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The current stock market trend is being backed up by the top AI stocks at Wall Street, including the likes of Nvidia, Google, Meta and others. Even though the overall stock market is not doing so great in the recent weeks, as per reports, the AI-backed stocks are helping the market stay at an upward trend, and keeping the S&P 500 at a neutral level. ET Year-end Special Reads Gold outshines D-St with 20% returns, but 2025 may be different The year of the pause: How RBI maneuvered its policy in 2024 2024, the year India defeated China's salami-slicing strategy However, there is one X-factor in the stock market backed by Ai, that many are noticing, but the company is slowly rising through the ranks, and could become the AI leader in stocks in the coming months. Is IBM becoming an AI leader at Wall Street? It is none other than IBM, the top-tier Silicon Valley company, that is currently heavily invested into AI research and development, and its stock has gained a market-beating 37% in 2024, according to a Motley Fool report. If reinvested dividends. and total returns are considered, the gain points are rising by another 7 per cent. Should you buy IBM stocks before 2025 arrives? This clearly depicts that IBM is another major contributor to the massive bull run at the US stock market, and amid the hype of AI, its gains could increase by a significant sum in the coming year. Since the demand for IBM stocks are relatively lower than other fast-growers, it could be top AI stock to buy before 2024 ends. FAQs: Has the US stock market crashed? No, the US stock market has not crashed in recent while, and has instead been on a bull run for nearly two years. Finance Financial Literacy i.e Lets Crack the Billionaire Code By - CA Rahul Gupta, CA with 10+ years of experience and Accounting Educator View Program Entrepreneurship Validating Your Startup Idea: Steps to Ensure Market Fit By - Dr. Anu Khanchandani, Startup Coach with more than 25 years of experience View Program Entrepreneurship Startup Fundraising: Essential Tactics for Securing Capital By - Dr. Anu Khanchandani, Startup Coach with more than 25 years of experience View Program Entrepreneurship Marketing & Sales Strategies for Startups: From Concept to Conversion By - Dr. Anu Khanchandani, Startup Coach with more than 25 years of experience View Program Web Development 12-Factor App Methodology: Principles and Guidelines By - Prince Patni, Software Developer (BI, Data Science) View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Learn InVideo AI: Create Videos from Text Easily By - Prince Patni, Software Developer (BI, Data Science) View Program Web Development Mastering Full Stack Development: From Frontend to Backend Excellence By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Marketing Digital Marketing Masterclass by Neil Patel By - Neil Patel, Co-Founder and Author at Neil Patel Digital Digital Marketing Guru View Program Entrepreneurship Crafting a Powerful Startup Value Proposition By - Dr. Anu Khanchandani, Startup Coach with more than 25 years of experience View Program Data Science SQL for Data Science along with Data Analytics and Data Visualization By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Design Canva Magic Write: Ideas to Stunning Slides in No Time By - Prince Patni, Software Developer (BI, Data Science) View Program Finance Tally Prime & GST Accounting: Complete Guide By - CA Raj K Agrawal, Chartered Accountant View Program Entrepreneurship Building Your Winning Startup Team: Key Strategies for Success By - Dr. Anu Khanchandani, Startup Coach with more than 25 years of experience View Program Office Productivity Zero to Hero in Microsoft Excel: Complete Excel guide 2024 By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Soft Skills Cross-Cultural Communication Mastery: Connect with Confidence By - Prince Patni, Software Developer (BI, Data Science) View Program Web Development Java 21 Essentials for Beginners: Build Strong Programming Foundations By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) AI-Powered Python Mastery with Tabnine: Boost Your Coding Skills By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Astrology Vastu Shastra Course By - Sachenkumar Rai, Vastu Shashtri View Program Finance A2Z Of Finance: Finance Beginner Course By - elearnmarkets, Financial Education by StockEdge View Program Web Development Intermediate Java Mastery: Method, Collections, and Beyond By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Leadership Business Storytelling Masterclass By - Ameen Haque, Founder of Storywallahs View Program Office Productivity Microsoft Word Mastery: From Beginner to Expert By - CA Raj K Agrawal, Chartered Accountant View Program Web Development Maximizing Developer Productivity: The Pomodoro Technique in Practice By - Prince Patni, Software Developer (BI, Data Science) View Program Office Productivity Excel Essentials to Expert: Your Complete Guide By - Study At Home, Quality Education Anytime, Anywhere View Program Is IBM's stock going to grow further? Yes, after IBM's decision of working on AI-reliant services, it's stock has shot through the roof, and is now growing at a phenomenal pace through 2024. ET Year-end Special Reads An Indian's guide to moving abroad as the world looks for 'better' immigrants The year of the HNIs: How India's rich splurged in 2024 (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel )Earning the money to pay for one’s living has its own costs in terms of money. In particular, earning a living requires interconnecting with other people, both personally and by means of gadgets; all these interconnections cost money. Social Weather Stations (SWS) recently started asking in its quarterly national survey how much a household spends in a month for public transportation, mobile phone loads, and internet. Here, I will cite some findings from the most recent SWS survey, fielded last Sept. 14-23, but too mundane to be prioritized for release on the website. The questions were addressed to and answered by the household head. Public transportation. When the survey asked for the family’s usual spending per month (pangkaraniwang gastos sa isang buwan) on public transportation to work and school, 19 percent said they spent nothing. This means that there is a group of about one-fifth of Filipino families that does not need public transportation to go to work or school. Perhaps it is close enough for them to walk. Perhaps they have private transportation. (By the way, 47 percent of families have a motor vehicle, but only 5 percentage points of these are cars or four-wheelers, i.e. the others are motorcycles, some with a sidecar. We have not yet asked for the family’s usual monthly spending on fuel for their vehicles.) Perhaps they have no school-age children? Perhaps all the income earners work at home? We can check for such cases in other parts of the survey or we might ask clarificatory questions in future surveys. At any rate, for the 81 percent of families who do take public transportation for work or school, the national median spending per family as of last September is P2,000 per month. The medians are P2,500 in the National Capital Region (NCR), P2,000 in Balance Luzon and also in Visayas, and P1,500 in Mindanao. These are not insignificant; employers should take note of them. When grouped by educational attainment of the household head, the median monthly spending for public transportation is P1,440 for elementary dropouts, P1,600 for junior high school (JHS) dropouts, and P2,000 for both JHS graduates and college graduates. Since families with higher education spend more, it appears that they have farther to travel. Mobile phone loads. These would be for prepaid mobile services. For this purpose, 36 percent say they do not spend anything. From another part of the survey, we know that 69 percent have at least one mobile phone. We need to check on how many are on postpaid service plans. At any rate, for the two-thirds of families that have mobile phone service, the median monthly spending for load is P400. The median is the same in other areas, except in Visayas, where it is only P300. By educational categories, the spending medians for mobile phone loads are P300 for both elementary and JHS dropouts, P400 for JHS graduates, P500 for senior high school graduates, and P400 for college graduates. Internet. Sixty one percent of families are connected to the internet via their mobile phones, 7 percent are connected to it through a personal computer, and 6 percent are connected via a tablet—these are overlapping categories. About half (49 percent) of all families say they spend nothing for internet; presumably, they use it at places with Wi-Fi. The ones who pay for internet are 74 percent in the NCR, 55 percent in Balance Luzon, 42 percent in Visayas, and 30 percent in Mindanao. In every area, the median spending of a family for internet is P1,000 per month, which is meaningful. Grouped by household head education, the median monthly spending rates for internet are P500 for elementary dropouts, P700 for JHS dropouts, P1,000 for JHS graduates, P1,200 for senior high school graduates, and P1,300 for college graduates. The social costs of earning. There are many other costs of earning that would be interesting to survey. Many workers are expected to provide their own tools of the trade. Musicians prefer to own their musical instruments. Many occupations have uniforms, dress codes, and costumes, that the income earner has to or prefers to provide. Bankers dress like bankers, professors dress like professors, entertainers dress like entertainers. Now is a special season for reciprocal hospitality—a special cost that pays off in the long run, without need of counting. Subscribe to our daily newsletter By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . —————- Contact: [email protected] .Joe Burrow reveals why he gifted Bengals linemen Katana swords: ‘They wanted guns’Google’s new Genie 2 AI system converts simple drawings and text descriptions into playable 3D game environments, potentially streamlining the construction of digital worlds. The technology could significantly impact game development by making 3D environment creation more accessible to creators without extensive technical expertise while offering established studios a new rapid prototyping tool. For businesses exploring virtual commerce, it may also provide a more efficient path to building digital retail spaces and interactive customer experiences. “Google’s Genie 2 is a foundation world model capable of generating an endless variety of action-controllable, playable 3D environments from a single image,” Michael Jung , CFO of DeepBrainAI , told PYMNTS. “It can also generate different perspectives, such as first-person view, isometric views, or third-person driving videos, creating a dynamic environment for gamers and consumers alike. “Imagine being able to generate an entire shopping mall or video game level from a single image,” Jung added. “Genie 2’s out-of-distribution generalization capabilities turn concept art and drawings into fully interactive environments. Interactive shopping experiences can be easily created through object affordances and interactions.” Game studios are increasingly integrating AI tools into development processes. The technology automates environment generation, rapidly creating textures, landscapes and assets. AI-powered testing systems run thousands of gameplay scenarios to identify bugs and balance issues. Natural language processing enhances non-playable character interactions, while procedural generation creates diverse levels and quests. Machine learning optimizes game performance and helps predict player behavior. Asset creation tools particularly benefit indie developers by reducing production costs. These AI implementations focus on accelerating technical tasks while maintaining creative quality. As gamers’ financial habits evolve with technology, a notable trend has emerged in their payment preferences. PYMNTS Intelligence has found that digital instant payment options are gaining popularity among gamers as alternatives to traditional cash payments. New Worlds with a Click Genie 2 creates interactive 3D worlds from single images. Users input commands, and the system generates responsive environments with physics, character movement and consistent graphics for up to a minute. Most demos run 10-20 seconds. The system uses video-trained AI to address a significant challenge in AI research: more diverse training environments. While early tests with DeepMind’s SIMA agent show promise — like following verbal commands to explore generated buildings — researchers acknowledge that both the AI agent and world generation still need significant work. AI and gaming expert Kelsey Falter , co-founder and CEO of Mother Games , told PYMNTS that AI-generated worlds can fundamentally change how we interact with gaming and retail. “Imagine an entire shop personalized with all of your favorite items in life — from the aspirational to the obtainable — a shop shaped by you,” Falter said. “Within these AI retail environments, AI agents who offer personal shopping consultation will co-create an experience with the player, offering valuable perspective and a sense of connection during an otherwise transactional process. With these new capabilities, it’s possible to see a product or apparel item in a variety of different settings, allowing for a level of intimacy that makes a digital good come to life.” The Future of Shopping? Falter said shopping taps into our instinct to search for hidden gems and good deals. Genie 2’s rich 3D environments could help games capture that feeling of spontaneous discovery. “Rather than navigating a static catalog, players could explore an AI-generated market, exploring an immersive landscape of items as part of the game lore,” she said. “This blurring of boundaries between play and shopping makes the discovery process immersive in a way that traditional eCommerce simply cannot replicate. Additionally, with the Genie 2 camera capabilities — there is an opportunity to shift from first-person browsing to viewing one’s avatar in third-person, seeing a 360-degree perspective come to life with environmental lighting and shadows.”
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Now through March 7, 2025 , give the gift of warmth by donating to the NBC10, Telemundo62, and NBC Sports Philadelphia "Bundle Up Philly" winter clothing drive. As the winter season approaches, there is a strong need to help vulnerable community members stay warm during these cold months. As part of this annual community initiative, we invite you to donate new or gently used coats to Cradles to Crayons at any of the locations listed below. Philadelphia news 24/7: Watch NBC10 free wherever you are Items most needed for children sizes 0-18/20: HOW TO HELP Shop the Amazon Wish List: Make a monetary donation to Cradles to Crayons Philadelphia: Drop off donations at any of the following locations : Cradles to Crayons works with 278 human service organizations located throughout Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, Philadelphia, and Camden counties. These partner organizations include homeless shelters, social service agencies, schools, health centers, hospitals, etc., and they can distribute the exact coats and items based on age, gender and sizes needed . Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood. NBC10, Telemundo62, and NBC Sports Philadelphia are proud to partner with Cradles to Crayons and Xfinity along with our sister stations in Boston and Chicago. With the help of one another, we can "Bundle-Up Philly" to help thousands of local families stay safe, warm, and comfortable this winter season! Follow the effort on social media using #BundleUpPhilly #GearUpforWinter #C2CPhilly
Paige Spiranac is constantly dealing with haters and trolls on social media. While the former professional golfer, who played collegiately at the University of Arizona and San Diego State, has millions of fans across social media. She gets a lot of praise for her content, though sometimes, fans take issue with her outfits on the course. Spiranac is constantly turning heads with her revealing outfits on the golf course. Instagram. Spiranac is tired of the criticism, though. She believes all women should be able to express themselves sexually, if they want to. "I dislike how women pick and choose when it’s okay to support other women for embracing their sexuality depending on if it appears to be for the female or male gaze. Women should be able to embrace their sexuality if that’s what makes them feel empowered. One shouldn’t be called a genius while the other is called an attention whore for doing the same exact thing," she said on social media. Paige/X Spiranac can wear whatever she wants on the course, but at the end of the day, when you're promoting yourself on social media, you're going to have to deal with some hating comments from time to time. It's unfortunate, but there's no escaping it.Internet Notices Something Bizarre in Image Posted by Kesha
A federal appeals court panel on Friday unanimously upheld a law that could lead to a ban on TikTok in a few short months, handing a resounding defeat to the popular social media platform as it fights for its survival in the U.S. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied TikTok's petition to overturn the law — which requires TikTok to break ties with its China-based parent company ByteDance or be banned by mid-January — and rebuffed the company's challenge of the statute, which it argued had ran afoul of the First Amendment. “The First Amendment exists to protect free speech in the United States,” said the court's opinion, which was written by Judge Douglas Ginsburg. “Here the Government acted solely to protect that freedom from a foreign adversary nation and to limit that adversary’s ability to gather data on people in the United States.” TikTok and ByteDance — another plaintiff in the lawsuit — are expected to appeal to the Supreme Court, though its unclear whether the court will take up the case. “The Supreme Court has an established historical record of protecting Americans’ right to free speech, and we expect they will do just that on this important constitutional issue," TikTok spokesperson Michael Hughes said in a statement. “Unfortunately, the TikTok ban was conceived and pushed through based upon inaccurate, flawed and hypothetical information, resulting in outright censorship of the American people,” Hughes said. Unless stopped, he argued the statute “will silence the voices of over 170 million Americans here in the US and around the world on January 19th, 2025.” Though the case is squarely in the court system, it's also possible the two companies might be thrown some sort of a lifeline by President-elect Donald Trump, who tried to ban TikTok during his first term but said during the presidential campaign that he is now against such action . The law, signed by President Joe Biden in April, was the culmination of a yearslong saga in Washington over the short-form video-sharing app, which the government sees as a national security threat due to its connections to China. The U.S. has said it’s concerned about TikTok collecting vast swaths of user data, including sensitive information on viewing habits , that could fall into the hands of the Chinese government through coercion. Officials have also warned the proprietary algorithm that fuels what users see on the app is vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese authorities, who can use it to shape content on the platform in a way that’s difficult to detect — a concern mirrored by the European Union on Friday as it scrutinizes the video-sharing app’s role in the Romanian elections. TikTok, which sued the government over the law in May, has long denied it could be used by Beijing to spy on or manipulate Americans. Its attorneys have accurately pointed out that the U.S. hasn’t provided evidence to show that the company handed over user data to the Chinese government, or manipulated content for Beijing’s benefit in the U.S. They have also argued the law is predicated on future risks, which the Department of Justice has emphasized pointing in part to unspecified action it claims the two companies have taken in the past due to demands from the Chinese government. Friday’s ruling came after the appeals court panel, composed of two Republicans and one Democrat appointed judges, heard oral arguments in September. In the hearing, which lasted more than two hours, the panel appeared to grapple with how TikTok’s foreign ownership affects its rights under the Constitution and how far the government could go to curtail potential influence from abroad on a foreign-owned platform. On Friday, all three denied TikTok’s petition. In the court's ruling, Ginsburg, a Republican appointee, rejected TikTok's main legal arguments against the law, including that the statute was an unlawful bill of attainder, or a taking of property in violation of the Fifth Amendment. He also said the law did not violate the First Amendment because the government is not looking to "suppress content or require a certain mix of content” on TikTok. “Content on the platform could in principle remain unchanged after divestiture, and people in the United States would remain free to read and share as much PRC propaganda (or any other content) as they desire on TikTok or any other platform of their choosing,” Ginsburg wrote, using the abbreviation for the People’s Republic of China. Judge Sri Srinivasan, the chief judge on the court, issued a concurring opinion. TikTok’s lawsuit was consolidated with a second legal challenge brought by several content creators — for which the company is covering legal costs — as well as a third one filed on behalf of conservative creators who work with a nonprofit called BASED Politics Inc. Other organizations, including the Knight First Amendment Institute, had also filed amicus briefs supporting TikTok. “This is a deeply misguided ruling that reads important First Amendment precedents too narrowly and gives the government sweeping power to restrict Americans’ access to information, ideas, and media from abroad,” said Jameel Jaffer, the executive director of the organization. “We hope that the appeals court’s ruling won’t be the last word.” Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, lawmakers who had pushed for the legislation celebrated the court's ruling. "I am optimistic that President Trump will facilitate an American takeover of TikTok to allow its continued use in the United States and I look forward to welcoming the app in America under new ownership,” said Republican Rep. John Moolenaar of Michigan, chairman of the House Select Committee on China. Democratic Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who co-authored the law, said “it's time for ByteDance to accept” the law. To assuage concerns about the company’s owners, TikTok says it has invested more than $2 billion to bolster protections around U.S. user data. The company has also argued the government’s broader concerns could have been resolved in a draft agreement it provided the Biden administration more than two years ago during talks between the two sides. It has blamed the government for walking away from further negotiations on the agreement, which the Justice Department argues is insufficient. Attorneys for the two companies have claimed it’s impossible to divest the platform commercially and technologically. They also say any sale of TikTok without the coveted algorithm — the platform’s secret sauce that Chinese authorities would likely block under any divesture plan — would turn the U.S. version of TikTok into an island disconnected from other global content. Still, some investors, including Trump’s former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and billionaire Frank McCourt, have expressed interest in purchasing the platform. Both men said earlier this year that they were launching a consortium to purchase TikTok’s U.S. business. This week, a spokesperson for McCourt’s Project Liberty initiative, which aims to protect online privacy, said unnamed participants in their bid have made informal commitments of more than $20 billion in capital.
Amazon India is racing to launch its quick commerce delivery service, codenamed Tez, by late December or early next year as it looks to join the booming sector that notched up gross sales of about $5.5-6 billion this month led by Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart, multiple people aware of the details told ET. Earlier, the US giant was aiming to roll out the service in the first quarter of 2025 but is now keen to accelerate the process, they added. More so, as it is the only large ecommerce firm without a presence in what is India’s fastest growing online business. The launch of Tez in India—which is only a working title for the proposed business—will mark Amazon’s first foray into the quick commerce business globally. According to people briefed on the plans, the matter will be discussed in the next monthly review slated for the first week of December—ahead of its annual Smbhav event. 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Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories The ecommerce firm is also making fresh hires for the high-priority project in addition to having a core team of employees working on it. Amazon’s India grocery and essentials team described the project as a ‘greenfield, grounds-up initiative for an upcoming and fast-growing ecommerce space in India’, according to a job post. The final name for the quick commerce service is yet to be decided, sources added. ET first reported about Amazon’s plans on a quick commerce offering in its edition of August 28. “They (Amazon) want to launch it sooner than the end of first quarter in India. Quick commerce is where all the action is if you are a meaningful consumer internet platform. They are also following the same model as others—setting up dark stores, figuring out the details of stock-keeping units (SKUs) and categories, and putting logistics infrastructure in place,” another person aware of the matter said. The company is expected to start the service with groceries and daily essentials. An email sent to Amazon India did not elicit any response till press time Sunday. While Amazon India has its own delivery network in India, it has also engaged with other logistics players for quick delivery services. ETtech Quick moves Flipkart—Amazon’s arch-rival in India—launched its quick service, Minutes , before the start of this year’s festive season sales during September-October and has since scaled the service in major cities. Also in the fray is Tata-owned BigBasket, which has made a shift to the quick model, and has clocked over Rs 900 crore in gross sales last month, people in the know said. Meanwhile, Tata Digital—which runs Tata Neu—has also rolled out its own quick commerce service Neu Flash , which was first reported by ET on October 28. Amazon had discussed a potential deal with Swiggy Instamart before the food delivery company listed on the bourses in early November. The rush of capital into the quick commerce sector has only added to all the platforms scaling their operations aggressively. Last week, Zepto raised another $350 million , adding to its over $1 billion cash-pile while Zomato , parent of Blinkit, has also secured shareholder nod to raise another $1 billion through QIP. “We expect the quick commerce market size to overtake that of food delivery in 2026 in terms of gross order value (GOV). Given a larger addressable market, despite high competition, we see scope for each player to grow materially over the next 3-5 years. The challenge of growth and market share loss comes when the overall market itself has matured,” Morgan Stanley said in a note earlier this month on quick commerce and Zomato-Blinkit. “Overall download share of quick commerce apps has increased in the last 6 and 12 months relative to ecommerce apps, as per third party data,” it said. The report estimated a bear and bull case for the quick commerce market at $25 billion and $55 billion, respectively, by 2030. The projections indicate a similar rise in key metrics like households using ultra-fast delivery, monthly transacting users and their frequency of quick orders. Quick commerce is expected to be just under $7 billion in size for 2024. “In our assumptions, we have assumed that high frequency or high value users would increase from one third to almost half of the total platform and they would account for almost 75-80% of the total value of the business by 2030,” the Morgan Stanley note added on its outlook for 10-30 minute delivery services. Amazon India changes Meanwhile, Amazon India has seen a change of guard at the top with company veteran Samir Kumar taking over the India head role following Manish Tiwary’s exit . The local arm of the US firm is also moving its Bengaluru headquarters in January closer to the airport in the city where the total rent outgo will be less. This is in line with the broader changes in Amazon India where it is looking to curtail costs at various operating metrics. Walmart-owned Flipkart continues to be the market leader in the ecommerce sector besides others like Meesho, Tata Neu and Reliance JioMart also operating in the sector. In FY24, Amazon’s India marketplace unit posted a 14% jump in operating revenue at Rs 25,406 crore while also cutting losses by 28% during the year to Rs 3,469 crore. While this is higher than the 3% revenue increase in FY23, it still lagged growth rates seen during the pandemic period, when revenue grew by 32% and 49% in FY22 and FY21 respectively. Its other India units—payments, transportation— saw a modest 7-9% revenue growth while there was a marginal dip in its wholesale business.Dejan Kulusevski cannot wait to play Man City again after Tottenham run riot
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An ISKCON priest identified as Suddhdas Sewa was brutally beaten up in Maharashtra’s Palghar district following allegations of inappropriate behaviour and sending obscene messages to a woman. The priest was thrashed at the ISKCON temple in Vasai on Friday, December 13 by family members of the woman working at the same temple. The woman accused the priest of sending lewd messages to her. In response, the woman’s family took matters into their own hands, leading to a violent confrontation. The footage of the chaotic scene that surfaced on social media shows the family members accompanied by some women vandalising a hall where the priest was present, slapping, punching him and beating him with slippers. Other people associated with the priests were also attacked during the incident. They are seen pleading for forgiveness with folded hands. In Maharashtra's Palghar, an ISKCON priest Suddhdas Sewa was thrashed after he allegedly sent obscene message to a woman working at ISKCON's Vasai. The priest was thrashed by the family members of the woman a few days ago. pic.twitter.com/TvPgfrAGVa According to the reports, after the physical escalation, the priest was handed over to the police by the family members. The incident has ignited discussion with many people condemning the violent response, while others are calling for accountability regarding the priest’s alleged misconduct. Critics raise concerns about how grievances are managed at institutions.The Middle East is once again in the throes of a conflict with wide-reaching implications, one that threatens to pull in local, regional, and global powers. The ongoing war between Israel and Palestinian factions, notably Hamas, has already caused immense loss of life and destruction. But beyond the immediate humanitarian crisis, the broader goal seems to be a reshuffling of regional power dynamics, with various players-both inside and outside the Middle East-jockeying for position. The scale of the war and its potential to draw in external powers like the United States, Iran, and others have created a situation that could redefine geopolitical boundaries in the region for decades to come. What we are seeing is not merely a localized conflict between Israel and Palestinian groups. It is, in fact, a collision between local, regional, and global powers-each seeking to realign the geopolitical landscape to fit their interests. The United States, Israel, pro-Western Arab nations, and Iran are all pursuing objectives in this chaotic environment. Israel, in particular, is waging an all-out war not just against Hamas but also against Iranian-backed groups like Hezbollah, with the ultimate aim of weakening Iran’s influence in the region. This has unfolded with the tacit approval of major global powers, especially the U.S. and pro-Western Arab states, which are looking to secure their interests in the future political configuration of the Middle East. This current geopolitical situation draws parallels to the 19th-century Scramble for Africa, where great powers divided the continent into spheres of influence for their own strategic and economic gains. Today, the Middle East appears to be a settled sphere of influence for the United States, while other global powers like China and Russia are focused on different regions. China, for example, seems more interested in expanding its influence in South and Southeast Asia, Africa, and parts of Latin America, while Russia is absorbed in maintaining influence over the Baltics, Central Asia, and Orthodox Eastern Europe. Both China and Russia have limited involvement in the current Middle Eastern conflict because they are preoccupied with their own pressing issues. China’s primary focus is on sustaining economic growth, while Russia is heavily invested in its military campaign in Ukraine. At this point, both powers have their hands full and would find it challenging to pursue more aggressive policies toward the Middle East, where the U.S. remains the dominant external actor. The Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 has raised significant questions about whether Israel may have seen this as an opportunity to escalate the conflict. Some observers speculate that Israel might have taken a “looking the other way” approach on that day, allowing the assault to unfold to create a pretext for launching a broader military campaign. This would give Israel the justification it needed to not only target Hamas but also strike Iranian proxies and potentially Iran itself. This theory holds that Israel’s response was not merely reactive but a calculated step in its long-term strategy to reshape the region’s power dynamics, and to do so with international support. Israel’s current military campaign seems to follow the principles of Otto von Bismarck, the 19th-century Prussian chancellor who achieved his objectives through calculated wars. By launching intense military operations, Israel is attempting to achieve its strategic interests by force rather than through diplomatic negotiations. For decades, the status quo in the Middle East has been characterized by a delicate balance of power, with repeated cycles of conflict and ceasefires between Israel, Palestinian groups, and neighboring Arab nations. However, Israel’s recent actions suggest it is seeking to disrupt this balance by weakening its adversaries, particularly Hamas and Hezbollah, and forcing a new regional order where it holds a position of strength. Pro-Western Arab states like Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, and the UAE have been noticeably restrained in their public statements. While they offer lip service in support of the Palestinian cause, they seem to have given Israel a tacit green light to pursue its military objectives. These nations stand to gain from a realignment in the Middle East that weakens Iran’s influence and provides them with greater leverage in future regional negotiations. When the time comes to sit at the negotiating table, these countries will likely be key players, working to shape the new regional order-even if it comes at the expense of the Palestinians and other Arabs. Israel’s military actions are clearly aimed at securing a position of strength in any future negotiations. By inflicting severe damage on Gaza and Palestinian resistance forces, Israel is hoping to force Hamas and other groups into negotiations from a position of weakness. The humanitarian toll, while tragic, is seen by Israel as necessary collateral damage in the pursuit of long-term security and dominance. This strategy also extends to Hezbollah, which Israel has directly involved in the conflict. By striking Hezbollah’s positions and weakening its capabilities, Israel is hoping to limit Iran’s influence in Lebanon and reduce the threat on its northern border. Ironically, Hamas, which has become one of Israel’s most formidable enemies, was originally seen by some Israeli officials as a useful counterbalance to the secular Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). In its early years, Hamas was indirectly supported by Israeli authorities in the hope that it would divide Palestinian political unity and weaken the PLO. However, this strategy has backfired, as Hamas has evolved into a powerful force that now plays a central role in the current conflict. Iran has long backed groups like Hezbollah and Hamas as part of its broader strategy to project influence in the region. However, with the current conflict targeting its proxies, Iran may find itself at a disadvantage. Should Israel succeed in significantly weakening these groups, Iran may be forced to compromise. At the negotiating table, Iran may end up sacrificing its influence over Hezbollah and Hamas in exchange for ending sanctions and gaining broader acceptance in the international community, especially among Western nations. The outcome could be a diminished role for Iran in the region, even if it manages to secure some concessions from the West. At this moment in history, both China and Russia have limited strategic interests in the Middle East. China, as mentioned earlier, is focused on expanding its economic influence in other regions, particularly in Asia and Africa. Russia, on the other hand, is heavily preoccupied with its military campaign in Ukraine and maintaining influence over its traditional spheres in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Their lack of direct involvement in the current Middle Eastern conflict allows Israel and its Western allies to pursue their objectives with minimal interference. Without the looming presence of China or Russia, the U.S. remains the dominant power shaping the future of the Middle East. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s domestic political troubles also play a significant role in the current crisis. Facing corruption charges and political instability at home, Netanyahu has seized upon the conflict as a way to solidify his leadership and distract from internal issues. By projecting military strength and rallying nationalistic sentiment, Netanyahu aims to shore up his political base and present himself as the protector of Israel in a time of crisis. The ongoing Middle East crisis is a complex power struggle involving multiple regional and global actors. Israel, with the backing of the U.S. and the tacit approval of pro-Western Arab states, is seeking to reshape the region’s geopolitical landscape, particularly by weakening Iranian influence. However, the cost of this realignment will be borne primarily by the Palestinian people, who continue to suffer immense casualties and displacement. Meanwhile, China and Russia, preoccupied with their own priorities, are unlikely to become directly involved in the conflict. This absence leaves the U.S. and its regional allies in a dominant position to influence the future of the Middle East. As the conflict drags on, the risk of a broader regional war looms large, and the question remains whether any of the involved parties can achieve their strategic goals without further plunging the region into chaos. For now, the people of the Middle East-especially Palestinians-remain at the mercy of larger geopolitical forces that are reshaping their world. The writer is a civil servant with experience in various sectors, including development. He can be contacted at hashtnagar1@gmail.com