While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Sept 21, 2025
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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said TikTok's algorithm would be US-controlled.
FILE PHOTO: REUTERS
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TikTok deal gives Americans 6 of 7 board seats
The US operations of TikTok will be majority-owned and controlled by Americans under a deal reached this week to spin off the platform from its Chinese ownership, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
Speaking on Fox News, Ms Leavitt said Sept 20 that Americans would hold six of the seven board seats for TikTok and that the video app’s algorithm would be US-controlled.
She added the final deal would be signed in the coming days.
Oracle will act as TikTok’s security provider and monitor the app for safety, working with the US government, and Americans’ data will be stored in the US with no access by China.
US H-1B visa fee will not apply to existing holders
PHOTO: REUTERS
A new US$100,000 (S$130,000) annual fee for H-1B visas in the United States goes into effect on Sept 21, but it will not be applied to existing holders of valid visas re-entering the country, a White House official said on Sept 20.
“This is a one-time fee,” the official said.
The executive order imposing the new fee on H-1B visa applications, which was signed by President Donald Trump on the night of Sept 19, could disrupt the global operations of Indian technology services companies that deploy skilled professionals to the US, Indian IT industry body Nasscom said early on Sept 20.
Ukraine’s Zelensky plans new Trump meeting
PHOTO: AFP
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sept 20 he would meet US counterpart Donald Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly next week, as Russia intensified deadly strikes across his country.
Russia carried out one of its largest aerial attacks, firing 40 missiles and some 580 drones at Ukraine in a nightime barrage that killed at least three people and wounded dozens, Mr Zelensky said.
Mr Zelensky said he would discuss security guarantees for Ukraine and sanctions on Russia during the talks with Trump in New York.
French senator accused of drugging colleague resigns
PHOTO: AFP
A French senator accused of drugging a Member of Parliament with the intention of sexually assaulting her will resign in October, he said on Sept 20, though his accuser said the delayed departure left her in “disgust”.
Senator Joel Guerriau, 67, is facing trial for allegedly using ecstasy to spike a glass of champagne that National Assembly Deputy Sandrine Josso was drinking in November 2023.
Guerriau, who denies the charges, told AFP he would resign from the upper house in early October, confirming a report first published by API News.
Liverpool show depth to stay perfect
PHOTO: REUTERS
Liverpool underlined just how hard it will be to wrench the Premier League title away from them when they started with the two most expensive signings in their history on the bench but still beat Mersey rivals Everton 2-1 on Sept 20.
Florian Wirtz, whose fee was an initial club record £100 million (S$170 million), kicked his heels on the sidelines for an hour while deadline day signing Alexander Isak, whose £125 million fee was a British record, had even less time to impress.
But Liverpool’s “lesser lights” were more than up to the task with Ryan Gravenberch accepting an assist from Mohamed Salah to put his side ahead before Hugo Ekitike, another summer signing, made it 2-0 at a raucous Anfield.
