GOOD TURN OUT IN MP, CHHATTISGARH POLLS

Madhya Pradesh went to polls in all its 230 assembly constituencies Friday where there was tentative voting of nearly 76.22 per cent till 5pm, Election Commission officials said.

In 2018, 75.63 per cent voters had cast their ballots.

The preliminary voting percentage in the second phase of the Chhattisgarh assembly elections on Friday, where the remaining 70 seats of the total 90 went to polls, stood at 74.27 per cent at midnight. In the first phase on November 7 when 20 seats went to polls, the final turnout was 78 per cent, a marginal rise of 1.53 per cent as compared to 2018.

In the 2018 elections, the overall voter turnout to the 90 seats stood at 76.45 per cent.

PM MODI’S ‘DIWALI-MILAN’ ADDRESS TO MEDIA

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday flagged the use of artificial intelligence for creating deepfakes saying this can lead to a big crisis, as he urged the media to spread awareness about its misuse and impact to educate people.

Addressing the media at the BJP’s 'Diwali Milan' programme at the party's headquarters in New Delhi, he said he recently saw a video of him singing in a garba festival even though he has not done so since school days. Even those who love him are forwarding the video, he said in a lighter vein.

The prime minister noted that earlier a movie with some controversial comments would come and go, but now it goes on to become a big issue. Even screening of such films becomes difficult on the ground that they have disrespected some section of society irrespective of the huge amount of money spent on making them, he noted.

Referring to his resolve for 'Viksit Bharat' (developed India) by 2047, the prime minister said these are not merely words but a ground reality.

He suggested the 'vocal for local' campaign has found people's support, noting that a business of around Rs 4.5 lakh crore has taken place in the Diwali week, including those related to Chhath.

India's achievements during the Covid-19 pandemic created confidence among people that the country is not going to stop now, he said, adding that about 130 countries attended a Global South summit hosted by India which he addressed before attending the 'Diwali Milan' programme.

Ideas related to developed India and economy are going to be at the centre of discourse for the next 25 years, and people are accepting the way the country has been progressing, he said. This era is leading to India becoming a grander country, he said.

With the BJP hosting the 'Diwali Milan' for the first time in the last several years, the prime minister said a total disappearance of the Covid-19 was visible in the festive joy of people this time.

This confidence of the masses will lead to the country becoming developed by 2047, he said. He urged the media to take up 10 cities to hold programmes as to how they can grow and become Rs 1 trillion economy or how the size of their economy can be doubled and these cities grow to become driving engine of regional economy.

Rising aspirations is a reason behind the growing market during the festival season, he said, adding that more than 13.5 crore people lifted out of poverty have joined the aspirational class seeking betters things in life. He also praised the media's support to the cleanliness programmes and said it has also led to growing expectations.

AT VOICE OF GLOBAL SOUTH SUMMIT, MODI TALKS OF ISRAEL-HAMAS CONFLICT

In his first public remarks on the Gaza war, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday sought to frame the Israel-Hamas conflict as a “new challenge” to the Global South’s prosperity.

Speaking at the India-hosted virtual Voice of Global South Summit where he apprised leaders about the achievements of India’s G20 presidency that largely focused on addressing challenges facing the Global South, Modi said, “For global prosperity, Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas (together with all, development for all) is needed. But we all are seeing that new challenges are emerging from the incidents in West Asia.”

“India has condemned the horrific terrorist attacks in Israel on October 7. Along with restraint, we have also emphasised on dialogue and diplomacy. We strongly condemn the deaths of civilians in the conflict between Israel and Hamas,” he said.

He also referred to his phone conversation with Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, last month. “This is the time when the countries of the Global South need to speak in one voice for the greater global good,” he said.

His statement, inclined a bit more towards the Palestinian side after condemnation of the “horrific terrorist attacks” on Israel, advocated “restraint” while emphasising “dialogue and diplomacy”.

While he highlighted his conversation with Abbas, he did not mention the phone call last month with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Global South, representing developing and under-developed countries, has been watching India’s position on the Israel-Hamas conflict very closely. Many have been vocal in their support for the people of Gaza and, in this context, the Prime Minister’s remarks are significant.

SLOW PROGRESS IN TUNNEL RESCUE

Rescue workers had bored through 24 metres of rubble at a collapsed tunnel in Uttarkhand up to Friday evening, less than half the stretch of debris blocking the way to the 40 workers trapped inside for more than five days.

The “state-of-the-art” machine was earlier said to have a capacity of drilling up to four or five metres per hour. But the operation so far has progressed at the rate of less than a metre an hour since its deployment Thursday morning.

The workers are trapped beyond a 60 metre-stretch of rubble and being sent food, water and medicines through pipes. There is constant communication with them, officials said.

The plan is to insert six-metre sections of steel pipes one after the other as the machine drills through the rubble. Each pipe has a diameter of 800 or 900 mm. The fifth pipe was being inserted Friday evening.

Asked why the machine had not reached the “expected” rate, National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited director Anshu Manish Khalkho told reporters that aligning the pipes and welding them before pushing through the debris takes time.

The operation has to be put on pause every now and then, Khalkho said while alluding to fumes created by the diesel-driven machine in a close environment and vibrations created in the tunnel due to the drilling.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

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DAY AFTER MEETING XI, BIDEN SAYS US HAS ‘REAL DIFFERENCES’ WITH CHINA

President Biden said Thursday that the US has “real differences with Beijing,” one day after he held an hours long meeting with President Xi Jinping of China at a moment of deep tension between the two countries. Speaking to executives at the APEC summit in San Francisco, Biden noted that he and Xi had agreed to resume military-to-military communication to “reduce the risk of miscalculation” —a line that got a round of applause from the room. “We have real differences with Beijing,” Biden said. “We are going to continue to address them with smart policies and strong diplomacy.”

Biden also stressed that a strong US economy was helping the Indo-Pacific region. The president has been frustrated that positive news about the US economy has not seemed to resonate with the public, so on Thursday he took the opportunity to tick through the numbers. The American economy grew by 4.9% last quarter. Unemployment has been under 4% for the past 21 months. Inflation has come down by 65% — with “more to do” to lower it, he said. “I acknowledge there’s a disconnect between the numbers and how people feel about their place in the world right now,” he said.

US CONDEMNS ELON MUSK'S "ABHORRENT" ENDORSEMENT OF ANTISEMITISM

The White House on Friday condemned the owner of social media platform X and the world's richest person, Elon Musk, for "abhorrent promotion" of anti-Semitism.

"We condemn this abhorrent promotion of anti-Semitic and racist hate in the strongest terms, which runs against our core values as Americans," White House spokesman Andrew Bates said. "We all have a responsibility to bring people together against hate, and an obligation to speak out against anyone who attacks the dignity of their fellow Americans and compromises the safety of our communities."

The White House was reacting to a post by Elon Musk in which he replied to an anti-Semitic post on X with the words: "You have said the actual truth."

The original post has been perceived by the White House and the US media as a reference to a longtime conspiracy theory among White supremacists that Jews have a secret plan to bring in illegal immigrants to weaken white majorities.

Most notoriously, the idea was promoted by the man who carried out a mass shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018, killing 11 people.

"It is unacceptable to repeat the hideous lie behind the most fatal act of anti-Semitism in American history at any time, let alone one month after the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust," Bates said, referring to the October 7 assault by Palestinian group Hamas on Israel.

VIDEOS ABOUT OSAMA’S CRITICISM OF US SURGE IN POPULARITY ONLINE

Videos on TikTok supporting a decades-old letter by Osama bin Laden criticising the US and its support of Israel surged in popularity this week, adding to accusations the company is fueling the spread of antisemitic content. The White House condemned the resurfacing of the letter.

The letter, titled “Letter to America,” was published a year after the September 11, 2001 attacks orchestrated by bin Laden. He defended the attacks saying Americans had become “servants” to Jews, who he said controlled the country’s economy and media. American taxpayers, he wrote, were complicit in harming Muslims in the Middle East, including destroying Palestinian homes.

Early Thursday, a search for #lettertoamerica showed videos with 14.2 million views. By midday, TikTok had blocked the content. A spokesperson said TikTok was “aggressively removing this content and investigating how it got onto our platform.”

THE REST

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5 LASHKAR TERRORISTS AMONG 6 ULTRAS KILLED IN 2 ENCOUNTERS IN J-K

Six terrorists were killed in two separate encounters with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday, officials said.

While five Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorists were killed following an overnight encounter with the security forces in Kulgam district in the valley, one ultra was neutralised in Rajouri, they added.

"The bodies of the slain terrorists have been retrieved and the area is being sanitised," inspector general of police, Kashmir Zone, VK Birdi told PTI after the 18-hour gunbattle in Kulgam district came to an end. Birdi said the bodies of the slain terrorists were located with the help of drone footage.

The security forces had launched a cordon-and-search operation in Nehama village of Kulgam following information about the presence of terrorists in the area on Thursday, officials said. The search operation turned into a gunbattle as the terrorists opened fire on the security personnel, they added.

PAK SILENT ON MYSTERIOUS KIILINGS OF MILITANTS ACCUSED OF TERRORISM IN INDIA

The targeted killings in Pakistan of militants accused of terrorism in India follow the same pattern: in each case, unknown armed men riding motorcycles have been involved. Some Pakistani officials involved in the investigations blame the “intelligence agency of a hostile country”.

But Pakistani authorities as well as the media have largely stayed silent.

None of the men killed have been identified as terrorists either by the Pakistan govt or media. Maulana Raheem Ullah Tariq, a JeM leader and close associate of Maulana Masood Azhar, was the latest “jihadi” to be shot dead by unknown men in Karachi on November 13. The incident was portrayed as the killing of a local cleric.

Former LeT terrorist Akram Khan, alias Akram Ghazi, head of LeT’s recruitment cell, was shot dead in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur tribal district on November 9. Pakistani media referred to him as a “muezzin”, a person who proclaims the call for daily prayers.

On November 5 Khwaja Shahid, also known as Mian Mujahid, was purportedly kidnapped and later discovered beheaded near the Line of Control in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Shahid, according to sources, was a prominent LeT figure and one of the masterminds of the 2018 terrorist attack on an Indian Army camp in Sunjuwan that had claimed seven lives.

HC QUASHES HARYANA LAW ON 75% QUOTA IN PVT JOBS TO RESIDENTS: DISCRIMINATORY

Underlining that a govt cannot discriminate against individuals merely because they do not belong to a particular state, the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday quashed a law passed by the Haryana govt in 2020 that provided 75 per cent reservation in private jobs to residents of the state.

“The Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act, 2020 is held to be unconstitutional and violative of Part III of the Constitution of India and is accordingly held ultra vires,” a division bench of Justices G S Sandhawalia and Harpreet Kaur Jeewan said in its order.

Deputy CM Dushyant Chautala said: “We will move the Supreme Court and file an SLP after thoroughly examining the High Court order.”

In its order, the bench said it is beyond the purview of the State to restrict a private employer from recruiting from the open market for the category of employees who were receiving less than Rs 30,000 per month.

Petitioners MT Industrial Association and others had challenged the law saying that it creates an unprecedented intrusion by the state govt into the fundamental rights of private employers to carry on their business and trade as provided under Article 19 of the Constitution.

11 LAKH CHILDREN IN INDIA MISSED 1ST MEASLES SHOT IN ’22: REPORT

An estimated 11 lakh children in India missed their crucial first dose of measles vaccine in 2022, according to a report by the WHO and US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This puts India among 10 countries with the highest number of children who did not receive the first shot.

India is also among the 37 countries that witnessed large or disruptive outbreaks, reporting 40,967 measles cases in 2022, according to the report.

Globally, immunisation against measles dropped to lowest levels since 2008 during the pandemic, leading to an 18% rise in cases and 43% increase in deaths in 2022, said the report that presented the first estimates of gaps after the pandemic.

Two doses of the measles vaccine offers 97% protection for life. The protection is likely to be weaker with a single dose. While measles usually causes high fever, cough, runny nose, and red rashes, complications such as brain swelling, pneumonia and breathing problems, and severe diarrhoea may lead to death.

According to the report, 33 million children globally missed either both doses or second dose.

THE REPORT comes at a critical juncture as India, along with other countries in the WHO South-East Asia Region, adopted the goal of measles elimination by 2023.

The gaps in immunisation have since been covered during the three rounds of Intensified Mission Indradhanush that ended in October.

THE WEDDING SEASON: A $51 BILLION OPPORTUNITY FOR INDIAN BUSINESSES

Some 3.5 million weddings are planned between the end of November and mid December. The so-called wedding season represents a $51 billion opportunity for Indian businesses, as consumers increase spending on gold jewelry, clothing, wedding planning services and home ware.

Kumar Rajagopalan, chief executive officer of the Retailers Association of India, expects an 8%-11% growth in sales across industries associated with wedding spending such as jewelry, garments, footwear and designer clothing from the end of November to January.

Most Indians tie the knot between the end of the Hindu festival of Diwali and the first few months of the new year.

Despite inflation hitting the less well off particularly hard this year, the season’s first weeks are expected to see good business. Overall sales during Nov. 23 to Dec. 15 will be about 4.25 trillion rupees ($51 billion), the Confederation of All India Traders estimates.

OPENAI FIRES SAM ALTMAN

Sam Altman, who led the company that created ChatGPT a year ago and triggered an AI race, dropped praises for his former colleagues after he was sacked by the Microsoft-backed firm.

OpenAI said Friday it had fired CEO Sam Altman as it no longer had confidence in his ability to lead the company. The dismissal prompted co-founder Greg Brockman to announced his departure too.

ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence chatbot that has the capability to produce human-like content in seconds, had ignited a race never seen before, catapulting Altman to a tech world sensation.

OpenAI, the creator of this chatbot, said a "review process" found that Altman was "not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities." "The board no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI," said the company, adding that chief technology officer Mira Murati will replace him.

Altman's dismissal was followed by Brockman's departure from the company with a note that his decision was based on the latest developments.

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of childhood into maturity - Thomas Henry Huxley

OFF TRACK

A wholesaler in New York sent a letter to the postmaster of a small Midwestern town. He asked for the name of an honest lawyer who would take a collection case against a local debtor who had refused to pay for a shipment of the wholesaler's goods. He got this reply:  

Dear Sir: I am the postmaster of this village and received your letter. I am also an honest lawyer and ordinarily would be pleased to accept a case against a local debtor.  

In this case, however, I also happen to be the person you sold those crummy goods to. I received your demand to pay and refused to honor it. I am also the banker you sent the draft to draw on the merchant, and I sent that back with a note stating that the merchant had refused to pay.  

If I were not, for the time being, substituting for the pastor of our local church, I would tell you just what I thought of your claim.