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Mahayuti Candidates Achieve Record Victory Margins in Indian ElectionsBudget Blinds Announces Strategic Changes to Executive Leadership Team

Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, widely recognized as the architect of India's 1991 economic reforms, passed away at age 92, as confirmed by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi where he was admitted in critical condition. Dr. Singh, renowned for his economic expertise, reshaped Indian economic policy by introducing liberalization measures that transformed the nation's economic landscape. His role as finance minister under P.V. Narasimha Rao marked the beginning of a new era for India's economy. While Singh was often seen as a reluctant political leader, his decisions included significant international agreements such as the Indo-US nuclear deal. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed heartfelt condolences, acknowledging Singh's contributions to India's economic and political realms. (With inputs from agencies.)

A shaky second half to Moody's second season with San Francisco has put that into question headed to the offseason. Moody missed his sixth field goal in the past seven games last week, leading to questions about whether the 49ers will need to replace him or at least bring in competition for next season. Coach Kyle Shanahan expressed confidence in Moody on Thursday, attributing some of the struggles to a high ankle sprain he suffered in his kicking leg earlier in the season. “I still feel the same about him, that I believe he is going to be our guy," Shanahan said. “Everyone has got to perform and do things like that and I think he has had a tough year. ... I thought he was doing really well and then had a high ankle sprain to his kicking foot. Since he’s come back, he hasn’t been as consistent, obviously. But I think a lot of that probably has to do with that, just common-sense wise.” Moody got off to a strong start this season, making all six field goals he attempted in the season opener and going 13 for 14 before injuring his ankle while attempting to make a tackle on a kickoff return in Week 5. He missed three games and has struggled since he returned. He missed three field goals in first first game back at Tampa Bay, two more in the snow at Buffalo in Week 13 and then a 41-yarder last week against the Dolphins. “That’s the great thing about kicking is, you can be as talented as whoever and you can struggle,” Moody said. “I feel like this year, I’ve struggled. It doesn’t really waver my confidence or anything. I feel like, throughout my entire life, I’ve gone through struggles, I’ve gone through high points. The biggest thing is to just stay consistent, not change anything.” Moody had an up-and-down rookie season, making 21 of 25 field goals in the regular season and missing only one extra point. But he missed a potential game-winning kick in a loss at Cleveland and missed field goals in playoff wins against Green Bay and Detroit. Moody then made three field goals in the Super Bowl with two coming from more than 50 yards, including a go-ahead 53-yard kick late in the fourth quarter against Kansas City. But Moody also had an extra point blocked in that game. “I believe we’ve got the right guy and I think that eventually, I think he has shown that at times,” Shanahan said. "I thought he showed that at times his rookie year. I thought he showed that big time being 12 out of 13 to start this year. And I think he’ll show us all that in the future.” NOTES: The Niners placed LT Trent Williams on IR after his ankle injury hasn't healed as quickly as hoped. Shanahan didn't think there were any long-term issues. ... LB Dre Greenlaw (calf) will be shut down for the rest of the season after playing parts of two games in his return from a torn left Achilles tendon. ... OL Spencer Burford (calf) didn't practice but might be able to play this week. ... San Francisco has signed two OL this week, adding Matt Hennessy and Charlie Heck. ... RB Isaac Guerendo (hamstring, foot) was limited but appears on track to play this week. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFLWASHINGTON (AP) — The House shut down Democrats' efforts Thursday to release the long-awaited ethics report into former Rep. Matt Gaetz , pushing the fate of any resolution to the yearslong investigation of sexual misconduct allegations into further uncertainty. The nearly party-line votes came after Democrats had been pressing for the findings to be published even though the Florida Republican left Congress and withdrew as President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general. Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., was the sole Republican to support the effort. Most Republicans have argued that any congressional probe into Gaetz ended when he resigned from the House. Speaker Mike Johnson also requested that the committee not publish its report, saying it would be a terrible precedent to set. While ethics reports have previously been released after a member’s resignation, it is extremely rare. Shortly before the votes took place, Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., who introduced one of the bills to force the release, said that if Republicans reject the release, they will have “succeeded in sweeping credible allegations of sexual misconduct under the rug.” Gaetz has repeatedly denied the claims. Earlier Thursday, the Ethics panel met to discuss the Gaetz report but made no decision, saying in a short statement that the matter is still being discussed. It's unclear now whether the document will ever see the light of day as lawmakers only have a few weeks left before a new session of Congress begins. It's the culmination of weeks of pressure on the Ethics committee's five Republicans and five Democrats who mostly work in secret as they investigate allegations of misconduct against lawmakers. The status of the Gaetz investigation became an open question last month when he abruptly resigned from Congress after Trump's announcement that he wanted his ally in the Cabinet. It is standard practice for the committee to end investigations when members of Congress depart, but the circumstances surrounding Gaetz were unusual, given his potential role in the new administration. Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., the committee chairman, said Wednesday that there is no longer the same urgency to release the report given that Gaetz has left Congress and stepped aside as Trump's choice to head the Justice Department. “I’ve been steadfast about that. He’s no longer a member. He is no longer going to be confirmed by the Senate because he withdrew his nomination to be the attorney general,” Guest said. The Gaetz report has also caused tensions between lawmakers on the bipartisan committee. Pennsylvania Rep. Susan Wild, the top Democrat on the panel, publicly admonished Guest last month for mischaracterizing a previous meeting to the press. Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing and said last year that the Justice Department’s separate investigation against him into sex trafficking allegations involving underage girls ended without federal charges. His onetime political ally Joel Greenberg , a fellow Republican who served as the tax collector in Florida’s Seminole County, admitted as part of a plea deal with prosecutors in 2021 that he paid women and an underage girl to have sex with him and other men. The men were not identified in court documents when he pleaded guilty. Greenberg was sentenced in late 2022 to 11 years in prison. ___ Farnoush Amiri, The Associated Press

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EU rules requiring all new smartphones, tablets and cameras to use the same charger came into force on Saturday, in a change Brussels said will cut costs and waste. Manufacturers are now obliged to fit devices sold in the 27-nation bloc with a USB-C, the port chosen by the European Union as the common standard for charging electronic tools. "Starting today, all new mobile phones, tablets, digital cameras, headphones, speakers, keyboards and many other electronics sold in the EU will have to be equipped with a USB Type-C charging port," the EU Parliament wrote on social media X. The EU has said the single charger rule will simplify the life of Europeans and slash costs for consumers. By allowing consumers to purchase a new device without a new charger, it will also reduce the mountain of obsolete chargers, the bloc has argued. The law was first approved in 2022 following a tussle with US tech giant Apple. It allowed companies until December 28 this year to adapt. Makers of laptops will have extra time, from early 2026, to also follow suit. Most devices already use these cables, but Apple was more than a little reluctant. The firm said in 2021 that such regulation "stifles innovation", but by September last year it had begun shipping phones with the new port. Makers of electronic consumer items in Europe had agreed on a single charging norm from dozens on the market a decade ago under a voluntary agreement with the European Commission. But Apple, the world's biggest seller of smartphones, refused to abide by it and ditch its Lightning ports. Other manufacturers kept their alternative cables going, meaning there were about half a dozen types knocking around, creating a jumble of cables for consumers. USB-C ports can charge at up to 100 Watts, transfer data up to 40 gigabits per second, and can serve to hook up to external displays. At the time of its approval, the commission said the law was expected to save at least 200 million euros ($208 million) per year and cut more than a thousand tonnes of EU electronic waste every year. "It's time for THE charger," the European Commission wrote on X on Saturday. "It means better-charging technology, reduced e-waste, and less fuss to find the chargers you need." ub/givStocks closed higher on Wall Street, giving the market its fifth gain in a row and notching another record high for the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The S&P 500 rose 0.3% Friday. The Dow added 1%, and the Nasdaq composite tacked on 0.2%. Retailers had some of the biggest gains. Gap soared after reporting quarterly results that easily beat analysts’ estimates. EchoStar fell after DirecTV called off its purchase of that company’s Dish Network unit. European markets closed mostly higher and Asian markets ended mixed. Treasury yields held relatively steady in the bond market. Crude oil prices gained ground. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below. Stocks rose on Wall Street in afternoon trading Friday, keeping the market on track for its fifth straight gain. The S&P 500 was up 0.2% and was solidly on track for a weekly gain that will erase most of last week's loss. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 333 points, or 0.8%, and the Nasdaq composite was essentially flat with a gain of less than 0.1% as of 3:07 p.m. Eastern. Markets have been volatile over the last few weeks, losing ground in the runup to elections in November, then surging following Donald Trump's victory, before falling again. The S&P 500 has been steadily rising throughout this week to within close range of its record. “Overall, market behavior has normalized following an intense few weeks,” said Mark Hackett, chief of investment research at Nationwide, in a statement. Several retailers jumped after giving Wall Street encouraging financial updates. Gap soared 10.8% after handily beating analysts' third-quarter earnings and revenue expectations, while raising its own revenue forecast for the year. Discount retailer Ross Stores rose 1.5% after raising its earnings forecast for the year. EchoStar fell 2.4% after DirecTV called off its purchase of that company's Dish Network unit. Smaller company stocks had some of the biggest gains. The Russell 2000 index rose 1.8%. A majority of stocks in the S&P 500 were gaining ground, but those gains were kept in check by slumps for several big technology companies. Nvidia fell 3.3%. Its pricey valuation makes it among the heaviest influences on whether the broader market gains or loses ground. The company has grown into a nearly $3.6 trillion behemoth because of demand for its chips used in artificial-intelligence technology. Intuit, which makes TurboTax and other accounting software, fell 5.6%. It gave investors a quarterly earnings forecast that fell short of analysts’ expectations. Facebook owner Meta Platforms fell 0.8% following a decision by the Supreme Court to allow a multibillion-dollar class action investors’ lawsuit to proceed against the company. It stems from the privacy scandal involving the Cambridge Analytica political consulting firm. European markets closed mostly higher and Asian markets ended mixed. Crude oil prices rose. Treasury yields held relatively steady in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.41% from 4.42% late Thursday. In the crypto market, Bitcoin hovered around $99,000, according to CoinDesk. It has more than doubled this year and first surpassed the $99,000 level on Thursday. Retailers remained a big focus for investors this week amid close scrutiny on consumer spending habits headed into the holiday shopping season. Walmart, the nation's largest retailer, reported a quarter of strong sales and gave investors an encouraging financial forecast. Target, though, reported weaker earnings than analysts' expected and its forecast disappointed Wall Street. Consumer spending has fueled economic growth, despite a persistent squeeze from inflation and high borrowing costs. Inflation has been easing and the Federal Reserve has started trimming its benchmark interest rates. That is likely to help relieve pressure on consumers, but any major shift in spending could prompt the Fed to reassess its path ahead on interest rates. Also, any big reversals on the rate of inflation could curtail spending. Consumer sentiment remains strong, according to the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index. It revised its latest figure for November to 71.8 from an initial reading of 73 earlier this month, though economists expected a slight increase. It's still up from 70.5 in October. The survey also showed that consumers' inflation expectations for the year ahead fell slightly to 2.6%, which is the lowest reading since December of 2020. Wall Street will get another update on how consumers feel when the business group The Conference Board releases its monthly consumer confidence survey on Tuesday. A key inflation update will come on Wednesday when the U.S. releases its October personal consumption expenditures index. The PCE is the Fed's preferred measure of inflation and this will be the last PCE reading prior to the central bank's meeting in December. Damian J. Troise And Alex Veiga, The Associated PressSri Lanka hosts key stakeholders’ meeting to strengthen Fairtrade Network and promote sustainable exports

Imphal, Nov 23 (PTI) An organisation, which claims to be the apex body of the Thadou tribe in Manipur, on Saturday said that central and state governments and leaders of all communities should work together to end the violence in the state. The Thadou is the largest sub-tribe among the Kuki Zo communities. In a statement, the Thadou Inpi claimed that its members are the most affected and most silent victims in the ongoing conflict in the state, yet they continue to advocate peace. It said that peace is needed to end the “untold sufferings” of the people and in the interest of Manipur and the nation. Responding to the statement by 10 Kuki legislators that "some fringe elements claiming to represent Thadou and Hmar are pitiful at its best," the organisation wondered if those MLAs are engaged in anti-Thadou activities. Several of those legislators belong to the ruling NDA in the state. The Thadou Inpi claimed that it makes no sense to demand sacking of a government or a separate administration while continuing to support or be part of the same government. It also accused those 10 MLAs of being "more into the pursuit of political opportunism" rather than interested in mitigating the sufferings of the people. (This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)