapped right knuckles as well as his 1.94m opponent’s incredible reach and imperious form as Axelsen barely made an unforced error.
Leon Marchand wins fourth Olympic gold
AFP
France’s Leon Marchand brought the host nation to a standstill once again on Aug 2 with his fourth gold of the Paris Olympics, while Australian Kaylee McKeown wrote history of her own as the first woman to retain both backstroke titles.
Marchand did it in style, roared to the rafters by a rapturous crowd as he joined American greats Michael Phelps and Mark Spitz as the only male swimmers to have won four individual titles at a single Games.
Emphasising his status as the hottest property in the pool, the 22-year-old shattered the 200 metres individual medley Olympic record of one minute 54.23 seconds set by Phelps at the 2008 Beijing Games and replaced it with a new best of 1:54.06.
