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China has extended its unilateral visa-free policy to more countries, providing visa-free treatment to travelers holding ordinary passports from nine countries, namely: Slovakia, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Andorra, Monaco, Liechtenstein and South Korea, as of November 8, 2024, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Friday.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) conducted a "crucial" test of its latest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) Hwasongpho-19 on Thursday, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Friday.

The missile flew a distance of 1,001.2 kilometers for 5,156 seconds before landing on a preset area in open waters off the country's east coast, and the test-fire had no negative effect on the security of neighboring countries, the KCNA report said.

The test updated the recent record of the strategic missile capability of the DPRK and demonstrated the modernity and credibility of the country's powerful strategic deterrent, and the latest strategic weapon system will function as "the primary core means" in defending the country, the KCNA said.

Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the DPRK, guided the event, calling the test-fire "an appropriate military action" to show the country's counteraction in response to the escalating security situation on the Korean Peninsula and part of "an indispensable process" in the course of constantly developing the DPRK's strategic attack capabilities, the report said.

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Lebanon’s prime minister accused Israel of rejecting a ceasefire after the Israeli military bombed the Hezbollah stronghold of south Beirut for the first time this week on Friday.

At least 10 strikes hit the southern suburbs before dawn after the Israeli military issued evacuation warnings, with TV footage showing explosions and clouds of smoke.

“The raids left massive destruction in the targeted areas, as dozens of buildings were levelled to the ground, in addition to the outbreak of fires,” Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported, adding that strikes also targeted Aley, southeast of the capital, and Bint Jbeil in the country’s south.

The Israeli military said it continued operations against the Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon and its Palestinian ally Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The strikes came a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met US officials to discuss a possible deal to end the war in Lebanon, ahead of Tuesday’s US presidential election.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the “expansion” of Israel’s attacks, saying they signalled a refusal to engage in truce efforts.

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Workers Party of Bangladesh (WPB) has called for national elections to be held immediately in the country and for the unconditional release of its president Rashed Khan Menon who has been arrested on “false charges” of murder.

In a statement released following its Polit Bureau meeting last week, the WPB claimed that failing to call for elections now would create a fresh constitutional crisis in the country. It also demanded that all political parties, including the Awami League, must be allowed to participate in the elections to put “the country back to constitutional order as soon as possible.”

As per Bangladesh’s constitution, an election must be held within three months after the dissolution of the parliament. The last parliament in the country was dissolved in early August following the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

However, the interim government has expressed its inability to hold the election within the stipulated time period and claimed that it would be “wrong” to hold elections before political reforms are carried out in the country. Mohammad Yunus, the chief advisor to the interim government has, however, failed to specify the reforms needed and give a timeline for the next elections.

Meanwhile, the administration under the interim government has claimed even if the process to hold a new election starts today, it may take another year to complete it.

The WPB and other major political formations in the country have warned that a significant delay in holding elections may lead to popular anger which will not be not be good for the country.

Meanwhile, the interim government has also expressed its intentions to ban the country’s major political party the Awami League and all other “like minded” parties for the next parliamentary elections.

The interim government has accused that the victory of Awami League in the last four elections was a result of fraud. It has termed all the elections since 2008 as “illegal.” The reason cited for the intention to ban Awami League’s former allies is their alleged “silent support” to its manipulation in those elections, Daily Star reported.

Both Menon and Haq have been in jail for months now. They have been charged for murder of protesters during the quota reform agitation despite neither of them being part of the Hasina government at the time.

Left parties have denied the interim government’s allegations. Instead the left argues that the cases against their leaders are politically motivated. They have alleged that the religious right in the country has used the quota agitation to marginalize all progressive forces by filing false cases against their leaders and staging assaults on their workers and offices and demanded the end of their political persecution.

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African Union health watchdog’s chief has said mpox outbreak is ‘still on the upward trend generally’ as cases spread.

More than 1,100 people have died of mpox in Africa, where some 48,000 cases have been recorded since January, according to the CDC.

Cases were still increasing in several countries as the continent struggled to contain another major outbreak coming on the heels of COVID-19 that exposed weaknesses in Africa’s health system.

So far, 19 countries in Africa have reported cases of mpox after an infection was detected in Mauritius, popular with tourists attracted to its stunning white beaches and crystal-clear waters.

Yet the funds to contain the outbreak were in short supply, Africa CDC warned.

“What we need is the continuous political and financial mobilisation,” Ngongo said, adding that this was a necessary measure to stop mpox from being another pandemic “which would be much more severe than COVID-19”.

Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, is caused by a virus transmitted to humans by infected animals but can also be passed from human to human through close physical contact.

The United Kingdom announced on Wednesday that it had detected the country’s first case with the latest mpox variant, clade 1b. It has also been detected in Sweden and Germany.

Central Africa, which has been hardest hit by the outbreak, accounts for 85.7 percent of cases and 99.5 percent of deaths on the continent.

The majority of deaths have been in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the epicentre of the outbreak, which launched a vaccination drive earlier this month.

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The US has been in the lead with higher tariff barriers and controls on high-tech exports, initiated under the Trump presidency and markedly intensified by Biden.

It is now being joined by the European Union, which this week imposed an additional tariff of 35 percent on Chinese electric vehicles on top of a 10 percent tariff already in force.

The new measures, which will come into force next week, are to last five years. They were introduced on the basis that Chinese EV makers were benefiting unfairly from state subsidies.

The Chinese government rejected the claim of undue state support, saying it would “continue to take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of all Chinese companies.”

The decision to impose the tariffs came after eight rounds of talks aimed at trying to devise a mechanism through which a minimum price could be set along with the volume of Chinese exports. But the talks broke down with both sides saying the differences remained significant.

Further talks are to be held, with the EU accepting an invitation by China to send envoys to Beijing to see if some agreement can be reached on these mechanisms.

The divisions within the EU, which must rank as some of the most significant on trade issues in the history of the Union, were underscored by comments from Germany. Hildegarde Müller, the head of the German auto industry association, VDA, said the decision was “a setback for free global trade and so for prosperity and Europe’s growth.”

The chief executive of BMW Oliver Zipse said protectionism would only make cars more expensive for consumers and accelerate plant closures in Europe.

The interconnectedness of the global car industry was indicated by Roberto Vavassori, who told the Financial Times (FT) that “for many suppliers in the automotive industry, [the Chinese] are both the biggest threat and the biggest customer.”

He asked: “What did the Chinese do, what did the Japanese do and what did the Koreans do when they were behind on technology? They collaborated. The European industry needs to get the Chinese to localise in Europe and it needs to collaborate with them, particularly around battery technology in order to catch up.”

For workers in the auto industry, in Europe and internationally, neither path is the way forward in a situation where they face a wave of job destruction and wage cutting.

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Indian and Chinese troops exchanged sweets at several border points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on Diwali, marking a significant thaw in Sino-Indian ties. This traditional practice comes on the heels of a major breakthrough - the completion of disengagement at two friction points in eastern Ladakh's Demchok and Depsang Plains.

The move marks a collaborative spirit following the recent disengagement at two friction points in eastern Ladakh—Demchok and Depsang Plains. This disengagement, completed just a day prior, represents a hopeful step towards stabilizing Sino-Indian ties that have been strained since 2020.

This development follows weeks of negotiations, culminating in an agreement finalised on October 21, as announced by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri in Delhi. The pact aims to resolve issues stemming from the 2020 standoff, focusing on patrolling and troop disengagement along the LAC in eastern Ladakh.

On Wednesday, an Army source said that troops of both sides had completed the disengagement at the two friction points and patrolling would commence soon at these points.

The verification process after the disengagement was in progress and patrolling modalities were to be decided between ground commanders, the source said then.

As talks continue at the local commander level, the exchange of sweets on Diwali may serve as a beacon of hope for more collaborative and peaceful interactions in the future. The gesture, steeped in tradition, highlights the potential for reconciliation and dialogue between the two nations.

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Algeria is on track to triple its rail network by 2030 to boost national economic growth and regional connectivity.

With more than 5,000 kilometres of rail already in service, new lines such as the Kenchela-Constantine line are providing faster travel, connecting communities and creating economic opportunities.

This expansion integrates strategic freight and passenger lines, reducing road congestion and improving access to remote areas.

Algeria's investments are paving the way for a more connected future, where rail is a driver of both sustainable transport and economic development.

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The BRICS Cross-Border Payment Initiative (BCBPI) will use national currencies, instead of the US dollar. Russia’s finance ministry and central bank released a report detailing plans to transform the international monetary and financial system.

As the chair of BRICS for 2024, Russia proposed the creation of a BRICS Cross-Border Payment Initiative (BCBPI), in which members of the organization will use their national currencies to trade.

BRICS will likewise establish an alternative messaging infrastructure to circumvent the SWIFT system of interbank communication, which is overseen by the United States and subject to Western unilateral sanctions.

There are also plans for the establishment of a BRICS Grain Exchange and associated pricing agency, with centers for trade in commodities like grain, oil, natural gas, and gold, which can likewise be used to settle trade imbalances.

These proposals were outlined in the report “Improvement of the International Monetary and Financial System”, which was co-authored by the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, the Bank of Russia, and the consulting firm Yakov and Partners.

In February 2024, the finance ministers and central bank governors of BRICS met in Sao Paulo, Brazil. There, the Russian representatives said they would prepare a report “for BRICS countries’ leaders with a list of initiatives and recommendations on ways to improve the international monetary and financial system”.

Russia’s Finance Minister Anton Siluanov explained the motivation:

"The current system is based on existing Western financial infrastructure and the use of reserve currencies. It is severely flawed and is increasingly used as a tool of political and economic pressure. Another reason for a reform of the international monetary and financial system is the geo-economic fragmentation that became a result of the abuse of trade and financial restrictions."

The Russian BRICS chairmanship report argued that the international monetary and financial system (IMFS) is not only unjust but also inefficient, as it is a monopoly that suffers “from excessive reliance on a single currency and centralized financial infrastructure”.

The document noted that the “current IMFS is primarily serving interests of AEs” (advanced economies) – that is, largely the wealthy countries of the West.

As of 2023, the original five BRICS countries make up 32% of global GDP (measured at purchasing power parity, PPP), but have only 13.54% of voting shares in the IMF.

On the other hand, the G7 nations hold 41.27% of the voting shares in the IMF, despite the fact that they comprise just 30% of global GDP (PPP).

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The last four years have been hard on China’s superrich and if Xi’s team doesn’t change course many more will become extinct.

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On October 30, the UN General Assembly once again convened to debate and vote on a non-binding resolution to end the US blockade against Cuba. This year, 187 countries voted in favor of the resolution. The United States and Israel were the only countries to vote against it, and only one country, Moldova, abstained.

Cuba has presented the resolution “Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba” every year since 1992 (except 2020), to the UNGA. Every year it passes in an almost unanimous vote, showcasing the international consensus against the US policy.

This year’s resolution comes as Cuba experiences a historic energy crisis and is recovering from the devastating Tropical Storm Oscar. Despite these challenges, Biden refuses to lift the blockade, take Cuba off the State Sponsors of Terrorism list, or lift Trump’s additional 243 sanctions against Cuba. US-based Cuba solidarity activists have organized a fundraiser to deliver essential humanitarian aid to Cuba as it faces these crises.

“US imperialism continues violence & genocide, but the peoples of the world have had enough and call for an end to the blockade,” writes the International Peoples’ Assembly.

Many were pleasantly surprised to see that the far-right government of Argentina supported Cuba’s resolution, abandoning its proclaimed allies Israel and the US. However, hours after the vote, Argentine President Javier Milei announced that he was firing Foreign Minister Diana Mondino because of the vote. Her replacement is Gerardo Werthein, Argentina’s current ambassador to the US who is a businessman and an ideologically committed Zionist.

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