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Wednesday, November 6, 2024

"This Is Karma": Dana White's Shout-Out To Donald Trump On US Elections Win

Republican candidate Donald Trump claimed the unprecedented mandate in the US Presidential race, beating his Democratic party opponent Kamal Harris to reach the 270-mark. As the country's verdict became apparent, Trump addressed the citizens in Florida where he also thanked JD Vance, the vice-president candidate for the Republicans, and Elon Musk, who played a big role in Trump's campaign. Trump also had a special mention for the CEO and president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Dana White, who was also present on the stage in Florida with him.

Speaking at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in Florida, Trump also asked White to share a few words on the presidential race, and the UFC boss had some intriguing remarks to make. 

"This is karma ladies and gentlemen. Nobody deserves this more than his family does. This is what happens when the machine comes after you. Couldn‘t stop him. He keeps going forward. He‘s the most resilient man I‘ve ever met in my life. This is karma, ladies and gentlemen. He deserves this."

"Last but not least, the mighty and powerful Joe Rogan. And thank you, America. Thank you," said White. 

As Trump claimed victory, he pledged to "heal" the country.

His exuberant speech came despite the fact that only Fox News had declared him the winner, with no other US networks having made the call so far.

As jubilant supporters cheered and chanted "USA", Trump took to the stage at his campaign headquarters in Florida along with his wife Melania and several of his children.

"We are going to help our country heal," the Republican former president said. "It's a political victory that our country has never seen before."

With AFP Inputs



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Tuesday, November 5, 2024

After 0-3 Series Loss, How Kohli Celebrated His 36th B'day With Anushka

The talks of Virat Kohli settling in London over the last year or so have flooded social media. Over Team India's last few assignments, Kohli has been seen flying to London often after the completion of his cricketing assignments. However, as Team India's Test series against New Zealand came to a conclusion, Kohli decided to stay in the country and celebrate his 36th birthday with his wife Anushka Sharma. As per a report, despite India's humiliating 0-3 series whitewash at the hands of the Kiwis, Kohli looked in a good mood as he posed for shutterbugs.

A few pictures and videos have surfaced on social media in which Virat and Anushka could be seen starting the 36th birthday celebrations of the India star. A report in Hindustan Times claimed that Kohli and Anushka celebrated the birthday together at the India batter's restaurant chain One8 Commune. 

Here's an old video of Kohli and Anushka at a One8 Commune restaurant:

Despite India winning the 2024 T20 World Cup title, this year hasn't been the finest for Kohli from the perspective of form and personal milestones. The iconic batter has struggled for runs, no matter which format he has played. Even in the T20 World Cup, Kohli struggled to step up, barring the solitary final against South Africa.

In the recently concluded Test series against New Zealand, Kohli didn't even manage to cross the 100-run mark cumulatively. In fact, many questions have been raised over his continuity in the team. While Virat has already quit the T20 international format, there are many who wonder if his days in India's Test team could be numbered too.

What next for Virat Kohli?

Kohli has already been picked for India's tour of Australia, where Rohit Sharma's men are scheduled to feature in a total of 5 Test matches. Kohli's love affair with Australia isn't hidden from any of his fans, but his form isn't painting a particularly rosy picture at the moment.

While experts expect Kohli to turn things around and lead India's charge with the bat Down Under, there are those too who worry if Test retirement could be on the horizon in a case where the iconic batter fails to turn the table around.



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Zepp App 9 With Exertion Score, Other Improved Features Now Available for Amazfit Users

Zepp Health Corporation, the parent company of the smartwatch brand Amazfit, has introduced the Zepp App 9. With this app, the company introduces a new feature called Exertion Score, which customises workout plans and fitness recommendations based on the users' level of exhaustion, recovery and readiness.

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Monday, November 4, 2024

Oppo Reno 13 Series Launch Date, Key Specifications Tipped; May Launch Late November

Oppo Reno 13 series is expected to launch soon as the successor to the Oppo Reno 12 lineup. It will likely include a base Oppo Reno 13 and an Oppo Reno 13 Pro variant, similar to the preceding series. The company has yet to confirm the purported handsets, however, a tipster has suggested the expected launch date of the Reno 13 lineup.

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Maharashtra Top Cop Transferred After Opposition's Phone Tapping Allegations

Two weeks before Maharashtra votes in Assembly polls, the Election Commission has ordered the transfer of Maharashtra DGP Rashmi Shukla, according to sources. The Opposition, led by the Congress, had alleged that the senior IPS officer was biased towards the ruling Mahayuti alliance and that fair polls wouldn't be possible if she was in the top post.

The poll body has asked Chief Secretary Sujata Saunik to hand over Ms Shukla's charge to the next seniormost IPS officer with immediate effect and send a panel of three names by tomorrow for selection of the next state police chief.

During review meetings and announcement of Assembly polls, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar had warned officials to be impartial and fair and ensure that they are perceived as non-partisan in conducting their duties.

Opposition parties, including the Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT), had accused Ms Shukla of bias.

"There is a very serious allegation against the state's Director General of Police Rashmi Shukla. In 2019, when our government was being formed, this Director General of Police, who was directly working for the Bharatiya Janata Party, was tapping all our phones and giving full information to Devendra Fadnavis about what we were going to do," Sanjay Raut, Rajya Sabha MP and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader, had told the media.

"Can we expect her to conduct fair elections? We have said that the reins of elections should not be given to her, and then the Election Commission said that they do not have the right (to transfer). How can this happen? At the same time, Jharkhand's DGP was changed. Maharashtra's election is being conducted based on police pressure," he added.

State Congress chief Nana Patole had written to the Chief Election Commissioner, requesting Ms Shukla's removal from the post of the state police chief.

Mr Patole had accused the senior woman police officer of displaying a "clear bias" against Opposition parties. "Over the past 20 days, political violence against opposition parties has significantly escalated, with a notable deterioration in the law and order situation. She has shown a clear bias against the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP(SP), as evidenced by her previous record of illegal phone tapping of opposition leaders while serving as Commissioner of Police, Pune, and Commissioner of the State Intelligence Department (SID)," his letter said.

Congress's Vijay Wadettiwar Leader of the Opposition in Maharashtra Assembly, has welcomed the top cop's transfer. "It became clear today that the coalition government was being dishonest. What was the compulsion of the alliance government to extend the term of police officer Rashmi Shukla who was facing serious charges? She was given an extension to ensure that the assembly elections in Maharashtra are not conducted in a transparent manner," he said in a post on X.

An IPS officer of the 1988 batch, Ms Shukla is the first woman to become Maharashtra's police chief. Earlier, she served as director general of Sashstra Seema Bal. 

Maharashtra's 288 Assembly seats will vote on November 20. Counting of votes is on November 23.



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Opposition MPs Write To Lok Sabha Speaker Over Waqf Bill Committee

Opposition MPs wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla Monday, warning that they could 'dissociate' themselves from a joint parliamentary committee studying changes to the Waqf Bill.

The MPs accused the committee Chair, the Bharatiya Janata Party's Jagadambika Pal, of taking decisions regarding meeting dates and summons for consultations - unilaterally, and called his actions a "forceful way to mitigate (protests) and pass the Waqf (Amendment) Bill". They said they would walk away if not given sufficient time to present concerns about changes to the law.

The proposed changes to the Waqf Bill were tabled in Parliament in August and, amid furious protests from opposition MPs (and questions from some key BJP allies) sent to the JPC.

Since then, sittings have been marred by protests and walkouts by the opposition.

Last month there was drama after Trinamool MP Kalyan Banerjee smashed a glass bottle - while arguing with the BJP's Abhijit Gangopadhyay - and threw the remains at Mr Pal.

Mr Banerjee, who cut his fingers, later said his 'Hulk' moment had been provoked by Mr Gangopadhyay, a former Justice of the Calcutta High Court, verbally abusing his family.

The Trinamool leader also accused the Chairperson - Jagadambika Pal - of favouring Mr Gangopadhyay, his BJP colleague, declaring "he was harsh to me but soft to him".

Opposition MPs have also questioned the JPC hearing from groups - such as Odisha-based Panchasakha Bani Prachar - arguing that these have no stake in discussions on the Waqf law.

The committee is scheduled to meet today to hear from the Delhi-based Jamaat-e-Islam-e-Hind, a Shia Muslim group, and the Jamiyat Himaytul Islam led by Qari Abrar Jamal. It will also hear, for the first time since it began meeting, from a Muslim women's group.

On Tuesday the committee is expected to hear from the Akhil Bhartiya Adhivakta Parishad, which is an organisation of lawyers associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, which is the ruling BJP's ideological mentor.

Among the proposed changes to the Waqf laws (apart from having non-Muslim members on the board) is a provision to include at least two women, including the Central Council. Sources have told NDTV the idea is to empower Muslim women and children who "suffered" under the old law.

At least three BJP allies - including Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JDU and his Andhra Pradesh counterpart Chandrababu Naidu's TDP, both of whom are critical in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party maintaining its government - have also spoken out against the Waqf Amendment Bill.



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How A DNA Test Revealed Two Women Were Swapped At Birth

Two families in the West Midlands are seeking compensation after a DNA test revealed two baby girls were switched at birth in an NHS hospital 55 years ago. Mr Tony, who took a DNA home-testing kit out of curiosity, discovered his supposed sister, Ms Jessica, was not biologically related to him. Instead, the test revealed a stranger, Ms Claire, as his full sibling. Further investigation confirmed Claire and Jessica were born in the same hospital around the same time.

Ms Joan, Mr Tony's mother, expressed her joy at having a daughter when Jessica was born in 1967. “It was a wonderful feeling, at long last having a girl,” she recalled to the BBC  (Jessica and Claire are not their real names - both have been changed, to protect the women's identity).. 

Using the messaging service from the DNA company, Mr Tony reached out to Ms Claire, who had also taken the same DNA test two years earlier. Ms Claire had experienced her own confusion when she received her results, having no connection to her supposed ancestry and discovering a genetic link to a first cousin she didn't recognise. Ms Claire, who had always felt like an “imposter” in her family, recalled thinking, “Yes, I'm adopted.”

Ms Claire was resolute in her desire to meet Mr Tony and their shared mother, Joan. “I just wanted to see them, meet them, talk to them and embrace them,” she said.

When Mr Tony finally revealed the truth to Ms Joan, she was desperate for answers. She recalled the night of Ms Jessica's birth with vivid detail: “They took me in on a Sunday… It snowed that day.” After holding her newborn daughter for just a few minutes, she was taken to the nursery, and the next morning, she was mistakenly given Ms Jessica instead of Ms Claire.

The families have since met, and Ms Claire has been integrating into her biological family. “It just felt right,” said Ms Joan, Ms Claire's biological mother. “I thought she looked just like I did in my younger days.”

The NHS trust has admitted liability for the baby swap, describing it as an “appalling error.” Compensation negotiations are ongoing.

Ms Joan stressed that her love for Ms Jessica, the woman she raised, remains unchanged. “She's still my daughter and she always will be.”



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Sunday, November 3, 2024

First Time Since 1934, India Hit Historic Low With 3-0 Series Loss vs NZ

A drama-filled third Test between India and New Zealand concluded with the tourists securing a first-ever series sweep in the Indian sub-continent. India looked on song to secure a pride-salvaging victory against the Kiwis till the time Rishabh Pant was batting but the wicket-keeper batter's controversial dismissal shattered India's batting unit like a pack of cards. In the process, New Zealand became the first team in the history of the game to beat India 3-0 in their own home in a 3-match series. 

India first featured in a 3-match Test series when England toured the country back in the 1933-34 season. The match took place in the pre-Independence British era. India had suffered a 2-0 loss to the tourists in the series. 

India did well in the first innings, putting a total of 263 runs on the board after New Zealand were bowled out for 235 runs. In the second innings, India's spin twins Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin bagged 8 wickets between them as the Blackcaps were bowled out for 174 runs. 

However, the chase proved to be a tricky one for the Indian team. The hosts lost 5 wickets for just 29 runs after the likes of Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, and Sarfaraz Khan departed for paltry scores. 

Rishabh Pant was the sole carrier of India's hopes, scoring 64 runs off 57 balls before a controversial dismissal saw him depart. R Ashwin and Washington Sundar looked to orchestrate a partnership but Ajaz Patel and Glenn Phillips had other ideas.



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Manipur Police Constable Shoots Dead Senior After Verbal Spat

A Manipur Police constable fatally shot his senior colleague, a Sub-Inspector rank police officer, on Saturday following a verbal spat, officials said.

A police official said constable Bikramjit Singh allegedly opened fire at point-blank rage with his service rifle on Sub-Inspector Shah Jahan, who died on the spot. The two were said to have had an altercation earlier on Saturday.

The reason for the spat, which occurred in Manipur's violence-hit Jiribam district, is being investigated by the police. A police official said that the incident occurred at Mongbung village police post, an area currently under heightened security.

The accused constable was immediately arrested by the other policemen.

Ethnically-diverse Jiribam, which was largely untouched by ethnic violence in Imphal Valley and adjoining hills, erupted in violence after a 59-year-old man belonging to one community was killed allegedly by militants of another community in June this year. Thousands had to leave their homes and relocate to relief camps due to incidents of arson by both sides. Since then, the district has been on the edge.

More than 200 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kuki-Zo groups since May last year.



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Saturday, November 2, 2024

Nothing Exploring Development of Own Mobile OS as Android Alternative, Carl Pei Says

Nothing is exploring the development of its own mobile operating system, according to a statement from Nothing CEO and founder Carl Pei at TechCrunch Disrupt. The company's devices currently run on Google's Android system, like smartphones from most companies except Huawei and Apple.

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Opinion: Bibek Debroy: For Whom Data Was Everything

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When it comes to Bibek Debroy, two words, 'polyglot' and 'polymath', promptly come to mind. Post-Independence, India has been graced with numerous scholars and some ideologues masquerading as scholars, as well as propagandists masquerading as intellectuals. Unfortunately, very few of the lot have consistently kept an open mind and studied issues and contemporary events with the thirst of an eager student. Fewer still have successfully managed to bridge the past with the present and the traditional with the modern. Debroy belonged to this select club. One won't find many who can elaborate on the forces of "creative destruction" as described by Joseph Schumpeter and simultaneously decode the significance of the hidden messages in the Puranas.

"Debroy Sir", as this author called him, passed away too soon, at the young age of 69; he still had tons of wisdom to offer. But then, such is life. The co-author had last met Debroy Sir in his Niti Ayog office on September 10. The meeting involved a personal exchange of ideas and also an update on the work that the CVoter Foundation had been doing for the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister since October 2022. Sir looked visibly unwell. After talking a bit about the 2024 Lok Sabha election results and some more about the next report CVoter Foundation would submit, the co-author left with a promise from Sir that they would meet again after Deepavali. On the way out, the co-author checked with Mr. Krishnan, his secretary, and asked about Sir's health. Krishnan had confirmed that he was very unwell.

How Debroy Fought Against Obsolete Laws

Many would write about Debroy's tremendous capacity to straddle the world of ancient wisdom alongside modern dilemmas that affect the ordinary citizen. He toiled through tens of thousands of pages of "laws" dating back to the 19th century when the British ruled India. Hundreds of obsolete laws have been eliminated since Narendra Modi became prime minister in 2014. Some credit for that is definitely due to Debroy, who unflinchingly researched, wrote and talked about the damage such silly laws were doing to India. Even till recently, Debroy was persistent with his efforts in identifying and red-flagging needless regulations, rules and red tape. And while doing this, he managed to find time to translate dozens of ancient texts from Sanskrit into easy English that even young Indians could relate to. The output he produced was simply staggering. That was not all. The authors have seldom come across a more prolific columnist in contemporary India. The issues that he so deftly analysed without ideological posturing and verbose English should be a lesson for budding scholars and analysts.

But what the authors admired most about him was his integrity and spine. For many years, Debroy headed the research activities of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, which was headed by the then UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and her close advisors. Sometime after the UPA came to power in 2004, the Foundation started rating and ranking states on their performance based on a series of governance parameters. The Foundation ranked Gujarat, then led by Chief Minister Narendra Modi, as the best-performing state. According to various media reports, the Congress top brass was very upset with this. The differences were too deep, and Debroy resigned. As a dignified person, he never publicly talked about the manner in which he had to leave the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. He was also malevolently targeted on social media by a section of people. To his credit, Debroy simply preferred to ignore the abuse.

Blunt And Open

Debroy was doing all this even as he served as the chairman of the Economic Advisory Council (EAC) to the Prime Minister. Some think that the position is largely a ceremonial one. But he absolutely did not fall into the category of a happy and satisfied 'courtier'. Over the years, the authors personally presented some of the most unflattering data points to him. But to our surprise, he understood, and rather than softening the pinch, he always asked us to point things out even more bluntly, if possible. He believed our job was to dig out the bad news on economic matters upfront from the public perception data that we collect. Some of the sharpest minds in India have been members of the advisory board under him, and many institutions, big and small, have conducted research on its behalf on a range of issues.

For the co-author, the passing away of Debroy Sir is also a personal loss. More than 40 years ago, he was a Master's student at the Gokhale Institute of Politics & Economics in Pune, where Debroy was a young professor. Since then, he has considered Debroy Sir to be a mentor. The lead author regrets not meeting him more often. He has seldom met a scholar with such an open mind, a blunt but fair attitude, and a unique sense of humour. For the lead author, what was most admirable about Debroy Sir was his devotion to data.

India needs credible data. And it needed a polymath giant like Bibek Debroy.

(Yashwant Deshmukh is the Founder & Editor-in-Chief of CVoter Foundation and Sutanu Guru is Executive Director)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author



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Friday, November 1, 2024

Opinion: West's Efforts To Isolate Russia Are Failing

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The BRICS summit in Kazan chaired by Russia has drawn great international attention because it conveys many messages in the current geopolitical context and that of the future.

The West has tried to isolate Russia internationally, defeat it militarily, and, through an array of draconian sanctions, cause its economic collapse. None of these objectives have been met.

Russia's ties with China have deepened strategically. India has preserved its strategic ties with Moscow despite western pressure. Russia's ties with several African countries also have a new momentum. Moscow is strongly present in the West Asia region and has a close relationship with key Arab countries. Its partnership with some ASEAN countries is gathering steam too.

The Expansion Of BRICS

The expansion of BRICS in 2023, with Egypt, UAE, Iran, Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia, had already signalled how major countries in the Global South viewed Russia very differently from how the West saw it. The Global South sees Russia as a friendly country, not an adversary. That almost 40 countries have shown interest in joining BRICS, a forum in which Moscow plays a key role, signifies that for them, Russia is an attractive partner.

The countries of the Global South seek a reformed international system that would reflect the shifts in power equations away from the West, both economic and political, that have occurred over the years. They want more attention to be paid to their concerns and priorities.

The hypocrisy and double standards of the West's “values-based” policies, its military interventions and the use of various means to bring about regime changes, the use of sanctions as a policy tool, the weaponisation of the dollar and the global financial system by the US, have increasingly pushed non-Western countries to hedge themselves against western pressures by joining forums such as BRICS. If Russia earlier looked westwards, the West has turned its back on Russia, and now Russia is much more focused on its Eurasian identity and is looking eastwards.

Non-western countries cannot opt out of the existing international system or create one of their own. What they hope to do is to change the balance of power within the existing system and reform it to ensure more equality and equity in its functioning. The Global South countries, which also have close relations with the West, are being attracted to join BRICS or associate with it in order to increase their political, economic and security options.

With 24 world leaders having attended the Kazan summit, including those of five founding members and the four new permanent members, the West's already failing efforts to isolate President Putin and Russia have been strongly rebuffed.

More Members May Bring Complications

With so much interest in BRICS in the Global South, the question of expanding its membership and the criteria for that have posed difficulties. BRICS is a consensus-based forum. With the expansion, building a consensus on issues would become more difficult, and that would affect the working and credibility of the forum. 

Already, the meeting of the BRICS Foreign Ministers in June 2024 at Nizhny Novgorod in Russia, also attended by the four new members, could not issue a joint communiqué because of differences on certain points.

President Putin has himself publicly recognised the downside to any further expansion when he noted that the existing members have now worked together for years and know how the forum functions, and that the process of absorbing the new members into the methods and spirit of the forum will be the immediate focus, not its expansion.

The decision, therefore, has been not to broaden the BRICS membership for the moment but to enlarge its base by accepting new countries as partners. Developing a consensus within BRICS on which countries should be admitted as partners was presumably not an easy exercise, as all the BRICS members, old and new, had effective veto rights. It had to be ensured that no member country was particularly advantaged by the choice of partners and that the final list reflected a balance between the preferences of the forum's members.

A Wide Spread

Thirteen new BRICS partners have been accepted at Kazan—Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. That four members of the ASEAN are also among these is significant. Algeria, much to its disappointment, could not become a member when BRICS was expanded last year, but has now obtained partner status. Two key Central Asia countries have become partners too. Other Central Asian countries could obviously not be included as that would have weighed too much in the favour of Russia's interests. Already, the inclusion of Belarus is a clear Russian preference. The geographical spread of the new partner countries is noteworthy.

Russia's obvious preference for Turkey has also been accommodated given the latter's geopolitical importance for Russia, even though giving a partner status to a NATO country might not seem to fit into any normal criteria for deciding BRICS partnerships. Should NATO get a foothold in BRICS? From the Russian point of view, this would be a welcome political development in NATO's eastern flank. The US, which sees BRICS as an organisation created to rival the West in the global system, would be obviously perturbed by Turkey's decision.

Why Pakistan Was Kept Away

It would seem that China has not exercised its own special geopolitical preferences too visibly. If it was interested in Pakistan's inclusion, as it could well have been—if one would recall, it had linked India's SCO membership with that of Pakistan—it would have run into India's strong opposition. In September 2024, the Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Alexey Overchuk, while visiting Pakistan, had supported its inclusion in BRICS while also stating that such a decision would have to be based on a consensus. India clearly scotched any move to reach out to Pakistan, to the point that Pakistan does not seem to have been invited to the summit.

India had reservations about Turkey becoming a partner because of its anti-Indian positions on Kashmir in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), as well as its role in blocking India's membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. Eventually, India did not stand in the way of Turkey becoming a BRICS partner.

The last BRICS summit had approved the membership of Saudi Arabia, but it has not formally conveyed its acceptance. It was represented at the Kazan summit by its Foreign Minister. The Saudi Crown Prince received US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Riyadh while the summit was being held in Kazan, which tells its own story.

Do Not Overestimate

The importance of BRICS' expanded partnerships across Asia, Africa and Latin America should not be underestimated. It shows dissatisfaction with the current international system. Non-western countries want an end to the West's hegemony. They suffer from the West's self-centred and arbitrary policies. Strengthened multilateralism reflected in multipolarity is seen as the key to change.

At the same time, the pace at which BRICS can bring about this change should not be exaggerated. The goals of BRICS in forging alternatives to the dollar-dominated financial system are not easy to achieve. Within the BRICS countries, there are rivalries and divisions. Their political systems differ. Some are deeply anti-West, while others have friendly ties with the West even when they seek more space for themselves in a West-dominated global system. The economic disparities within the group are large. The policies of some both help and hurt the interests of the Global South.

All said and done, BRICS expansion, with all its challenges, is a vehicle for a much-needed re-balancing within the global system, which India also seeks.

(Kanwal Sibal was Foreign Secretary and Ambassador to Turkey, Egypt, France and Russia, and Deputy Chief Of Mission in Washington.)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author



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Google Confirms Early Android 16 Release Timeline, Second Minor Android Update to Follow

Google has announced that Android 16 is set for release in the second quarter of 2025. The next major Android update will be launched at least three months earlier than Android 15 and Android 14. Google says it will also roll out a minor Android 16 SDK release towards the end of 2025.

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