The paths of these two stars have intersected on several occasions due to their association with the luxury brand Bulgari
entertainment5 hours ago
TikTok on Tuesday denied sharing users' data with the Chinese government, after India banned the wildly popular app as ties with Beijing deteriorate sharply following a deadly border clash.
Blaming each other for the brutal hand-to-hand battle on June 15 as talks make little headway, the Asian giants have been bolstering their border forces as anti-China sentiment grows in India.
As India reportedly considered hiking tariffs and with some Chinese imports held up at ports, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government on Monday banned 59 Chinese apps including TikTok, WeChat and Weibo.
The ministry of information technology said the apps "are engaged in activities... prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order".
The move mirrored growing unease about Chinese tech firms in other countries, in particular regarding telecom giant Huawei.
TikTok, owned by China's ByteDance, allows users to upload and share short videos and is spectacularly popular in India -- its 120 million users have made it the app's top international market.
On Tuesday, the head of TikTok India issued a statement saying the firm has "not shared any information of our users in India with any foreign government, including the Chinese government".
"Further if we are requested to in the future we would not do so," Nikhil Gandhi said, adding that "hundreds of millions of users, artists, story-tellers, educators and performers... (depend) on it for their livelihood."
It remains unclear how the bans would work. But even Indians who already had downloaded TikTok on their phones were not able to use the app from late Tuesday.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a regular press briefing that China is "strongly concerned" about the announcement and looking into the situation.
He said the country has always asked Chinese firms to abide by international rules and local laws as they work with foreign parties, adding that China-India cooperation is mutually beneficial and damaging this is not in India's interest.
The paths of these two stars have intersected on several occasions due to their association with the luxury brand Bulgari
entertainment5 hours ago
The students' demands range from a ceasefire in Israel's war with Hamas to calls for universities to stop investing in Israeli enterprises
world6 hours ago
Despite Kohli's flowing form ahead of the T20 World Cup in June, pundits have raised concerns over his strike-rate
cricket6 hours ago
Saudi Arabia has begun to explore extracting lithium from sea water
business6 hours ago
Speaking after meeting Lebanese leaders, French foreign minister says there had been "a lot of progress" over the French proposals
mena6 hours ago
The three-shot winner from Japan says he is aiming to become a member of the PGA Tour in the future
sports6 hours ago
Big-hitting Nienaber falters at the finish to settle for secondwhile former Abu Dhabi resident David Horsey takes the third spot at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club
sports7 hours ago
The UAE is India's second-largest export destination after the US
economy7 hours ago