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Cash, Caste, Crop. Add to that Crypto! Right from 7am in the morning on November 20, when voters stepped out in twos and threes and fours and fives to cast their votes, election aficionados have been placing their bets on the three ‘C’ as the moving force behind polling in Maharashtra, refusing to pin the voting trend on the conflicting narratives of ‘Hindu’ and ‘Muslim’, which dominated this latest phase of the elections.

Manila: It may be seen as an irony of fate that the Philippines, a pioneer of the modern rice production technology helping some of the world’s major rice producers, including India, to become self-sufficient in paddy production, has itself become the world’s biggest rice importer. For the third successive year, the Philippines will continue to be the world’s No. 1 rice importer during the current marketing season of 2024-25. Official estimates put the country’s rice import requirement at a record high of 5.1 million tons.

The Draft Communique of G20, the countries which are responsible for 80 per cent of global emissions, circulated on November 19, 2024, doesn’t mention “transitioning away from the fossil fuels” the phrase already agreed upon at COP28. G20 summit (November 18 -19) at Brazil thus displays a stark failure, as far as climate action is concerned, while COP29 in midway in Baku in Azerbaijan has turned into a stage for theatrics, and time is running out for an effective agreement on key issue of considerably scaling up necessary funding the climate action to save the planet Earth.

RANCHI: The second and final phase of polling for the Jharkhand Assembly, that will cover 38 constituencies, takes place on Wednesday November 20. The results of the election for the 81-member House will be announced on November 23.

After the recruitment of over 2 lakh school teachers in less than three months (November 2023 to January 2024), Bihar school education is plagued by the news of fraudulent documents used by the candidates for their appointments. Processes, such as e-service books and a dedicated portal to deal with transfer requests, are being put in place. These platforms will also be used for checking and verifying the documents submitted by teachers. Sources claim it might lead to thousands of teachers losing their jobs. These teachers were appointed after they cleared Teachers Recruitment Exam (TRE) 1 and 2, conducted by Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC).

LONDON: The meeting between a British prime minister and China’s President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro on November 18 was long overdue. Reportedly, Keir Starmer wants a “consistent, respectful and pragmatic” relationship between the two countries, with an emphasis on progress towards clean energy. But he is especially keen to improve Britain’s prospects for economic growth by increasing British exports to China and Chinese investment in Britain.

WASHINGTON D.C: More than 140,000 people, assembled by the Working Families Party and allies via Zoom, began planning mass resistance to Republican MAGA President-elect Donald Trump and his plans to replace U.S. democracy and the Constitution with fascistic programs and policies. Speakers at that massive meeting, two days after Trump won the November election and control of the Senate, underscored the urgency of fighting the Trumpites.

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.