«تيك توك» على خط التجاذب الأميركي ـ الصيني

البرلمان البريطاني يحظر التطبيقَ على أجهزته

رئيس «تيك توك» التنفيذي يدلي بشهادته أمام مجلس النواب الأميركي أمس (رويترز)
رئيس «تيك توك» التنفيذي يدلي بشهادته أمام مجلس النواب الأميركي أمس (رويترز)
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«تيك توك» على خط التجاذب الأميركي ـ الصيني

رئيس «تيك توك» التنفيذي يدلي بشهادته أمام مجلس النواب الأميركي أمس (رويترز)
رئيس «تيك توك» التنفيذي يدلي بشهادته أمام مجلس النواب الأميركي أمس (رويترز)

كثَّف تطبيق «تيك توك» مساعيه لطمأنة المشرِّعين في الكونغرس الأميركي، في ظلّ ازدياد الدعوات الغربية لحظره، وآخِرها منع البرلمان البريطاني استخدامه على أجهزته.
ووسط تجاذب أميركي - صيني، قدَّم الرئيس التنفيذي لـ«تيك توك» شو تشيو، أمام لجنة بمجلس النواب، إفادتَه في ظل مساعي التطبيق الصيني لإقناع الأميركيين ومشرِّعيهم بأنَّ التطبيق ينشئ قيمة اقتصادية ويدعم حرية التعبير.
ويتعرَّض التطبيق، الذي تملكه شركة «بايت دانس» الصينية، لضغوطٍ هائلة من دول غربية عدة؛ على خلفية مخاوفَ من استخدام بكين التطبيق لأغراض التجسس أو الترويج لدعاية.
وفي مقابل هذه المخاوف، قدَّم تشو وعوداً واسعة النطاق بحماية بيانات المستخدمين الأميركيين، والحفاظ على أمان المراهقين، والبقاء بعيداً عن أي نفوذ حكومي. وقال: «اسمحوا لي بأن أصرّحَ بذلك بشكل لا لبْس فيه: شركة بايت دانس ليست وكيلاً للصين أو أي دولة أخرى».
وطالب مسؤولون حكوميون في الولايات المتحدة وفي مفوضية الاتحاد الأوروبي والمملكة المتحدة وكندا، بحذف التطبيق من أجهزتهم. وخيّرت إدارة الرئيس جو بايدن الشركة بين التخلي عن ملكيتها الصينية، أو مواجهة حظر تام.
وحذا البرلمان البريطاني، أمس، حذوَ الحكومة في حظر «تيك توك»، ما يمنع المشرّعين من الوصول إلى تطبيق الفيديو الصيني عبر شبكة الإنترنت الخاصة به.
وقال مجلسا العموم واللوردات إنَّ التطبيق «سيُحظَر على كل الأجهزة المرتبطة بالبرلمان والشبكة البرلمانية الأوسع نطاقاً (...). الأمن السيبراني يمثل أولوية قصوى بالنسبة للبرلمان».
وسيبقى بإمكان المشرِّعين استخدام «تيك توك» على هواتفهم الخاصة، لكن ليس عند الاتصال بشبكة الإنترنت الخاصة بالبرلمان.
بوادر حرب تكنولوجية باردة بين الولايات المتحدة والصين


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Typhoon Dolphin Floods Central China, Puts Beijing on Alert for Heavy Rain

A person rides an electric bike through a flooded street after Typhoon Dolphin brought heavy rain to Shanghai, China, August 10, 2026. (Reuters)
A person rides an electric bike through a flooded street after Typhoon Dolphin brought heavy rain to Shanghai, China, August 10, 2026. (Reuters)
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Typhoon Dolphin Floods Central China, Puts Beijing on Alert for Heavy Rain

A person rides an electric bike through a flooded street after Typhoon Dolphin brought heavy rain to Shanghai, China, August 10, 2026. (Reuters)
A person rides an electric bike through a flooded street after Typhoon Dolphin brought heavy rain to Shanghai, China, August 10, 2026. (Reuters)

Typhoon Dolphin churned deeper inland to the central Chinese province of Hubei on Tuesday, flooding streets, forcing the closure of tourist areas and halting construction projects, as forecasters warned of extreme rainfall across a broad swathe of the country.

The strongest typhoon to hit China this year, Dolphin packed an unusually resilient storm system that travelled nearly 6,000 km (3,728 miles) before making landfall over the weekend, drenching the country's eastern coast and bringing with it a sprawling cloud field.

The storm's reach has extended as far as Beijing, more than 1,000 km north of Hubei.

Four districts on the ‌capital's outskirts activated the ‌highest level of emergency flood responses, as the city braced for the expected ‌onset ⁠of more than one-third ⁠of its annual rainfall over 24 hours starting late on Tuesday.

Hubei, a major auto and high-tech electronics manufacturing hub and home to more than 58 million people, was just recovering from two rare tornadoes last month in the wake of Typhoon Maysak, which killed at least 11 people.

In the city of Xiangyang, where Hubei authorities issued a yellow warning for landslides and floods, pedestrians waded through water-covered streets as shared electric scooters were partially submerged.

At one crossroads in heavy rain, drivers slowed down to get their vehicles through water that was more than 30 cm deep while others turned around.

Sixty-year-old ⁠Huang, who had delayed her trip to buy groceries earlier in the morning ‌due to the rain, looked at the waterlogged roads with concern. She ‌was worried the floods could reach the compound of her apartment building a few hundred meters away.

"This area always gets ‌flooded when it rains. If it continues like this, the waters could reach my home," she said.

Nearby, rainwater ‌gushed onto a lower-lying highway from the elevated motorbike paths on either side of the road.

Authorities deployed workers in neon safety gear to remove some of the concrete and allow the water to drain faster. At a section of another highway prone to flooding, authorities had preventively stationed a drainage truck.

WIDESPREAD TORRENTIAL RAIN

On Tuesday, the National Meteorological Center renewed an orange alert ‌for heavy rain, the second-highest warning level, with Hubei expected to receive as much as 250 mm of rain in a 24-hour period.

As well as Xiangyang, ⁠Hubei authorities also issued yellow warnings ⁠for cities including Huanggang and Suizhou.

As of Tuesday morning, water levels at 35 reservoirs in Xiangyang had exceeded flood-control thresholds, prompting authorities to relocate 9,705 people.

Scenic areas across the province have announced temporary closures, including the popular Three Gorges Dam tourist area in Yichang. All but two of Xiangyang's 59 major scenic spots were shut.

Of 107 major highway and waterway construction projects underway in the province, 26 projects deemed high-risk have been suspended.

Dolphin's peripheral airflow will be forced to rise when it encounters the mountains in Hubei's western region, causing rainfall to intensify several times over, Wang Xiaoling, deputy director of Hubei's provincial meteorological observatory, told local newspaper Hubei Daily.

In neighboring Henan province, authorities issued a red flash-flood alert as the storm continued to channel moisture northward. Forecasters said some areas could receive up to 350 mm of rain through Wednesday afternoon.

Japan, which was battered by Dolphin before the storm reached China, was also preparing for landslides, flooding and strong winds after the Japan Meteorological Agency said Typhoon No. 15, Chan-hom, could move across Japan's mainland later on Tuesday.


Spain Prepares for Eclipse under Shadow of Wildfire Risk

Residents and firefighters work to extinguish an advancing wildfire near Formariz in Zamora province, Spain, July 29, 2026. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo
Residents and firefighters work to extinguish an advancing wildfire near Formariz in Zamora province, Spain, July 29, 2026. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo
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Spain Prepares for Eclipse under Shadow of Wildfire Risk

Residents and firefighters work to extinguish an advancing wildfire near Formariz in Zamora province, Spain, July 29, 2026. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo
Residents and firefighters work to extinguish an advancing wildfire near Formariz in Zamora province, Spain, July 29, 2026. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo

Spain is rolling out a massive police operation and public safety campaign ahead of a rare total solar eclipse on August 12 that will coincide with one of the country's highest-risk periods for wildfires.

Regional governments along the eclipse path across Spain – offering the best views of the solar event in mainland Europe – are seeking to corral an expected influx of 6 million people by designating 660 official viewing sites, along with parking and camping areas.

More than 35,000 officers will be deployed in a security operation to minimize the risks – such as fires caused by dropped cigarettes – linked to large gatherings in natural areas, Virginia Barcones, secretary-general for Civil Protection and Emergencies at Spain's Interior Ministry, told Reuters.

"We've had an extremely tough summer in Spain, with ‌yet another series of ‌major forest fires. That's why we must restrict any kind of activity that ‌could ⁠generate a spark," Barcones ⁠said.

TEMPERATURES SET TO REACH 40 DEGREES CELSIUS

A control room in Madrid seen by Reuters is where authorities will lead a surveillance operation in coordination with regional governments.

The full solar eclipse, visible in totality only from Spain and Iceland early on Wednesday evening, offers an example of how climate change will reshape the management of major public events.

Several Spanish regions are under alerts issued by weather agency Aemet for the day of the eclipse due to temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) and a "high" or "very high" wildfire risk.

Spain, along with France and Greece, has already ⁠battled heatwaves and severe wildfires this summer across an increasingly tinder-dry Europe.

By Monday evening, ‌three major wildfires were burning in the provinces of Huelva, Segovia ‌and Huesca. So far this year, fires have scorched about 200,000 hectares – six times more than by the same date in ‌2025, according to the Environment Ministry.

"This is a very bad time of year ... It's statistically the week ‌when the most wildfires occur in Spain," said Raul de la Calle, secretary-general of the Association of Forest Technical Engineers.

RURAL CROWDS FUEL FEARS

Some residents of small towns have launched their own public awareness campaigns, urging visitors to avoid sensitive natural areas.

In Buitrago de Lozoya, a town of 2,000 residents north of Madrid, local group Monte en Pie (Keeping Woodlands Alive) staged a protest ‌against events planned near forests.

The nearby town of Tres Cantos cancelled all eclipse-day events because of wildfire risks, though around 3,000 people – including Madrid's regional leaders – ⁠are still expected at ⁠an observation site near Buitrago.

Monte en Pie argues that while the eclipse will last only a few minutes, the damage caused by a major wildfire could endure for decades.

"We are in a high wildfire-risk area. Barbecues and the use of machinery are prohibited because the countryside is extremely dry ... The more people there are, the greater the danger," said Ana Hernandez, the group's leader.

Authorities estimate around 1.5 million people could be on the roads during the day, travelling to rural northwestern and central Spain that is along the total eclipse's path.

National and local authorities have launched public awareness campaigns, warning in local and social media and in visitors' forums online against parking in unauthorized areas, littering, using barbecues or venturing into fire-prone countryside.

Fire risks do not however appear to be deterring astro-tourists. Travel platform Booking.com reported foreign searches more than tripled in inland cities such as Burgos and Soria, while Amadeus travel data showed bookings to the northern region of Asturias were up 292% from a year earlier.

Around 70% of Spain's rental motorhomes, camper vans and caravans, around 500,000 vehicles, have already been booked for the eclipse period, industry association ASEICAR said.


Swiatek Dominates Shnaider to Set Up Toronto Semi with Svitolina

Iga Swiatek of Poland celebrates while playing Diana Shnaider during the quarterfinals on day nine of the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers at Sobeys Stadium on August 10, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images/AFP)
Iga Swiatek of Poland celebrates while playing Diana Shnaider during the quarterfinals on day nine of the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers at Sobeys Stadium on August 10, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images/AFP)
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Swiatek Dominates Shnaider to Set Up Toronto Semi with Svitolina

Iga Swiatek of Poland celebrates while playing Diana Shnaider during the quarterfinals on day nine of the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers at Sobeys Stadium on August 10, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images/AFP)
Iga Swiatek of Poland celebrates while playing Diana Shnaider during the quarterfinals on day nine of the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers at Sobeys Stadium on August 10, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images/AFP)

Former world number one Iga Swiatek cruised into the Toronto Masters semi-finals on Monday to set up a clash with Elina Svitolina who fought back from a set down to reach the last four.

Poland's Swiatek, a six-time Grand Slam champion, took just 64 minutes to sweep past Russia's Diana Shnaider 6-2, 6-1.

Ukraine's Svitolina, the ninth seed, beat Russia's Ekaterina Alexandrova 3-6, 6-0, 6-3.

Swiatek reached just her second WTA semi-final this year after Rome and is seeking her first final appearance since winning the Korea Open almost a year ago in Seoul.

"From the beginning I went for it. I felt like I could dominate," Swiatek said after dropping just three points on her first serve.

"I was quite happy with the way I played. It was a tricky match with the wind.

"I thought I needed to adjust to that. I just wanted to be more solid," added the 25-year-old world number eight.

Svitolina won eight consecutive games after losing the first set on the way to dispatching Alexandrova in 93 minutes.

Swiatek leads Svitolina 4-3 in their WTA career rivalry, but lost both their meetings this year.

"I'm gonna talk with my team to adjust a little bit for Iga's game," said Svitolina.

"Of course she's a great champion. She plays really well this tournament. I have to bring my best."

Swiatek established a 5-2 lead in the first set when she broke Shnaider a second time, courtesy of the Russian netting a backhand, and served out to take it in 31 minutes.

The Pole broke for a 2-1 lead in the second when Shnaider netted. A forehand winner gave Swiatek a 4-1 lead and a third break sealed victory.

Svitolina had more of a battle after sending a backhand long on serve to drop an evenly matched first set.

It fired up the Ukrainian who reeled off four breaks to blank Alexandrova in the second set and take a 2-0 lead in the third.

Svitolina served for the match in the eighth game of the final set only for a double fault to allow Alexandrova a lifeline.

But a pumped-up Svitolina roared back, broke to love and finished the match with a searing return winner.

"Very pleased with my performance. With the fighting spirit," said Svitolina.

"She was playing really well in the first set. I had to really step into like a fighting mode."