Musk Activates Starlink Satellite Internet Service in Gaza Hospital

Analysts have doubts about Elon Musk's notion of relying on subscriptions instead of ads at Twitter Britta Pedersen POOL/AFP/File
Analysts have doubts about Elon Musk's notion of relying on subscriptions instead of ads at Twitter Britta Pedersen POOL/AFP/File
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Musk Activates Starlink Satellite Internet Service in Gaza Hospital

Analysts have doubts about Elon Musk's notion of relying on subscriptions instead of ads at Twitter Britta Pedersen POOL/AFP/File
Analysts have doubts about Elon Musk's notion of relying on subscriptions instead of ads at Twitter Britta Pedersen POOL/AFP/File

Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet service has been activated in a hospital in the Gaza Strip, the SpaceX chief executive said.

"Starlink is now active in a Gaza hospital with the support of @UAEmediaoffice and @Israel," Musk posted on X, more than five months after the Israeli government approved Starlink's use in the hospital in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

The high-speed internet will enable potentially life-saving medical consultations via real-time video calling, the UAE foreign ministry said in February.

Internet connectivity in Gaza is poor because of the lack of power and fuel to operate provider centers. This makes it harder for medical staff and rescue teams to work, and restricts hospital services and the health ministry's centralised system.



TikTok Returns to Apple and Google App Stores in the US

22 January 2025, Berlin: The Chinese social media app Tiktok is opened on a smartphone. The short video platform TikTok was restored to Apple and Google stores in the United States on Thursday. (dpa)
22 January 2025, Berlin: The Chinese social media app Tiktok is opened on a smartphone. The short video platform TikTok was restored to Apple and Google stores in the United States on Thursday. (dpa)
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TikTok Returns to Apple and Google App Stores in the US

22 January 2025, Berlin: The Chinese social media app Tiktok is opened on a smartphone. The short video platform TikTok was restored to Apple and Google stores in the United States on Thursday. (dpa)
22 January 2025, Berlin: The Chinese social media app Tiktok is opened on a smartphone. The short video platform TikTok was restored to Apple and Google stores in the United States on Thursday. (dpa)

TikTok has returned to the app stores of Apple and Google in the US, after President Donald Trump delayed the enforcement of a TikTok ban.

TikTok, which is operated by Chinese technology firm ByteDance, was removed from Apple and Google’s app stores on Jan. 18 to comply with a law that requires ByteDance to divest the app or be banned in the US.

The popular social media app, which has over 170 million American users, previously suspended its services in the US for a day before restoring service following assurances from Trump that he would postpone banning the app. The TikTok service suspension briefly prompted thousands of users to migrate to RedNote, a Chinese social media app, while calling themselves “TikTok refugees.”

The TikTok app became available to download again in the US Apple App store and Google Play store after nearly a month. On Trump’s first day in office, he signed an executive order to extend the enforcement of a ban on TikTok to April 5.

TikTok has long faced troubles in the US, with the US government claiming that its Chinese ownership and access to the data of millions of Americans makes it a national security risk.

TikTok has denied allegations that it has shared US user data at the behest of the Chinese government, and argued that the law requiring it to be divested or banned violates the First Amendment rights of its American users.

During Trump’s first term in office, he supported banning TikTok but later changed his mind, claiming that he had a “warm spot” for the app. TikTok CEO Shou Chew was among the attendees at Trump’s inauguration ceremony.

Trump has suggested that TikTok could be jointly owned, with half of its ownership being American. Potential buyers include real estate mogul Frank McCourt, Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary and popular YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson, also known as MrBeast.