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New Delhi, Dec 26: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the architect of India’s economic reforms, died here Thursday night. He was 92. Singh’s death was announced by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, where he was admitted to the emergency ward around 8:30 pm in a critical condition. An AIIMS bulletin said: “He was treated for age-related medical conditions and had a sudden loss of consciousness at home” on December 26. “Resuscitative measures were started immediately at home. He was brought to a medical emergency at AIIMS Delhi at 8:06 pm. Despite all efforts, he could not be revived and was declared dead at 9:51 pm,” the bulletin said. Singh, who was Prime Minister for two terms in the Congress-led UPA government from 2004 to 2014, had been in poor health for the last few months. He is survived by his wife Gurcharan Singh and three daughters. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and her mother Sonia Gandhi reached the hospital as soon as the news of his hospitalisation became known. Soon after the news of Singh’s death, President of India Droupadi Murmu posted on microblogging site X: “Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh Ji was one of those rare politicians who also straddled the worlds of academia and administration with equal ease. In his various roles in public offices, he made critical contributions to reforming the Indian economy. He will always be remembered for his service to the nation, his unblemished political life and his utmost humility. His passing is a great loss to all of us. I pay my respectful homage to one of the greatest sons of Bharat and convey my heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and admirers.” Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar also condoled the death of the former PM, saying he transformed India’s economic landscape. “A Padma Vibhushan awardee and architect of India’s economic liberalisation in 1991, Singh boldly steered our nation through a critical transition, opening new pathways for growth and prosperity,” the Vice President Secretariat said, quoting Dhankhar, who is also chairperson of the Rajya Sabha. He said in Singh’s passing, India lost a leader of towering intellect and a statesman par excellence. “His legacy will forever guide India’s growth trajectory. My heartfelt condolences to his family and countless admirers in this difficult hour,” Dhankhar said. He recalled that as the vice president, he had the privilege to engage in meaningful, insightful interactions with Singh at his residence. “His profound understanding of the economy, gentle demeanour and unwavering commitment to India’s progress will forever be etched in my memory,” Dhankhar said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also condoled the former PM’s demise and posted on X: “India mourns the loss of one of its most distinguished leaders, Dr Manmohan Singh Ji. Rising from humble origins, he rose to become a respected economist. He served in various government positions as well, including as Finance Minister, leaving a strong imprint on our economic policy over the years. His interventions in Parliament were also insightful. As our Prime Minister, he made extensive efforts to improve people’s lives. Dr Manmohan Singh Ji and I interacted regularly when he was PM and I was the CM of Gujarat. We would have extensive deliberations on various subjects relating to governance. His wisdom and humility were always visible. In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with the family of Dr. Manmohan Singh Ji, his friends and countless admirers. Om Shanti.” Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge condoled Singh’s demise and posted on X: “Undoubtedly, history shall judge you kindly, Dr Manmohan Singh ji! With the passing of the former Prime Minister, India has lost a visionary statesman, a leader of unimpeachable integrity, and an economist of unparalleled stature. His policy of economic liberalisation and rights-based welfare paradigm profoundly transformed the lives of crores of Indians, virtually creating a middle class in India and lifting crores out of poverty. I mourn the loss of a lifelong senior colleague, a gentle intellectual and a humble soul who embodied the aspirations of India, having risen through the ranks with unwavering dedication. I am proud to have been a part of his cabinet as Labour Minister, Railway Minister and Social Welfare Minister. A man of action rather than words, his immense contribution to nation-building will forever be etched in the annals of Indian history. In this moment of sorrow, I extend my deepest and heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, and countless admirers. May they get the strength to overcome this huge loss. His enduring legacy of ushering in India’s growth, welfare, and policies of inclusivity will forever be cherished. May his soul rest in eternal peace.” Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed profound sorrow and grief over the demise of the former PM. In his condolence message, the CM described Singh as a towering statesman and the architect of India’s economic reforms in the early 1990s, which transformed the nation’s economy. “Dr Singh’s visionary leadership and path-breaking reforms laid the foundation for India’s economic boom, liberalizing markets and elevating the country to new heights of growth and development,” CM Omar said. Recalling Singh’s tenure as PM, the CM highlighted his relentless efforts to uplift millions of Indians out of poverty through inclusive policies. He also expressed gratitude for Singh’s significant contributions to J&K. “Dr Manmohan Singh’s deep concern for the development of Jammu and Kashmir was evident throughout his tenure. His initiatives, including the extension of rail connectivity to the Kashmir Valley, brought new opportunities for the region and its people,” CM Omar said. He also remembered Singh’s keen interest in fostering peace and development in J&K. “His efforts to engage with the people of Jammu and Kashmir, along with his unwavering support for dialogue and reconciliation, reflected his deep commitment to the welfare of the region,” the CM said. “Dr Manmohan Singh’s humility, intellect and dedication to the nation will always be remembered. His loss is an irreparable one for the country,” he said, offering his heartfelt condolences to Singh’s family, friends, and admirers during this difficult time. CM Omar prayed for eternal peace to the departed soul and strength for the bereaved family to bear this loss. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also condoled the demise of the former PM and said he remained steadfast in his commitment to serve the nation despite being subjected to unfair and deeply personal attacks by his opponents. “Few people in politics inspire the kind of respect that Sardar Manmohan Singh Ji did. His honesty will always be an inspiration for us and he will forever stand tall among those who truly love this country as someone who remained steadfast in his commitment to serve the nation despite being subjected to unfair and deeply personal attacks by his opponents,” Priyanka said in a post on X. “He was genuinely egalitarian, wise, strong-willed and courageous until the end. A uniquely dignified gentleman in the rough world of politics,” she said. Political leaders in Jammu and Kashmir cutting across party lines also condoled the death of the former PM and lauded his humility and his standing as an economist and statesman. In a statement, the National Conference (NC) President and three-time chief minister Farooq Abdullah expressed profound grief over the demise of the former PM. He hailed Singh’s immense contributions to India, remembering him as a statesman, economist, and pillar of integrity who led the nation with wisdom and humility. Conveying condolences to the bereaved family, he prayed for eternal peace to the departed soul and strength to his loved ones in this hour of loss. People’s Democratic Party President and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said Singh worked tirelessly to advance the peace process and usher in a new era of development in J&K. “I had the privilege of meeting Dr Manmohan Singh and I am certain that he was one of the most humble and gentle souls I have encountered – an extremely rare trait in politicians today. His humility and kindness were evident even during his double tenure as prime minister when he would personally return calls,” Mehbooba said in a post on X. She said Singh was a man of few words whose welfare schemes brought relief to millions of Indians cutting across caste, creed, and religion. Singh’s former cabinet colleague and former chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said he was deeply saddened by Singh’s demise. “Deeply saddened by the passing of Dr Manmohan Singh Ji, a visionary leader and one of India’s most respected statesmen. As someone who had the privilege of serving in his cabinet twice, I witnessed firsthand his extraordinary humility, wisdom, and grace,” Azad said. He said Singh empowered his teams to function with independence and trust, fostering an environment of collaboration and excellence. “He provided India with much-needed economic leadership, global recognition, stability, and unity during challenging times,” the former union minister said. Azad said that the former PM’s contributions as an economist and statesman would forever be etched in the history of a rising India. “Dr Manmohan Singh’s legacy is one of transformative leadership, inspiring countless individuals across generations. My heartfelt condolences to his family and loved ones,” he said. Other political leaders cutting across the divide also condoled the demise of the former PM. Singh, who was finance minister under the then Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao, was the architect and the brainchild of economic reforms in 1991 that pulled India from the brink of bankruptcy and ushered in an era of economic liberalisation that is widely believed to have changed the course of India’s economic trajectory. Singh died as the Congress party concluded its Congress Working Committee meeting at Belagavi in Karnataka, where all top party leaders were present. Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi are on their way to Delhi from Belagavi. Manmohan Singh – A Profile Singh twice served as the PM of India from May 22, 2004 to May 26, 2014. India’s 14th PM, Singh was acclaimed as a thinker and a scholar. He was well regarded for his diligence and his academic approach to work, as well as his accessibility and his unassuming demeanour. Singh was born on September 26, 1932, in a village in the Punjab province of undivided India. He completed his Matriculation examinations from the Punjab University in 1948. His academic career took him from Punjab to the University of Cambridge, UK, where he earned a First Class Honours degree in Economics in 1957. Singh followed this with a D Phil in Economics from Nuffield College at Oxford University in 1962. His book, ‘India’s Export Trends and Prospects for Self-Sustained Growth’ (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1964) was an early critique of India’s inward-oriented trade policy. Singh’s academic credentials were burnished by the years he spent on the faculty of Punjab University and the prestigious Delhi School of Economics. He had a brief stint at the UNCTAD Secretariat as well, during these years. This presaged a subsequent appointment as Secretary General of the South Commission in Geneva between 1987 and 1990. In 1971, Singh joined the Government of India as an Economic Advisor in the Commerce Ministry. This was soon followed by his appointment as Chief Economic Advisor in the Ministry of Finance in 1972. Among the many governmental positions that Singh occupied were Secretary in the Ministry of Finance; Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission; Governor of the Reserve Bank of India; Advisor of the Prime Minister; and Chairman of the University Grants Commission. In what was to become the turning point in the economic history of independent India, Singh spent five years between 1991 and 1996 as India’s Finance Minister. His role in ushering in a comprehensive policy of economic reforms is now recognised worldwide. In the popular view of those years in India, that period is inextricably associated with the persona of Singh. Among the many awards and honours conferred upon Singh in his public career, the most prominent are India’s second highest civilian honour, the Padma Vibhushan (1987); the Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Award of the Indian Science Congress (1995); the Asia Money Award for Finance Minister of the Year (1993 and 1994); the Euro Money Award for Finance Minister of the Year (1993), the Adam Smith Prize of the University of Cambridge (1956); and the Wright’s Prize for Distinguished Performance at St John’s College in Cambridge (1955). He has also been honoured by several other associations including the Japanese Nihon Keizai Shimbun. Singh is a recipient of honorary degrees from many universities including the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford. He represented India at many international conferences and in several international organisations. Singh led Indian delegations to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Cyprus (1993) and the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in 1993. In his political career, Singh was a Member of India’s Upper House of Parliament (the Rajya Sabha) from 1991, where he was Leader of the Opposition between 1998 and 2004. He was sworn in as Prime Minister on May 22 after the 2004 general elections and took the oath of office for a second term on May 22, 2009. Singh is survived by his wife Gursharan Kaur and three daughters.
Shopping on Temu can feel like playing an arcade game. Instead of using a joystick-controlled claw to grab a toy, visitors to the online marketplace maneuver their computer mouses or cellphone screens to browse colorful gadgets, accessories and trinkets with prices that look too good to refuse. A pop-up spinning wheel offers the chance to win a coupon. Rotating captions warn that a less than $2 camouflage print balaclava and a $1.23 skeleton hand back scratcher are “Almost sold out.” A flame symbol indicates a $9.69 plush cat print hoodie is selling fast. A timed-down selection of discounted items adds to the sense of urgency. Pages from the Shein website, left, and from the Temu site, right. Welcome to the new online world of impulse buying, a place of guilty pleasures where the selection is vast, every day is Cyber Monday, and an instant dopamine hit is always just a click away. By all accounts, we’re living in an accelerating age for consumerism, one that Temu, which is owned by the Chinese e-commerce company PDD Holdings, and Shein, its fierce rival , supercharged with social media savvy and an interminable assortment of cheap goods, most shipped directly from merchants in China based on real-time demand. The business models of the two platforms, coupled with avalanches of digital or influencer advertising, have enabled them to give Western retailers a run for their money this holiday shopping season. A Christmas tree ornament purchased on Temu. Software company Salesforce said it expects roughly one in five online purchases in the U.S., the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada to be made through four online marketplaces based or founded in Asia: Shein, Temu, TikTok Shop — the e-commerce arm of video-sharing platform TikTok — and AliExpress. Analysts with Salesforce said they are expected to pull in roughly $160 billion in global sales outside of China. Most of the sales will go to Temu and Shein, a privately held company which is thought to lead the worldwide fast fashion market in revenue. Lisa Xiaoli Neville, a nonprofit manager who lives in Los Angeles, is sold on Shein. The bedroom of her home is stocked with jeans, shoes, press-on nails and other items from the ultra-fast fashion retailer, all of which she amassed after getting on the platform to buy a $2 pair of earrings she saw in a Facebook ad. Neville, 46, estimates she spends at least $75 a month on products from Shein. A $2 eggshell opener, a portable apple peeler and an apple corer, both costing less than $5, are among the quirky, single-use kitchen tools taking up drawer space. She acknowledges she doesn’t need them because she “doesn’t even cook like that.” Plus, she’s allergic to apples. “I won’t eat apples. It will kill me,” Neville said, laughing. “But I still want the coring thing.” Shein, now based in Singapore, uses some of the same web design features as Temu’s, such as pop-up coupons and ads, to persuade shoppers to keep clicking, but it appears a bit more restrained in its approach. Shein primarily targets young women through partnerships with social media influencers. Searching the company's name on video platforms turns up creators promoting Shein's Black Friday sales event and displaying the dozens of of trendy clothes and accessories they got for comparatively little money. But the Shein-focused content also includes videos of TikTokers saying they're embarrassed to admit they shopped there and critics lashing out at fans for not taking into account the environmental harms or potential labor abuses associated with products that are churned out and shipped worldwide at a speedy pace. Neville has already picked out holiday gifts for family and friends from the site. Most of the products in her online cart cost under $10, including graphic T-shirts she intends to buy for her son and jeans and loafers for her daughter. All told, she plans to spend about $200 on gifts, significantly less than $500 she used to shell out at other stores in prior years. “The visuals just make you want to spend more money,” she said, referring to the clothes on Shein's site. “They're very cheap and everything is just so cute.” Unlike Shein, Temu's appeal cuts across age groups and gender. The platform is the world’s second most-visited online shopping site, software company Similarweb reported in September. Customers go there looking for practical items like doormats and silly products like a whiskey flask shaped like a vintage cellphone from the 1990s. Temu advertised Black Friday bargains for some items at upwards of 70% off the recommended retail price. Making a purchase can quickly result in receiving dozens of emails offering free giveaways. The caveat: customers have to buy more products. Despite their rise, Temu and Shein have proven particularly ripe for pushback. Last year, a coalition of unnamed brands and organizations launched a campaign to oppose Shein in Washington. U.S. lawmakers also have raised the possibility that Temu is allowing goods made with forced labor to enter the country. More recently, the Biden administration put forward rules that would crack down on a trade rule known as the de minimis exception, which has allowed a lot of cheap products to come into the U.S. duty-free. President-elect Donald Trump is expected to slap high tariffs on goods from China, a move that would likely raise prices across the retail world. Both Shein and Temu have set up warehouses in the U.S. to speed up delivery times and help them better compete with Amazon, which is trying to erode their price advantage through a new storefront that also ships products directly from China. 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Women will for the first time make up a majority of state legislators in Colorado and New Mexico next year, but at least 13 states saw losses in female representation after the November election, according to a count released Thursday by the Rutgers Center for American Women and Politics. While women will fill a record number of state legislative seats in 2025, the overall uptick will be slight, filling just over third of legislative seats. Races in some states are still being called. "We certainly would like to see a faster rate of change and more significant increases in each election cycle to get us to a place where parity in state legislatures is less novel and more normal," said Kelly Dittmar, director of research at the CAWP, which is a unit of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University. As of Wednesday, at least 2,450 women will serve in state legislatures, representing 33.2% of the seats nationwide. The previous record was set in 2024 with 2,431 women, according to the CAWP. The number of Republican women, at least 851, will break the previous record of 815 state lawmakers set in 2024. "But still, Republican women are very underrepresented compared to Democratic women," Debbie Walsh, director of the CAWP, said. From left, House Maj. Whip Reena Szczepanski, D-Santa Fe, Rep. D. Wonda Johnson, D-Church Rock and Rep. Cristina Parajon, D-Albuquerque, talk July 18 before the start of a special session, in Santa Fe, N.M. By the most recent count, 19 states will have increased the number of women in their state legislatures, according to the CAWP. The most notable increases were in New Mexico and Colorado, where women will for the first time make up a majority of lawmakers. In New Mexico, voters sent an 11 additional women to the chambers. Colorado previously attained gender parity in 2023 and is set to tip over to a slight female majority in the upcoming year. The states follow Nevada, which was the first in the country to see a female majority in the legislature following elections in 2018. Next year, women will make up almost 62% of state lawmakers in Nevada, far exceeding parity. Women in California's Senate will make up the chamber's majority for the first time in 2025 as well. Women also made notable gains in South Dakota, increasing its number by at least nine. Four of South Carolina's Sister Senators, from left, Sen. Margie Bright Matthews, D-Walterboro, Sen. Mia McLeod, I-Columbia, Sen. Katrina Shealy, R-Lexington, and Sen. Penry Gustafson, R-Camden, stand in front of the Senate on June 26 with their John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage award in Columbia, S.C. At least thirteen states emerged from the election with fewer female lawmakers than before, with the most significant loss occurring in South Carolina. This year, the only three Republican women in the South Carolina Senate lost their primaries after they stopped a total abortion ban from passing. Next year, only two women, who are Democrats, will be in the 46-member Senate. No other state in the country will have fewer women in its upper chamber, according to the CAWP. Women make up 55% of the state's registered voters. Half the members in the GOP dominated state were elected in 2012 or before, so it will likely be the 2040s before any Republican woman elected in the future can rise to leadership or a committee chairmanship in the chamber, which doles out leadership positions based on seniority. A net loss of five women in the legislature means they will make up only about 13% of South Carolina's lawmakers, making the state the second lowest in the country for female representation. Only West Virginia has a smaller proportion of women in the legislature. West Virginia stands to lose one more women from its legislative ranks, furthering its representation problem in the legislature where women will make up just 11% of lawmakers. Many women, lawmakers and experts say that women's voices are needed in discussions on policy, especially at a time when state government is at its most powerful in decades. Walsh, director of the CAWP, said the new changes expected from the Trump administration will turn even more policy and regulation to the states. The experiences and perspectives women offer will be increasingly needed, she said, especially on topics related to reproductive rights, healthcare, education and childcare. "The states may have to pick up where the federal government may, in fact, be walking away," Walsh said. "And so who serves in those institutions is more important now than ever." November 7, 2024: Trump Victory Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.Trudeau Says Fall of Assad ‘Ends Decades of Brutal Oppression’ for Syria
Football is different — although this type of stretch is becoming more common in the NFL. “I just kind of put myself in a basketball perspective. Those guys play back to back, so I guess there’s a little merit behind us quote-unquote complaining about it, but they are playing 82 games," Baltimore Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton said. “MLB players are playing 162 games, and we have 17, and we’re trying to fight them to go to 18 right now. I think it’s good in a sense that we’ll see who is most prepared down the stretch, and it’s really challenging for teams — everybody that’s involved.” The Ravens are one of the five teams that are about to go through a three-game, 11-day stretch. The Ravens, Chiefs, Steelers and Texans are playing Sunday, the following Saturday and then the Wednesday after that on Christmas. Chicago has a game this coming Monday night, then plays the following Sunday before a Thursday game on Dec. 26. Before this season, 21 teams in the Super Bowl era had played three games in 11 days, according to Sportradar. In 2024 there are nine stretches like that on the schedule. In addition to the five teams above, four others have already gone through a three-game, 11-day period. The Jets, Seahawks, Saints and Cowboys all had Monday-Sunday-Thursday runs like the Bears are about to face. The Jets and Cowboys managed to go 2-1 during those stretches, but the Seahawks and Saints went 0-3. “Try to win the first one, rest, try to get your body back how it should be,” Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson said. “If it’s not 100 percent, try to get it close as possible — just get ready to play football. That’s all.” For Baltimore, the easiest game of the three is in theory the first. As of Thursday afternoon, the Ravens were favored by 16 points at the New York Giants this weekend, according to BetMGM Sportsbook — but Baltimore has already lost to last-place teams like the Raiders and Browns this season. So the Ravens need to be careful not to overlook the lowly Giants. After the trip to New Jersey, Baltimore returns home to face Pittsburgh in a game that figures to be vital to the Ravens' AFC North title hopes. Then there's a road game against AFC South-leading Houston on Christmas. “The big picture is, ‘All hands on deck.’ We’re focused toward playing our best game so far on Sunday,” coach John Harbaugh said. “We’re going to need to do that, and that’s what we’re training and preparing to do. We have a plan for the three-game stretch, and that plan starts with Sunday.” The Ravens played on Christmas last year too, but that was on a Monday, so it wasn't that big a change in the schedule. If there's one factor in Baltimore's favor this season, it's that the Ravens had their open date last week — immediately before their rugged three-game stretch. But that meant Baltimore was among the last teams to have a week off. And the Ravens started earlier than almost anyone else, having been part of the NFL's opening game against Kansas City. “We reported to camp earlier than everybody else for that Thursday night game, and I think KC had their bye a little while ago,” Hamilton said. “I guess we had the longest stretch, continuous, of anybody else. It’s just going to be that much better at the end of it all, when we do what we need to do, and we can look back on that and say, ‘We did that, and we came out and won these three games.’” AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl