The New York Times: Η μεγάλη αντιπαράθεση για το TikTok φαίνεται να έχει τελειώσει — αλλά ποιος κέρδισε; Γιατί η συμφωνία της Κίνας να παραχωρήσει την εφαρμογή στις ΗΠΑ είναι ένδειξη δύναμης, όχι αδυναμίας – Η Βρετανία, η Αυστραλία, ο Καναδάς και η Πορτογαλία αναγνώρισαν ένα παλαιστινιακό κράτος – Γιατί η Κίνα μπορεί τελικά να εγκαταλείπει το TikTok – Αναγνώριση παλαιστινιακού κράτους – Απαντήσεις στις ερωτήσεις σας σχετικά με τους δασμούς – ΗΠΑ: Δεκάδες χιλιάδες άνθρωποι γέμισαν ένα στάδιο στην Αριζόνα για μια επιμνημόσυνη δέηση για τον δολοφονημένο συντηρητικό ακτιβιστή Τσάρλι Κερκ. Στην ομιλία του, ο Τραμπ αποκάλεσε τον Κερκ μάρτυρα «για την αμερικανική ελευθερία». Η τελετή συνδύασε την κυβέρνηση και τον Χριστιανισμό – Αθλητισμός: Ιδού η ιστορία του φετινού Παγκοσμίου Πρωταθλήματος Στίβου σε 17 φωτογραφίες

The great TikTok standoff seems to be over — but who won? Today, why China’s agreeing to give up the app to the U.S. is a sign of strength, not weakness.

Also:

Why China may finally be giving up TikTok

When I first heard the announcement last week that TikTok had agreed to sell its American operations (and saw President Trump’s excited post about it), I thought it looked like a win for America — and a major concession from China.

Beijing had fought this for five years, right? Chinese officials routinely denounced U.S. demands to divest as discriminatory.

Then, I talked to my colleague Lily Kuo. Our conversation made me understand that if this was a concession by China at all, it was a concession from a position of strength. TikTok has become a relatively low-value bargaining chip in a much bigger negotiation, Lily explained.

If China does give up TikTok (the terms of the deal are still being finalized), the country is buying itself room to negotiate on the matters it cares about most: tariffs, technology and Taiwan.

You can watch our conversation here:

During his first term, Trump was a leading proponent of banning TikTok in the U.S. Like many, he was concerned that China was using the platform for spying and spreading disinformation. Banning the popular video app, or forcing China to sell TikTok’s U.S. operations, was seen as a matter of national security.

But China refused to give American investors control of the platform and its powerful recommendation algorithm. And so, in the spring of 2024, the U.S. Congress passed a law: ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, had to sell the app by a certain deadline or it would be banned.

Then came a plot twist: Trump publicly opposed Congress’s move.

By then, he was campaigning for re-election. TikTok was helping him connect with young voters, and one of his biggest donors, a Wall Street financier, was a major investor in ByteDance.

Since taking office this year, Trump has repeatedly used executive orders to extend TikTok’s deadline. At the same time, he has ramped up a trade war with China, imposing sweeping tariffs on Chinese goods. Unlike many other countries, China has retaliated in kind, imposing its own tariffs and using its chokehold over critical minerals to inflict maximum pain on the U.S. economy.

In recent months, however, the two countries have been in negotiations and have seemed to find common ground. In Beijing’s calculus, the moment to play the TikTok card is now, when China believes it holds maximum leverage.

“It looks like weakness,” Lily said. “But it’s actually a tactical move to focus Trump on the things that China cares most about.”

Trump gets a win on an issue close to his heart — saving the app he credits for helping him win the 2024 election — and China gets to create a positive atmosphere for the two countries to talk about the issues it views as priorities. China wants relief from tariffs. It wants Trump to loosen export controls on advanced chips and to cut back support of Taiwan. It also wants an in-person meeting between Trump and President Xi Jinping, ideally in China, where it can control the optics.

That meeting is now very likely, Lily said. And concessions on some or all of the other issues no longer look impossible.

If all goes to plan, American owners will control TikTok going forward. Trump said yesterday that Fox Corporation, which is controlled by the Murdoch family, could be among the investors involved. That will, perhaps, mitigate a potential national security threat (though some have worried that the specifics of the deal will not go far enough).

The question now is if that will come at the expense of concessions on advanced A.I. technology, or maybe even on Taiwan — issues typically thought of as more important to U.S. national security than an app.

“The Chinese side is fairly optimistic because they see Trump as transactional,” Lily said. “Trump likes a good deal.”

Recognition of Palestinian statehood

Britain, Canada, Australia and Portugal said yesterday that they were formally recognizing Palestinian statehood. The announcements ramped up pressure on Israel and put key U.S. allies at odds with the Trump administration.

While the concerted action will deepen the diplomatic isolation of Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, it is unlikely to change the situation on the ground.

At the U.N. today, France will rally 142 other countries to recognize Palestinian statehood as part of a two-state solution after the war in Gaza ends. The plan, however, misses an essential element: any hint of backing by Israel or the U.S. Here’s what to know about statehood.

Mark Abramson for The New York Times

Your questions about tariffs, answered

All this week, we’re welcoming to our newsletter Ana Swanson, who writes about trade and international economics in Washington, to answer your questions about tariffs. Thank you to all the readers who wrote in with smart questions.

What effects are the tariffs having on the prices of goods in the U.S. now? Does the public see tariffs as a stealth tax, or are people content with this as a means of funding government spending? — Adam Tattersley, Britain

Ana: It has taken months for the increase in tariffs to start to spill over into consumer prices, but we are starting to see that happen. Government data is showing that prices on items heavily exposed to tariffs, such as home furnishings, toys and apparel, are rising faster than those for other products.

Companies have been raising prices cautiously, in part because they are concerned about weakness in the economy and about whether American consumers will still be willing to buy. They also stockpiled products before the tariffs went into effect. But economists caution that companies can’t absorb the cost of tariffs forever.

Americans’ reactions to tariffs often break down along party lines, with Republicans viewing them more favorably. But even some people who voted for Trump are skeptical. Polling in April showed that nearly 90 percent of Americans surveyed believed tariffs would raise prices, while polling in August showed that 61 percent of Americans disapproved of them.

U.S.: Tens of thousands of people packed a stadium in Arizona for a memorial for the slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk. In his speech, Trump called Kirk a martyr “for American freedom.” The service fused government and Christianity.

Ukraine: Kyiv’s forces are making modest gains in the Sumy region that may help counter Moscow’s narrative that Russian advances are unstoppable.

Philippines: Protesters filled the streets in Manila, accusing the government of misappropriating billions of dollars designated for flood relief.

Immigration: Trump signed a proclamation adding a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas, leaving Wall Street and tech firms scrambling.

Nepal: The new prime minister formed a commission to investigate the killings of more than 70 people by the armed forces during a recent student uprising.

Chad: As U.S. aid dries up, a refugee camp’s maternity tent is losing medical workers, leaving pregnant women in peril.

When three nuns in Austria, the last survivors of their order, were moved out of their abbey, they were heartbroken and miserable. One cried and stopped getting out of bed. So, with some former students, the three sisters hatched a plan to get back to their former home.

Much is in dispute about the story. Were they forced to move? Was their old convent unsafe? But one thing is for sure: The story has become a news and social media sensation. Read more, and watch the nuns talk about their return in this video.

Can these islands adapt to Airbnb?

The Galápagos, off the coast of Ecuador, are home to sea lions that sleep at bus stops and birds so tame you can touch them. It’s easy to see why Charles Darwin found the archipelago so special when he visited in 1835.

Since the pandemic, hundreds of residents have begun renting out rooms on Airbnb, some for as little as $8 a night. The islands are more accessible than ever, but critics say the explosion of short-term rentals is altering the very ecosystem that thousands of visitors travel to see. Read more.

Bake: This is a dairy-free version of flan, which is beloved all over Latin America.