1) New evidence strongly suggests Indonesia's Gunung Padang is oldest known pyramid :by Bob Yirka , Phys.org
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| IMAGE DESCRIPTION : (a) Aerial view of Gunung Padang taken from a helicopter. (b) Topography and site map generated from a detailed geodetic survey. (c) Geology map of the Gunung Padang region (Sudjatmiko, 1972). (d) Orthophoto map obtained from a drone survey conducted in 2014, indicating the locations of trenching sites (white rectangles) and core-drilling sites (red dots). T1, Terrace 1; T2, Terrace 2; T3, Terrace 3; T4, Terrace 4; T5, Terrace 5. Credit: Archaeological Prospection (2023). DOI: 10.1002/arp.1912 |
A team of archaeologists, geophysicists, geologists, and paleontologists affiliated with multiple institutions in Indonesia has found evidence showing that Gunung Padang is the oldest known pyramid in the world. In their paper published in the journal Archaeological Prospection, the group describes their multi-year study of the cultural heritage site.
Gunung Padang has for many years been considered a megalithic structure—it sits on top of an extinct volcano in West Java, Indonesia, and is considered by locals to be a sacred site. In 1998, it was declared to be a cultural heritage site. For many years there has been disagreement regarding the nature of the hill. Some have suggested it was made naturally with humans adding some adornments on top, while others have argued that evidence has suggested the hill was all or mostly man-made.
For this new study, the research team conducted a long-term, scientific study of the structure. Over the years 2011 to 2015, they studied the structure using seismic tomography, electrical resistivity tomography and ground-penetrating radar. They also drilled down into the hill and collected core samples that allowed them to use radiocarbon dating techniques to learn the ages of the layers that make up the hill.
In studying all their data, the research team found what they describe as clear evidence showing that the Gunung Padang was made mostly by human hands. The also found evidence showing that the structure was built in stages, thousands of years apart. And, they found that the older parts of the structure were made sometime between 25,000 and 14,000 years ago, making it the oldest known pyramid in the world today.
More specifically, the researchers found evidence of several efforts that together over time, added up to a completed structure. The first consisted of sculpted lava—where builders had carved shapes onto the top of a small, dead volcano. Then, several thousand years later, sometime between 7900 to 6100 BCE, another group added a layer of bricks and rock columns. Some unknown time later, another group added a dirt layer to part of the hill, covering some of the earlier work. Then sometime between 2000 and 1100 BCE yet another group added more top soil, stone terracing, and other elements.
The research team has also found some evidence suggesting there might be some hollow parts inside the structure, suggesting possible hidden chambers. They plan to drill down to them and then lower a camera to see what might be in these areas.
2) Long-distance weaponry identified at the 31,000-year-old archaeological site of Maisières-Canal :by University de Liege
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| Examples of experimental thrusting spears and javelins armed with replicas of the archaeological flint points |
The hunter-gatherers who settled on the banks of the Haine, a river in southern Belgium, 31,000 years ago were already using spearthrowers to hunt their game. This is the finding of a new study conducted at TraceoLab at the University of Liège.
The material found at the archaeological site of Maisières-Canal permits establishing the use of this hunting technique 10,000 years earlier than the oldest currently known preserved spearthrowers. This discovery, published in the journal Scientific Reports, is prompting archaeologists to reconsider the age of this important technological innovation.
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| Combination of impact traces on an archaeological artifact that could be identified as a spearthrower dart thanks to the experiments |
The spearthrower is a weapon designed for throwing darts, which are large projectiles resembling arrows that generally measure over two meters long. Spearthrowers can propel darts over a distance of up to 80 meters.
The invention of long-range hunting weapons has had significant consequences for human evolution, as it changed hunting practices and the dynamics between humans and their prey, as well as the diet and social organization of prehistoric hunter-gatherer groups. The date of invention and spread of these weapons has therefore long been the subject of lively debate within the scientific community.
"Until now, the early weapons have been infamously hard to detect at archaeological sites because they were made of organic components that preserve rarely," explains Justin Coppe, researcher at TraceoLab. "Stone points that armed ancient projectiles and that are much more frequently encountered at archaeological excavations have been difficult to connect to particular weapons reliably."
Most recently published claims for early use of spearthrowers and bows in Europe and Africa have relied exclusively on projectile point size to link them to these weapon systems. However, ethnographic reviews and experimental testing have cast serious doubt on this line of reasoning by showing that arrow, dart, and spear tips can be highly variable in size, with overlapping ranges.
The innovative approach developed by the archaeologists at TraceoLab combines ballistic analysis and fracture mechanics to gain a better understanding of the traces preserved on the flint points. "We carried out a large-scale experiment in which we fired replicas of paleolithic projectiles using different weapons such as spears, bows and spearthrowers," explains Noora Taipale, FNRS research fellow at TraceoLab.
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| Christian Lepers preparing for a spearthrower shot during the experimentation conducted at TraceoLab. |
"By carefully examining the fractures on these stone points, we were able to understand how each weapon affected the fracturing of the points when they impacted the target." Each weapon left distinct marks on the stone points, enabling archaeologists to match these marks to archaeological finds. In a way, it's like identifying a gun from the marks the barrel leaves on a bullet, a practice known from forensic science.
The excellent match between the experimental spearthrower sample and the Maisières-Canal projectiles confirmed that the hunters occupying the site used these weapons. This finding encourages archaeologists to apply the method further to find out how ancient long-range weaponry really is. Future work at TraceoLab will focus on adjusting the analytical approach to other archaeological contexts to help reach this goal.
3) NASA telescopes discover record-breaking black hole :by Megan Watzke, Chandra X-ray Center
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| IMAGE DESCRIPTION: This image contains the most distant black hole ever detected in X-rays, a result that may explain how some of the first supermassive black holes in the universe formed. As we report in our press release, this discovery was made using X-rays from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory (purple) and infrared data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (red, green, blue). The extremely distant black hole is located in the galaxy UHZ1 in the direction of the galaxy cluster Abell 2744. The galaxy cluster is about 3.5 billion light-years from Earth. Webb data, however, reveal that UHZ1 is much farther away than Abell 2744. At some 13.2 billion light-years away, UHZ1 is seen when the universe was only 3% of its current age. Credit: Chandra X-ray Center |
Astronomers have discovered the most distant black hole yet seen in X-rays, using NASA telescopes. The black hole is at an early stage of growth that had never been witnessed before, where its mass is similar to that of its host galaxy.
This result may explain how some of the first supermassive black holes in the universe formed.
By combining data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, a team of researchers was able to find the telltale signature of a growing black hole just 470 million years after the big bang.
"We needed Webb to find this remarkably distant galaxy and Chandra to find its supermassive black hole," said Akos Bogdan of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA) who leads a new paper available on the arXiv preprint server and slated for publication in the journal Nature Astronomy describing these results. "We also took advantage of a cosmic magnifying glass that boosted the amount of light we detected." This magnifying effect is known as gravitational lensing.
Bogdan and his team found the black hole in a galaxy named UHZ1 in the direction of the galaxy cluster Abell 2744, located 3.5 billion light-years from Earth. Webb data, however, has revealed the galaxy is much more distant than the cluster, at 13.2 billion light-years from Earth, when the universe was only 3% of its current age.
Then over two weeks of observations with Chandra showed the presence of intense, superheated, X-ray emitting gas in this galaxy—a trademark for a growing supermassive black hole. The light from the galaxy and the X-rays from gas around its supermassive black hole are magnified by about a factor of four by intervening matter in Abell 2744 (due to gravitational lensing), enhancing the infrared signal detected by Webb and allowing Chandra to detect the faint X-ray source. This discovery is important for understanding how some supermassive black holes can reach colossal masses soon after the big bang. Do they form directly from the collapse of massive clouds of gas, creating black holes weighing between about 10,000 and 100,000 suns? Or do they come from explosions of the first stars that create black holes weighing only between about 10 and 100 suns?
"There are physical limits on how quickly black holes can grow once they've formed, but ones that are born more massive have a head start. It's like planting a sapling, which takes less time to grow into a full-size tree than if you started with only a seed," said Andy Goulding of Princeton University. Goulding is a co-author of the Nature Astronomy paper and lead author of a new paper in The Astrophysical Journal Letters that reports the galaxy's distance and mass using a spectrum from Webb.
Bogdan's team has found strong evidence that the newly discovered black hole was born massive. Its mass is estimated to fall between 10 and 100 million suns, based on the brightness and energy of the X-rays. This mass range is similar to that of all the stars in the galaxy where it lives, which is in stark contrast to black holes in the centers of galaxies in the nearby universe that usually contain only about a tenth of a percent of the mass of their host galaxy's stars.
The large mass of the black hole at a young age, plus the amount of X-rays it produces and the brightness of the galaxy detected by Webb, all agree with theoretical predictions in 2017 by co-author Priyamvada Natarajan of Yale University for an "Outsize Black Hole" that directly formed from the collapse of a huge cloud of gas.
"We think that this is the first detection of an 'Outsize Black Hole' and the best evidence yet obtained that some black holes form from massive clouds of gas," said Natarajan. "For the first time we are seeing a brief stage where a supermassive black hole weighs about as much as the stars in its galaxy, before it falls behind."
The researchers plan to use this and other results pouring in from Webb and those combining data from other telescopes to fill out a larger picture of the early universe.
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope previously showed that light from distant galaxies is highly magnified by matter in the intervening galaxy cluster, providing part of the motivation for the Webb and Chandra observations described here
The paper describing the results by Bogdan's team appears in Nature Astronomy, and a preprint is available online. In addition to those listed above, the authors include Orsolya Kovacs (Masaryk University, Czech Republic), Grant Tremblay (CfA), Urmila Chadayammuri (CfA), Marta Volonteri (Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, France), Ralph Kraft (CfA), William Forman (CfA), Chrisine Jones (CfA), Eugene Churazov (Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Germany), and Irina Zhuravleva (University of Chicago).
The Webb data used in both papers is part of a survey called the Ultradeep Nirspec and nirCam ObserVations before the Epoch of Reionization (UNCOVER). The paper led by UNCOVER team member Andy Goulding appears in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. The co-authors include other UNCOVER team members, plus Bogdan and Natarajan. A detailed interpretation paper that compares observed properties of UHZ1 with theoretical models for Outsize Black Hole Galaxies is forthcoming.
4) Fossils tell tale of last primate to inhabit North America before humans by University of Kansas
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| Illustration of Ekgmowechashala, the last primate to inhabit North America before humans Credit Kristen Tietjen scientific illustrator with the KU Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum |
The story of Ekgmowechashala, the final primate to inhabit North America before Homo sapiens or Clovis people, reads like a spaghetti Western: A grizzled and mysterious loner, against the odds, ekes out an existence on the American Plains.
Except this tale unfolded about 30 million years ago, just after the Eocene-Oligocene transition during which North America saw great cooling and drying, making the continent less hospitable to warmth-loving primates.
Now, paleontologists from the University of Kansas and the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing have published evidence in the Journal of Human Evolution shedding light on the long-standing saga of Ekgmowechashala, based on fossil teeth and jaws found in both Nebraska and China.
To do so, the researchers first had to reconstruct its family tree, a job helped by the discovery of an even more ancient Chinese "sister taxon" of Ekgmowechashala the team has named Palaeohodites (or "ancient wanderer"). The Chinese fossil discovery resolves the mystery of Ekgmowechashala's presence in North America, showing it was an immigrant rather than the product of local evolution.
"This project focuses on a very distinctive fossil primate known to paleontologists since the 1960s," said lead author Kathleen Rust, a doctoral candidate in paleontology at KU's Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum.
"Due to its unique morphology and its representation only by dental remains, its place on the mammalian evolutionary tree has been a subject of contention and debate. There's been a prevailing consensus leaning towards its classification as a primate. But the timing and appearance of this primate in the North American fossil record are quite unusual. It appears suddenly in the fossil record of the Great Plains more than 4 million years after the extinction of all other North American primates, which occurred around 34 million years ago."
In the 1990s, Rust's doctoral adviser and co-author Chris Beard, KU Foundation Distinguished Professor and senior curator of vertebrate paleontology, collected fossils from the Nadu Formation in the Baise Basin in Guangxi, China, that closely resembled the Ekgmowechashala material known from North America. By that time, Ekgmowechashala was notoriously enigmatic among North American paleontologists.
When we were working there, we had absolutely no idea that we would find an animal that was closely related to this bizarre primate from North America, but literally as soon as I picked up the jaw and saw it, I thought, 'Wow, this is it,'" Beard said.
"It's not like it took a long time, and we had to undertake all kinds of detailed analysis—we knew what it was. Here in KU's collection, we have some critical fossils, including what is still by far the best upper molar of Ekgmowechashala known from North America. That upper molar is so distinctive and looks quite similar to the one from China that we found that it kind of seals the deal."
Beard left it to Rust to conduct the morphological analysis that tied Ekgmowechashala and its cousin Palaeohodites from China in a phylogenetic tree to establish their evolutionary relationships.In the course of the work, Rust was able to draw conclusions about how Ekgmowechashala came to be discovered in Nebraska, millions of years after its fellow primates died out in the continent's fossil record.
"We collected a substantial amount of morphological data to create an evolutionary tree using a phylogenetic reconstruction software and algorithm," Rust said. "This evolutionary tree suggests a close evolutionary relationship between North American Ekgmowechashala and Palaeohodites from China, which Chris and his colleagues discovered in the 1990s. The results from our analysis unequivocally supports this hypothesis."
The KU researchers said their discovery is not only exciting in terms of discovering a new primate species from late Eocene China—but also in settling the origin story of Ekgmowechashala. Based on their investigation, Ekgmowechashala did not descend from an older North American primate that somehow survived the cooler and drier conditions that caused other North American primates to go extinct. Rather, its ancestors crossed over the Beringian region millions of years later, anticipating the route followed by the first Native Americans much later in time."Our analysis dispels the idea that Ekgmowechashala is a relic or survivor of earlier primates in North America," Rust said. "Instead, it was an immigrant species that evolved in Asia and migrated to North America during a surprisingly cool period, most likely via Beringia."
Species like Ekgmowechashala that show up suddenly in the fossil record long after their relatives have died off are referred to as "Lazarus taxa" after the biblical figure who was raised from the dead.
"The 'Lazarus effect' in paleontology is when we find evidence in the fossil record of animals apparently going extinct—only to reappear after a long hiatus, seemingly out of nowhere," Beard said."This is the grand pattern of evolution that we see in the fossil record of North American primates. The first primates came to North America about 56 million years ago at the beginning of the Eocene, and they flourished on this continent for more than 20 million years. But they went extinct when climate became cooler and drier near the Eocene-Oligocene boundary, about 34 million years ago."
Several million years later Ekgmowechashala shows up like a drifting gunslinger in a Western movie, only to be a flash in the pan as far as the long trajectory of evolution is concerned. After Ekgmowechashala is gone for more than 25 million years, Clovis people come to North America, marking the third chapter of primates on this continent. Like Ekgmowechashala, humans in North America are a prime example of the Lazarus effect."
Rust and Beard were joined in the work by co-authors Xijun Ni of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, and Kristen Tietjen, scientific illustrator with the KU Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum.
According to Rust, the tale of Ekgmowechashala is worth people's attention because it happened in an era of profound environmental and climatic changes, much like our own that's driven by human activity."It's crucial to comprehend how past biota reacted to such shifts," she said. "In such situations, organisms typically either adapt by retreating to more hospitable regions with available resources or face extinction. Around 34 million years ago, all of the primates in North America couldn't adapt and survive. North America lacked the necessary conditions for survival. This underscores the significance of accessible resources for our non-human primate relatives during times of drastic climatic change."The study is also a part of a larger story that represents the earliest chapters of our own evolutionary journey that ultimately led to our own species, Rust said.
"Understanding this narrative is not only humbling, but also helps us appreciate the depth and complexity of the dynamic planet we inhabit," she said. "It allows us to grasp the intricate workings of nature, the power of evolution in giving rise to life and the influence of environmental factors."
5) CT scan reveals 'neglected' dinosaur had super senses :by Tracey Peak, North Carolina State University
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| IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Reconstructed skull, braincase, and endocast of NCSM 15728. (a) Surface render of the skull of NCSM 15728 in oblique right lateral view. (b) Posterior half of the skull in oblique right lateral view, with the segmented bones of the braincase and skull roof in color and the other skull elements as translucent. (c) Segmented braincase as preserved in oblique right lateral view. d) Retrodeformed braincase in right lateral view. (e) Reconstructed endocast within the braincase, with the dural envelope in blue, endosseous labyrinth in pink, cranial nerves in yellow, arteries in red, veins in purple, and surrounding bones as translucent. Credit: Scientific Reports (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-45658-3 |
The dinosaur in question, Willo, is a specimen housed at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. Willo is a Thescelosaurus neglectus—a small (12 feet or 3.6 meters long) but heavy (750 pounds or 340 kilograms) herbivore that lived in what is now North America just before the end-Cretaceous mass extinction event, 66 million years ago.
Willo's scientific name roughly translates to "wonderful, overlooked lizard." But David Button, a former Brimley Postdoctoral Scholar at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and North Carolina State University, decided to look more closely at this "overlooked" dinosaur's skull. Button is currently a research associate at the University of Bristol in the U.K.
Button used a CT scanner to reconstruct soft tissues in Willo's skull—such as the brain and inner ear—that were lost to the fossilization process. Comparing these sensory structures to other dinosaurs and their living relatives allowed the researchers to determine the relative size of Willo's brain, as well as what her senses of smell, hearing, and balance were like. The research was published in Scientific Reports.
"The irony is that paleontologists generally think of these animals as pretty boring," says Lindsay Zanno, associate research professor at NC State, head of paleontology at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, and co-author of the work. "When we first looked at our results we thought, yeah, this animal is plain as toast. But then we took a big step back and realized there was something unique about the combination of Willo's sensory strengths and weaknesses."
Button and Zanno determined that T. neglectus' hearing range was limited. The dinosaur could only hear about 15% of the frequencies humans can detect, and between 4% to 7% of what dogs and cats can hear. In particular, T. neglectus was bad at hearing high-pitched sounds.
"We found that Thescelosaurus heard low frequency sounds best, and that the range of frequencies it could hear overlaps with T. rex," Zanno says. "This doesn't tell us they were adapted to hearing T. rex vocalize, but it certainly didn't hurt them to know when a major predator was tooling about in the area. More interesting to us was the fact that these particular deficiencies are often associated with animals that spend time underground."
Thescelosaurus balanced its poor hearing with an excellent sense of smell.
"We found that the olfactory bulbs—the regions of the brain that process smell—were very well developed in Thescelosaurus," Button says. "They were relatively larger than those of any other dinosaur we know of so far, and similar to those of living alligators, which can smell a drop of blood from miles away. Thescelosaurus may have used its similarly powerful sense of smell to instead find buried plant foods like roots and tubers. It also had an unusually well-developed sense of balance, helping it to pinpoint its body position in 3D space, another trait often found in burrowing animals."
T. neglectus' poor cognitive and hearing abilities, coupled with powerful arms and legs and overdeveloped senses of smell and balance, are all features characteristic of animals that spend time underground and/or engage in digging behaviors today.
"While we can't say definitively that these animals lived part of their lives underground, we know that their ancestors did," Button says. "This fact, together with their unique combination of sensory abilities, strongly suggests T. neglectus engaged in similar behaviors."
"We still don't know the sensory abilities of most dinosaurs," Zanno says. "That makes it difficult to link these traits to specific lifestyles with confidence, but it also means there are plenty of cool discoveries to come.
"The idea that there might have been dinosaurs living under the feet of T. rex and Triceratops is fascinating. No matter what, we now know for certain that T. neglectus isn't boring."
6) Physicists trap electrons in a 3D crystal for the first time :by Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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IMAGE DESCRIPTION: MIT physicists have trapped electrons in a pure crystal, marking the first achievement of an electronic flat band in a three-dimensional material. The rare electronic state is thanks to a special cubic arrangement of atoms (pictured) that resembles the Japanese art of “kagome.” The results provide a new way for scientists to explore rare electronic states in 3D materials. Credit: Joseph Checkelsky, Riccardo Comin, et al |
Electrons move through a conducting material like commuters at the height of Manhattan rush hour. The charged particles may jostle and bump against each other, but for the most part, they're unconcerned with other electrons as they hurtle forward, each with their own energy. But when a material's electrons are trapped together, they can settle into the same energy state and behave as one. In physics, this collective, zombie-like state is known as an electronic "flat band." Scientists predict that when electrons are in this state, they can start to feel the quantum effects of other electrons and act in coordinated, quantum ways. Then, exotic behavior such as superconductivity and unique forms of magnetism may emerge.
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| The rare electronic state is thanks to a special cubic arrangement of atoms (pictured) that resembles the Japanese art of “kagome Credit Courtesy of the researchers |
Now, physicists at MIT have successfully trapped electrons in a pure crystal. It is the first time scientists have achieved an electronic flat band in a three-dimensional material. With some chemical manipulation, the researchers also showed they could transform the crystal into a superconductor—a material that conducts electricity with zero resistance.
The crystal's atomic geometry makes the electrons' trapped state possible. The crystal, which the physicists synthesized, has an arrangement of atoms that resembles the woven patterns in "kagome," the Japanese art of basket weaving. In this specific geometry, the researchers found that electrons were "caged," rather than jumping between atoms and settled into the same energy band.
The researchers say that this flat-band state can be realized with virtually any combination of atoms—as long as they are arranged in this kagome-inspired 3D geometry. The results in Nature provide a new way for scientists to explore rare electronic states in three-dimensional materials. These materials might someday be optimized to enable ultra-efficient power lines, supercomputing quantum bits, and faster, smarter electronic devices.
"Now that we know we can make a flat band from this geometry, we have a big motivation to study other structures that might have other new physics that could be a platform for new technologies," says study author Joseph Checkelsky, associate professor of physics.
Setting a 3-D trap
In recent years, physicists have successfully trapped electrons and confirmed their electronic flat-band state in two-dimensional materials. However, scientists have found that electrons that are trapped in two dimensions can easily escape out of the third, making flat-band states difficult to maintain in 2D.
In their new study, Checkelsky, Comin, and their colleagues looked to realize flat bands in 3D materials, such that electrons would be trapped in all three dimensions and any exotic electronic states could be more stably maintained. They had an idea that kagome patterns might play a role.
In previous work, the team observed trapped electrons in a two-dimensional lattice of atoms that resembled some kagome designs. When the atoms were arranged in a pattern of interconnected, corner-sharing triangles, electrons were confined within the hexagonal space between triangles, rather than hopping across the lattice. But, like others, the researchers found that the electrons could escape up and out of the lattice, through the third dimension. The team wondered: Could a 3D configuration of similar lattices work to box in the electrons? They looked for an answer in databases of material structures and came across a certain geometric configuration of atoms, classified generally as a pyrochlore—a type of mineral with a highly symmetric atomic geometry. The pychlore's 3D structure of atoms formed a repeating pattern of cubes, the face of each cube resembling a kagome-like lattice. They found that, in theory, this geometry could effectively trap electrons within each cube.
Rocky landings
To test this hypothesis, the researchers synthesized a pyrochlore crystal in the lab.
"It's not dissimilar to how nature makes crystals," Checkelsky explains. "We put certain elements together—in this case, calcium and nickel—melt them at very high temperatures, cool them down, and the atoms on their own will arrange into this crystalline, kagome-like configuration."
They then measured the energy of individual electrons in the crystal to see if they fell into the same flat band of energy. To do so, researchers typically carry out photoemission experiments, in which they shine a single photon of light onto a sample, that in turn kicks out a single electron. A detector can then precisely measure the energy of that individual electron.Scientists have used photoemission to confirm flat-band states in various 2D materials. Because of their physically flat, two-dimensional nature, these materials are relatively straightforward to measure using standard laser light. But for 3D materials, the task is more challenging."For this experiment, you typically require a very flat surface," Comin explains. "But if you look at the surface of these 3D materials, they are like the Rocky Mountains, with a very corrugated landscape. Experiments on these materials are very challenging, and that is part of the reason no one has demonstrated that they host trapped electrons."
The team cleared this hurdle with angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), an ultrafocused beam of light that is able to target specific locations across an uneven 3D surface and measure the individual electron energies at those locations.
"It's like landing a helicopter on very small pads, all across this rocky landscape," Comin says.With ARPES, the team measured the energies of thousands of electrons across a synthesized crystal sample in about half an hour. They found that, overwhelmingly, the crystal's electrons exhibited the same energy, confirming the 3D material's flat-band state.To see whether they could manipulate the coordinated electrons into some exotic electronic state, the researchers synthesized the same crystal geometry, this time with atoms of rhodium and ruthenium instead of nickel. On paper, the researchers calculated that this chemical swap should shift the electrons' flat band to zero energy—a state that automatically leads to superconductivity.
Indeed, they found that when they synthesized a new crystal with a slightly different combination of elements, in the same kagome-like 3D geometry, the crystal's electrons exhibited a flat band, this time at superconducting states."This presents a new paradigm to think about how to find new and interesting quantum materials," Comin says. "We showed that, with this special ingredient of this atomic arrangement that can trap electrons, we always find these flat bands. It's not just a lucky strike. From this point on, the challenge is to optimize to achieve the promise of flat-band materials, potentially to sustain superconductivity at higher temperatures."
1) ABP-CVoter Opinion Poll 2023: 5 Poll-Bound States Expected To See Close Fights, But Voters' Choice Of CMs Clear
ABP CVoter Opinion Polls 2023: How would the five assembly poll-bound states— Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Mizoram — vote? Read on to find out.
The latest figures of the ABP-CVoter opinion polls, reflecting the mood of the five poll-bound states — Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Mizoram — are out and the results are surprising. The most notable aspect of the poll was that a majority of the people in each of these states wanted to change their governments.
So how did the parties fare in the ABP-CVoter poll and what can they expect in the December 3 results? Well, the details of the opinion polls will have every party trying harder, but this could just help you get a sense of the December 3 results ahead of the elections.
Telangana Opinion Poll 2023
As many as 57% of the respondents seemed to be 'angry with the KCR government and wanted a change'. Only 34.3% said that they were 'not angry and do not want to change the government'. An 8.7% of the respondents seemed to be angry with the BRS government but wanted it in place.The projected vote share of 40.5% for Bharat Rashtra Samithi would also have KCR worried. The projection in favour of Congress was at a close 39.4% and would give hope to A Revanth Reddy. In terms of seat projections, too, the BRS was only marginally ahead, with the party likely to win 49-61 constituencies. The Congress is likely to win 43-55 seats. The BJP is likely to win around 14.3% of the votes. The projected seat range in favour of BJP was 5-11.
However, KCR can take heart in the fact that the ABP-CVoter opinion poll respondents still consider him to be a favourite for the CM's post. While the BRS leader secured the support of 37% of the voters, Revanth Reddy closely trailed him with 31.2% of the votes in his favour. BJP's Bandi Sanjay emerged as the third most preferred candidate for the chair, with the support of 10.7% of the respondents.
Mizoram Opinion Poll 2023
The Zoramthanga government also seems to be facing a massive anti-incumbency wave, with 50% of the respondents saying that they wanted a change. However, the Zoramthanga's Mizo National Front (MNF) had the support of 34.7% of the respondents, when it came to the vote share projections. The Congress was ahead, albeit marginally, with 30.1% of respondents voting in its favour. The principal opposition party in Mizoram, Zoram People's Party, had the support of 25.8% of the respondents
However, when it came to the seat projections, the Congress lagged behind quite a lot with the party expected to win 6-10 constituencies. The MNF, on the other hand, is projected to score big, bagging 17 to 21 seats of the 40 in the Mizoram Assembly. The ZPM could give Zoramthanga tough competition, winning 10-14 of the seats.
ZPM's Lalduhoma emerged as the most preferred candidate for the CM's job, with 32.4% of respondents in his favour. He is closely trailed by Zoramthanga of the MNF, who got 27.2% of the respondents' votes, and Lalsawta (INC), who was the CM choice for 24.4% of the respondents.
Chhattisgarh Opinion Poll 2023
In Chhattisgarh, the Bhupesh Baghel dispensation faced opposition from 48.5% of the respondents, who are 'angry and want to change the government'. However, he also enjoys the support of 44.8% of the respondents who are 'Not angry & do not want to change the government'. As many as 6.7% of the respondents are 'Angry but do not want to change the government'.The projections for vote share and seats will give Baghel hopes of retaining power in the state. The projected vote share for Congress is 44.8% and the party is likely to win 45 to 51 seats. However, Bhupesh Baghel can't afford to be complacent as the BJP closely trailed the Congress with a projected vote share of 42.7%. The saffron party is expected to win 36 to 42 seats in the 90-member Chhattisgarh Assembly.
Bhupesh Baghel is also the favourite candidate for CM with a whopping 45.8% of respondents voting for him. Former CM and BJP leader Raman Singh came in a distant second, managing to scrape the support of just 20.7% of the voters.
Madhya Pradesh Opinion Poll 2023
The Shivraj Singh Chouhan government also seems to be dealing with massive anti-incumbency, with 55.4% of the respondents in the ABP-CVoter survey responding "Yes" to the question "are you angry and want to change the government". Only 38.4% of the respondents were 'not angry and did not want to change the government'. The percentage of respondents who are 'angry but do not want to change the government' was a mere 6.1.
The projections for vote share and seats were in favour of Congress, with the party likely to win 118-130 with a vote share of 44.3%. The BJP, on the other, hand is projected to win 99-111 seats in the 230-member assembly with a vote share of 42.1%
Former CM and Congress leader Kamal Nath emerged as the most preferred CM candidate in the ABP-CVoter survey, with 42.4% of the respondents batting in his favour. Shivraj Singh Chouhan wasn't far away, though, with the support of 38% of the respondents.
Rajasthan Opinion Poll 2023
CM Ashok Gehlot will try hard to buck Rajasthan's trend of electing BJP and Congress alternatively. However, the ABP-CVoter opinion poll results suggest that it would be a task easier said than done. As many as 49.2% of the respondents said that they were angry with the Gehlot government and wanted it to be changed. However, 45.5% of the respondents were 'not angry and did not want to change the government'.
Interestingly, both the BJP and the Congress are likely to see gains in their vote shares from the previous election. However, in terms of projected seat wins, the BJP is likely to register a massive triumph. The saffron party is likely to win 114-124 seats with 44.8% of the votes, while the Congress is projected to bag 67-77 seats in the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly with 41.7% of the votes.
Ashok Gehlot, though, remains the most preferred candidate for the top state government job, with 40.7% of the respondents backing him. Former CM and BJP leader Vasundhara Raje is the second most preferred candidate with the support of 24.7% of the respondents. Gehlot's party colleague Sachin Pilot came in a distant third in the ABP-CVoter poll, securing the support of just 10.5% of the respondents.
2) Assembly elections Highlights: Voting for Mizoram, Chhattisgarh phase 1 concludes, over 70% voter turnout recorded
Assembly elections Highlights: Two out of five states to undergo polling today. The month-long election likely to set the ground for 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Chhattisgarh and Mizoram kicked off the month-long poll battle today. While voting for 20 seats out of 90-member Chhattisgarh assembly are taking place for the first phase, the 40-member Mizoram assembly is undergoing polling in a single phase. In Chhattisgarh, the fight is mainly between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress, whereas, Mizoram is the only poll-bound state where these two parties are not the only primary contenders. The Mizo National Front (MNF) and Zoram Peoples' Movement (ZPM) have a strong hold in the politics of this northeastern state.
A total of 174 candidates are in the fray in Mizoram and 223 candidates will be contesting in the first phase of Chhattisgarh assembly elections.
The second phase of polling in Chhattisgarh along with single-phase polling in Madhya Pradesh will take place on November 17. Rajasthan and Telangana will undergo single-phase voting on November 25 and 30, respectively. Counting of votes in all the states will be conducted on December 3.
3) Article on Adani cos: SC grants protection to reporters summoned by police:
A bench of Justices B R Gavai and P K Mishra directed the journalists to cooperate in the investigation and issued notice to the Gujarat government on the pleas filed by the duo
The Supreme Court on Friday granted protection from arrest to two journalists who have challenged the summons issued to them by the Gujarat Police in connection with an article allegedly written by them on Adani Group.
A bench of Justices B R Gavai and P K Mishra directed the journalists to cooperate in the investigation and issued notice to the Gujarat government on the pleas filed by the duo."Till next date of hearing, we direct that no coercive steps be taken against the petitioners, however, they should cooperate with the enquiry," the bench said.
The top court was hearing a plea filed by Benjamin Nicholas Brooke Parkin and Chloe Nina Cornish challenging the summons issued to them.
The counsel appearing for them argued that the petitioners are not the ones who wrote the report in question.
Earlier this week, the apex court had granted interim protection to journalists Ravi Nair and Anand Mangnale in connection with an article written by them on the Adani-Hindenburg row.
4) Just helped me double 2024 winning margin: Mahua Moitra on Lok Sabha Ethics Committee report:
The Ethics Committee recommended the Trinamool Congress MP's expulsion, capping a fortnight of actions that included the deposition of three people over three sittings
Trinamul Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Friday said she will be back with a bigger mandate in 2024, a day after the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee recommended her expulsion from the House in the "cash-for-query" matter.
In a post on X, the TMC MP said, "Proud to go down in parliamentary history as 1st person to be unethically expelled by Ethics Comm whose mandate doesn't include expulsion. 1st expel & THEN ask govt to ask CBI to find evidence. Kangaroo court, monkey business from start to finish". "Never Waste a Good Crisis they say... - this just helped me double my 2024 winning margin," Moitra said.
The Ethics Committee on Thursday recommended Moitra's expulsion, capping a fortnight of actions that included the deposition of three people over three sittings. The committee, chaired by BJP Lok Sabha member Vinod Kumar Sonkar, met here and adopted its 479-page report which, according to sources, recommended Moitra's expulsion, possibly the first such action against an MP by the panel.
Sonkar told reporters that six members of the panel supported the adoption of the report and four opposed it.
The four opposition members said the panel's recommendation was “prejudiced” and “incorrect”, and said businessman Darshan Hiranandani, who is alleged to have given bribes to Moitra, should have been asked to depose before the panel. He has only filed an affidavit.
5) PM Modi addresses voters of poll-bound Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh & Mizoram
PM Narendra Modi addressed rallies in Madhya Pradesh, visited pilgrimage sites in Chhattisgarh, and released video message for Mizoram, seeking support.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday addressed rallies in the poll-bound state of Madhya Pradesh, visited famous pilgrimage sites in Chhattisgarh, and released a video message for the people of Mizoram seeking their support and blessings to make their homeland “marvellous”. Addressing public meetings at Seoni and Khandwa for the November 17 elections in Madhya Pradesh, Modi attacked the Congress over “infighting” between two of its senior leaders for “establishing their sons and capturing the party organisation in the state”. The Congress is desperate to form a government in MP and wanted to make the state its ATM for Lok Sabha elections to loot money, Modi said.
“They want to loot the state’s money and send it by tractors (to Delhi). I am confident that the BJP will form the government for the third time in 2024. To fulfil your dream a government (of BJP) in the state and the one at the Centre will work with double speed,” he said. Accusing the Congress of ruining states where it forms governments, the PM said, “They indulge in infighting and have no time for the people. This is the culture of Congress, where infighting continues. And their judge sitting in Delhi adjudicates and runs the shop.”
“In a state where Congress government is formed even by mistake, there is a fierce competition to loot — whether the CM or the deputy CM will loot more. You are seeing it in Karnataka. Congress has been out of power at the Centre for 10 years, hence it looks at every state with greedy eyes to enjoy the wealth whenever it gets an opportunity,” he said, days after Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah said he will complete the full five-year term at the post, triggering speculation about DK Shivakumar’s role in the government. “The Congress cared for one family. Their state governments named roads and lanes after them. Even their manifesto has their names,” the PM said.
In what appeared to be an attempt at expanding the party’s reach, the PM listed his government’s schemes for welfare of the tribals, and accused the Congress of not designing policies with the community in focus.
During the Congress regime before 2014, scams worth lakhs and crores of rupees took place but no such thing has taken place during the BJP government and the money thus saved is being spent on providing free ration to the poor people, he said.
“The Congress is creating confusion among tribals. The word tribal does not sound good from their mouth. These tribals have taken care of Lord Ram. Did the tribal society not make Lord Ram, Purshottam Ram? We are the disciples and worshippers of tribals who made Lord Ram, the Purshottam Ram,” Modi said. For the first time in the country, a separate ministry for the welfare of tribals was constituted when the BJP came to power under the leadership of then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, he said.
“We are the disciples and worshippers of tribals who made Lord Ram, the Purshottam Ram,” Modi said in Seoni district, which falls under the Mahakoshal region where tribal votes are key.
Out of the total 230 assembly seats in MP, 47 are reserved for the Scheduled Tribe candidates. Of the four assembly seats in Seoni, two are reserved for tribal candidates.
Further targeting the Congress, Modi said a “tear clothes” competition is going on in Madhya Pradesh Congress, referring to a purported video of MP Congress president Kamal Nath wherein he asked Congress workers to “tear the clothes” of his colleague Digvijaya Singh over the denial of poll ticket to a leader. Speaking at Khandwa, which falls under the politically crucial Malwa Nimar region, the Prime Minister said, “In Rajasthan, after getting a clear majority two groups have been fighting for the last four and a half years.”
The BJP is working for the future of the people, the PM said in a vote appeal, as opposed to the Congress that say “our grandparents did this, so vote for us. Our grandparents did this, vote for us for this”.
In his video address to Mizoram, said the BJP-led central government has taken steps to improve its various infrastructure, including railway, health and sports. Terming the people of Mizoram like his family members, he said it has always been a great pleasure for him to interact with the state’s warm people. We have worked in all possible ways to reduce the distance after forming government at Centre in 2014. We gave prime importance to fulfil your aspirations, dreams and necessities,” Modi said.
“Friends, the BJP is committed to creating a marvellous Mizoram. I am sure that we will get your support and blessings to make it happen,” he added.
Polling for the 40-seat Mizoram assembly will be held on November 7 and votes will be counted on December 3.In Chhattisgarh, Modi visited Dongargarh, a popular pilgrimage spot, in Rajnandagon district and met Jain seer Acharya Vidyasagar Maharaj.
“Feeling blessed to receive the blessings of Acharya Shri 108 Vidhyasagar Ji Maharaj at Chandragiri Jain Mandir in Dongargarh, Chhattisgarh,” Modi said in a post on X. The state BJP unit in a post on X said, “PM Narendra Modi offered prayers at Maa Bamleshwari temple and wished for the prosperity and happiness of the country.” Modi was accompanied by former state chief minister Raman Singh. Polling to the 90-member state assembly will be held in two phases on November 7 and 17.
Dongargarh assembly constituency is among the 20 seats which will go to polls in the first phase on November 7.
6) Bihar clears bill to raise caste quota from 50% to 65%:
The proposal, however, may well end up before the courts since it breaches the 50% cap fixed by the Supreme Court in the 1992 Indra Sawhney case.
The Bihar assembly on Thursday cleared two bills that seek to increase the caste-based quota in education and government employment to 65%, setting the stage for a potential shake-up of heartland politics that could elevate caste as a key poll plank for next summer’s general elections. The Bihar Reservation of Vacancies in Posts and Services Amendment Bill and the Bihar Reservation (Admission In Educational Institutions) Amendment Bill, 2023 came days after the government tabled the detailed analysis of the state’s landmark caste survey that showed that marginalised castes were significantly worse off economically and socially than general categories, who were found to be over-represented in government jobs and among the educated sections.
The two bills — which were passed unanimously in the assembly — will now be sent to governor Rajendra Arlekar for his assent. If they becomes law, Bihar will join only a handful of other states such as Tamil Nadu where the quantum of caste-based quota exceeds 50%.
To be sure, the total quantum of reservation in jobs and educational institutions will stand at 75%, after taking into account 10% quota for economically weaker sections (EWS).
“The caste survey has provided us with a comprehensive data. We will use it to introduce more measures for the uplift of socially, educationally and economically backward sections of society. I will be glad if the Centre, too, agrees to a caste census and raises reservations across the country,” said chief minister Nitish Kumar. Both bills raised the quota for Scheduled Castes (SC) from 16% to 20%, scheduled tribes (STs) from 1% to 2%, extremely backward castes (EBCs) from 18% to 25% and other backward classes (OBCs) from 15% to 18% to elevate the total quantum of caste-based reservations to 65%.
“This is for the first time in the history of India that a total of 75% reservation is given... The two bills about reservation in recruitment and educational institutions have been passed today... We increased the reservation for Dalits, tribals, backward classes and extremely backward classes,” said deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav.
Both bills extensively referred to the caste survey – the first in independent India to successfully enumerate all castes – that had found that EBCs — which comprise 112 castes — constituted 36.01% of the population, and backward castes — formed by 30 communities — made up another 27.12%. Together, OBCs comprised 63.13% of the state. Scheduled Castes formed 19.65% and Scheduled Tribes 1.68%. “Upper” castes were found to be 15.52% of the population.
The data on other socioeconomic parameters collected — 17 criteria ranging from employment, education and marital status to land holding and property ownership were part of the survey’s questionnaire — was not released at the time, but was tabled in the assembly in the form of a 216-page booklet earlier this week.
It showed that SC communities have the largest segment of poor families, followed by STs. General categories were relatively better off. It showed that only 4.8% of the state held government jobs, but even this number was higher than the section employed in the formal private sector, a reflection of the nascent industries in the state. In government jobs, general category groups such as Brahmins, Bhumihars and Kayasths were over-represented, compared to backward and Dalit groups. Literacy was higher among general categories, and only 5.76% among SCs had completed schools.
Roughly 95.5% of the state owned no vehicles. SCs were the worst off in this category, followed by STs and EBCs. A similar situation was seen with laptop and internet use, which was seen among only 0.22% of the state’s population.
“Analysis of the data collected in the caste survey make it clear that in order to achieve equality of status and opportunity, a large chunk of the backward classes, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes need to be encouraged,” the bill said.
“Data shows that the proportional strength of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other backward classes in state government jobs is lower in comparison to their population strength,” the legislation added.
Speaking on the bills after parliamentary affairs minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary tabled them in the House, Kumar said the unanimous passage was made possible due to the support of all parties. “We have planned a number of welfare initiatives and it would cost a poor state like Bihar ₹2.5 lakh crore. We will spread it over five years, spending ₹50,000 crore every year. It will be easier if the demand for special status to Bihar is fulfilled. All the parties should work together for Bihar’s growth,” he added.
The BJP, which had backed the expansion in caste quotas earlier this week.
The bid to hike reservations and the caste survey are part of the Opposition’s plan – Bihar is ruled by the Mandal-era regional giants Rashtriya Janata Dal and Janata Dal (United), with allies Congress and the Left – to eat into the BJP’s rainbow Hindu coalition, especially among upper castes. The 28-party Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) has pushed for a nationwide caste census, hoping that just as the first Mandal movement countered the Ram Janmabhoomi movement and helped regional parties craft alliances to hold on to power for nearly two decades, a second similar churn could pose a challenge to the dominant BJP.
The Opposition hopes the exercise could trigger the beginning of a political churn that many experts call the second Mandal moment, a reference to the implementation of reservation for OBCs in 1990 that coalesced backwards into a potent electoral bloc and sparked the rise of a clutch of regional parties that changed the face of heartland politics.
But the ground realities have shifted since the 1990s, with the dominance of the BJP built on its successful strategy to mobilise less-dominant backward and Dalit groups into a broader Hindu umbrella. The BJP has also consciously injected marginalised caste leaders into its ranks, effectively countering an earlier perception that the party was primarily focused on its traditional vote base, upper castes. The proposal to hike reservation benefits may well end up before the courts since it breaches the 50% ceiling fixed by the Supreme Court in the 1992 Indra Sawhney (famously known as Mandal Commission) case.
Tamil Nadu, at present, has a law providing for 69% reservation for identified classes. Although a challenge to this law remains pending before the top court, it has been saved so far on the ground that the law received a presidential assent in 1993 and was also put in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution, which provides only limited scope of judicial review.
A November 2022 judgment by the Supreme Court, ratifying the 10% EWS quota, had also weighed in on the 50% ceiling on reservation. The majority verdict at that time held that the 50% ceiling on reservation is “not inviolable or inflexible”, marking a paradigm shift from the thumb rule that has governed reservations in India, preventing states from enforcing quotas that take the proportion above 50%. The 3-2 view noted that the 50% ceiling applied only to the provisions of the Constitution that existed at that time and cannot extend to the 2019 amendment to any subsequent law.
7) BJP calls tribals vanvasi, asks them to shun English as it does not want them to dream big: Rahul Gandhi
"BJP used the term 'vanvasi' (forest-dwellers) for adivasis. There is a huge difference between 'vanvasi' and 'adivasi'. You must have seen the video where a BJP leader urinated on a tribal man," the Congress leader said, referring to an incident in the BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said the Bharatiya Janata Party calls the tribals 'vanvasi' instead of 'adivasi' as it does not want them to "dream big". Speaking at a campaign rally here ahead of the second phase of assembly polls in Chhattisgarh, he also hit out at BJP leaders for asking the tribals not to learn English while sending their own children to English-medium schools.
"BJP used the term 'vanvasi' (forest-dwellers) for adivasis. There is a huge difference between 'vanvasi' and 'adivasi'. You must have seen the video where a BJP leader urinated on a tribal man," the Congress leader said, referring to an incident in the BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh. That incident reflected the BJP's mindset, Gandhi alleged.
"The term 'adivasi' (original inhabitant) has a deep meaning. It expresses your rights to 'jal, jungle, zameen (water, forest, land)'. 'Vanvasi' means those who live in the jungle. The BJP calls you vanvasi, we call you adivasi. The BJP snatches your rights, we give you rights. We hug you, BJP leaders urinate on you," he added. Forest cover in the country is shrinking and when it disappears in the next 15-20 years, where would the vanvasi go, would they beg on the streets, he asked.
"BJP leaders ask you not to learn English. We want the tribal youth to learn Chhattisgarhi, English as well as Hindi....ask BJP leaders which school they send their children to, English-medium or Hindi-medium. They all will say English-medium. Their children can study in English medium schools and dream big, then why can't tribal children do that. They don't want your children to learn English, to dream big. Therefore they call you vanvasi...the word is an insult to you," Gandhi added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi calls himself an OBC in every speech and talks about OBC welfare, but when the Congress sought a caste census, the PM said there is only one caste, the poor, he said.
"So why do you call yourself an OBC? If there is only one caste, then who are the ones who are rich," Gandhi further asked. “You (Modi) won elections, fly in aircraft and wear suits worth crores of rupees. Have you ever seen Modi ji wearing a dress twice? He changes three to five dresses a day. When OBCs require support, you say there is only one caste. Modi ji identifies himself as OBC but when the time comes to support the OBCs, he says there is no OBC community,” he added.
The Congress leader also claimed that the prime minister has a report of caste census carried out by the previous UPA government and demanded that it be released. "Next time when Modi ji comes, OBC youths should request him to conduct a caste census and tell them the truth of the OBC caste. He can't answer you as the remote control is in the hands of Adani. The government is being run by Adani," Gandhi said. "My media friends show Modi ji's face on the television 24 hours What is the deal ? Adani ji asks them to run....They (the media) do marketing of Modi on TV, and Modi ji gives 'jal-jungle-zameen' to Adani," he alleged. He had promised to pay Rs 2500 per quintal of paddy in 2018 and the promise was fulfilled by the Congress government, Gandhi said, adding that now he was promising a caste census from the very first day after the Congress retains power in Chhattisgarh. "I don't know whether Modi ji will do it or not, but if the Congress party and INDIA alliance are elected to power at the Centre, a caste census will be conducted and the figures (of the caste census conducted during the UPA government) will be released. A new story of OBC, Dalit and adivasi youth will begin," he added.
As soon as the BJP comes to power, "it stops the money meant for farmers and labourers and snatches their land. The entire benefit starts reaching Adani ji," he claimed. "Last time we had promised to give Rs 2500 per quintal of paddy and fulfilled the promise. Now we have announced that Rs 3200 will be given, and you put it in writing that it will be given," the Congress leader added. While the first phase of elections in the Congress-ruled state got over on Tuesday, the second phase for the remaining 70 out of the total 90 seats will take place on November 17. Congress has fielded deputy Chief Minister TS Singh Deo from his traditional Ambikapur seat.
8) Priyanka Gandhi gets ‘empty’ bouquet at MP rally; her reaction goes viral:
Later during her speech, the Congress leader addressed the incident and used it to take a dig at the BJP. Amid the heated election rallies across five states, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra encountered a hilarious incident when she was presented with an empty bouquet during her poll campaign in Madhya Pradesh's Indore on Monday. A video of the incident is making rounds on social media where Gandhi and everyone around her can be seen bursting into laughter after Congress worker Devendra Yadav handed her a bouquet with no flowers in it.
The video was also shared by BJP leader Rakesh Tripathi on X, formerly known as Twitter, calling it a “bouquet scam”. The flowers disappeared from the vase..it was caught. A Congress leader came to Priyanka Vadra's rally in Indore, Madhya Pradesh to give a bouquet but he played a game," the BJP leader wrote. Later during her speech, the Congress leader addressed the incident and used it to take a dig at the BJP. “The way I received an empty bouquet is just how the Modi government delivers empty promises,” she said.
She then continued to attack the Centre over the rise in prices of onions and other essential commodities. “Onion prices have increased before Diwali and housewives are upset over this. The government makes efforts to control inflation only when elections are held. The price of an LPG cylinder rose to ₹1,400 and two months before the elections, the government reduced its price to ₹400,” she said. …Despite all the big announcements of the government, the poor were getting poorer, with every section of society hit hard by inflation and unemployment, which was the highest in 45 years…government posts are lying vacant. According to one figure, the Madhya Pradesh government has given employment to just 21 persons in the last three years. The state's BJP government made 22,000 announcements, but didn't fulfil even 22 of them. It gave jobs to just 21,” Gandhi added.
Madhya Pradesh is set to go to polls on November 17, and the counting of votes will be held on December 3.
1) India vs South Africa : World Cup 2023: Jadeja runs riot at Eden, IND win by 243 runs:
India (326/5) beat South Africa (83 all out) by 243 runs in Kolkata, retain top spot on points table
Rohit Sharma-led Team India continued their supreme run at the ongoing World Cup and defeated South Africa by 243 runs at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Sunday. Ravindra Jadeja was the architect behind India's splendid show with ball as he completed a five-wicket haul. Riding on his effort, India folded South Africa for 83 in 27.1 overs after handing them a stiff target of 327. Apart from Jadeja, Mohammed Shami and Kuldeep Yadav scalped two wickets each, while Mohammed Siraj picked one.
Earlier, Virat Kohli put up yet another monumental innings in trying conditions on his 35th birthday and in the process, he equaled Sachin Tendulkar's extraordinary record of 49 ODI centuries. It was a subdued celebration from the former India captain, he played through most of the innings in the humidity of Kolkata. His century led the way in India putting up a mammoth total of 326/5 in 50 overs. India came out all guns blazing with Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill belting Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada to all parts of the ground. The run rate slowed down as Keshav Maharaj kept a check on the batters throughout the middle overs after the openers fell but Kohli and Shreyas Iyer soldiered through that phase. The pair then shifted gears and scored their respective half-centuries. The stand finally ended on 134 off 158 when Iyer fell to Lungi Ngidi on 77 off 87. KL Rahul fell soon thereafter and Suryakumar Yadav then played an entertaining cameo, smashing 22 in 14 balls and Ravindra Jadeja then did the same. The all-rounder stayed unbeaten on 29 off 15 while Kohli at the other end got to his milestone. He finished unbeaten on 101 off 121
2) India women beat Japan to claim Asian Champions Trophy:
The hosts dominated the final and won 4-0 in Ranchi on Sunday. The Indian women’s hockey team dethroned Japan to crown themselves Asian Champions Trophy winners. The hosts beat Japan 4-0 in the final at Ranchi on Sunday. Local girl Sangita Kumari (17th min), Neha Goyal (46th), Lalremsiami (57th) and Vandana Katariya (60th) were the scorers as India claimed the continental crown for the second time, having won it in 2016 at Singapore.
This is India’s first title since December 2022 when the Janneke Schopman coached side claimed the FIH Nations Cup in Valencia to qualify for the Pro League.
The start of the final was delayed by 50 minutes as one of the four floodlights did not come on at the Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh AstroTurf Hockey Stadium. Once the game started, India were at their dominant best, cheered on by the Indian men’s team in audience. The men won the continental tournament in at Chennai in August. The hosts started by playing attacking hockey, penetrating Japan's defence immediately. Japan were living dangerously and Deepika had a great chance but the forward took too much time to miss out.
The deadlock was finally broken when Navneet Kaur made a brilliant run to the top of the Japanese striking circle. She passed to Neha, who pushed the ball to Sangita and the Jharkhand player put the ball past the line for her sixth goal in the tournament to the delight of the 10,000-strong crowd.
Japan equalised after a few minutes but the goal was ruled out after India's referral. Skipper Savita Punia was brilliant in goal as she saved three successive penalty corner (PC) opportunities. She also saved a penalty stroke in the final quarter. India scored their second goal via a PC variation as Deepika passed to Deep Grace Ekka, who struck the ball and Neha in front of the goal scored. India scored their third when Lalremsiami scored via a PC. Vandana rounded it off in the final minute.
China beat South Korea 2-1 in the third place playoff.
3) World Youth medallists to be called into boxing national camp:
They will get a chance to be part of the selection process for Paris Olympics qualifier
In a bid to find new talent in boxing ahead of the second Paris Olympics qualifier in February, the Boxing Federation of India has proposed to call World Youth Championships medallists directly into the national elite camp and also give them the opportunity to be part of the evaluation process provided they fulfil the criteria. This is a big change in the selection policy as national campers have so far been picked from the Senior National Championships and evaluated for selection into the national team.
However, after the performance of the men's team at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, where they failed to win even a single quota for the Paris Olympics, the High Performance Unit, led by HPD Bernard Dunne, felt they need to look beyond the present pool in some of the weight categories and suggested that talented youth boxers be made part of the national camp. The three world youth medallists to be called for the national camp are -- Vishvanath Suresh (48kg), Ashish (54kg) and Vanshaj (63.5kg).
The policy has to be cleared by the BFI Executive Council. "The idea is that youth boxers should have a pathway to make a successful transition to senior international level. Once they join the camp, the coaches will assess and monitor their progress. Some of them might have to change their weight class to Olympic weights. All these things will be looked into and they will be eligible for selection evaluation for the World Qualification Tournament for Paris Olympics (in Italy from Feb 29)," said a BFI official.
Also, the three World Championships Medallists -- Deepak Bhoria (51kg), Md Hussamuddin (57kg), and Nishant Dev (71kg) and Asian Games bronze medallist Narender Berwal will get a direct entry into the national camp, it has been learnt.
The rest of the pool will be picked from the National Championships scheduled in Shillong from Nov 25. The top three boxers in each of the seven men's Olympic weight categories will make the cut, taking the total number of national campers in elite men to 28. It has also been suggested that the camps for Olympic weight class and non-Olympic weight class be held separately. For the women boxers, the BFI has also proposed an early start of camp for the four Olympic quota winners -- Nikhat Zareen (50kg), Preeti Pawar (54kg), Parveen Hooda (57kg) and Lovlina Borgohain (75kg), so that they can begin their preparation for Paris Olympics right away.
In these four weight classes, only the gold and silver medallists from the Senior National Championships will be added to the elite women's camp. The two other weight categories -- 60kg and 66kg-- where India is yet to secure an Olympic quota, three top boxers from the Nationals will be picked. Besides, four women youth medallists will added to the national camp pool .
4) Parneet shocks Jyothi to bag maiden individual gold; Indian archers secure seven medals in Asian Championships
Compound archers once again overshadowed their recurve teammates as India bagged three gold, one silver, and three bronze medals. Teenager Parneet Kaur secured the biggest win of her career when she pipped ace Indian compound archer Jyothi Surekha Vennam to clinch the individual crown at the Asian Championships in Bangkok on Thursday. Compound archers once again overshadowed their recurve teammates as India bagged three gold, one silver, and three bronze medals.
Of the seven medals, only a solitary bronze came from the recurve section (women's team).
In an all-Indian women's compound individual final, Parneet trailed by two points till the halfway mark but the bespectacled 18-year-old produced two perfect last rounds to level the score 145-145 and force a tie-breaker.
Fresh from winning a hat-trick of gold at the Asian Games last month, Jyothi was not at her best and lost the shoot-off 8-9 as Parneet won her maiden individual gold medal at the International level.
Indian compound mixed team of Aditi Swami and Priyansh earned India a second gold, defeating Thailand 156-151 in a lopsided final. Indian compound women's team of Jyothi, Parneet and Aditi, which also bagged the Asian Games gold last month, did an encore, winning the title with a 234-233 win over Chinese Taipei.
India also won their third bronze which came in the compound men's individual section courtesy Abhishek Verma. The veteran Indian archer pipped Joo Jaehoon of South Korea 147-146.
Recurve flop show
None of the recurve archers managed to progress beyond the quarterfinals. Dhiraj Bommadevara was eliminated by Tang Chih-Chun 3-7, while his senior Army colleague Tarundeep Rai was blanked 0-6 (27-29, 28-29 29-30) by Kim Je Deok of South Korea.
Both archers shot consistently but the Tokyo Olympics team gold medalist Deok was far superior and dropped just two points in nine arrows. In the women's section, the archers failed to advance beyond the pre-quarterfinals.
Bhajan Kaur lost to World No. 1 Lim Sihyeon of South Korea 0-6 (28-29, 26-30, 26-29), while Tisha Punia managed one point before going down 1-7 (24-29, 27-27, 28-29, 27-28) to China's Hai Ligan in two one-sided last-16 matches.
5) Swiatek thrashes Pegula to win WTA Finals, reclaim No.1 ranking:
Second seed Swiatek dominated Pegula from start to finish to clinch a 6-1, 6-0 victory in a 59-minute masterclass
Poland's Iga Swiatek thrashed Jessica Pegula to win the WTA Finals on Monday, sealing her return to world number one. Second seed Swiatek dominated Pegula from start to finish to clinch a 6-1, 6-0 victory in a 59-minute masterclass.The 17th win of Swiatek's career ensures that the four-time major singles champion from Warsaw will finish the season as world number one for a second straight year.
"The team that's been with me the whole season, we had many ups and downs," a jubilant Swiatek said after her win."This is for sure an up. We will for sure have many more if we keep working like that," added Swiatek, who lost just 20 games across the tournament -- a new record.Pegula had few complaints about her defeat after an error-strewn display.
"It just was one of those days where I felt like I was going for too much," Pegula said. "And she was just playing super solid." Swiatek, 22, had beaten outgoing world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals on Sunday. Sabalenka took over the number one ranking from Swiatek following the US Open in September.
Pegula defeated Swiatek in the two players' previous meeting in Montreal in August, and had impressed on her way to Monday's final, which had been shunted back 24 hours after wet weather washed out play on Saturday.
But the 29-year-old American from New York never looked capable of pulling off a repeat of her Canadian victory against three-time French Open champion Swiatek, who was sharper in every facet of her game.The Polish star dominated on serve, and pulled Pegula all over the court with whipped groundstrokes that left her opponent flailing. Pegula also struggled on serve, being broken five times while coughing up 23 unforced errors compared to Swiatek's six.
Swiatek -- who gave up only one break point opportunity in the entire match, which Pegula was unable to convert -- sealed victory in the sixth game of the second set when the American pulled a backhand return long.Swiatek took control of Monday's contest early on, breaking Pegula in the fourth game for 3-1 before holding and breaking again for a 5-1 lead.She served out to love to claim the first set and then carried that momentum into the second set.She broke Pegula twice in the first three games of the second set, and then held comfortably for a 4-0 lead. Pegula -- who won just seven points on first serve through the match -- suffered another break to leave Swiatek on the brink.Loud cheers erupted for Pegula when she finally managed to earn her first break point of the match on Swiatek's serve.But Swiatek quickly got it back to deuce and then moved to match point by crushing a forehand winner with Pegula stranded, before wrapping up victory on the next point after another errant groundstroke from the American.
6) Bajrang Punia gets bail in criminal defamation case:
Bajjrang Punia gets bail in criminal defamation case:During the wrestlers' protest, Bajrang had said that Dahiya did not have any credibility to oppose the agitation since he himself was facing a rape case Wrestler Bajrang Punia was on Thursday granted bail by a Delhi court in a criminal defamation case filed by coach Naresh Dahiya, who had accused the top wrestler of tarnishing his image with his statement during the protest against federation chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
During the wrestlers' protest, Bajrang had said that Dahiya did not have any credibility to oppose the agitation since he himself was facing a rape case. Dahiya had then moved the court, which had summoned Bajrang, who recently suffered defeat at the Asian Games to return without a medal.
"Bajrang had sought exemption from physical appearance and missed the first three hearings. He appeared physically today and the court has granted him bail. The next date for hearing is March 5," advocate Rajesh Kumar Rexwal, who represented Dahiya, told PTI after the proceedings.Dahiya had contended in the court that he has been acquitted in the rape case and Bajrang's comments brought him bad name.
Wrestlers Bajrang, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik had led a protest against WFI chief, alleging that he had sexually exploited several women wrestlers. Singh, who is now facing a court case in the matter, has denied all the charges.
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