US takes driver’s seat in crypto sector amid Trump policy, stablecoin frenzy

The United States is expanding its influence over the US$4 trillion global cryptocurrency industry amid favourable regulation under the Trump administration and the growing use of US dollar-backed stablecoins, according to participants at this year’s Token2049 event in Singapore.
The US is on a path to becoming the world’s “crypto capital”, said Bo Hines, the former executive director of the White House’s Council of Advisers on Digital Assets, at a fireside chat on Thursday to conclude the…

Trump’s 100% tariff threat alarms India’s film industry over diaspora market

US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose a 100 per cent tariff on foreign films has raised alarm in India’s industry from Bollywood to Tollywood, even as it is struggling to lure audiences back to cinemas and facing shrinking revenues from online platforms, according to analysts.
In a social media post on Tuesday, echoing a similar threat in May, Trump alleged that Hollywood had been “stolen’’ from the US and declared: “I will be imposing a 100 per cent tariff on any and all movies that are…

Trump-led venture lauds USD1 stablecoin’s potential for ‘dollarising the world’

World Liberty Financial, a venture backed by the family of US President Donald Trump, took centre stage on Wednesday at the world’s largest cryptocurrency event in Singapore, as Trump’s eldest son and his business partner promoted the firm’s USD1 stablecoin and its potential for “dollarising the world”.
At Token2049, World Liberty Financial co-founders Donald Trump Jnr and Zach Witkoff, who serves as CEO, received rock star treatment from a cheering audience, as they touted the success of USD1,…

Unrest in Philippine military? Ire of old guard could spell trouble for Marcos

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr is facing growing unrest from retired generals, with some veterans even urging active commanders to withdraw support for the president, according to multiple senior military sources.
At the centre of the discontent are two flashpoints: allegations that billions of Philippine pesos have been lost to fictitious flood-control projects and proposed pension changes that former officers say would leave them worse off than their civilian counterparts.
The…

‘Startling’: EU accused of sacrificing forests for trade deal with Indonesia

Barely had the ink dried on a long-awaited trade pact between the European Union and Indonesia before Brussels proposed another one-year delay to its long-awaited anti-deforestation law.
The move drew fierce criticism from environmental groups, who see the move as a capitulation to global trade interests.
On September 23, the Indonesia-European Union Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IEU-CEPA), set to take effect in 2027, was concluded after nearly a decade of negotiation.
The…