NEW YORK: President Donald Trump said Saturday he’s given his “blessing” to a proposed deal that would see the popular video-sharing app TikTok partner with Oracle and Walmart and form a US company.
Trump has targeted Chinese-owned TikTok for national security and data privacy concerns in the latest flashpoint in the rising tensions between Washington and Beijing. The president’s support for a deal comes just a day after the Commerce Department announced restrictions that if put in place could eventually make it nearly impossible for TikTok’s legions of younger fans to use the app.
Trump said if completed the deal would create a new company likely to be based in Texas.
“I have given the deal my blessing,” he said. “If they get it done, that’s great. If they don’t, that’s OK too.”
Trump said the new company will be hiring at least 25,000 people and making a $5 billion contribution to a fund dedicated to education for Americans. “That’s their contribution that I’ve been asking for,” he said.
TikTok said Oracle and Walmart could acquire up to a cumulative 20% stake in the new company in a financing round to be held before an initial public offering of stock, which Walmart said could happen within the next year. Oracle’s stake would be 12.5%, and Walmart’s would be 7.5%, the companies said in separate statements.
The deal will make Oracle responsible for hosting all TikTok’s US user data and securing computer systems to ensure US national security requirements are satisfied. Walmart said it will provide its ecommerce, fulfillment, payments and other services to the new company.
“We are pleased that the proposal by TikTok, Oracle, and Walmart will resolve the security concerns of the US administration and settle questions around TikTok’s future in the US,” TikTok said in a statement.
Trump has been demanding that the US operations of TikTok be sold to a US company or else be shut down. He’s also been targeting WeChat, another Chinese-owned app.
The administration contends that the user data collected by the two apps could be shared with the Chinese government. On Saturday, Trump said the US-based TikTok “will have nothing to do with China.” TikTok says it has 100 million US users.
On Friday, the US Commerce Department said it would bar TikTok from US app stores as of late Sunday. Further restrictions that would prevent TikTok from accessing essential Internet services in the country would go into effect on Nov. 12. Commerce said Saturday that it will delay the barring of TikTok from US app stores until Sept. 27 at 11:59 p.m.
Commerce is imposing similar restrictions on WeChat, although all of the restrictions on that app are set to go into effect Sunday night at 11:59 p.m.
Earlier Saturday, WeChat users asked a US judge to block the government’s actions, saying they would restrict free speech. WeChat is an all-in-one app with instant-messaging, social media and other communication tools. The US government argued that it is not restricting free speech because WeChat users still “are free to speak on alternative platforms that do not pose a national security threat.”
US Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler asked lawyers for the government and WeChat users whether the prohibitions would cripple WeChat as soon as the clock ticked from Sunday night into Monday morning without a resolution. An attorney for the government said they would likely lead to a “degradation” of WeChat over time.
Judge Beeler did not rule immediately on the motion.
WeChat has millions of US users who rely on the app to stay in touch and conduct business with people and companies in China and around the world. In court filings, the founder of the Mental Health Association for Chinese Communities, who is a US citizen in California, said that the group’s primary tool to reach out and provide services to Chinese Americans is WeChat.
“Since many of the Chinese community members we serve are not fluent in English, WeChat is the only online tool that they rely on,” Elaine Peng said.
The Trump administration’s aggressive tactics are part of its latest attempt to counter the influence of China, a rising economic superpower. Since taking office in 2017, Trump has waged a trade war with China, blocked mergers involving Chinese companies and stifled the business of Chinese firms like Huawei, a maker of phones and telecom equipment.
China-backed hackers, meanwhile, have been blamed for data breaches of US federal databases and the credit agency Equifax, and the Chinese government strictly limits what US tech companies can do in China.
China’s ministry of commerce condemned the US moves and urged it to stop what it called bullying behavior. It also said China may take “necessary measures” to protect Chinese companies.
The US Treasury Department said Saturday that TikTok’s deal still needs to close with Oracle and Walmart, and it also needs documentation and conditions to be approved by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
That, of course, also leaves the potential for more roller coasters of emotion for TikTok users, such as Haley Hoffman Smith, a 24-year-old who moved to Manhattan this year to pursue her dream of becoming a talk-show host. She said she had just hit 100,000 followers on TikTok and was crushed on Friday to hear it may be headed for a shutdown.
“TikTok is an inextricable part of my dream chasing story,” she said, “and to lose it forever would not only be an inconvenient setback, but an absolute heartbreak.”
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AP Business Writers Tali Arbel, Matt O’Brien and Barbara Ortutay contributed.
Trump backs proposed deal to keep TikTok operating in US
https://arab.news/vz2g7
Trump backs proposed deal to keep TikTok operating in US
- TikTok said Oracle and Walmart could acquire up to a cumulative 20% stake in the new company in a financing round to be held before an initial public offering of stock
- Trump said if completed the deal would create a new company likely to be based in Texas, which will be hiring at least 25,000 workers
Australia adds YouTube to social media ban for children
- "Social media has a social responsibility and there is no doubt that Australian kids are being negatively impacted by online platforms so I'm calling time on it," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement
SYDNEY: Australia said on Wednesday it will include Alphabet-owned YouTube in its world-first ban on social media for teenagers, reversing an earlier decision to exempt the video-sharing platform.
Australia’s Internet watchdog last month urged the government to overturn the proposed exemption for YouTube after its research found 37 percent of children aged 10 to 15 reported seeing harmful content on the platform, the most of any social media site.
Other social media companies such as Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok had argued an exemption for YouTube would be unfair.
“Social media has a social responsibility and there is no doubt that Australian kids are being negatively impacted by online platforms so I’m calling time on it,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement.
“Social media is doing social harm to our children, and I want Australian parents to know that we have their backs.”
Social media firms will be fined up to A$49.5 million ($32.2 million) from December if they break the law, which passed through parliament in November.
A YouTube spokesperson said the company would consider next steps and would continue to engage with the government.
“We share the government’s goal of addressing and reducing online harms. Our position remains clear: YouTube is a video sharing platform with a library of free, high-quality content, increasingly viewed on TV screens. It’s not social media,” the spokesperson said by email.
Online gaming, messaging apps, and health and education sites will be excluded from the center-left government’s minimum age rules as they pose fewer social media harms to teens under 16, or are regulated under different laws, Communications Minister Anika Wells said.
“The rules are not a set and forget, they are a set and support,” Wells said.
Hadley Gamble joins IMI as chief international anchor
- Former CNBC and Al Arabiya English anchor takes on a new cross-platform role to engage with broader audiences
ABU DHABI: IMI, the Abu Dhabi based media group, has appointed Hadley Gamble to the newly created role of Chief International Anchor.
As part of her new role, Gamble will lead high-profile interviews and original features across IMI’s network of media brands, including The National, Sky News Arabia, CNN Business Arabic, and Al-Ain News.
A seasoned journalist and anchor, Gamble will use her extensive expertise in political and economic reporting, having interviewed heads of state, business leaders, and cultural figures over a notable career spanning two decades.
Some of her high-profile interviews include Russian President Vladimir Putin, King Abdullah II of Jordan, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and businessman and philanthropist Bill Gates, among many others.
Based in London, she will represent IMI internationally and lead a new slate of cross-platform content.
On her appointment, Gamble commented: “I am excited to be joining a media group with global reach and a clear editorial vision across its media outlets. I look forward to working closely alongside The National, Sky News Arabia, CNN Business Arabic, and Al-Ain News to deliver distinctive journalism that informs and engages audiences around the world.”
Gamble’s appointment aligns with IMI’s broader strategy to expand its international content footprint and continue to grow its global audience base, the media group said in a statement.
Palestinian contributor to Oscar-winning ‘No Other Land’ killed in West Bank settler raid
- Activist, teacher and journalist Awdah Hathaleen died in hospital shortly after being shot by Israeli far-right extremist
- ‘This is how Israel erases us — one life at a time’: Film co-director Basel Adra
LONDON: Awdah Hathaleen, a Palestinian teacher, activist and journalist who contributed to the Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land,” was shot and killed on Monday during a raid by Israeli settlers in the South Hebron Hills, according to local media reports.
The 31-year-old was fatally wounded during clashes in the village of Umm Al-Khair, where a group of Palestinians had reportedly been confronting settlers. Israeli media identified one of the settlers as Yinon Levi, a far-right extremist who had previously been sanctioned by the Biden administration — measures later lifted under US President Donald Trump — though he remains blacklisted by Canada, the UK, and the EU.
Witnesses and reports say Levi allegedly opened fire toward a group of Palestinians near the Carmel settlement, hitting Hathaleen in the upper body. He was rushed to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, where he died hours later.
Two other Palestinians were reportedly injured. Emergency responders from the Palestinian Red Crescent and Israel’s Magen David Adom were dispatched to the scene.
Israeli police said an Israeli citizen involved in the shooting had been arrested and the incident was under investigation. However, some reports suggested Levi was questioned but not charged. Four Palestinians and two foreign tourists were also detained by Israeli forces, according to a police statement.
Odeh just died. Murdered. https://t.co/rRWqSa48iN
— Yuval Abraham יובל אברהם (@yuval_abraham) July 28, 2025
Footage circulating online appears to show Levi brandishing a handgun and firing into the air, with a bulldozer in the background. Another video shows Palestinians attempting to block the bulldozer, disputing early claims that Levi was engaged in authorized construction. Activists say the machinery had crossed into privately owned Palestinian land.
Hathaleen was a frequent contributor to the Israeli magazine +972 and was known for his activism against settler violence and land seizures. He had recently been invited to the US for an interfaith speaking tour organized by the Kehilla Community Synagogue, but was detained and deported along with his cousin Eid upon arrival at San Francisco International Airport, despite holding valid visas.
“Just last month, I joined my Bay Area colleagues in demanding answers after Awdah and his cousin, both holding valid visas, were unjustly detained and deported from SFO,” said US Congresswoman Lateefah Simon in a statement. “The settler who killed Awdah must be held accountable. We cannot and will not support violence. No one should live under the threat of demolition, displacement or death.”
Israeli settlers have murdered our beloved hero, Awdah Hathaleen, from the Um Al-Khair community in Masafer Yatta.
— Issa Amro عيسى عمرو (@Issaamro) July 28, 2025
Awdah stood with dignity and courage against oppression.
His loss is a deep wound to our hearts and our struggle for justice.
May he rest in peace.
We will never… pic.twitter.com/mLQiPeDMzd
Tributes poured in following news of his death. “Awdah stood with dignity and courage against oppression,” said Hebron-based activist Issa Amro. “His loss is a deep wound to our hearts and our struggle for justice.”
“No Other Land” co-director, lawyer and journalist Basel Adra, said he “could hardly believe” the news. “My dear friend Awdah was slaughtered this evening. This is how Israel erases us — one life at a time.”
The film “No Other Land,” which documents Palestinian displacement in the occupied West Bank, won the Best Documentary award at this year’s Berlinale and later received an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
About three million Palestinians live in the West Bank alongside nearly half a million Israelis living in settlements, which are considered illegal under international law.
At least 962 Palestinians, including many fighters but also many civilians, have been killed by Israeli soldiers or settlers in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.
At least 36 Israelis, including civilians and soldiers, have been killed there in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations, according to official Israeli data.
SRMG appoints Nedaa Al-Mubarak as CEO of Media Solutions
- SMS combines proprietary data, premium content, and strategic partnerships to deliver outcome-based solutions representing 30+ brands, including Thmanyah, home to Saudi Pro League content
RIYADH: The Saudi Research and Media Group (SRMG) has announced the appointment of Nedaa Al-Mubarak as Chief Executive Officer of SRMG Media Solutions (SMS), its performance-driven commercial arm.
Al-Mubarak’s appointment comes as a step in SRMG’s continued transformation and growth strategy, as it expands its focus on outcome-based solutions for partners across the Middle East.
In her new role, she will lead SMS’s efforts to deliver strategic offerings powered by premium content, advanced adtech, and unmatched access to regional audiences.
Leveraging proprietary first-party data and a growing roster of strategic partnerships, SMS serves as the exclusive commercial representative for over 30 SRMG brands, including Asharq News, Arab News, Hia, Sayidaty, Billboard Arabia, Manga Arabia, and Thmanyah, which recently secured exclusive rights to distribute Saudi Pro League content across the region through 2031. These partnerships give advertisers seamless access to over 210 million users worldwide across digital, TV, print, audio, and OOH platforms.
Whether targeting finance, tech, sports, or culture, SMS delivers tailored media solutions powered by vertical expertise, proprietary insights, and agile content delivery.
“With SRMG Media Solutions, we’ve built a future-ready platform that meets the region’s evolving media and advertising needs with precision, creativity, and scale,” said Jomana Alrashid, CEO of SRMG. “Nedaa brings the vision, experience, and ambition to accelerate this next chapter. Her deep understanding of both the public and private sectors, coupled with her performance-first mindset, makes her the right leader to unlock new value for our clients and our business.
Al-Mubarak is a forward-looking media executive with a track record of delivering growth and transformation. In her role as Managing Director of SRMG Think, she has helped redefine the group’s strategic consulting business, tripling its service lines and more than doubling revenue.
With a background spanning investment, tourism, and economic policy, she has led initiatives that contributed to the development and advancement of multiple sectors.
At SMS, she will oversee a powerful media solutions platform that spans planning, activation, and optimization - enabling brands to connect with purpose, perform with precision, and scale with impact. Powered by data, insight, and creative execution, SMS delivers smarter, outcome-first campaigns across the full SRMG ecosystem. From high-reach media to curated, vertical-specific solutions, every placement is engineered to convert and built to move the needle.
“The media industry is at a crossroads - and SMS is uniquely positioned to lead the way forward,” said Al-Mubarak. “Our mission is clear: deliver real outcomes for our partners by combining data, creativity, and technology. I’m proud to take on this role at such a pivotal time, and excited to work with our clients to shape the next era of growth.”
SMS is the trusted partner for ambitious businesses looking to drive performance across the Middle East. Its integrated approach fuses audience insight, exclusive content, and digital innovation into measurable results that move the needle.
MBC’s Shahid and Netflix launch joint subscription in regional first
- MBCNOW will provide seamless access to the full Netflix catalogue alongside Shahid, a leading Arabic streaming platform, as well as MBC’s award-winning linear TV channels
- The bundled subscription is designed to deliver convenience and value, offering more than 21 percent in savings compared to separate subscriptions
RIYADH: The MBC Group has announced a partnership with Netflix that brings together two major streaming platforms under a single subscription service — a first for the region.
It means MBCNOW, the Saudi media giant’s recently launched content aggregation platform, will provide seamless access to the full Netflix catalogue alongside Shahid, a leading Arabic streaming platform, as well as MBC’s award-winning linear TV channels.
The partnership is a first for Netflix in the Middle East and North Africa and aims to cater to diverse viewing preferences across Saudi Arabia and the wider Arab world.
The bundled subscription is designed to deliver convenience and value, offering more than 21 percent in savings compared to separate subscriptions.
Netflix’s head of business development and partnerships for the Middle East and Africa, Mohammed Al-Kuraishi, said the deal would make it easier for subscribers in Saudi Arabia and beyond to access “an incredible variety of international and Arabic shows, movies, documentaries, kids’ content, stand-ups, live events and games.”
“This groundbreaking partnership is one for the books,” said Fadel Zahreddine, group director of emerging media at MBC Group. “To have two streaming giants — Shahid and Netflix — come together under one platform is something never seen before in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and wider MENA.”
Bhanu Chaddha, director of distribution and TV products at MBC Group, said the collaboration represented “the future of streaming and content consumption.”
“This collaboration is part of our ongoing commitment to provide unparalleled global and local experiences for our audiences in the region,” he said.
Launched in February, MBCNOW is designed to bridge the gap between traditional TV and digital streaming.
The new Shahid + Netflix package is now available across Saudi Arabia through major retailers and e-commerce platforms. Further information on the subscription bundle can be found at mbc-now.net.
