Recognition of the Palestinian State
Monday, Sept 22nd, 2025
World News — Canada, UK, and Australia Recognized Palestine as a State
FT
UK, Canada, and Australia have formally recognised Palestine as an independent state in a coordinated move at the UN General Assembly, joining France and several other nations amid growing outrage over Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and its expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank. The decision, fiercely opposed by Israel and the US, is seen as a significant diplomatic rebuke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, which insists it will never allow the creation of a Palestinian state. Although largely symbolic, these recognitions represent strong support for Palestinians’ quest for sovereignty and are intended to revive hope for peace and a two-state solution, especially as humanitarian conditions worsen in Gaza, where over 65,000 people have been killed according to Palestinian officials. Leaders of all three Commonwealth countries emphasized that the recognition aligns with principles of self-determination and human rights, but acknowledged that it does not resolve the conflict nor guarantee immediate peace, with international pressures continuing but little sign of an end to Israel’s offensive or settlement expansion.
Tech — What We Know and Do Not Know About the TikTok Deal
Bloomberg
After over a year of negotiations, the US and China have agreed on a framework for a deal that would see TikTok’s US operations spun off to a consortium led by Oracle, Andreessen Horowitz, and Silver Lake, with ByteDance’s ownership stake dropping below 20% to comply with new US law. While final details and the price tag remain uncertain, the agreement aims to resolve national security concerns that TikTok, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, poses as a potential tool for Chinese state surveillance or propaganda, especially among its 170 million American users and its strong influence on Gen-Z. If finalized, TikTok would continue operating in its present form until a migration to a new platform backed by the consortium, with US engineers developing a replacement app replicating TikTok’s signature recommendation algorithm — which ByteDance would license to the US group. The move follows persistent US lawmaker demands for ByteDance to divest TikTok US or face discontinuation, reflecting wider geopolitical tensions and rising scrutiny of Chinese tech giants overseas.
Economics — The Effects of Trump’s Changes to the H-1B
Bloomberg
The Trump administration’s plan to raise the H-1B visa application fee to $100,000 has alarmed international students and skilled foreign workers hoping to build careers in the US, with critics warning it will make the program unreachable for most entry-level professionals, startups, nonprofits, and even critical sectors like health care. Companies across the tech sector and beyond have been jolted by the abrupt policy shift, as the high fee is expected to limit access to H-1B visas to large corporations with deep pockets, leaving smaller employers unable to compete for global talent. The announcement initially caused confusion about whether current visa holders would be affected, before the White House clarified that it applies only to new applicants in the next lottery, but that did little to calm widespread uncertainty, especially since the measure appears timed for maximum disruption and did not allow for industry input. Many international students, particularly from India and China who make up the majority of H-1B recipients, now fear for their career prospects, with some even considering returning home, while business groups and immigration advocates predict long-term negative impacts on US innovation, health care, and academic recruitment.
The Daily Spark
The US government currently collects about $350 billion in tariffs at an annualized rate, which corresponds to 18% of annual household income tax payments, see charts below.
The bottom line is that the amount of money collected in tariff revenue is very significant.
Quote of the Day
“It is much easier to put existing resources to better use, than to develop resources where they do not exist.”
― George Soros