America’s Supreme Court upheld a law forcing TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, to sell the app or face a nationwide ban. The deadline for divestment is Sunday, the day before Donald Trump’s inauguration. The law, passed over fears of Chinese influence, could see TikTok removed from app stores. Mr Trump campaigned vowing to “save” the platform.
Israel’s security cabinet approved the Gaza ceasefire deal. The government will vote on the agreement later on Friday. Hard-right members of Binyamin Netanyahu’s coalition oppose the deal and have threatened to resign in protest. The agreement is set to take effect on Sunday, with Hamas expected to release the first hostages that day.
President Joe Biden said he will release nearly 2,500 non-violent drug offenders from jail, the largest-ever mass commutation by an American president. The move largely pertains to inmates convicted on crack-cocaine charges. The 1986 Anti-Drug Abuse Act imposed harsher penalties for crack than powder cocaine, disproportionately affecting Black Americans. Mr Biden said the decision corrects historical wrongs in the justice system.
China reported that its economy grew by 5% in 2024, meeting the government’s ambitious target for the year. Recent stimulus measures and a surge in export orders helped push the annual growth rate in the fourth quarter up to 5.4%, from 4.6% in the third quarter. Some economists, however, doubt whether growth is as strong as official numbers suggest.
A court in Pakistan sentenced Imran Khan, a former prime minister, to 14 years in prison for corruption. The charges were linked to the Al-Qadir Trust, a charity he founded while in office. Mr Kahn has been in jail since 2023 on separate charges. His wife, Bushra Bibi, was also convicted and handed a seven-year sentence for her role in the case. Mr Khan said the charges were politically motivated.
Rio Tinto and Glencore, two mining giants, reportedly held recent talks about a possible merger. According to Bloomberg, it is unclear if the discussions are still ongoing. Should the merger go through, it would probably be the biggest-ever deal in the industry. There has been a spate of mergers and acquisitions in mining as firms look to secure the metals needed to harness renewable energy.
SpaceX’s seventh test flight of its Starship rocket failed minutes after launch. The upper stage exploded because of a suspected fuel leak, but the Super Heavy booster successfully landed back on its launchpad at the firm’s base in Texas. American aviation regulators briefly rerouted flights over the Gulf of Mexico. Elon Musk, SpaceX’s boss, said improved versions of the rocket were ready for future tests.
Correction: An earlier edition of the World in Brief misspelt Kristi Noem’s name. Sorry.
Figure of the day: 61%, the share of Americans who say astrology provides comfort in uncertain times. Read the full story.
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