house on wednesday voted overwhelmingly in favour of a bill that could force tiktok s chinese owner to sell their stake in the platform, orface a nationwide ban. presidentjoe biden urged the senate to take swift action to pass the bill. lawmakers say the app poses a national security threat as its parent company, bytedance, is based in beijing and is subject to a law requiring it to share data with the chinese government. tiktok has told lawmakers that it has taken steps to ensure the data of american users isn t compromised by employees in china. nevertheless, the legislation should head to the senate next. its fate there is uncertain. following the house vote, tiktok urged its 150 million users in the us to lobby against the bill by calling on them to contact their members of congress. tiktok influencers also protested against the bill outside the white house. here s what they told our correspondent. i am aware that i m giving my data, right. i m aware. i m ok with it. let
some pictures live from a polling station in moscow. now, there is the potential for a run off vote if no candidate wins more than 50% in the first round. but with many of mr putin s opponents unable to run, it seems inevitable that vladimir putin will be re elected without the need for that second ballot. our russia editor, steve rosenberg, is following developments in moscow. vladimir putin has been in power a long time, right, 25 years almost as president or prime minister. and he s expected to win a fifth presidential term. now, this whole event, this three day event, which starts today, is being presented by the russian authorities almost as a celebration of democracy. the kremlin just a few days ago described russian democracy as the best democracy in the world. critics of the kremlin would disagree and would say that this poll is neither free nor fair nor transparent. vladimir putin does not face a major challenge. there are three other candidates on the ballot paper,
hello, and welcome to unspun world here at the bbc s headquarters in central london. in this edition is now the moment when the russians turn the tide in ukraine. it is russia making its size and resources count. it s russia that can throw more men at its fight. haiti, arguably the world s most ungovernable country, erupts yet again. the security forces in haiti are clearly in a situation of disadvantage against these gangs, who now control big sections of the capital, port au prince. and will the oceans one day be navigated by ships without a single human being on board? future vision of lots of companies looking into this to have, say, a captain sitting there on land in charge of multiple ships sailing the oceans around the world. things aren t looking at all rosy for ukraine at the moment. the days when russia s armed forces were slow, clumsy and predictable have gone. they ve upped their game. and the huge advantage russia has in manpower and industrial might has starte
live in east jerusalem. the united nations and the us have expressed concern about israel s plans for a military operation in rafah. the city, at the south western edge of gaza, has seen the arrival of hundreds of thousands of palestinians taking refuge from the fighting elsewhere in the strip. the israeli military had previously urged civilians to go there but now, prime minister benjamin netanyahu says he has approved plans for an assault on hamas militants believed to be based there. the un issued this warning. i think the consequences of a ground operation in rafah under the current circumstances would be catastrophic for the people of gaza, for the palestinians. it would be catastrophic for the humanitarian situation. it would be catastrophic or around. the us is one of israel s most important supporters but it seems that the israeli government has not shared details of the planned assault on rafah with officials in washington. here s us national security council spo
today, we turn a page in the book of our nation s history. a history that we write together. notjust because i have the honour of becoming the first black leader in any european country, but because a generational dial has jumped too. like ken and jane, devolution is not something that i have had to get used to, or to adapt to, or to apologise for. devolution, welsh solutions to welsh problems and opportunities, is in my blood. it is what i have always known through my adult political life and that is the same for a growing number of our citizens and i want us to use this moment as a starting point for a more confident march into the future. a march into the future on behalf of a generation that, too often, is being asked to pick up the pieces and the bill for those who came before them. in wales, it often takes the worst times to get the best out of us. in adversity, you can t match us. we will be there, fighting tooth and nailfor the impossible to happen. for the underdog,