"What we encountered ... was that the administration paid no attention to facts."

That's perhaps the most powerful line from a statement put out by TikTok, following the Executive Order signed by President Donald Trump, which demands U.S. firms cease working with both TikTok and WeChat (popular Chinese communication apps) in just 45 days. 

It seems both ByteDance and Tencent, the parent companies of the apps, are looking into legal challenges. 

Sticking with tech – Japanese gaming firm Nintendo, which broke into the global market 40 years ago with the Italian plumber Super Mario, has outstripped even the most optimistic predictions in the past quarter. Its handheld Switch console and Animal Crossing game have been selling at an almost unbelievable rate. What are people doing in lockdown? Gaming, it seems. 

And our other top story is the ongoing labor battle between British Airways and its staff. A lot of people learned their fate by email today and, unsurprisingly, many are very unhappy. There have been protests and one of the UK's largest unions has called it a "betrayal." 

If you want to hear a little bit more about how airlines have been dealing with the pandemic, check out our Agenda Podcast from earlier this year.

Finally, gold has been in the news a lot this week – scroll down for today's chart, which explains how significant its price hike has been 

Happy reading, 

Patrick Atack

Digital business correspondent 

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China has accused the U.S. of political manipulation after President Donald Trump signed two executive orders, banning American companies from doing business with the Chinese owners of WeChat and Tik Tok within 45 days. The orders came one day after the Trump administration said it was stepping up efforts to purge what it called untrusted Chinese apps from the US networks, naming both WeChat and TikTok as significant threats to U.S. digital security. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the U.S. move violated market principles.

British Airways says 6,000 of its staff have accepted voluntary redundancy. The airline says it emailed the rest of its staff to tell them if they have a job, or if they will have to move to a new contract. Unite, the union representing the majority of cabin crew, ground staff and engineers, has not been able to reach a deal with the airline and launched a campaign attacking the policy, which it called the BA Betrayal. British Airways insists the company is protecting jobs as it deals with the huge financial impact of the pandemic.

Uber says demand for its food delivery service doubled in the second quarter as many users remained under lockdown. But the number of active customers across all its services dropped sharply – as taxi bookings were down 75 percent. The company's been trying to recoup losses by launching a grocery delivery service in some U.S. cities.

The U.S. jobless rate dropped by slightly under one percent in July, from 11.1 to 10.2 percent. The job "recovery" is slowing, however, as fewer jobs were created or recreated in July than in the preceding months. 

Japanese video game and console producer Nintendo has smashed analysts' quarterly results forecasts, with sales of its Switch console and Animal Crossing: New Horizons game exploding during the pandemic. The company's second-quarter profits hit $1.3 billion – beating expectations of $670 million. 

Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena has published losses of $994 million for the second quarter, due to the pandemic and other legal claims. Monte dei Paschi is controlled by the Italian state after a 2017 bailout handed Rome 68 percent of one of the world's oldest banks. 

Fast-food chains have taken a hit globally in the past six months and, although Restaurant Brands International says it will end the year with a stable number of outlets, the Burger King and Tim Hortons owner announced it would close hundreds of stores. 

General Motors revealed its first Cadillac electric vehicle as it mounts a challenge to market leader Tesla. The Cadillac LYRIQ is described as a mid-size SUV, and will begin production in 2022 in both China and the U.S.

The UK government announced a $260 million "Trader Support Service" to minimize post-Brexit trouble for traders operating across the Northern Irish border with the Republic of Ireland. Another $201 million will be invested in technology to make the paperwork assistance viable, despite the prime minister's previous claim there would be no interruption to cross-border trade. 

Fortescue Metals Group, an Australian mining group, said it would review its plans for an iron ore mine in Western Australia after local indigenous groups complained that the plans threatened sacred sites dating back 60,000 years. The Wintawari Guruma people are hoping to avoid similar destruction, now being investigated, by Rio Tinto. 

South African investigators hope to recover $22.8 million from German software firm SAP for two contracts, which were allegedly entered into illegally. In 2018, the company admitted misconduct over deals with state firms. 

Facebook shares rose by six percent after the establishment of Instagram Reels – a product designed to compete with TikTok – which, in turn, increased Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's personal wealth to $100 billion. The assets of many tech CEOs have grown hugely during the pandemic, with Zuckerberg thought to have benefitted to the tune of $22 billion. 

WATCH: The explosion in Beirut has made 250,000 people homeless overnight. A new online campaign has begun to find beds for those who have lost their homes.

Nick South, of Boston Consulting Group's People and Organization practice, talked to CGTN Europe about the effect of the global pandemic on workplaces, working from home and what the future holds for commuters. 

What have employers learnt during this ongoing pandemic? 

We've learnt a number of things. First of all, organizations have learnt the art of the possible. Organizations are saying, 'we've got to seize this moment, we've worked out different ways of doing things, we don't just want to drift back to the old ways.'

Secondly, people who've been working remotely found that they've actually quite enjoyed it. 

That being said, how important is it then that workers return to the office in this country? The UK government, at least, seems sure it is time. 

They're trying to do the right thing for their employees. So they're trying to make sure that they're able to bring people back to the workplace safely. But also, if people are effective working remotely, many organizations are prepared to carry on with that as part of the mix. 

Do you think remote working will be embraced at the levels we're seeing now post-COVID-19? And what does that mean for the future of cities?

Cities like London will have a powerful place – people around the world want to work in cities like London.

But the nature of the things that people will be coming to cities for, to work for, will be different. There are more collaborations, working on complex problems.