Latest news bulletin | January 9th – Evening
Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond - latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel.
Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond - latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel.
STORY: "Welcome to Chinese social media' says Paul Ashton, an American influencer in China who is no stranger to 'Red Note', the social media platform known in China as Xiaohongshu.This week, a person close to the platform told Reuters more than half a million American users piled into the platform in protest of an imminent ban on Tiktok.Ashton is based in Shanghai, but online he goes by Baobaoxiong - literally, 'hug hug bear' - and his videos have billions of views.He was excited to see the surge of so-called 'TikTok refugees' as a foreigner in China and RedNote veteran."I have loved seeing the way, the enthusiasm and the joy at which I've seen a lot of Chinese netizens engaging with people that are English speakers. Like, one of my favorite memes I've seen so far is just like, "hello, Americans, show us your cats!" Like, if there's one thing that binds the internet, it's that we all love cat pictures, you know?"While China has for years tightly controlled its cyberspace through its "Great Firewall" - and Chinese social media platforms have in the past run separate domestic and abroad versions of their apps, RedNote is unique as it only maintains one version of its app and it gives both Chinese and American users a rare opportunity to interact directly with each other."I'm not sure how many of the new users will actually stick around and hang out. But I hope that they do.""Because I think that that would be a really important shift in cultural exchange that for the first time in a long time, puts the ball in China's court a little bit more. But then even more specifically, puts the ball in the hands of Chinese people in China."In China, RedNote as a platform is popular for finding recommendations for beauty, travel or food.On Wednesday many of its users posted selfies and messages welcoming new American users.Though Beijing-based academic Liu Xingliang, who studies the digital economy, says RedNote was caught unprepared."It is an accident. But since it is an accident, it is actually good for them, and there also may be certain risks. If they want to catch this wave of prosperity, I think they may have to do at least a few things. The first thing is to make your interface and UI more friendly.""It is the first time that a large number of people have had such a very large-scale exchange, and the exchanges between the two sides are relaxed and enthusiastic. From what I've seen, they were all learning about each other's living habits, local conditions and customs."There were also signs that some new foreign users were testing the platform's censorship limits with some posting on social media network X that they were unable to post about topics known to be sensitive in China such as the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.For now - China's welcoming the migration of TikTokers to RedNote with open arms.Chinese state media CCTV ran reports saying that TikTok users had found a "new home".And China's foreign ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday the use of social media is a "personal choice", and China "encourages and supports" people-to-people exchanges.
"Red Note got me wondering why we're always beefing with China. Love them."
TikTok has warned of a looming shutdown in just six days, as the Supreme Court is currently weighing the law that would ban the app. The law gives TikTok parent company ByteDance until January 19 to divest its U.S. operations or face a ban in the country. TikTok is hoping for a pause to the law, but if that doesn’t happen, the app will effectively be banned in the country.
Joshua Michals is accused of leaving partner and fellow student Zhe Wang to die in a ‘pool of blood’
The list includes some of Trump’s well known ‘enemies’ who served in his first administration
The flight attendant said she would call the pilots and the police if the chaos continued
The post Singapore’s only Chinese-American restaurant since 1990 ceasing operations on 1 Mar 2025 appeared first on SETHLUI.com.
The mom of three turned her back for just a minute
He’s been the £80 million signing who has turned into a figure of fun among football fans – but Antony’s Manchester United career hit a new low with this contender for miss of the season in the victory over Southampton.
Donald Trump has fired a defiant riposte to Joe Biden’s parting warning that a tech titan oligarchy is threatening America’s democracy. The president-elect has invited the world’s wealthiest billionaires to join his family and former U.S. presidents in prime positions on the dais for Monday’s inauguration ceremony. Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Sam Altman, and Shou Zi Chew will take pride of place outside the Capitol in a clear show of money power behind the new administration.
He did not score. He did not even come close to scoring. It was emphatically hat-trick man Amad Diallo who was Manchester United’s matchwinner. But it was Joshua Zirkzee who was the game-changer against Southampton. What a difference from the last time he was on the pitch at Old Trafford just 17 days ago.
Laura Caron, 34, a former college basketball star, was arrested Wednesday and charged with abusing a student from the age of 11 years old while they lived with her at her home in Cape May, NJ
The singer just showed off her toned physique while soaking up the sun in New Zealand. See photos
Kamala Harris has told friends that she is deeply sad about President Joe Biden’s claim that he could have won the 2024 election. Biden said in an interview at the start of January that he thought he could have defeated Donald Trump. “It’s presumptuous to say that, but I think yes... based on the polling,” he said, speaking to USA Today, later clarifying that he meant both he and Harris “could have... would have” beaten Trump.
Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness's divorce is getting super messy thanks to their lack of prenup and a "j\huge amount of money."
"I married for love — my husband came from a poor family and didn’t have a high-paying job. After we got married, I realized he had hid a lot of debt from me: credit card, student loans, and the wedding, which I was told was taken care of. We’ve been married for eight years, and I have been the breadwinner and sole provider for at least half the marriage. I do find myself wishing I married for money, out of pure exhaustion."
The impeached president has been arrested for declaring martial law after months of political scandal
Aides to President-elect Donald Trump have asked three senior career diplomats who oversee the U.S. State Department's workforce and internal coordination to step down from their roles, two U.S. officials familiar with the matter said, in a possible signal of deeper changes ahead for the diplomatic corps. The team overseeing the State Department's transition to the new administration, the Agency Review Team, has requested that Dereck Hogan, Marcia Bernicat and Alaina Teplitz leave their posts, the sources said. While political appointees typically submit their resignations when a new president takes office, most career foreign service officers continue from one administration to the next.
Two journalists disrupted Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s last press briefing Thursday with criticism over his handling of the war in Gaza. “Your father-in-law was an Israel lobbyist. Your grandfather was an Israel lobbyist. Are you compromised by Israel? Why did you allow the Holocaust of our time to happen?” Max Blumenthal, editor of the blog Grayzone, asked…
“I assumed they would only charge us for her food and activities like zip lining. Nope,” wrote the surprised mom in a post on Reddit