Good morning. Here's what happened overnight and what you need to know today.
1.
Ban drama: TikTok has filed a lawsuit against the US government challenging a recently passed law that will force its Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell the popular video app or face a nationwide ban by January 2024. The company argues the law violates the Constitution by stifling free speech and will devastate its over 1 billion global users, 7 million business partners, and USD24 billion ($36.4 billion) annual US economic contribution. The company spent USD1.5 billion moving its US operations to domestic data centres under the oversight of Oracle, but failed to convince lawmakers of sufficient data security. It sets up a potential prolonged legal battle requiring national security evidence disclosure as ByteDance resists a forced sale with the looming divestiture deadline. (Bloomberg)
2.
Rafah incursion: Israel threatened to escalate its military offensive in the Gaza Strip after its forces seized the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, defying international mediators attempting to negotiate an end to the seven-month conflict. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a draft ceasefire proposal from Hamas that would have led to an initial six-week pause and release of hostages, stating it fell short of Israel's requirements. However, Israeli negotiators traveled to Cairo to continue indirect talks mediated by the US, Qatar and Egypt. Defence Minister Yoav Gallant vowed the operation in Rafah to "eliminate Hamas" would intensify until hostages are freed, warning of expanding the assault across Gaza. The incursion drew condemnation from the EU, Arab states and UN aid agencies. The Biden administration has informally held up some precision weapon shipments to Israel amid criticism of its conduct, according to anonymous sources speaking to the Financial Times. (Financial Times)(Bloomberg)
