U.S. House of Representatives Committee Votes in Favor of TikTok Ban, Tesla Inc. Stock Price Falls, and Other International News Today
The U.S. House of Representatives foreign affairs committee has approved President Joe Biden’s proposal to ban popular social media app, TikTok. The committee voted 24-16 in favor of the decision on Tuesday, March 1st. Meanwhile, on Wednesday, TikTok announced that it will limit usage for users under the age of 18 to only one hour per day, in an attempt to prevent addiction to cell phones.
Tesla Inc. saw a drop in its stock price by more than 5% in after-hours trading on the U.S. stock market on March 2nd, due to investors’ concerns about the company’s lack of a clear direction. This followed the Investor Day 2023 Investor Meeting held at Tesla in Austin, Texas, on March 1st.
In other news, Sky News reported on March 1st that a sample of the avian influenza virus obtained from a deceased Cambodian girl showed a mutation that could make the virus better adapt to human cells. The U.S. Department of Defense also approved the sale of missiles and related munitions worth $619 million to Taiwan, in response to China’s aggressive military actions.
Bloomberg News reported a new poison attack on schoolgirls in Iran on March 2nd, causing public outrage. Meanwhile, Vietnam’s National Assembly appointed Vo Van Thuong as the country’s new president, in an effort to combat corruption.
On March 1st, a magnitude 5.7 earthquake hit the Mexican state of Oaxaca, according to the European Mediterranean Observatory (EMSC), but there have been no reports of any damage. Meanwhile, in Japan, the number of schoolgirl suicides rose to a record high of 512 in 2022 due to academic pressure and stress associated with school and university entrance exams.
Finally, the Hong Kong Women’s Workers’ Association announced that the Hong Kong police have granted permission for a protest to be held on Sunday, March 5th. This marks one of the first protests approved by the Hong Kong authorities since the political protests ended in early 2020.