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The Rajya Sabha elections have stirred a political commotion, not only because of cross-voting, as has often taken place in the past, but also because the BJP is out to get every seat it can and the defeat of the official Congress candidate in Himachal Pradesh and a Samajwadi Party (SP) nominee in Uttar Pradesh are being viewed as attempts to demoralize a downhearted Opposition on the eve of Lok Sabha polls.

It is the height of irony that a scheme touted as a beacon of transparency in political funding now shrouds itself in secrecy. The electoral bond scheme, which the Bharatiya Janata Party claimed was a tool to bring clarity to political funding, stands accused of obfuscation. At the heart of this paradox lies the State Bank of India (SBI), mandated by legislation to issue the electoral bonds and maintain their records.

Cash-strapped Kerala scored a significant legal-political victory when the Supreme Court directed the Union Government to allow the State additional market borrowing to the tune of Rs 13,608 crore. The apex court’s ruling has come as a big relief for Kerala, which has been struggling to meet its financial commitments, including payment of salaries and pensions. To the acute embarrassment of the Union Government, the SC also came down heavily on the Centre’s insistence that Kerala withdraw the case before the Centre released the funds, which are the State’s legitimate dues.

The United States in its latest “let’s alleviate Gazans’ condition” will build a port on the Gaza coastline for easing the movement of relief into the war-torn city of the dead and a few living. This isn’t President Joe Biden’s brainwave, but the POTUS mentioned it in his “fiery” State of the Union address which also saw Biden pull-up Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for being the reason for everything rotten in Gaza after the October 7 Hamas massacre.

The Gaza war has turned Palestine into a lightning rod for mounting frustration and discontent in Arab autocracies such as Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco. Concerned that the war could mobilise segments of civil society, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates where any form of public protest is banned, have cracked down on expressions of solidarity with Gaza, including the sporting of keffiyehs, the chequered scarf that symbolises Palestinian nationalism.

President Joe Biden’s last State of the Union address before the 2024 elections laid out an agenda of sharp contrasts, with economic populism dominating domestic policy and Cold War confrontation and militarism defining his international strategy.

Asking for the moon ceased to denote seeking the impossible ever since the first man landed on earth’s sole god-made satellite in the year 1969, it didn't matter whether it was a "blue moon" or a "hunter's moon." What had been a giant leap for mankind is now going to take several steps ahead with the drawing up of the blueprint of setting up a nuclear outpost on the soil of the "Queen of the Night". A nuclear power plant is likely to come up by the mid-2030s, a collaboration between Russia and China to lay the groundwork for a potential lunar settlement, said Yuri Borisov who heads ‘Roscosmos’, Russia's space agency.

On Friday, March 1, Mexico’s left-wing Morena party marked the beginning of the country’s official presidential campaign season with a kickoff event in Mexico City’s central square, or Zócalo. Before a maximum-capacity crowd and following an introduction by the party’s mayoral candidate for the city, Clara Brugada, presidential standard-bearer Claudia Sheinbaum laid out a hundred-point plan for building the “second floor of the transformation.”.MexicoI going for te Presidential elections on June 2 this year.

Ahmedabad: Mohd Azhar of Vikarabad built a two-shot lead at a total score of nine-under 135 after he struck a steady two-under 70 in the third round of the Rs One crore Gujarat Open Golf Championship here today.

New Delhi: Nishant Dev continued his dominant show as he thrashed Georgia’s Madiev Eskerkhan 5-0 to enter the 71kg pre-quarterfinals of the World Olympic Boxing Qualifier in Busto Arsizio, Italy.