Democrat Mayor Demands Trump Pay $500,000 In Unpaid Bills For Rallies

With only a day left for the US presidential election, Republican nominee Donald Trump has once again come under the scanner for not paying bills after conducting his mega political rallies. When Trump returned to Albuquerque, New Mexico, for the first time in five years to conduct a rally last week, Democrat Mayor Tim Keller demanded that the Republican leader clear his previous dues. Keller took to his official social media handle and took a jab at Trump while posting an image of a skeleton working on a laptop, implying it had been several years of waiting for the Republican leader to clear his longstanding dues.

"Still waiting for Trump to pay the half million he owes. Maybe he's making a special Halloween delivery to the Duke City? We won't hold our breath," Keller posted on X (formerly Twitter), which invited cheeky responses from the netizens.

Still waiting for Trump to pay the half million he owes. Maybe he's making a special Halloween delivery to the Duke City? We won't hold our breath. pic.twitter.com/3Yqzp0ISnj

— Mayor Tim Keller (@MayorKeller) October 31, 2024

According to the city of Albuquerque, Trump left an unpaid bill of $211,176 in public safety costs in 2019 when he conducted a rally at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, which is a part of the Albuquerque metropolitan area.

The amount had since swelled to $444,986 including interest over the years. The mayor's office stated that police officers, first responders and other city employees who assisted with the rally, worked a combined overtime of 1,500 hours that night for the rally, which had not been compensated so far.

Last month, a report in NBC claimed that Mr Trump owed at least five cities, including those in the swing state of Pennsylvania, more than $750,000 for campaign events since 2016. Quizzed about the mounting dues, the Trump campaign said questions "related to local law enforcement and first responder costs should be directed to US Secret Service".

Also read | Battleground Breakdown: What You Need To Know About The 7 Swing States

US election

After months of intense and bitter poll campaigning, America goes to polls on Tuesday (Nov 5). As per AtlasIntel's latest poll, Mr Trump is leading Kamala Harris in all the seven swing states. In Arizona, Trump holds his widest margin - with a 51.9 per cent to 45.1 per cent lead over Harris.

Meanwhile, in Nevada, 51.4 per cent of voters chose Trump while 45.9 per cent opted for Harris. Despite the lead in polls, experts believe that the final election outcome might be much closer than anticipated.

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"Cesspools Of Blood", "Ganglands": Donald Trump's Assessment of US Cities

With the United States Presidential election just two days away, Republican candidate Donald Trump's rhetoric has taken a sharp turn, focussing on what he sees as the decline of urban areas, particularly those with large immigrant populations.

As per a New York Times report, Trump has targeted cities like Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta, referring to them as “cesspools of blood.” He also characterised urban centres as “war zones” and “killing fields.”

The NY Times looked at public statements made by Trump from November 15, 2022, to October 29, 2024, using transcripts from CQ Roll Call's Factbase, which tracks statements from President Joe Biden and other presidential candidates.

The former President's list of critiques extends to multiple Californian cities, which he has described as “war zones and ganglands.” Specific cities like San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland and Los Angeles have been labelled as “war zones,” while others like Baltimore have been referred to as “dangerous.”

Trump's statements about cities in the Northeast, Midwest, and South reflect a similar tone. He has described New Orleans as a “war zone,” Washington, D.C., as a “hellhole,” and Chicago as a “war zone,” among others. His remarks about Minneapolis were equally harsh, saying it resembled “a fire pit.”

In stark contrast, Trump praised areas that align with his political base, especially in red states. He referred to states like Indiana, Iowa, and Idaho as “states that you don't even hear too much of because they're so good and so well run.” His admiration extended to Montana, which he described as “the land of cowboys and cattle hands ... one of the most beautiful places in all of God's creation,” and Alaska, which he called “an incredible place and beautiful state.”

Trump is often seen reminiscing about the beauty of places that he feels have deteriorated. For instance, he remarked on Aurora, Colorado, and Springfield, Ohio, saying, “These were two beautiful, successful towns, idyllic. And they're in trouble, big trouble.” 

He expressed similar sentiments about Detroit, labelling it as a “once great city,” and described New York City as a “city in decline.” 

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Manipur Police Constable Shoots Dead Senior After Verbal Spat

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

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

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

The accused constable was immediately arrested by the other policemen.

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

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

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Opinion: Bibek Debroy: For Whom Data Was Everything

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

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

How Debroy Fought Against Obsolete Laws

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

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

Blunt And Open

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

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

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

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

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author

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A Prime Number, With 41,024,320 Digits, Discovered By Ex Nvidia Programmer

A 36-year-old man, who earlier worked as a programmer for Nvidia, spent around a year of his life and invested a considerable amount of money to discover the world's largest known prime number.

Officially named as 'M136279841,' Luke Durant's discovery consists of 41,024,320 digits, marking the maiden prime breakthrough in nearly six years, CNN reported.

A prime number is a whole number, which can only be divided by 1 or itself, such as 2, 3, 5, 7, and so on.

Based in San Jose, California, Luke Durant's historic finding has been classified as a Mersenne prime, named after French monk Marin Mersenne. He studied these numbers over 350 years ago.

As per the report, Mersenne primes are rare, making Durant's discovery even more impressive. In simple terms, to consider a number as Mersenne prime, it needs to be written in the form '2ᵖ-1'.

While other large prime numbers are used in some applications for protecting internet security, the Mersenne primes remain crucial for other key reasons.

"The historical record of the world's largest prime tells us something about the historical capability of computers, and in particular it tells us something about the progress of humanity in this area," CNN quoted Dr Kevin Buzzard, professor of pure mathematics at Imperial College, London, as saying.

Mr Durant's research was announced on October 21 by the Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search (GIMPS), a community-based project.

An example of citizen science, GIMPS allows non-specialists to discover the largest known primes, according to Buzzard "I recognised that the GIMPS community has put together an incredible system with amazing technology for searching for huge prime numbers," Mr Durant said.

For this project, Luke Durant first got himself familiar with its software and learned to use cloud computers. Later on, he combined these elements that enabled him to run enough worldwide systems for creating an incredibly speedy supercomputer.

People from different cities around the world are volunteers in the GIMPS community as they run the project's software on their personal computer systems to search for new primes.

Luke Durant was inspired to hunt for the world's largest primes due to his interest in developing large computing systems as well as exploring the limitations of the laws of physics. Through his effort, he "wanted to push the boundaries of the known universe in whatever small way I was able".

"These enormous prime numbers are, in some senses, the largest 'unique pieces of information' in the known universe," he said.

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Opinion: West's Efforts To Isolate Russia Are Failing

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

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

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

The Expansion Of BRICS

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

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

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

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

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

More Members May Bring Complications

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

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

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

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

A Wide Spread

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

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

Why Pakistan Was Kept Away

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

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

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

Do Not Overestimate

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

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

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

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

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author

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Opinion: West's Efforts To Isolate Russia Are Failing

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

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

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

The Expansion Of BRICS

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

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

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

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

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

More Members May Bring Complications

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

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

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

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

A Wide Spread

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

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

Why Pakistan Was Kept Away

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

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

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

Do Not Overestimate

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

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

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

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

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author

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