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Manila: The US-backed new Philippine Maritime Zones Act and Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act clearly defining the extent and boundaries of the country’s maritime zones and nullifying China’s sweeping claims in the South China Sea promises to raise fresh tensions in the region threatening to affect the estimated global maritime trade of around US$5 trillion annually. Earlier this month, the laws were signed and sealed by Philippines President Bongbong Marcos. They were instantly supported by the US, which said the Philippines can depend on a “chorus of nations” declaring support for the 2016 arbitral ruling to defend its maritime rights and entitlements as well as help maintain a rule-based order in the face of China’s aggression and flouting of international law.

The interim Government of Bangladesh which took office on August 8 this year completed its first one hundred days on November 16. On this occasion, head of the interim Government Dr. Muhammad Yunus in a televised address to the nation on Sunday urged the people to keep patience and promised road map for elections soon after the carrying out of the electoral reforms. He emphasized that the government wants to create an election system that will be followed for ages.

Donald Trump made history by winning a larger share of Black and Hispanic votes compared to 2020, and by becoming the first since George W. Bush to win based on popular votes. There had already been indications of Trump winning, although not by such a decisive margin. Initially, the US betting industry was predicting a Trump win. Then, there was the indication from the US stock market. In October, the stocks owned by Trump, performed much better than the stocks listed in S&P 500. More importantly, Trump is being funded by major corporations and is supported by the White Protestants and Catholics. Historically, the US business leaders have consistently supported Republicans. Between 2007 and 2017, 57% of the CEOs of S&P 1500 companies contributed politically to the Republican Party, 19% gave to the Democrats, and the rest split their contributions between the two parties.

The delegates at the on-going COP29 are expected to deliver news solutions to save the world from a climate catastrophe, but these expectations instead of focussing on climate warriors, should pressurise the developed world holding its purse strings tight, to loosen them and spend for what it has already destroyed in the race for advancement through industrialisation.

The 2024 G-20 Summit is taking place in Rio de Janeiro on November 18 and 19 in the background of two continuing wars in Ukraine and West Asia and the intensification of eco-political crisis in Europe. Moreover, the victory of Donald Trump in the November 5 presidential elections in USA has led to uncertainty over the future programmes of NATO and the relationship between USA and Europe.

After the election of Donald Trump and the defeat of Kamala Harris, the owner of the Los Angeles Times is looking to balance opinion pieces in his newspaper. This, when the Washington Post and the New York Times, continue to go for Trump’s jugular, criticizing his every move, picking warts on his cabinet picks. Publications like the Los Angeles Times have seen the writing on the wall and are adapting. Wisdom does not come to everybody at the exact same time. At the end of the day, it is "business".

WASHINGTON DC: Will Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Republican president-elect Donald Trump’s pick to head the giant Health and Human Services Department, be—in the words of the warning on cigarette packages—a hazard to your health? Off both his past stands against vaccines, against fluoridation of water, against the Food and Drug Administration, and more, the answer to that may well be “yes.”

Bitcoin has been rising over the past few weeks and it is currently trading at above $90,000. With the $92,000 level breached, Bitcoin seems headed for the $100K mark. Bitcoin has surged 36.33% in 1 month, over 20% in 7-day and 3.45% in 24 hours. In a year-long period, BTC has surged a whopping 147%. For the critics of Bitcoin, it's a challenging moment. However, this is historic for those who see BTC as the currency of the future. BTC is within striking distance of the $100K mark. The good news is that even other coins and tokens have seen a strong price rally.

Sri Lankan President Anura Dissanayake has led his leftist coalition of 21 parties National People’s Power (NPP) to power in the island nation with a massive victory in the elections to Parliament held on Sunday, November 14. With most of the ballots counted by Friday morning, the NPP was far ahead bagging 141 seats out of the total of 225 giving it a comfortable majority. The NPP got 62 per cent of the votes and was leading in all but one of the 22 electoral districts.

It’s a contradiction in terms. You are creating a new department or agency to study and carry out paring of the size of the government. That’s what the US president-elect, Donald Trump, is up to. And who is to co-lead it, none other than Elon Musk, the braze entrepreneur and richest man in the world. The other cheer leader for downsizing government is Vivek Ramaswamy.