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China has accused the US of exaggerating national security fears about TikTok to suppress the Chinese company. US government agencies have been ordered to wipe the Chinese app from all staff devices within 30 days, because of fears over cybersecurity. Similar steps have been taken by Canada and the EU with some politicians calling for nationwide bans. Spare a thought for TikTok executives. In 2020, they narrowly escaped seeing their smash-hit app banned in the US by then-president Donald Trump, and faced a daily storm of questions about the cybersecurity risks posed by TikTok. Thanks to numerous complex legal challenges, the debate largely fizzled out - and was eventually put to rest in 2021, when President Joe Biden overturned Trump's proposal. You could almost hear a collective sigh of relief, both from TikTok itself and the millions of influencers who rely on the social media app to earn a living. But now, in an irony which mirrors the video app's trademark looping format, we're back to where we started. Except now the stakes are even higher.

Almost 700 girls have been poisoned by toxic gas in Iran since November, in what many believe is a deliberate attempt to force their schools to shut. No girls have died, but dozens have suffered respiratory problems, nausea, dizziness and fatigue. "It became evident that some people wanted all schools, especially girls' schools, to be closed down," the deputy health minister said on Sunday. However, he later said that his remarks had been misunderstood. The prosecutor general announced last week that he was opening a criminal investigation. However, he said that the available information only indicated "the possibility of criminal and premeditated acts".

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A tweet from The United Nations thanking China for giving an $800,000 donation to support human rights enraged critics on social media over the weekend, prompting renewed calls to halt U.S. funding to the organization accused of ignoring Chinese human rights abuses. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the self-described "leading U.N. entity on human rights," thanked China on Twitter for donating to support its human rights work last week, before encouraging others to donate to the cause. "Thank you #China for donating $800K to support our Office's #humanrights work. You can donate too: https://ohchr.org/en/donation, "

Israeli settlers have attacked Palestinian villages in the northern occupied West Bank, after two settlers were shot dead by a Palestinian gunman. One Palestinian man was killed and more than 100 others were injured in the overnight violence near Nablus, the Palestinian health ministry said. Dozens of cars and houses were also burnt, according to a local official. It followed the killings of the two Israelis - brothers from a nearby settlement - along a highway. The Israeli military said it was continuing to search for the Palestinian who shot Hillel Yaniv, 22, and Yagel Yaniv, 20, and that it had moved in extra troops. Earlier on Sunday, Israeli and Palestinian officials had pledged to de-escalate tensions at a summit in Jordan. Videos posted hours after the summit ended showed a large crowd of Israeli settlers entering the village of Hawara, about 4 miles (6km) south of Nablus, lighting fires and throwing stones.

The first female Speaker of the Houses of Commons Betty Boothroyd has died aged 93. Before becoming speaker she served as Labour MP for West Bromwich West from 1973 to 2000. She went on to serve as a baroness in the House of Lords from 2001 until her death. The current Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle described her as "an inspirational woman" who was known for her "no-nonsense style". "To be the first woman Speaker was truly ground-breaking and Betty certainly broke that glass ceiling with panache. "Betty was one of a kind. A sharp, witty and formidable woman - and I will miss her," he said. Singing the praises of first female Commons Speaker Baroness auctions off treasures amid house move

The legal marriage age in England and Wales has been raised to 18. The law change, which took effect today, has been hailed as a “huge victory for survivors”. From Monday, 16 and 17-year-olds can no longer wed or enter a civil partnership in England or Wales – even with parental consent – in an effort to better protect children from forced marriage. The change, under the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act, means it is now a crime to exploit vulnerable children by arranging for them to marry under any circumstances, whether or not force was used. The law will cover non-legally binding “traditional” ceremonies which would still be viewed as marriages by the parties and their families, the Government said.

When Russia invaded Ukraine a year ago, one of the biggest successes they achieved initially was in southern Ukraine. Within a few days Russian troops attacking from Crimea had seized an area of Ukrainian territory bigger than Switzerland. Ukrainian authorities are yet to explain what went wrong in the south in those early days. To help uncover what happened, the BBC has spoken to military officers, politicians and activists. On 22 February 2022 at 19:15, the secretary of Ukraine's security council Aleksey Danilov received a red folder with secret documents. They warned that the president's life was under imminent threat. Immediately, Mr Danilov contacted the head of the security services, the interior minister, prime minister and President Volodymyr Zelensky himself. But Ukraine's leadership stopped short of declaring martial law, for now. There was no mobilisation of troops. Just a few weeks before, Ukrainian authorities had described Western warnings of Russian invasion as "manipulation" and called on everyone to remain calm.

handsome Korean man" and evade the law, local authorities have said. Saharat Sawangjaeng, who adopted the alias Jimin Cheong, was caught last week at a condominium in Bangkok. Police, who had been on the hunt for the 25-year-old for three months, said "none of his original face was left". They tracked him down by tracing the distribution of ecstasy to other sellers and buyers in Bangkok. Witnesses described him as a "handsome Korean man" to police. He had also changed his name to a Korean one, and police said he told them he wanted to restart his life in South Korea. Sawangjaeng has been charged with the illegal import of narcotics. He admitted to ordering MDMA - also known as ecstasy - over the dark web using cryptocurrencies, the police said last week.

Staff working at the European Commission have been ordered to remove the TikTok app from their phones and corporate devices. The commission said it was implementing the measure to "protect data and increase cybersecurity". TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, has faced allegations that it harvests users' data and hands it to the Chinese government. TikTok insists it operates no differently from other social media. European Union (EU) industry chief Thierry Breton told a news conference that the union's executive is very focused on cybersecurity, declining to provide further details. The ban also means that European Commission staff cannot use TikTok on personal devices that have official apps installed. US state of Indiana sues Chinese-owned TikTok New bill would ban TikTok in the US TikTok denies it could be used to track US citizens