Manash (Subhaditya Edusoft): SUBHADITYA NEWS CHANNEL PRESENTS NEWS OF THIS WEEK : WEEKLY NEWS ON SCIENCE,POLITICAL,SPORTS, MOVIE & BOOK NEWS OF THIS WEEK

1) Study uncovers hundred-year lifespans for three freshwater fish species in the Arizona desert :by University of Minnesota

A century-old buffalofish from Apache Lake, Arizona.

A recent study has found some of the oldest animals in the world living in a place you wouldn't expect: fishes in the Arizona desert. Researchers have found the second genus of animal ever for which three or more species have known lifespans greater than 100 years, which could open the doors to aging studies across disciplines, such as gerontology and senescence (aging) among vertebrates. The study centers around a series of fish species within the Ictiobus genus, known as buffalofishes. Minnesota has native populations of each of the three species studied: bigmouth buffalo, smallmouth buffalo and black buffalo. The importance of this research is underscored by the fact that these fishes are often misidentified and lumped in with invasive species, like carp, and the fishing regulations in many places, including Minnesota, do not properly protect these species, and what could become a wealth of information about longevity and aging.

This new research from the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD), recently published in Scientific Reports, was a collaboration between Alec Lackmann, Ph.D., an ichthyologist and assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics of the Swenson College of Science and Engineering at UMD; other scientists including from North Dakota State University; and a group of conservation anglers who fish the Apache Lake reservoir in Arizona.

"There is likely a treasure trove of aging, longevity and negligible senescence information within the genus Ictiobus," said Lackmann. "This study brings light to this potential and opens the door to a future in which a more complete understanding of the process of vertebrate aging can be realized, including for humans. The research begs the question: What is the buffalofishes' fountain of youth?"

Lackmann has studied buffalofishes before, and his research from 2019 went so far as to extend the previously thought maximum age of bigmouth buffalo from around 25 years of age to more than 100 years of age by applying and validating a far more refined aging technique than had been used previously. Instead of examining the fish's scale, "you extract what are called the otoliths, or earstones, from inside the cranium of the fish, and then thin-section the stones to determine their age," said Lackmann.

Approximately 97% of fish species have otoliths. They're tiny stone-like structures that grow throughout the fish's lifetime, forming a new layer each year. When processed properly, scientists like Lackmann can examine the otolith with a compound microscope and count the layers, like the rings on a tree, and learn the age of the fish.

Buffalofishes are native to central North America, including Minnesota, but those in this recent study were found in Apache Lake, a reservoir in the desert southwest. Originally reared in hatcheries and rearing ponds along the Mississippi River in the Midwest, the government stocked buffalofishes into Roosevelt Lake (upstream of Apache Lake), Arizona in 1918. While Roosevelt Lake was fished commercially, Apache Lake's fish populations remained largely untouched until anglers recently learned how to consistently catch buffalofishes there on rod-and-line.

When these catch-and-release conservation anglers noticed unique orange and black spots on many of the fish they were catching, they wanted to learn more about the markings, and found Lackmann's previous research. An Arizona angler, Stuart Black, reached out and invited Lackmann to a fishing expedition at Apache Lake, where the fish collected would be donated to science.By studying the fishes collected at the angling event and analyzing their otoliths for age, Lackmann found that some of the buffalofishes from the 1918 Arizona stocking are likely still alive today, and that most of the buffalofishes in Apache Lake hatched during the early 1920s. More importantly, they discovered that the three different buffalofish species found in the lake had ages more than 100 years. To their knowledge, such longevity across multiple freshwater fish species is found nowhere else in the world.For Lackmann, there are exciting possibilities for the future of studying this unique group of fish, with far-reaching implications.

"These long-lived species of fishes and individuals could be monitored so that we can further study and understand their DNA, their physiology, their ability to fight infection and disease, and to compare these systems across the continuum of age," said Lackmann. "The genus Ictiobus has potential to prove of high value to the field of gerontology, and Apache Lake could become an epicenter for a variety of scientific research in the future."

2) The genetic heritage of the Denisovans may have left its mark on our mental health :by Universitat Pompeu Fabra - Barcelona

Image Description : emonstration that part of the transporter is located in mitochondria by superresolution STED microscopy imaging with HEZ293 cells transfected with the zinc transporter ZnT9 (in green). In magenta the mitochondrial protein TOM 20 and in white the localization to mitochondria. Credit: Rubén Vicente. Credit: Ruben Vicente

Modern humans left Africa some 60,000 years ago in the event known as "Out-of-Africa." In Asia, they coincided with the Denisovans, and that encounter may have led to confrontations and collaborations, but also various crossbreeding. In fact, modern humans retain genetic variants of Denisovan origin in our genome, which are testimony to those initial interactions. Now, a team led by the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE), a joint center of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), and by the UPF Department of Medicine and Life Sciences (MELIS), has identified one of the most widespread traces of the genetic heritage of the extinct Denisovans in modern humans.

The teams of Elena Bosch, IBE principal investigator, and of Rubén Vicente, MELIS-UPF principal investigator, have discovered that this genetic adaptation helped ancestral populations of Homo sapiens to adapt to the cold. The variant observed, involved in zinc regulation and with a role in cellular metabolism, could also have predisposed modern humans to psychiatric disorders such as depression or schizophrenia.

Genetic variation in zinc regulation may have meant an evolutionary advantage

How adaptation has shaped current genetic diversity in human populations is a matter of great interest in evolutionary genetics.Arising from this question, Elena Bosch's team identified an adaptive variant among current human populations in a region of our genome that bears great similarity to the genome of an extinct ancestral population: the Denisovans.

Image Description : Geographical distribution of the substitution identified in the SLC30A9 gene in current human populations and possible scenarios of Denisovan introgression. SLC30A9 ancestral corresponds to the version of the gene prior to the crossing between Denisovans and Sapiens. SLC30A9 variant refers to the version shared with Denisovans. Credit: Jorge Garcia and Elena Bosch. Licensed under Creative Commons 4.0. Created in mapchart. Credit: Jorge Garcia and Elena Bosch. Licensed under Creative Commons 4.0. Created in mapchart.

"Through genomic analysis, we noted that the genetic variant observed came from our interbreeding with archaic humans in the past, possibly the Denisovans," says Ana Roca-Umbert, co-first author of the study. The team has ruled out Neanderthal heritage, since these populations do not have this mutation.

"Apparently, the change was beneficial and proved a selective advantage for humans. As a consequence, this variation in the SLC30A9 gene was selected and has reached current populations," adds Jorge Garcia-Calleja, co-first author of the study.The Evolutionary Population Genetics Laboratory, directed by Bosch, wished to find out what changes are brought about by this genetic variation of Denisovan origin at the cellular level. "We discovered that this mutation surely had implications for the transport of zinc within the cell, and so we contacted Vicente's team," recalls Elena Bosch, IBE principal investigator and co-leader of the study. Zinc regulation: Key to adapting to the cold

"Elena contacted me because her team had observed a change in an amino acid in a zinc transporter, which was very different between the populations of Africa and Asia today. From there, we started asking ourselves questions and looking for answers," Rubén Vicente comments. His team, in the Biophysics of the Immune System group at the Laboratory of Molecular Physiology, undertook the technical challenge of studying the movement of intracellular zinc.

Zinc, an essential trace element for human health, is an important messenger that transfers both information from the outside to the inside of cells and between different cellular compartments. A lack of zinc causes growth, neurological and immune disorders, although "its regulation is still poorly studied due to the lack of molecular tools to follow the flow of zinc."

Vicente's laboratory identified that the observed variant causes a new zinc balance within the cell, promoting a change in metabolism. By altering the endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria of the cells, this variation causes a possible metabolic advantage to cope with a hostile climate. "The observed phenotype leads us to think of a possible adaptation to the cold," Vicente says.

The Denisovan genetic heritage could affect the mental health of European and Asian populations

Zinc transport is also involved in nervous system excitability, and plays a role in people's mental equilibrium and health.

The team points out that the variant found in this zinc transporter, which is expressed in all tissues of the body, is associated with a greater predisposition to suffering from some psychiatric diseases. These include anorexia nervosa, hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, and schizophrenia.

"In the future, expanding this study to animal models could shed light on this predisposition to suffering from mental illnesses," Vicente notes.

The genetic variant has left a global mark, except in Africa

Although the variant was established in Asia as a result of interbreeding between Denisovans and Homo sapiens, it also spread to European and native American populations. In fact, it is found in populations all over the planet, although, in the case of African populations, it is much less frequent.The team points out that it is probably the Denisovan genetic adaptation to have the greatest geographical scope discovered to date. "For example, a variant in the EPAS1 gene inherited from the Denisovans allows adapting to life at altitude, but is found only in Tibetans. However, in our case, the impact extends to all populations outside Africa," Bosch concludes.

3) Brain tissue may be fuel for marathon runners: By Meghan Rosen

A study suggests nerve cell insulation, or myelin, is an energy source during endurance exercise In endurance athletes, some brain power may come from an unexpected source.

Marathon runners appear to rely on myelin, the fatty tissue bundled around nerve fibers, for energy during a race, scientists report October 10 in a paper posted at bioRxiv.org. In the day or two following a marathon, this tissue seems to dwindle drastically, brain scans of runners reveal. Two weeks after the race, the brain fat bounces back to nearly prerace levels. The find suggests that the athletes burn so much energy running that they need to tap into a new fuel supply to keep the brain operating smoothly. This is definitely an intriguing observation,” says Mustapha Bouhrara, a neuroimaging scientist at the National Institute on Aging in Baltimore. “It is quite plausible that myelin lipids are used as fuel in extended exercise.”

If what the study authors are seeing is real, he says, the work could have therapeutic implications. Understanding how runners’ myelin recovers so rapidly might offer clues for developing potential treatments — like for people who’ve lost myelin due to aging or neurodegenerative disease.

Much of the human brain contains myelin, tissue that sheathes nerve fibers and acts as an insulator, like rubber coating an electrical wire. That insulation lets electrical messages zip from nerve cell to nerve cell, allowing high-speed communication that’s crucial for brain function.

The fatty tissue seems to be a straightforward material with a straightforward job, but there’s likely more to it than that, says Klaus-Armin Nave, a neurobiologist at the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences in Göttingen, Germany. “For the longest time, it was thought that myelin sheathes were assembled, inert structures of insulation that don’t change much after they’re made,” he says.

Today, there’s evidence that myelin is a dynamic structure, growing and shrinking in size and abundance depending on cellular conditions. The idea is called myelin plasticity. “It’s hotly researched,” Nave says.Fatty molecules and other myelin sheath components regularly turn over, breaking down the insulating material and building it back up again, he says. In mice, brain cells can tap into these in-flux fats when sugar — the brain’s typical energy source — is scarce, Nave’s team’s experiments have suggested.Carlos Matute, a neurobiologist at the Achucarro Basque Center for Neuroscience and the University of the Basque Country in Leioa, Spain, wondered if these fats could also sustain the brains of endurance athletes. He’s a marathon runner and had been curious how people’s brains continued working after strenuous exercise drained energy reserves in the body.

Using an MRI, his team scanned the brains of four marathon runners in the days before and after the race, and two of the runners two weeks later. A day or two after the race, the team saw a reduction in the amount of myelin in the brain. That suggested the myelin wrapped around nerve fibers had thinned, Matute says. After two weeks, much of the myelin had returned, thickening again around neural fibers. That’s a rapid decline followed by a rapid recovery, says Bouhrara, a drastic result that gives him pause. Matute and colleagues used water trapped between layers of myelin as a proxy for myelin content. More of this water indicates more myelin. But you can’t rule out the effects of dehydration, Bouhrara says. If runners are dehydrated after their race, their brain tissues may just be dried out.

It’s a point Matute has heard before, when presenting his data to colleagues. “In our opinion, this is not the case.” His team scanned the runners days after their race, so they had time to rehydrate, he says. What’s more, the runners’ brain volumes stayed nearly the same before and after the marathon. Dehydrated brains would probably be smaller, Matute says. “We saw that there is no shrinkage of the brain at all.”

Now, his team is following the thread of their findings; they want to see if the runners’ myelin dip alters brain function, and how long it takes to recover completely.Matute points out that his results don’t mean running is bad for the brain. “Not at all,” he says. It’s possible that using and replenishing energy reserves is beneficial because it exercises the brain’s metabolic machinery.

4) Asteroid dust caused 15-year winter that killed dinosaurs: Study :by Daniel Lawler

How did the asteroid kill off the dinosaurs By kicking up a huge amount of dust into the atmosphere, new research has suggested

Around 66 million years ago, an asteroid bigger than Mount Everest smashed into Earth, killing off three quarters of all life on the planet—including the dinosaurs. This much we know.But exactly how the impact of the asteroid Chicxulub caused all those animals to go extinct has remained a matter of debate.The leading theory recently has been that sulfur from the asteroid's impact—or soot from global wildfires it sparked—blocked out the sky and plunged the world into a long, dark winter, killing all but the lucky few.

However research published Monday based on particles found at a key fossil site reasserted an earlier hypothesis: that the impact winter was caused by dust kicked up by the asteroid.Fine silicate dust from pulverized rock would have stayed in the atmosphere for 15 years, dropping global temperatures by up to 15 degrees Celsius, researchers said in a study in the journal Nature Geoscience.Back in 1980, father-and-son scientists Luis and Walter Alvarez first proposed that the dinosaurs were killed off by an asteroid strike that shrouded the world in dust.

Their claim was initially met with some skepticism—until a decade later when the massive crater of Chicxulub was found in what is now the Yucatan Peninsula on the Gulf of Mexico. Now, scientists largely agree that Chicxulub was to blame.But the idea that it was sulfur, rather than dust, that caused the impact winter has become "very popular" in recent years, Ozgur Karatekin, a researcher at the Royal Observatory of Belgium, told AFP.

Study co-author Karatekin said this was because the dust from the impact was thought to be the wrong size to stay in the atmosphere for long enough.For the study, the international team of researchers was able to measure dust particles thought to be from right after the asteroid struck.

'Catastrophic collapse'

The particles were found at the Tanis fossil site in the US state of North Dakota.

Though 3,000 kilometers (1,865 miles) away from the crater, the site has preserved a number of remarkable finds believed to be dated from directly after the asteroid impact in sediment layers of an ancient lake.

The dust particles were around 0.8 to 8.0 micrometers—just the right size to stick around in the atmosphere for up to 15 years, the researchers said.Entering this data into climate models similar to those used for current-day Earth, the researchers determined that dust likely played a far greater role in the mass extinction than had previously been thought.Out of all the material that was shot into the atmosphere by the asteroid, they estimated that it was 75 percent dust, 24 percent sulfur and one percent soot.The dust particles "totally shut down photosynthesis" in plants for at least a year, causing a "catastrophic collapse" of life, Karatekin said.

Sean Gulick, a geophysicist at the University of Texas at Austin and not involved in the research, told AFP that the study was another interesting effort to answer the "hot question"—what drove the impact winter—but did not provide the definitive answer.

He emphasized that discovering what happened during the world's last mass extinction event was important not just for understanding the past, but also the future."Maybe we can better predict our own mass extinction that we're probably in the middle of," Gulick said.

5) Heat engine: Bengaluru scientists overcome 200 year old problem on Carnot’s heat-engine

Tabletop experiments by Indian physicists have broken a barrier proposed 200 years ago by a legendary French engineer, Sadi Carnot, raising hopes of new high-efficiency heat engines hitherto considered impossible.

Researchers in Bangalore have created a heat engine — a device that turns heat into mechanical energy — that is the first ever to approach the maximum theoretical efficiency calculated in 1824 by Carnot, the founder of thermodynamics, the science of heat.Heat engines are ubiquitous. They run cars, jet aircraft, refrigerators, coal, gas and nuclear power plants, and miniature motors. But all heat engines are currently limited by Carnot’s maximum efficiency rule. Attempts to increase a heat engine’s efficiency lower its power. A super-efficient heat engine is expected to have negligible power and therefore be unusable.

“All this time, it was assumed that it isn’t possible to attain efficiency close to the Carnot limit, that we have to sacrifice engine efficiency to maximise power,” said Ajay Sood, a physics professor at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) who led the research. Sood is currently the principal science adviser to the Indian government. Sood and his colleagues have demonstrated a strategy to overcome this power-efficiency trade-off through experiments that involved a miniature heat engine whose efficiency approached 95 per cent of the Carnot limit at high operating speeds. They described their work in the scientific journal Nature Communications on Friday.

“The power-efficiency trade-off may be illustrated through the difference between racing cars and household cars,” said Rajesh Ganapathy, a physics professor at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) and a research collaborator.A racing car delivers high power but is relatively inefficient and guzzles a lot more fuel than a household car, which yields more kilometres per litre but at less power.A typical heat engine such as those in cars uses a piston and a cylinder to compress a mixture of fuel and gas to complete a cycle during which heat energy is extracted for mechanical energy.

The IISc physicists borrowed the concept of a micrometre-sized heat engine first demonstrated by physicists at the University of Stuttgart, Germany, in 2011.In the tiny engine, the gas-fuel mixture is replaced by a single colloidal bead — a gel-like particle — and laser beams acting on the colloid bead mimic the movements of the piston and cylinder. The IISc team also exposed the colloidal bead to a rapidly fluctuating electric field at 2000 cycles per second.Under the influence of the electric field, the engine’s efficiency could be steadily increased to approach the Carnot limit. Their results, albeit on a tiny scale, show that in principle it is possible to unshackle heat engine design from a restriction assumed inviolable.

“This has been a longstanding challenge,” said Sudeesh Krishnamurthy, a former research scholar at the IISc who had worked on the novel heat engine and is currently at the University of California, Berkeley.Research groups across the world have since the oil crisis in the 1970s tried to approach the Carnot limit through myriad strategies — from engine design modifications to the use of exotic materials.Over the past decade, scientists in Belgium, Italy, Japan and Korea have proposed theoretical ideas to overcome the Carnot limit, but none has been implemented.“No human-made heat engine, whether macroscopic or microscopic, has ever attained the theoretical maximum efficiency,” Ganapathy said.But scientists have cautioned that translating the tabletop feat into real-world engines — macroscopic or microscopic — remains a challenge.“This is an advance in the exploration of the basic aspects of thermodynamics — it is a remarkable step in our understanding of microscopic heat engines,” said Vijaykumar Krishnamurthy, a biophysicist at the International Centre for Theoretical Sciences, Bangalore, who was not associated with the IISc work.

“But whether this can be exploited for large-scale macroscopic engines remains an open question.”Engineers will need to find ways to replicate the effects of the electric fields on the colloidal beads in real-world engines.

1) India jobless rate rises to more than two-year high, CMIE says:

India's unemployment rate increased to its highest level in over two years in October, primarily due to rising joblessness in rural areas, according to data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy Ltd. The overall unemployment rate rose to 10.05% in October, up from 7.09% in September, marking the highest rate since May 2021. India’s unemployment rate climbed to the highest in more than two years in October as joblessness in rural areas increased, according to a private research firm.

The overall rate rose to 10.05% last month from 7.09% in September, data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy Ltd. showed, the highest since May 2021. Rural unemployment jumped to 10.82% from 6.2%, while the urban rate eased slightly to 8.44%. The weakest monsoon rains in five years is weighing on farming output in the world’s second-biggest producer of rice, wheat and sugar. In urban areas, though, economic activity has been relatively strong, with manufacturing and consumption expanding. The government publishes a country-wide unemployment rate only on an annual basis, and a rate for urban areas every quarter. The most recent official report, released in October, puts the unemployment rate for the country at 3.2% for 2022-2023.

Economists have come to rely on the CMIE data for a better assessment of the labor market. The figures are based on monthly surveys of more than 170,000 households.

While India’s economy is expected to grow more than 6% this year and next, among the fastest in the world, that’s still not rapid enough to create jobs for the millions that need it. The CMIE data shows nearly 10 million people entered the job market in O ..

2) Not afraid of phone tapping’: Rahul Gandhi targets govt over Apple’s warning:

Rahul Gandhi said the government thinks they can control the angst of the young people of India, but old weapons of political communication are more effective.Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government over Apple’s warning to a number of Opposition leaders about ‘state-sponsored attackers’ trying to ‘remotely compromise’ their iPhones and said that they are not afraid of phone tapping.

All Opposition leaders get notice that said ‘Apple believes you are being targeted by state sponsored attackers’. All guys in our office got it. KC Venugopal, Pawan Khera, Sitaram Yechury, Priyanka Chaturvedi TS Singh Deo, Mahua Moitra, Raghav Chaddha got the same notice... You can tap (phones) as much as you want. I don’t care. If you want, I can give my phone to you. We are not afraid. We are fighting,” Gandhi said at a press conference in Delhi.

Gandhi also claimed that the Modi government’s “soul” is in the hands of the Adani Group. He claimed Adani is above Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah and reiterated his allegations that “the PM works for Adani”. “BJP govt and the BJP’s financial system is directly linked with Adani,” he added.

He narrated a story about a king’s power remained with a caged parrot and said, “For a long time, all Opposition parties were attacking the king. But the reality is power lies in the hands of Adani. Whenever we touch Adani—intelligence agencies. snooping, CBI will come.”

“There are examples. Mumbai airport was owned by somebody else. State-sponsored agencies attack the owner. He surrenders the airport to Mr. Adani. No CBI, ED enquiry into over-invoicing of coals. Who’s paying for it? When we use electricity or travel on trails, we give Adani tax. The wealth of Indian people is stolen. The young people of India are being divided, they are upset and angry while Adani takes away the wealth,” Gandhi said. These people think they can control technology and thereby control the angst of the young people of India. But remember, old weapons of (political communication) are more effective,” he added referring to his Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Gandhi clarified that he has no personal issues with the Adani Group but added that he is opposed to the creation of “monopolies such as Adani Group.”

“I have ideas to change the Adani government. I am defending the idea of India. This is not just about winning an election. I am confident you will see the results,” Gandhi said. There was no immediate reaction from the Adani Group.

Earlier in the day, a number of leaders from the Opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) and some journalists claimed that they had received emails from Apple warning them that state-sponsored attackers were potentially remotely trying to compromise the iPhones associated with their IDs.

Apple said it does not attribute the threat notifications to any specific state-sponsored attacker. “State-sponsored attackers are very well-funded and sophisticated, and their attacks evolve over time. Detecting such attacks relies on threat intelligence signals that are often imperfect and incomplete,” it said in a statement.

Union IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw dismissed the Opposition’s claims that the government had engaged in attempts to compromise their phones.

“There are many compulsive critics in our country. Their one and only job is to criticise the government as and when they wake up, as and when they find an opportunity. You must have all seen the advisory issued by Apple. This is a vague advisory. It is based on certain estimations that they have done. Apple has already clarified that their encryption system is of highest possible order. They have also clarified and issued a statement saying that this kind of advisory has been issued in 150 countries,” he said.

3) Ethics panel chief says Mahua Moitra used 'unparliamentary' words; Opposition MPs claim ‘unethical’ queries

Vinod Sonkar's remark comes minutes after Opposition MPs, including BSP's Danish Ali, walked out of the panel's meeting with Mahua Moitra. BJP MP Vinod Sonkar, the chairperson of the Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha, on Thursday claimed TMC MP Mahua Moitra used “unparliamentary” words for him and the panel before storming out of its meeting, which was called to record her oral evidence in the cash-for-query scandal. He made the remark minutes after Opposition MPs, including BSP's Danish Ali, walked out of the panel's meeting with Moitra, claiming it asked “unethical questions” from her.

The committee's motive was to probe into the allegations of unethical conduct by Mahua Moitra. Instead of cooperating, Mahua Moitra, in a fit of anger, used bad words against the panel and its chairperson. The Opposition MPs, including Danish Ali, Girdhari Yadav etc, unethically and in great anger, levelled some allegations against the committee... They walked out of the panel's meeting to escape answering questions on Darshan Hiranandani's allegations," Vinod Sonkar told reporters in Hindi.

BJP MP and the panel's member, Aparajita Sarangi, said the proceedings of the committee were confidential. She condemned Moitra's alleged bad behaviour.

“The proceedings of the Parliamentary Standing Committee are confidential by nature. So the very thing that she (TMC MP Mahua Moitra) did was wrong. They all came out and they all said things about the committee, about what transpired within the committee; it was wrong. She should not have done that. These things are very confidential,” the MP said. "The conduct of Mahua Moitra was condemnable. She used unparliamentary words for our chairman and all the members of the committee. So, the chairperson of the Committee was asking questions regarding the contents of the affidavit by Hiranandani and she did not want to answer them. And then they created a ruckus," she added.

Earlier, Opposition members of the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee walked out of the meeting. They accused the panel's chairperson of asking Mahua Moitra “unethical questions”. We found the ethics committee chairperson's questions to Moitra undignified and unethical,” Congress MP and panel member, N Uttam Kumar Reddy, told reporters.

"It seems that he's (Parliament Ethics Committee Chairman) acting at the behest of someone else. It is very, very bad. For two days we have been asking him some things...They are asking her (Mahua Moitra) where are you travelling? Where are you meeting? Can you give us your phone records?... There is no evidence of any cash transfer," he added. Janata Dal (United) MP Giridhari Yadav said," They asked personal questions to the woman (TMC MP Mahua Moitra). They do not have the right to ask personal questions, so we walked out."

Meanwhile, Nishikant Dubey said the Opposition wasn't able to digest the fact that a person from a Scheduled Caste had become the chairperson of the panel.

"She (Mahua Moitra) tried to present a misleading narrative to the public...They are unable to digest that a person from Scheduled Caste, Vinod Sonkar, has become the Chairman of the Ethics Committee and they are making unnecessary statements against him," he said.

Moitra on Thursday appeared before the panel and said she has broken no parliamentary rules by sharing her login credentials with Darshan Hiranandani. She said the cash-for-query charge was levelled by advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai because she broke her personal relations with him. She is accused of accepting expensive gifts from businessman Darshan Hiranandani in return for allowing him to ask questions through her parliamentary account.

Citing Dehadrai's 'evidence', Dubey had filed a complaint against her with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, who referred the matter to the committee.

In a recent interview, she admitted to having shared her credentials with the businessman. She, however, said she had asked him to have his office staff type out the queries for her. She also claimed that since she received OTPs before questions were asked, no query was posted by the businessman himself. She is accused of accepting expensive gifts from businessman Darshan Hiranandani in return for allowing him to ask questions through her parliamentary account.

Citing Dehadrai's 'evidence', Dubey had filed a complaint against her with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, who referred the matter to the committee.

4) Modi, UAE Prez discuss terrorism, civilian deaths as Israel-Hamas war rages

Prime Minister Modi said that he discussed terrorism and the loss of civilian lives in West Asia with the UAE President. India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) share “deep concerns” over terrorism, the deteriorating security situation and loss of civilian lives in West Asia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday. Modi made the remarks in a post on X after a phone conversation with UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed as part of India’s outreach to Arab states in the context of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

“Had a good conversation with my brother HH @MohamedBinZayed, President of UAE, on the West Asia situation. We share deep concerns at the terrorism, deteriorating security situation and loss of civilian lives,” Modi said.

“We agree on the need for early resolution of the security and humanitarian situation and that a durable regional peace, security and stability is in everyone’s interest,” he added.

India has condemned the terror attacks by Hamas in southern Israel on October 7, saying there can be no justification for any manifestation of terrorism. At the same time, New Delhi has reiterated its traditional support for a two-state solution that leads to the establishment of a sovereign, independent and viable state of Palestine “living within secure and recognised borders, side-by-side in peace with Israel”. The UAE is among India’s closest strategic partners in West Asia. The two countries are also part of the I2U2 grouping which includes Israel and the US.

Modi’s conversation with the UAE president follows his phone calls with Egypt President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and King Abdullah of Jordan.He spoke with Sisi on October 28 and discussed the “deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in West Asia”. Modi also said that India and Egypt share concerns regarding terrorism, violence and loss of civilian lives.

“We agree on the need for early restoration of peace and stability and facilitating humanitarian assistance,” Modi posted on X after his phone conversation with Sisi.

On October 23, Modi spoke with King Abdullah of Jordan and exchanged views on the developments in West Asia. He said in a post on X at the time that the two countries share concerns on terrorism, violence and loss of civilian lives. “Concerted efforts needed for early resolution of the security and humanitarian situation,” he said in the post. Modi and Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu also spoke on phone on October 10. Modi said at the time that India stands firmly with Israel “in this difficult hour”. He added: “India strongly and unequivocally condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.”

5) Supreme Court flags ‘serious deficiencies’ in electoral bonds, reserves order:

The electoral bond scheme of political funding suffers from “serious deficiencies”, the Supreme Court observed on Thursday. The electoral bond (EB) scheme of political funding suffers from “serious deficiencies”, the Supreme Court observed on Thursday, adding that the Union government ought to consider designing a new tailor-made system which balances proportionality and paves the way for a level playing field instead of “putting a premium on opacity”.A five-judge Constitution bench, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, also directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to submit within two weeks complete information on each and every donor and contributions received by political parties through EBs till September 30, as it reserved the judgment in a batch of petitions challenging the validity of the scheme.

The report has to be submitted by the election watchdog confidentially after collating the required information from all political parties that have received funds through EBs since 2018, when the scheme came into being. ECI was ready with data till 2019 in terms of an order of the court on April 12 2019, but the court held that its previous order meant a “continuing mandamus” to the poll body to keep up-to-date data till the final decision of the court in the case. “We would like to know the quantum,” the bench, also comprising justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, told ECI’s counsel Amit Sharma. During the third consecutive day of the Constitution bench hearing, the bench picked holes in the 2018 EB scheme flagging a spate of “flaws” while the Centre mooted two suggestions in its endeavour to defend it. First, the Centre said the court could consider substituting the State Bank of India (SBI) with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as the statutory bank for issuing EBs and keeping accounts; and second, the court could criminalise any instance of breach of confidentiality regarding donors.

Asked by the bench, the government, however, refrained from making a statement that it was willing to make suitable amendments in the Companies Act to ascertain that only profit-making companies could make political donations, which will be capped at a fixed percentage of their profits. Representing the Centre, Solicitor general Tushar Mehta said that making laws was a legislative function. He adduced a letter by the SBI chairman to buttress his contention that even the Union government has no access to information on EBs and that the court could consider making RBI the bank to issue EBs if it was of the view that certain additional safeguards were required to be incorporated in the scheme.

The court, however, repeatedly pointed out that though the emphasis on reducing the cash element in electoral process by encouraging the use of authorised banking channels was a laudable objective, the EB scheme appeared not to augur well with the need of transparency regarding such donations as well as to avert the possibility of such donations being kickbacks in reality. This should not become a legitimisation of kickbacks and quid pro quo between the power centres and people who are benefactors of that power. It’s not like either you do this or go back entirely to cash. You can design another system which doesn’t have the flaws of this system...this puts a premium on opacity. You can still design a system which balances out these aspects in a proportional way. How it is to be done, that’s up to you; that’s not our arena,” the bench told Mehta.

To take forward its point on legitimising kickbacks through the scheme, the bench said that prior to the EB scheme, there was a requirement under the Companies Act that political donations could only be given up to 7.5% of net profit by a company. Now, you (EB scheme) say it has nothing to do with profits. So, a company may have zero profit and it may get revenue only for donations. The reason why these caps were introduced, and they stood the test of time was for a very legitimate reason- because you are a company. Your purpose is to carry business, not to donate to political parties. And if your purpose is not to donate, you must donate small amounts,” the bench told the SG.

“Is the government making a statement that we will amend the Companies Act to bring back the position that donations will be a percentage of profit? We don’t have to go into the motives of the government at all. We entirely respect that process. The point is not that. We don’t want to go back to a cash only system...All we are saying is that do it in a proportional, tailor-made manner which takes care of the care of the serious deficiencies of this,” the bench said. Responding, Mehta said that amending laws is a legislative function that he could not commit nor was he of the view that donations had to be a percentage of profit of a company.

At this, the bench remarked: “There are two conflicting rights -- one is confidentiality, and the other is kickbacks and quid pro quo... political parties know who have donated to them. Donors of course know. Why not disclose it to everyone? The only people deprived of this information are the voters.”

The SG said that confidentiality is necessary so that no political party gets to know as to which entities have not donated to it but have given funds to some other party. “The right is to know is about knowing how much money has come to a party and that information is already in public domain. It’s a utopian principle that everyone should know who has donated what money to which party. Purity of the electoral process is more important than what a voter may want to know. It’s also about a donor’s informational privacy. Go to court if there is a larger public interest but otherwise, privacy cannot be breached only to serve someone’s curiosity,” argued Mehta.Attorney general (AG) R Venkataramani also argued on behalf of the Centre, saying there cannot be a general right to know everything under the sun and that the petitioners had failed in showing what larger public purpose would be served by disclosing the identity of the donors whereas there were enough for the government to corroborate how the EB scheme was helping weeding out black money.

For the petitioners, senior counsel Kapil Sibal and Vijay Hansaria, along with advocates Prashant Bhushan, Shadan Farasat and Nizam Pasha, attacked the scheme, arguing that either the scheme must go on account of violating people’s right to know and affecting free and fair election, or the court ought to direct for full disclosure of the purchasers and donors of EBs. Introduced in 2018, EBs are issued by SBI and donations by corporate and even foreign entities through Indian subsidiaries get 100% tax exemption while the identities of donors are kept confidential both by the bank and the recipient political parties. The public sector bank, however, is obligated to disclose the details following a court order or a requisition by the law enforcement agencies.

On October 16, the court referred the clutch of petitions against the EB scheme to a Constitution bench of five judges. It started hearing the petitions, filed by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), non-profit Common Cause, Congress leader Jaya Thakur, and the CPI (M), among others, on October 31.

Under the 2018 EB scheme, bonds are available for purchase at any SBI branch in multiples of ₹1,000, ₹10,000, ₹1 lakh, ₹10 lakh and ₹1 crore and can be bought through a KYC-compliant account. There is no limit on the number of electoral bonds that a person or company can purchase. Every party registered under section 29A of the Representation of the People Act and having secured at least 1% of the votes polled in the most recent Lok Sabha or state election has been allotted a verified account by ECI.

6) Role reversal: Rajasthan’s ACB arrests ED officer on graft charge

ACB sleuths caught both of the accused red handed at a Mundawar office in the Khairthal-Tizara district and arrested them, said Additional Director General Hemant Priyadarshi. Probably for the first time, an Enforcement Directorate (ED) officer, Nava Kishore Meena, along with his junior assistant Babulal Meena, was arrested on Thursday for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 15 lakh to favour a client in a chit-fund case.

ACB sleuths caught both of the accused red handed at a Mundawar office in the Khairthal-Tizara district and arrested them, said Additional Director General Hemant Priyadarshi.

Hailing from Imphal, the ED officer had demanded a bribe of Rs.17 lakh to settle the chit-fund case and not arrest the accused, Priyadarshi said. The ACB sleuths are conducting searches at his residence and other places to explore other details in the case, ADG-ACB said. The junior assistant works for the state services at Mundawar.

A case under the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against them.

Meanwhile, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, in his tweet on X (under his new twitter handle Ashok Gehlot-JanNayak) said, “Chowkidar chor ke bad pesh hai Tiddi Dal Ghooskhor! (After chowkidar is a thief, it’s now a corrupt locust).

Recently, the chief minister had remarked that the locust was swarming in Rajasthan before assembly polls referring to sleuths of the ED which is being accused of acting at the behest of the Central government.

7) ED raids like locust swarm…”: Rajasthan CM:

Following the Enforcement Directorate crackdown on several Opposition parties, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot took a dig at the ED by likening it to a “locust swarm from Pakistan.” Following the Enforcement Directorate crackdown on several Opposition parties, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot took a dig at the ED by likening it to a “locust swarm from Pakistan.”

Gehlot made these comments during an event in Rajasthan, where he said that the federal agency is being employed to target opposition leaders and destabilize governments, rather than fulfilling its intended purpose.

“You are seeing that ED raids are taking place in the country. Just like “tiddi dal” (locust swarm) comes from Pakistan, similarly “ED dal” is coming today…” he said.

Highlighting that the credibility of agencies like the CBI, ED, and Income Tax Department is diminishing, the chief minister said, “They have made it a joke. I was reading an article today that said that the firepower of agencies like the CBI, ED and Income tax department is reducing.”

Later, speaking to ANI, Gehlot said that the credibility of the ED is being reduced.

“The way ED is behaving is not in their interest. The ED raids are being done on political party leaders only…Their credibility is being reduced…” he said.

Gehlot’s comments came on a day when the agency summoned the sons of Rajasthan Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra over money laundering charges in connection with an alleged paper leak last year. The agency had also carried out searches on the Jaipur and Sikar homes of Dotasra last week.

He also exuded his confidence in his Congress party winning the Rajasthan Assembly elections.

“Public response is extraordinary. The people are appreciating our policies and good governance,” Gehlot said.

Rajasthan is among five states that will go to the polls next month. Polling in the state will be held on November 25 and votes will be counted on December 3.

8) Vehicles, luggage of CRPF staff on poll duty in Chhattisgarh should be checked as BJP bringing in cash: CM Bhupesh Baghel

Talking to reporters at a helipad in Police Lines, CM Bhupesh Baghel alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) can stoop to any level to acquire power. "Enforcement Directorate's senior officers have been visiting Chhattisgarh, but their vehicles are not checked as they are government officials.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Thursday urged the Election Commission of India to check the vehicles and luggage of paramilitary forces being deployed in the state for election duty, alleging that the BJP was bringing in cash through them so that it could be used to influence voters.

Talking to reporters at a helipad in Police Lines, Baghel alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) can stoop to any level to acquire power. "Enforcement Directorate's senior officers have been visiting Chhattisgarh, but their vehicles are not checked as they are government officials.

Common travellers are being checked. We are checked while travelling by helicopters and vehicles. CPRF brought big boxes in a plane but they were not checked. The ED can come for its investigation, but I want to tell the Election Commission that the vehicles of the central investigative agency should be checke ..

"BJP has accepted its defeat (in the polls) and this is their last move that they are bringing money in boxes which will be used to influence the voters. Therefore, all vehicles should be checked, especially of ED and CRPF," he said. When the CRPF is already deployed in the state, what is the need of bringing additional forces from outside, he asked.

"It means the boxes which are being brought may contain notes (cash) or other items too, so these should be checked," he added. Asked wheth Asked whether the paramilitary force will be misused during the elections, Baghel said, "It is absolutely possible. They can go to any level to gain power...This is a very serious issue and the Election Commission should take its cognisance. However, a complaint will be lodged by our party."

The CRPF personnel arrived here yesterday in a special plane. The airport authorities did not check their vehicles because the they were on government duty, he said.

"When CCTV cameras have been installed everywhere and everyone is being checked, then why are they not being checked? Wherever they are going, their vehicles should be checked," he added. "When CCTV cameras have been installed everywhere and everyone is being checked, then why are they not being checked? Wherever they are going, their vehicles should be checked," he added.

Elections to the 90-member Chhattisgarh assembly will be held in two phases on November 7 and 17. Twenty seats falling in seven districts of Maoist-hit Bastar division and Rajnandgaon, Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki, Kabirdham and Khairagarh- Chhuikhadan-Gandai districts will witness voting in the first phase while remaining 70 segments in the second phase.

Paramilitary forces are deployed in elections in Naxalite-hit and other areas for smooth conduct of polls.

9) Nepal earthquake: Strong tremors felt across northern India. Top updates

Nepal earthquake: The quake hit at a depth of 10 km. It occurred at a latitude of 28.84 N and a longitude of 82.19 E. A 6.4 magnitude earthquake hit Nepal's Lamidanda area in Jajarkot district. Tremors were felt across several north Indian cities, including the Delhi-NCR region, at around 11.30 pm. The earthquake hit at a depth of 10 km, the National Center for Seismology (NCS) said. It occurred at a latitude of 28.84 N and a longitude of 82.19 E. This is the third time in a month that strong quakes have struck Nepal.

Here are the top updates:

Nepal's National Earthquake Monitoring & Research Center said the earthquake's epicentre was at Jajarkot, which is about 250 miles northeast of the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu.

According to officials, at least 128 people have lost their lives and 140 others have been injured.

Strong tremors were felt across several north Indian states, including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and the Delhi-NCR region.

In a post on X, Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal expressed his deep sorrow over the loss of lives. His office said that he has directed security agencies for immediate rescue and relief of those injured.

Local officials have not been able to make contact with the Jajarkot village where the epicentre is and has a population of 190,000. Police official Namaraj Bhattarai told Reuters: “Rescue and search teams have to clear roads blocked by dry landslides due to the earthquake to reach the affected areas”

In Jajarkot district, 17 people were confirmed dead, a government administration official, Harish Chandra Sharma, told AP. The quake killed at least 20 people in Nepal's Rukum district where several houses have been collapsed, police official Narvaraj Bhattarai told AP.

Communications have been cut off with many villages in Nepal, AP reports.

The Jajarkot district official Suresh Sunar told Reuters that at least 20 people have been injured and were rushed to a hospital. He said, “I am out in the open myself. We are collecting details but due to cold and night it is difficult to get information from remote areas. We have mobilized rescue personnel.”

Police official Santosh Rokka told Reuters, “Houses have collapsed. People rushed out of their homes. I am out in the crowd of terrified residents. We are trying to find details of damages.”

1) Cricket World Cup 2023: India beat England by 100 runs, extend winning streak to six:

India (229/9) beat England (129) by 100 runs in Lucknow

India vs England Highlights, Cricket World Cup 2023: Rohit Sharma-led Indian team continued their supreme run in the ongoing edition of World Cup and defeated England by 100 runs in Lucknow on Sunday. Leading the team from the front, Rohit scored 87 off 101 balls, helping India pile a respectable respectable 221/9 on a tricky surface. England in response failed to resist the Indian attack spearheaded by Jasprit Bumrah. The tourists were bundled up for 129 in 34.5 overs.

Apart from Rohit, Suryakumar Yadav made a significant 49-run contribution towards the closing stage of the Indian innings. Mohammed Shami, who completed a fifer in the previous encounter, continued from where he left and injected four blows in the seven overs he bowled. Bumrah too returned with clinical figures reading 3/32, and the spin duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav accounted for three wickets. India, who have now won all their six matches, stand at the top of the table with 12 points. England, who have just one win from six matches, occupy the bottom spot in the ten-team competition.

2) ND beat SL by 302 runs, qualify for semis

Cricket World Cup 2023: India become first team to qualify for 2023 World Cup semi-finals with unbeaten 7/7 record

India vs Sri Lanka Highlights, World Cup 2023: India dished out yet another ruthless show and demolished Sri Lanka by 302 runs at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday. With this outcome, which is their seventh win in as many matches, India became the first nation to qualify for Half-centuries from Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer took India to a daunting total of 357/8 after being invited to bat first. After Rohit Sharma was dismissed cheaply in the first over by Dilshan Madushanka, who went on to pick a five-wicket-haul, Kohli and Gill registered their respective half-centuries enroute to a brilliant partnership of 189 runs. Madushanka broke the stand and denied both set batters their century after which Sri Lanka clawed back with the wickets of KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav. However, Iyer found some scintillating form and blasted a 56-ball 82 to ensure India crossed 300 before a couple of lusty blows from Ravindra Jadeja in the end took the total over 350.

Jasprit Bumrah then gave India a perfect start, striking in the first ball. Mohammed Siraj, who had picked 6/21 in the Asia Cup 2023 finals, then crashed the party and quickly added two scalps in the same over to reduce Sri Lanka to 3-4. Mohammed Shami, who is in terrific form, completed a five-wicket haul as the Lankan innings was wrapped in 19.4 overs

3) Prathamesh Jawkar's archery journey: A chance start, a filmy trigger and golden finish at Asian Games

Speaking to HT, Prathamesh opened up on his Asiad experience, introduction to archery, meeting Mary Kom, and on compound archery not making it to LA Olympics.

Who said love doesn't happen at first sight? Prathamesh Jawkar's introduction to archery and the eventual lead up to an Archery World Cup gold and finishing top of the podium at the recently-concluded Asian Games in Hangzhou, has been nothing short of a Yash Johar classic - a chance meeting with the sport in a summer camp, a "lucky" shot at 10 in the very first attempt and the inspirational 'Mary Kom' movie at the end of the camp. To young Prathamesh, it was destiny, it was meant to be. And seven years later, through an eventful 2023, where he had already shocked world No. 1 Mike Scholosser to clinch a World Cup gold, the young Maharashtrian boy struck gold in China. On a seemingly busy afternoon of October 5, in the final phase of India's historic Asiad campaign in Hangzhou, Prathmesh, along with Ojas Deotale and Abhishek Verma, stunned South Korea by five points to win the gold in men's team compound archery. Speaking to Hindustan Times Digital in an exclusive conversation, Prathamesh opened up on his experience in Hangzhou, his introduction to archery, meeting his idol Mary Kom, and on compound archery not making it to LA Olympics. The 19-year-old also talked about his association with Puma and how the sports brand has played a significant role in him getting the elusive yellow metal for India in Asian Games.

4) Want to see us becoming a javelin superpower': Neeraj Chopra talks India's emergence at global events during HTLS 2023

Neeraj Chopra spoke in detail about India's improving performances in world javelin events.india's ‘golden boy’, Neeraj Chopra, enjoyed a terrific 2023 season, as he won his first World Championships title, and followed it with Diamond League and Asian Games triumph. While the 90m mark eluded Neeraj, India's star javelin thrower continued to extend his dominance in the sport despite a brief injury setback mid-way into the season earlier this year. However, Neeraj triumphs weren't the only positive for Indian javelin sports this year; 2023 also saw the emergence of other Indian javelin throwers at the world level.

Three Indians – Neeraj, Kishore Jena, and DP Manu – qualified for the final of the Worlds in September. Jena would also go on to clinch a silver medal in the Asian Games last month, ensuring India enjoy a top-2 podium finish in the javelin event. And India's growing dominance in the sport is exactly what Neeraj Chopra wants going ahead.

During an insightful conversation at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit (HTLS) 2023, Neeraj insisted that he wants to see India becoming a javelin superpower.

“I want that to happen (India's emergence in global javelin events)! I want India to become a superpower in javelin! See, every athlete has their own time at their peak. If you want to play for a long time, there will come a time when your performances will go down, and someone will take over. And I've already made my peace with that. I want an Indian athlete to come up, and keep our Indian flag flying high,” Neeraj said. The biggest advantage of training in Europe is that the biggest tournaments take place there. We don't have to travel much, and we are accustomed to the weather. So, there aren't many problems there. There's a lot to learn from athletes here as well about their training methods and preparations. Javelin hasn't been an Indian game, to start with. Now, even in Paralmypics, India have performed. Now, the world knows that India has improved in javelin,” Neeraj said.

No pressure of expectations

The Indian javelin thrower enters every competition as a favourite, but with continual success, he believes the pressure of expectations doesn't make much difference for him. “I feel I don't have to do a lot of work for that. At Olympics, yes, a lot of people were expecting a medal. I've played Worlds last year and this time too and won gold, played in Asian Games two times now and won on both occasions. So, this isn't happening for the first time. It has happened a lot of times, people have expected me to win and I've expected myself to win, and I have succeeded. I believe in myself, and try to live in the moment. I'm just focussing on the training. Once I'm in the stadium in Paris, it's just about being in the zone,” Neeraj said with conviction.

5) India crush South Korea, to face them again in Asian Champions Trophy semis

With five wins in as many games, India finished in top position with 15 points ahead of newly crowned Asian Games gold medallists China. The Indian women’s hockey team hammered South Korea 5-0 in their fifth and final round robin game of the Asian Champions Trophy to end the league stage of the six-team tournament on top of the standings. With five wins in as many games, India finished in top position with 15 points ahead of newly crowned Asian Games gold medallists China (9), holders Japan (9) and three-time champions South Korea (7). Malaysia (4) and Thailand (0) failed to make the last four stage.

India will face South Korea again on Saturday in the semi-final with China taking on Japan with the winners progressing to Sunday’s final at the Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh AstroTurf Hockey Stadium in Ranchi.

On Thursday, Salima Tete (6th, 36th), Navneet Kaur (36th), Vandana Katariya (49th) and Neha (60th) scored for the home team.

Aarya Season 3

Sushmita Sen returns as Aarya Sareen in the third season of this award-winning drama. New additions to the cast include actors Ila Arun and Indraneil Sengupta, who join Sushmita’s fierce character Aarya in a compelling storyline. Familiar faces like Sikandar Kher, Vikas Kumar, Maya Sarao, and Geetanjali Kulkarni will also be part of the journey

Co-directed by Ram Madhvani, Aarya Season 3 is scheduled to premiere on November 3 on Disney+ Hotstar.

Jawan’- November 3, 2023

Shah Rukh Khan's highly anticipated film, 'Jawan,' (Jawan movie highlights) is all set to make its debut on Netflix on November 2, 2023, coinciding with the actor's 58th birthday. This cinematic masterpiece has achieved an astounding worldwide box office collection of over Rs 1000 crore and will showcase an extended edition. Apart from Shah Rukh Khan, the movie boasts an ensemble cast comprising of esteemed actors such as Nayanthara, Vijay Sethupathi, Deepika Padukone, Sanjay Dutt, Priyamani, Sanya Malhotra, and many others.

P.I Meena’- November 3, 2023

'P.I. Meena' is yet another highly anticipated web series that has our full attention. Tanya Maniktala, renowned for her performance in 'A Suitable Boy,' takes on the lead role as the main private investigator. Her mission is to uncover the truth behind a hit-and-run incident in Kolkata. Debaloy Bhattacharya directs this highly awaited series, which is an Amazon Original. The cast is exceptional, with Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Jisshu Sengupta, Vinay Pathak, and Zarina Wahab playing significant characters. Exclusively available on Amazon Prime Video, this enthralling web series is a must-watch.

The Ladykiller

Cast: Arjun Kapoor, Bhumi Pednekar

Directed by Ajay Bahl, The Ladykiller, starring Arjun Kapoor and Bhumi Pednekar is a crime thriller which tells the story of a man who meets a mysterious woman in Uttarakhand.

Release Date: November 3

Where to Watch: Cinemas

Aankh Micholi

Cast: Paresh Rawal, Abhimanyu Dassani and Mrunal Thakur

Directed by Umesh Shukla, Aankh Micholi promises a laughter-filled journey as it introduces you to a delightfully quirky family. As the plot unfolds, we find out that this eccentric clan is concealing their true selves from an NRI family, all in a bid to secure a wealthy suitor for their daughter. With its unexpected comedic surprises, this film is sure to keep you thoroughly entertained.

Release Date: November 3

Where To Watch: Cinemas

BOOK OF THIS WEEK:

The Sequence: Inside the Race for the Human Genome by Kevin Davies (2002-02-07)

An account of what has been described as the single most important scientific breakthrough of modern times - the elucidation of mankind's complete genetic script. It is a story in which science, politics, business and society meet head on. At its heart is the race between the three billion Human Genome Project led by the brilliant geneticist Francis Collins and a renegade biotech company founded by scientist-entrepreneur J. Craig Venter. When the Human Genome Project, a 15-year joint project between the US and UK governments, was launched in 1990, it was inconceivable that anyone else would have the technology, the expertise or the financial resources to even enter the race, much less win it. In 1998 Venter announced that his company Celera would use high-powered sequencing machines to complete the sequence from scratch in three years. This book takes the reader into the labs and lives of the two men who making history. Regardless of who wins the race, this is a discovery that will revolutionize our lives.

Kevin Davies, Ph.D., is the author of The $1,000 Genome. His previous book Cracking the Genome was translated into 15 languages. He is currently Editor-in-Chief of Bio•IT World, a trade magazine covering the role of technology in the life sciences. He was the founding editor of Nature Genetics, the world's leading genetics journal, which he headed for its first five years. He has also written for the Times (London), Boston Globe, New England Journal of Medicine, and New Scientist, among others. His first book, Breakthrough (co-authored with Michael White) told the story of the race for the BRCA1 breast cancer gene. Davies holds an M.A. in biochemistry from the University of Oxford and a Ph.D in molecular genetics from the University of London. He held postdoctoral fellowships at MIT and Harvard Medical School before moving into science publishing as an editor with Nature magazine. He lives in Lexington, Massachusetts.