News from October 25, 2025

Technology

US sanctions Petro over alleged drug links

US sanctions Petro over alleged drug links The US government has imposed sanctions on Colombian President Gustavo Petro, his family members, and a top minister, alleging failure to curb illicit drug trafficking and ties to criminal organizations. The sanctions, announced by the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) under Executive Order (E.O.) 14059, target foreign individuals involved in global illicit drug trafficking. Included on the Clinton List of Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) are President Gustavo Petro, Verónica Alcocer (Wife), Nicolás Petro Burgos (Eldest son, currently under investigation in Colombia), and Armando Benedetti (Interior Minister) The measures involve freezing any property the designated individuals hold in the US and barring them from conducting transactions with US-based payment methods. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the action was taken because President Petro has allegedly “allowed drug cartels to thrive and has refused to stop this activity.” He added, “President [Donald] Trump is taking strong action to protect our nation.” The US State Department's move comes amid long-standing disagreements with the Petro administration over anti-drug policy. While the Trump administration has focused on military offensives against criminal organizations, Petro has opted for crop substitution and commodity seizures. The US government highlighted data from the UNODC's World Drug Report 2025, which confirms Colombia remains the world's leading cocaine producer, registering 253,000 hectares of coca crops in 2023. Furthermore, the Trump administration asserts that Petro’s “Total Peace” policy, which seeks negotiations and benefits for armed and criminal groups, amounts to granting privileges to “narco-terrorist organizations.” In response, Petro denounced the Republican administration's move as a “mafia proposal,” questioning the US government's intentions. Speaking at a rally, Petro accused “groups of fake businessmen and fake politicians here [in Colombia]” of encouraging the American far right to impose sanctions. “I am accused of talking to armed organizations... and we are accused as if this attempt to prevent further violence in Colombia were an alliance with drug trafficking,” Petro said. He insisted his policy was “an alliance with peace” to stop internal violence, not an alliance with drug traffickers. The South American leader claimed the sanction reflected a “program of colonial control” and pledged not to back down. “Fighting drug trafficking for decades and effectively brings me this measure from the government of the society we helped so much to stop its cocaine consumption,” he posted on X. Minister Benedetti also responded publicly, tweeting, “Gringos go home.”

Unknown Oct 25, 2025

Australia lose by nine wickets to India in third men’s one-day international – as it happened

Over-by-over report: Rohit Sharma hit a century and Virat Kohli a bright 74 to drive India to a nine-wicket win in the third ODI in what are likely be their final appearances in Australia in their country’s colours

Geoff Lemon and James Wallace Oct 25, 2025

Leftwinger Catherine Connolly takes clear lead in Ireland’s presidential race

Early tallies indicate resounding victory for leftwinger as voters deliver humbling rebuke to government

Rory Carroll Ireland correspondent Oct 25, 2025

Technology

Catherine Connolly ‘absolutely delighted’ as early tallies show commanding lead

The electorate had the choice between Ms Connolly, former cabinet minister Heather Humphreys and ex-Dublin football manager Jim Gavin, until he withdrew from campaigning three weeks ago. There also appeared to be a significant number of spoiled votes as the first ballot boxes were opened. Speaking to reporters in Galway, Ms Connolly said: “I am absolutely delighted with the result and I want to thank all my supporters. “Actually, I want to thank everybody – even those who did not vote for me. “I understand their concerns in relation to who will represent them best.” Tallies at Adamstown count centre in the Dublin Mid-West constituency gave Ms Connolly 73% of the valid poll, with a turnout of 43%. The number of spoiled votes in Adamstown, where Mr Gavin is from, appeared on par with the combined vote for Ms Humphreys and Mr Gavin. Some of the spoiled votes had messages on them, including “no democracy”, “EU puppets” and “no from me”. Among the messages on spoiled votes were “Maria Steen”, who failed to get enough nominations to become a candidate, and references to an alleged sexual assault on a 10-year-old girl that sparked anti-immigration demonstrations in west Dublin this week. The winner of the election will replace Michael D Higgins, a popular poet and former arts minister who has served the maximum two terms in office. Voting slips are being counted by hand at more than 30 count centres, representing 43 electoral constituencies, across the country. Ireland uses a system of transferable votes in elections but, with only three candidates on the ballot, there can only be a maximum of two counts. The final result will be officially declared by presidential returning officer Barry Ryan once all 43 constituencies have completed counting. The leader of the Irish Labour Party said Ms Connolly has united parties “with an alternative vision”. Ivana Bacik said left-wing parties could now look at how they can “combine together” and “offer a real alternative” in the next general election. Speaking to the PA news agency at the RDS Simmonscourt count centre in Dublin, she said: “It’s incredible to see this result for Catherine. I want to pay tribute to Catherine and her own team who’ve just led from the front right from the start. “I’m delighted how enthusiastic the movement has been for Catherine and we’ve really seen that she’s galvanised energy, she’s got a momentum and that was becoming evident over the campaign.” Asked about the high number of spoiled votes, Ms Bacik said: “We do have to take it seriously. We have to look and see what are people’s concerns and why they felt they were not represented by the candidates in this election.” She added: “The level of vitriol directed at people of all political persuasions on some of those spoiled ballots is really alarming to see and I think it means we need to take that anti-democratic threat really seriously.” In the weeks before polling day, several opinion polls put Ms Connolly ahead of Ms Humphreys by some margin. Ms Connolly cast her vote at a primary school in Claddagh, Co Galway, on Friday after going for a swim that morning. She took time after voting to examine students’ essays about the presidency that were pinned to the wall, and to take her elderly aunt, who was in a wheelchair, into the polling station, before cycling home. Ms Humphreys cast her vote in Newbliss, Co Monaghan, with daughter Eva and one-year-old granddaughter Charlotte. Mr Gavin withdrew from campaigning after the emergence of a 16-year-old dispute with a former tenant. The ex-army pilot, 54, who was best known for his role as the manager of Dublin’s record-breaking Gaelic football team, which won five successive All-Ireland Championships, withdrew from the race three weeks before polling day. It came after a former tenant, deputy editor of the Sunday World Niall Donald, claimed he tried to recover 3,300 euro in overpaid rent from Mr Gavin. Mr Gavin said he had made a mistake “not in keeping with my character” and repaid the money after his withdrawal. The move has had serious implications for the Fianna Fail party, which selected him as their candidate, and for its leader, Taoiseach Micheal Martin, who championed Mr Gavin. It also had an effect on the election count as his late withdrawal meant there was not enough time to legally remove his name from the ballot paper. If he were to win the most votes, he would still be elected as president. It is a largely ceremonial role which involves hosting heads of state at the president’s official residence, Aras an Uachtarain in Phoenix Park, and other diplomatic and civic engagements. The president must also consider whether legislation passed by the parliament complies with the constitution, and if they believe it does not, in consultation with the Council of State, they can refer it to the Supreme Court. In recent years, the Irish presidency has become a more political role. During his tenure, Mr Higgins said Ireland’s housing crisis was “our great, great failure”, that the UN was “losing credibility”, and that the Irish state must “urgently meet the needs of”, and address the concerns of, the survivors of mother and baby homes.

Gráinne Ní Aodha and PA,Gráinne Ní Aodha, Pa Oct 25, 2025

Technology

Chilean consulates in Argentina in dire straits

Chilean consulates in Argentina in dire straits A major financial shortfall has been reported at Chilean diplomatic missions in Argentina, with multiple consulates struggling to cover basic operating expenses, according to a communication sent from the Chilean Embassy in Buenos Aires to the Foreign Ministry in Santiago. Ambassador José Antonio Viera-Gallo raised the alarm, warning of significant debts for basic services such as electricity, water, and telephone lines, which he noted “have risen substantially.” The financial difficulties have already led to concrete service cuts. In the case of the Consulate in Bahía Blanca, sources confirmed that telephone lines were recently suspended due to non-payment of bills. Ambassador Viera-Gallo requested assistance to ensure that the diplomatic missions can fulfill their functions, particularly noting the importance of basic services ahead of the upcoming Chilean elections in November. Many of the consulates are scheduled to serve as polling stations, and the ambassador stressed that the continued operation of the missions “must be guaranteed” to avoid affecting the voting process for Chileans residing in Argentina. Sources familiar with the Foreign Ministry's internal workings described the financial situation as “pathetic,” accusing the current administration of poor supervision and planning. They criticized the management of Foreign Minister Alberto Van Klaveren and Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Gloria de la Fuente, alleging it is “the worst in the recent history of the Foreign Ministry.” The same sources suggested that the Ministry's financial focus may be misplaced, alleging a lack of transparency in spending on Michelle Bachelet’s campaign for a UN candidacy, suggesting political priorities are overshadowing administrative needs. When contacted, Ambassador Viera-Gallo dismissed the existence of a financial crisis, though he acknowledged that nine of the 13 consulates had experienced financial “strains,” which he attributed to a period of “state adjustments.” “It is being resolved,” Viera-Gallo assured, explaining that he reiterated the consuls' concerns to the Ministry and that the payment of outstanding funds was promised for October 29. The Foreign Ministry subsequently confirmed that the operation of missions and consulates abroad is “guaranteed from now until the end of the year.” While admitting to a “delay in the payment of a telephone service” that is being regularized, the Ministry concluded: “There is no financial crisis, although the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is implementing the necessary savings and efficiency measures due to budgetary restrictions affecting the entire public sector.” (Source: BioBio Chile)

Biobio Chile Oct 25, 2025

Technology

CBIC merges 31 customs duty notifications into one consolidated notification

Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) has said that 31 notifications related with Custom Duty have been merged into one to promote ease of doing business. “31 Customs Duty Notifications merged into ONE consolidated Notification viz Notification No 45/2025 dated 24th October 2025. It will be effective from 1st November 2025. A step towards simplification, transparency and ease of doing business,” the indirect tax body said in a social media post. This will be effective from November 1, 2025.” Later in a set of ‘Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)’, the board said that instead of referring to 31 separate notifications, the exemptions/concessional rates contained in these 31 notifications are now available in this single notification. However, there have been two minor changes. First, exemption to supplies by Air India Engineering Services Limited (M/s AIESL) and the current entry will now cover three specific B-737 and two specific B-777 aircrafts maintained and operated by Indian Air Force. Second, provision related with 5 per cent Basic Custom Duty (BCD) for bulk drugs used in the manufacture of Poliomyelitis Vaccine (inactivated and live) and Monocomponent Insulins has been removed. CBIC also clarified that there is no change in the validity of the exemptions notified across various years. Unless otherwise specified, “the conditional exemptions/concessions on basic customs duty will lapse as per provisions of Section 25(4A) of the Customs Act,” it said. Published on October 25, 2025

Bl New Delhi Oct 25, 2025

Technology

Nifty and Bank Nifty Prediction for the week 27 Oct’25 to 31 Oct’25 by BL GURU

The rise to 26,100 on the Nifty happened in line with our expectation. Last week we said that the Nifty 50 can rise to 26,100 or 26,200 and then see a corrective fall. In line with this, the Nifty touched a high of 26,104 and has turned down from there. There is some more room to fall from here. However, the broader trend is up, and we can expect the Nifty to resume its uptrend after this short-lived correction. The Nifty 50 can dip to 25,600 or 25,400. Thereafter, it can rise back to 26,200. An eventual break above 26,200 will then have the potential to take the Nifty up to 27,500–28,000 over the medium term. The Nifty Bank index has good support around 57,000, which can be tested this week. From there, the Nifty Bank index can rise back to 59,200 first. A break above 59,200 can then take the Nifty Bank up to 61,500 and 62,000 eventually. BL Portfolio: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/portfolio/ Write to the following email ids for any queries on 1) Futures & Options (F&O) : derivatives@thehindu.co.in 2) Technical outlook on the specific stocks: techtrail@thehindu.co.in 3) Mutual Funds: mf@thehindu.co.in 4) Investments, Personal finance: blportfolio@thehindu.co.in SOCIAL MEDIA HANDLES Facebook - Blportfolio LinkedIn - BL Portfolio X - @BlPortfolio Published on October 25, 2025

Bl Guru Oct 25, 2025

Technology

Early tallies point to comprehensive Connolly win and sharp increase in spoiled ballots

We need your help now Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open. You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough. If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it. One-off amount I already contribute Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you. An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more. Investigates Investigates Money Diaries The Journal TV Climate Crisis Cost of Living Road Safety Newsletters Temperature Check Inside the Newsroom The Journal Investigates Daft.ie Property Allianz Home The 42 Sport TG4 Entertainment The Explainer A deep dive into one big news story Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture have your say Or create a free account to join the discussion Advertisement More Stories Catherine Connolly pictured yesterday leaving Claddagh National School in Galway city after casting her vote in the electionAlamy Stock Photo One Direction Early tallies point to comprehensive Connolly win and sharp increase in spoiled ballots Connolly told reporters at her local count centre that she is ‘absolutely delighted’ with the results so far. 11.16am, 25 Oct 2025 Share options EARLY TALLIES IN the presidential election point to an overwhelming victory by Catherine Connolly but also reveal a sharp increase in spoiled ballots. Connolly told reporters at her local count centre in Galway West that she is “absolutely delighted” with the results so far. “We came together on behalf of a new vision for the country, and we should be proud to represent the public on this, when it comes to housing and peace,” Connolly said. “I will put hope into people again and I have to say to them, the office is for you. I am only a symbol of the new movement. “I am incredibly hopeful that this movement will continue, and I have no doubt about that,” Connolly added. Tallies suggest Catherine Connolly is on course to become the tenth President of Ireland. Arriving at the Galway West count centre, Ms Connolly said she was “absolutely delighted” and thanked “everybody”, including those who did not vote for her.#presidentialelection #ireland… pic.twitter.com/FZBOtxcm4c— RTÉ News (@rtenews) October 25, 2025 Connolly thanked her supporters and also thanked “everybody, even those that didn’t vote for me.” She added: “I understand their concerns in relation to who will represent them best, and I will do my utmost to represent everyone.” As of 9.45am in both Cork North and South Central, Connolly was claiming close to 70% of the boxes tallied. Heather Humphreys was taking in around 24% of the ballots in early tallies here, while Jim Gavin was claiming around 6% of votes. Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín told RTÉ this morning that a vote for the Fianna Fáil candidate, who ended his campaign in early October, was akin to a spoiled ballot. There is also a sharp increase in the number of spoiled ballots, many of which contain anti-government messaging. Advertisement In some areas, spoiled ballots were tallying higher than Heather Humphreys, such as in Dublin South Central. More spoiled votes than for Heather Humpreys in Dublin South Central 19.15% or 5466 spoiled votes On total valid poll Connolly 78.5% Humphreys 16.08% This was Fine Gael’s weakest constituency in General Election— Barry Lenihan (@BarryLenihan) October 25, 2025 And in Offaly, the number of spoiled ballots was at over 20% in early tallies. It had been noted before the election that a sharp increase in spoiled ballots could prolong the count, as each invalid ballot needs to be individually adjudicated by the returning officer. Spoil the vote In the 2011 presidential election, some 18,676 votes were spoiled, which equalled around 1% of the total votes cast. There was a similar number of spoiled votes in 2018, with 18,438 opting to spoil their vote, some 1.2% of all votes cast. This time around though, there was a concerted effort to spoil the vote. A recent Ipsos/B&A poll showed that a significant 6% of voters plan to spoil their vote but early tallies suggest that the number of spoiled ballots will be higher than that. Businessman and former European election candidate Declan Ganley is one of the figures behind the campaign to encourage people to spoil their vote – before the election, he said he would write in “1 Maria Steen” on his ballot. Pictures from count centres around the country show that a number of people followed his lead. A lot of effort gone into this spoiled vote from Chapelizod in Dublin South Central #Aras25 @IrishTimes pic.twitter.com/LE5unBctNo— Sarah Burns (@sarahburnss_) October 25, 2025 When Ganley asked what changes could be made to the process of getting on the ballot, he suggested that getting the signatures of between 10,000 and 20,000 people should be enough. He also suggested that local authorities should not be allowed to block votes on potentially backing a candidate. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Support The Journal Diarmuid Pepper View 50 comments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “Early tallies point to comprehensive Connolly win and sharp increase in spoiled ballots”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “Early tallies point to comprehensive Connolly win and sharp increase in spoiled ballots”. Your Feedback Your Email (optional) Report a Comment Please select the reason for reporting this comment. Please give full details of the problem with the comment... This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy before taking part. 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Access to the comments facility has been disabled for this user View our policy ⚠️ Duplicate comment Post Comment have your say Or create a free account to join the discussion Catherine Connolly Heather Humphreys One Direction Presidential Election spoil the vote News in 60 seconds Connolly on course for resounding win over Humphreys in election Marek Puska Investigation launched as brother of Jozef Puska attacked in Mountjoy Prison overnight spoiled votes Spoiled votes emerge from boxes in large numbers, with many referencing alternative candidates 17 mins ago Trump talks Trump heads to Asia for talks with China's Xi Jinping and also eyes meeting with Kim Jong Un 41 mins ago Broken glass held to head of baby in back seat of stolen car in Belfast Man arrested over alleged assault on two people canvassing with Mary Lou McDonald yesterday on course for victory 'I will do my utmost to represent everyone': Connolly hopes to be symbol of new movement As it happened Áras election turnout quite low as polls near close Dublin city centre Gardaí called as Mary Lou McDonald and canvassers threatened on Dublin street Connolly on course for resounding win over Humphreys in election The Morning Lead Ireland's next president: The votes have been cast, but when will we know the offical result? more from us Investigates Money Diaries The Journal TV Journal Media Advertise With Us About FactCheck Our Network FactCheck Knowledge Bank Terms & Legal Notices Terms of Use Cookies & Privacy Advertising Competition more from us TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Journal Media Advertise With Us Our Network The Journal FactCheck Knowledge Bank Terms & Legal Notices Terms of Use Cookies & Privacy Advertising Competition © 2025 Journal Media Ltd Terms of Use Cookies & Privacy Advertising Competition Switch to Desktop Switch to Mobile The Journal supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and the Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice. 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Unknown Oct 25, 2025

Technology

How one Wall Street Rising Star went from tech investing to building a tire shop business

Anish Pathipati spent years honing his skills as a private equity investor, and now, he's decided to "hang out a shingle," launching his own fund, Simha Partners.The last time we spoke to Pathipati for our 2018 Wall Street Rising Stars series, he was a director at North Island, a private equity firm founded by Glenn Hutchins, a cofounder of Silver Lake. He then joined Periphas Capital, cofounded by Sanjeev Mehra, a cofounder of Goldman Sachs' private investment arm.He's applying what he's learned from these renowned investors to inform his plan for Simha Partners, which raised $45 million for its first fund earlier this month, Pathipati said, adding that it was oversubscribed. He's also trying something different, investing all of the capital in the fund to build a single business in a single sector: tire and auto repair.Unlike search funders who look to buy a blue-collar business after working in corporate or investment roles, Pathipati will have plenty of help from his two other partners: Pathipati's father, Narendra "Pat" Pathipati, and another close family friend, Tim O'Day,O'Day and the senior Pathipati rose to CEO and CFO of Boyd Group Services, the parent company of auto collision market leader Gerber Collision & Glass. From when O'Day became president of US operations for Gerber Collision & Glass in September 2008 to when he retired over the spring, Boyd's stock price had grown 100 times.O'Day and the elder Pathipati, who retired as CFO in 2022, have decades of experience growing an auto collision business. And now, with the help of the younger Pathipati's technology investing expertise, Simha Partners will look to replicate that success in the tire and auto repair business.Pathipati spoke to us about the impetus for Simha Partners' strategy, how it compares to the growing trend of search funds, how his career led up to this, and what it's like to work with your dad.The following conversation has been edited for clarity and length.I knew from day one that I wanted to be an entrepreneur, and I got closer to that goal at each phase of my career journey.Phase one was institutional training at a mega-cap firm, Silver Lake Partners. Phase two was what I call my apprenticeship, working closely with legendary investors in startup settings. Phase three is now underway with the launch of Simha Partners, where I become the captain of my own journey.In phase one, my approach was to work as hard as possible at this best-in-class institution. Working on transactions like the take-private of Dell helped me quickly pick up the tools of the investing trade.In the apprenticeship phase, the key to success was choosing to work with people I had great regard for and who I could learn from.This third phase requires a different mindset from the first two phases. Instead of trying to replicate what others have done, we want to build something new. In an industry that's 40 years old, how can we innovate?This story is part of a new series catching up with finance pros we once spotlighted as Rising Stars of Wall Street to see where their careers have taken them. See our 2025 list here.I call it our modern-day industrialist vision. The goal is not to have 15 or 20 different portfolio companies, like a traditional private equity firm, but to instead focus on building one platform, standing it up on its own two feet with a self-sufficient management team, and then doing the same for platform two or platform three.To help accomplish this, I'm joined by two partners with a more operational background.They've grown an exceptional business with a roll-up strategy, implementing an acquisition, integration, and operations excellence program that Tim and Pat helped develop.Few private equity firms have partners with this type of operating track record, and especially not in the lower middle market, which is where we hope to begin.With our first fund, we will focus exclusively on the tire and auto services industry. This shows target companies that we're not just tourists in the industry, and allows us to focus our attention on one industry, as opposed to a typical PE partner who is pulled in a lot of different directions.While building the Simha vision, I did ask how we're different from a search fund. One key difference is that our capital is fully committed, unlike a search fund that has to go back to its investors. This allows us to present ourselves very differently to target companies.A second difference is scale. With $45 million of commitments and a multiple of that available via co-invest demand, our fund is much larger than a typical search fund.Third, we're not planning to run the company ourselves as CEOs. Search fund entrepreneurs are effectively buying a job, but we want to support a management team that can stand on its own.The best competitive advantage comes from interweaving tech with real-world operations. The tire and auto services industry is ripe for the application of technology in operations. This cuts across every part of the business, from customer-facing workflows like scheduling and vehicle inspections to internal workflows like technician staffing and tire ordering.Technology can't replace an auto mechanic, but it can allow the mechanics to serve customers faster, cheaper, and better.It's really a dream come true. My dad has always been my closest mentor and greatest advocate — the opportunity to work with him is special. If anything though, it's made me work even harder. No time is off limits when your dad is your partner.I'm also very excited about the opportunity to work with Tim. I've known him for over a decade and in addition to being an exceptional executive, I consider him a family friend.It's been quite valuable for our business too, because many of the targets we would think about investing in are themselves family businesses. We can actually walk the walk, not just talk the talk, right? We can tell our targets that we have the capital of a private equity firm, the focus of a business builder, and top-tier operational experience, but it's one family and family-friend talking to another."

Alex Nicoll Oct 25, 2025

Technology

As my mom is getting older, my own perspective on aging has changed. It's a strange thing to reconcile.

My mother opened the door to her apartment, joyful to see me in her doorway. She was wearing an oversize black T-shirt with white cursive across the front that reads: "I can't believe I'm the same age as old people."I've long accepted that she's no fashionista, but I've only recently begun to grasp that my quirky 76-year-old mother is getting up there in years. (Can we say old? Her shirt says old.)I've seen her scrape the edges of mortality many times: Stage II breast cancer, four joint replacements, rheumatoid arthritis, and a coronary angioplasty. These have been her personal trials, of course, but as her only child, I hope that I've borne some of the weight with her. I recall the diagnoses, the doctors' appointments, the tears, the terror in her eyes from some awkward hospital bed.But I saw each of these as mere moments in time. Bumps in the road. It took me years — decades, maybe — to internalize that these illnesses culminate in the truth that her mortal body is breaking down.I inch toward acceptance at times, but then my mind reels. Isn't 76 the new 56!? I recently Googled life expectancy tables for some reassuring data. I scrolled down to the birth year row of 1949. The average white American woman born in that year can reasonably expect to live to the age of 78. The research is right there, but how does a person process that information?My mother and I have had years of deep, almost psychic, closeness. Whatever is happening in my life, whether auditioning for my middle school production of "The King and I" or discussing the realities of menopause (which I hear is coming for me soon), she understands, offers encouragement, is ever-present. Mom-on-demand.She thinks whatever I say is hilarious, whatever I choose is smart, whatever I do is the best. Maybe she's just great at faking it. In any case, I know I'm lucky.That said, we have also barely made it through confusing and painful seasons of our relationship. Some people might call her…a bit dramatic or complex (I may be one of those people), and our battles have cut deep. My move to college was painful for both of us. A May-December romance she pursued rocked my world. She often felt abandoned by her only daughter. I bristled at feeling smothered.All of these "issues" that I once wanted to untangle in therapy, well, I just don't care anymore. At a certain point, you shift from seeing a parent as a parent to another flawed human like yourself. As we've both aged, we've also naturally mellowed out. I don't have the time or energy to fight. I relish my own midlife for that very reason. The things that don't matter fade into the background. Those that are precious sharpen into focus.I recently shared that revelation with my mom. "I'm glad you find that getting older is better," she emailed me. "It's just a journey, you know? As you age, for some reason, living gets lighter."For so much of my early life, it was the two of us in an 800-square-foot apartment against the world, and I desperately feared losing her. And yet we remain. We may live 30 miles apart, connected by text messages most days, but the closeness endures.I still fear the loss of her one day, but it's tempered now with the wisdom and gratitude of an adult, not the panic of a child. I believe that this strange, almost miraculous, connection we have will outlive us both. Life expectancy tables be damned.

Kerri Allen Oct 25, 2025

Technology

RJio seeks higher valuation ahead of IPO with boost to ARPUs

Reliance Industries’ telecom arm Jio Infocomm would be seeking a higher valuation in the range of $140-150 billion ahead of its forthcoming initial public offer next year and look to boost the average revenue per user (ARPU) through a mix of tariff hikes and higher data usage., sources said. Analysts said that the company may hike tariffs in early 2026 and its goal would be to take it to ₹220 levels or even higher if feasible. “Any delay in tariff hike would pose downside risks. We expect FY25-28E revenue/EBITDA/PAT CAGR of approximately 16 per cent/19 per cent/24 per cent, driven by tariff hike flow-through in wireless and acceleration in FWA offerings,” said Motilal Oswal in a note post earnings from RIL. It has estimating RJio enterprise valuation of ₹12.4 trillion ($141 billion) based on discounted cash flow expected around 13 times the EBITDA of December 2027 estimates. Reliance Jio did not respond to emails seeking clarification on the information. In its analyst call RJio clarified that there are no immediate plans for a tariff hike, but Motilal Oswal still estimates the next round of tariff hikes, around 15 per cent or ₹50 per month on the base pack, to start from December 2025. This will be a huge increase for users. Motilal Oswal raised its FY26-28 revenue and EBITDA estimates by around 1 per cent each, driven by higher net adds in fixed broadband and the corresponding boost to blended ARPU. A telecom analyst under anonymity said that Jio needs another 5-10 per cent hike before the IPO listing. Over the past year, Jio increased ARPU by ₹15-16 going from ₹195 monthly to ₹211. Using this trajectory, ARPU may increase ₹6-8 in the next two quarters, said the analyst. This means Jio is more likely to reach an ARPU of ₹225 per month by the first half of 2026 rather than the required ARPU of ₹230 with the current strategy unless they reach ramp up subscriptions. “Discarding tariff, ramping up data usage and bundles with value added services are the company’s next best bet,” said the analyst. Meanwhile, an equity expert said Jio could twist one tariff plan deal to achieve the desired ARPU. However, the company could stand to lose market share if the tariff is raised too high. Earlier, there were media reports of Jio along with another telco had withdrawn its entry-level plan. According to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Chairman Anil Kumar Lahoti, the two telcos clarified that that while one of the service provider had withdrawn the entry-level plan, the other continues to offer the plan in its stores. “We have examined that and we found that competitive plans are already available if somebody wants to buy a low-level entry plan,” said Lahoti. Higher ARPU would need to be substantiated with a good subscriber base to justify valuation, said the equity analyst. Since the company is unlikely to let subscriptions take a hit, they may look at other channels like B2B solutions, etc. Still, higher mobile tariffs and faster growth in home broadband business should support ARPUs, said Jeffries in its report. “We lower our ARPU assumptions by 1 per cent and expect Jio’s ARPU to rise at 11 per cent CAGR to ₹272 over FY25-28, led by three tariff hikes of 10 per cent each in 3QFY26/27/28,” it said. Published on October 25, 2025

Vallari Sanzgiri Oct 25, 2025

Hawk Mountain can scale Doncaster heights for O’Brien in Futurity Trophy

Aidan O’Brien can put disappointment of Ascot behind him with three runners in final Group One of British Flat season

Greg Wood Oct 25, 2025

Technology

New Michigan road plan promises billions to bring smoother drive: Here's how - Detroit Free Press

Michigan lawmakers and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer approved a bipartisan road funding plan with money for local roads and public transit.Environmental groups have concerns about a fee increase for those who drive electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids while education advocates fear an impact to school funding.The plan already faces a legal challenge to a new cannabis tax to generate road funding revenue. While proponents of the funding boost for Michigan roads say it will pave the way for a smoother ride, others see potholes in the plan and fear a bumpy journey ahead. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and lawmakers came together to approve a plan that includes new revenue and cuts to pay for road repairs and transportation infrastructure. For Whitmer, reaching the deal marked a legacy-defining moment. "I ran for office in large part because I wanted to fix the damn roads," she said in an Oct. 3 statement in the wake of the plan's legislative approval. At a celebration in Macomb County's Clinton Township, a crowd wearing safety vests and hard hats surrounded Whitmer and held up signs that read, "BIG GRETCH KEEPS HER PROMISE, WE KEEP OUR JOBS." The roughly $2 billion the plan secures for roads, once fully implemented, is not as much money as either the governor or Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, initially sought. Still, they touted it as a marquee accomplishment that provides much-needed funding for local roads, which didn't benefit from Whitmer's 2020 bonding program for state highways and bridges. But the new road funding plan has prompted some concerns. Environmental advocates say it punishes those who drive electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids with new fee increases. Funding shifts to pay for roads have also sparked fears that local governments could confront tough budget decisions. While the plan promises zero school funding cuts, education advocates still see an impact. One legal battle has already emerged over a key new source of revenue for roads. A lawsuit challenges a new tax on cannabis, which the state's leading cannabis trade association has cast as an existential threat to the nascent industry. What will funding boost mean for road conditions? There remain unanswered questions about how exactly the new funding will impact road conditions, according to Lance Binoniemi, the vice president of government affairs for the Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association, a statewide trade association that includes Michigan companies that construct roads and bridges. "It's going to definitely improve pavement conditions, we just don't know by how much yet," he said. Forthcoming projections should provide a clearer picture of how far the money will go, Binoniemi said. Eric Paul Dennis — an infrastructure researcher at the Citizens Research Council of Michigan — who has called on state leaders to "Fix the Damn Road Funding Formula" sees a missed opportunity to improve Michigan's road funding system in the new plan. Instead of heeding his recommendation to replace the law that funnels transportation dollars to road agencies, lawmakers set up a new fund to deliver more money to local roads that will essentially run in parallel to the old system. Dennis described the result as "convoluted." "More money will not hurt," he said. "But it's almost definitely not the most effective, most efficient way to spend the additional revenue," he added. Denise Donohue, CEO of the County Road Association of Michigan, countered that while Michigan's road funding formula may be old, lawmakers have updated it over time, and it works today. "We can talk about fixing the damn roads, but it always starts with fixing the road funding, and so I think we've made a huge step as a state towards that. It will still take a decade or two to get to where we need to be," she said. Where will new money come from? The road funding plan includes two new sources of revenue. A tax on cannabis businesses of 24% on the wholesale price will generate an estimated $420 million annually, according to a House Fiscal Agency analysis, providing a boost for county and local road authorities. By a one-vote margin, the tax narrowly passed the Michigan Senate. In its lawsuit, a state cannabis association argues that because voters in the state legalized recreational cannabis via a 2018 ballot measure, the tax required a three-fourths vote in both chambers of the Michigan Legislature. Drivers of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids will also provide new revenue for roads, as an increase to the motor fuel tax triggers a hike to the fees they pay. Electric vehicles will see their vehicle registration surcharge increase by at least $100, while plug-in hybrids will see at least a $50 increase in 2026. Together, those will generate an estimated $11 million, with most of the funds supporting transportation, according to a House Fiscal Agency analysis. State Sen. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor, raised concerns about the new fees before voting against them on Oct. 3. "Do we want to build the vehicles of the future or tax the vehicles of the future?" he said. Environmental advocates want to see lawmakers roll back the fees, which will constitute the highest electric vehicle fee in the United States, based on a recent review of fees across the country. Hall has suggested that electric vehicle drivers aren't paying their fair share to drive on Michigan roads. In contrast, a study from Ecology Center — a Michigan-based environmental group — found that they contribute more to road funding when comparing electric vehicle models to their gas counterparts. Slapping another fee on top of what drivers of electric vehicles are already paying seems "punitive," said Charles Griffith, director of the Ecology Center's Climate & Energy Program. Tax shift at the pump leaves lingering angst Starting in 2026, the motor fuel tax will increase by at least 20 cents and coincide with the elimination of the 6% sales tax on gas and diesel — a current practice that makes Michigan a national outlier. The change will ensure that the taxes Michigan drivers pay at the pump will support the state's transportation system. The School Aid Fund that supports K-12 education in Michigan and currently receives tax revenue generated from motor fuel sales will see those lost dollars at the pump replenished from the General Fund, the state's largest pot of discretionary funding. Concerns about the tax shift remain. "You're replacing a guaranteed source of funding," said Bob McCann, executive director of the K-12 Alliance of Michigan. A future group of state lawmakers is not obligated to backfill the School Aid Fund, he noted. Local governments, which also benefit from the sales tax the road plan eliminates, won't see that revenue fully replaced after earlier plans to do so were walked back in the final deal. The plan will reduce revenue sharing to local governments by an estimated $92.8 million during the first full fiscal year with the new motor fuel tax, according to a House Fiscal Agency analysis. Michigan Townships Association Director of Government Relations Judy Allen said she heard from one township that equated the revenue loss to three firefighters. Townships face the possibility of making cuts or asking voters to approve tax increases, she said. Unlike townships, cities will receive some road funding but also face potential revenue hits to their local communities under the plan, according to John LaMacchia II, state and federal affairs director for the Michigan Municipal League. Possible budget pinches don't just await the local level. The road funding plan also delivers a big hit to the General Fund. The road funding plan disentangles federal tax changes in President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act from the state corporate income tax, blunting the impact on state revenue. Some corporate income tax revenue collected by the state is then dedicated to road funding and transportation under the plan. Once fully phased in, those earmarks, along with the sales tax shift at the pump, will each reduce General Fund revenues by hundreds of millions of dollars. Funding boost for public transit Michigan drivers aren't the only ones expected to benefit from improvements to Michigan's transportation network. The road funding plan was a cause for celebration among public transit advocates. The Comprehensive Transportation Fund, which supports public transit, will see an estimated $65.6 million increase due to the tax shift at the pump in the next fiscal year — the first full fiscal year when the tax change will be in effect, according to the House Fiscal Agency. The road funding plan also dedicates $35 million annually to the Comprehensive Transportation Fund through the fiscal year ending in 2030 and includes $65 million for investments in transit projects. That might not be enough money to build a new train line. But Megan Owens, executive director of Transportation Riders United, said it could help pilot other transportation projects and demonstrate interest in them that could generate further state investment. "So, it's a huge step in the right direction," she said. State Rep. Jason Morgan, D-Ann Arbor, who co-chairs the Public Transit Caucus in the Michigan Legislature celebrated what he called an unprecedented investment. "This is the largest increase in public transit funding in Michigan's history as far as I'm aware," he said. "This is a truly transformational investment." In the immediate wake of the new roads plan, its champions have celebrated the bipartisan support it received and the size of the funding boost, even if some describe it as a kind of initial breakthrough. Meanwhile, before the funding plan takes Michigan down a new road, its detractors are fighting to head in a different direction. Contact Clara Hendrickson: chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743.

Clara Hendrickson Oct 25, 2025

Technology

At 80, the UN struggles on

The United Nations is an institution that is having to take a crash diet. The world organisation is struggling with a severe financial crisis as the Trump administration has withheld almost all US funding for its activities. Secretary-General António Guterres, who is approaching the end of his ten-year term at the end of 2026, is having to make emergency budget cuts and propose options for rationalising international agencies and offices. The UN will be providing less food, less shelter and less medical assistance to vulnerable people around the world as its tries to adapt. It is not clear whether the Secretary-General’s efforts will be enough to stabilise the organisation he leads. While the impetus for reform is the UN’s financial crisis, debates about the organisation’s future are likely to evolve into a broader discussion of global governance. Budgets, as Martin Luther King allegedly said, are moral documents: They reflect the values of the communities that approve them. The UN budget – and reforms to the way the UN spends its money – should reflect the priorities of the so-called ‘international community’ that make up and pay for the institution. Different groups of UN members have divergent views over what the organisation should prioritise. While President Trump has said that the UN should return to its original focus on peace and security, many non-Western countries want it to concentrate on economic development and climate adaptation. Europeans fear that the UN is paying less attention to human rights than it did in the post-Cold War hey-day of liberalism. As states debate about how to allocate the UN’s reduced resources, they will promote clashing visions of the UN’s overriding international goals. The scale of the UN’s short-term crisis reflects its long-standing reliance on Washington for both political and financial assistance. Under UN rules, the US is supposed to pay 22% of the organisation’s main institutional budget and a quarter of its peacekeeping costs. These budget lines currently add up to a little over $2 billion a year. Trump, who has accused the UN of failing to live up to its potential in maintaining international peace and security, has not send the UN a cent of this money to date. The US has played an even greater role in funding the UN’s major humanitarian agencies, covering roughly a third of all humanitarian spending last year. This funding – which is voluntary rather than obligatory – has shrunk to a trickle since January. UN officials had hoped that other donors, such as the European Union and China, could help compensate for the resulting financial gaps. But the international response has been limited. European countries have emphasised that they cannot offer significant funds to the UN at a time when they are trying to meet new NATO spending targets. Beijing has offered small amounts of new money – and signalled that it wants its nominees to fill more top UN jobs – but has also made it clear that it does not intend to replace the US as a large-scale funder of multilateral activities. In New York, diplomats and international officials have concluded that the UN will simply have to shrink. Although some express regret, others say that they see this as a necessary reckoning for the organisation, arguing that it has become bloated and inefficient. As one senior international official told me this spring, President Trump has probably only accelerated a process of reforming and downsizing the UN that would have taken place in a few years anyway. There is a talk around diplomatic dinner tables of ‘doing less with less’ and the UN having to ‘get back to basics’. The effects of these budget cuts are meanwhile being felt by vulnerable civilians. A recent study of Afghanistan by my colleagues at the International Crisis Group found that hundreds of health centres and clean water facilities have been closed due to aid cuts. Globally, the UN has revised its humanitarian plan for 2025, shifting from offering aid to 180 million people to a narrower target of assisting 114 million in the most desperate situations, which will still be a challenge. While humanitarian officials look for cost-efficiencies, such as reducing overlaps between their programming and streamlining supply chains, Secretary-General Guterres has been trying to chart a pathway for the UN as a whole. In March he announced a reform process called ‘UN80’ – as 2025 is the eightieth anniversary of the UN Charter – involving three tracks of activity. The most urgent of these has been short-term cost-cutting. Guterres has announced that UN secretariat will shrink in size by 20% from the beginning of 2026. In addition to cutting staff the UN leadership has promoted measures such as moving staff from expensive bases like New York and Geneva to lower-cost centres like Nairobi. UN officials are furious about the sudden disruptions and firings. The second and third tracks of UN80 involve longer-term changes to the way that the UN works. The second addresses the range of mandates – taskings from inter-governmental bodies like the General Assembly and Security Council – that the UN is supposed to implement. After a hunt through UN documents using Artificial Intelligence, the Secretary-General’s team found that states have agreed 40,000 mandates since the 1940s. While many of these are now out-of-date, half-forgotten or overlap with other mandates, UN members are bad at canceling these directives. The net result is that the UN is, on paper, meant to achieve an impossibly large number of tasks. The Secretary-General’s report offers some telling data points to illustrate this process. In 2024, the UN secretariat supported a total of 27,000 multilateral meetings – still below the pre-COVID record of 37,000, but nonetheless. sucking up huge amounts of staff time. In parallel, the secretariat publishes over 1,000 reports a year. Most are downloaded fewer than 2,000 times. Guterres has suggested that UN member states could make the organisation more efficient by undertaking a review of all these mandates, and deciding which to drop and which to keep. The Secretary-General has emphasised that he does not have the authority to do this alone. While this sounds logical, diplomats are worried about the sheer workload, and also worry that attempting to cancel mandates could prove politically difficult. A similar process initiated by Kofi Annan in 2005 faltered, as individual countries objected to culling specific mandates they liked. The final element of UN80 pivots on institutional reforms. In a paper released this September, Guterres outlined ideas for merging or coordinating UN entities to make the system as a whole more effective. There is little doubt that the UN system, which has grown organically and haphazardly over the decades, is a bit of a mess. Three different agencies deal with food-related issues in Rome while two of the largest humanitarian bodies – UNHCR and the International Organisation for Migration – often run overlapping programs to assist displaced populations. These different entities compete for funds and often coordinate poorly. Streamlining the system as a whole could hold the key to avoiding long-term budget problems and helping needy people. As part of the UN80 process, Guterres set up a series of working groups to look at potential institutional reforms in different thematic areas, such as development and peace and security. He is said to be unhappy with the results. Representatives of different UN agencies took a conservative approach to the process, defending their institutional turf and offering few big ideas about how to transform the system as a whole. The September reform does offer a few sensible ideas for reform, such as merging the UN agency dealing with AIDS and the World Health Organisation, but shies away from really decisive institutional changes. As diplomats note, it emphasises the need for more coordination mechanisms – creating more bureaucracy, not less. Overall, UN members are unconvinced that the UN80 proposals are sufficiently bold to help the UN navigate the challenges it faces. Some grumble that Guterres failed to lay out a clear vision for the process. Others complain that the Secretary-General did not involve them early enough in substantive consultations on what the process should aim to achieve (equally, if he had done wide-ranging consultations earlier this year, it could have slowed him down). Diplomats suspect that the Secretary-General also designed the process – and especially the downsizing of the secretariat – to impress the Trump administration, to show that he could make hard choices. If that is true, Guterres has only had mixed success. US officials have offered the UN80 process some praise, but in private they also tell other countries that Guterres should make deeper cuts. There is also a general recognition around the UN that Guterres, with just more of a year left in office, lacks the time and political capital to enact major institutional reforms. Lame-duck Secretaries-General rarely manage to achieve much in their final year in office. Guterres has reportedly admitted to some ambassadors in private that he knows that it will fall to his successor to carry through many of his reform ideas, if they agree with them. Candidates to replace Guterres – such as IAEA Director-General Rafeal Grossi and former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet – have recently confirmed their interest in the post. Other candidates, like senior UN trade official Rebeca Grynspan, are also expected to announce their candidacies soon. It is a given that they will face questions from member states about how they will control UN costs, and what sort of big institutional reforms they would invest their political capital in during their first years in office. The debate over what the next Secretary-General should prioritise (and what she or he should drop) could turn into a proxy argument over the UN’s global role. In recent years, prior to President Trump’s return to office, the different blocs of states in the UN system have been increasingly vocal about their grievances with the world organisation. After Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine, Western countries lamented that Moscow was able to block Security Council actions penalising its behaviour. Developing countries – including many sympathetic to Kyiv – countered by asking why Western countries have not invested more in UN efforts to reduce poverty and help with climate adaptation. Both sides see the UN system as failing to address their national interests, but for divergent reasons. Many representatives of poorer countries have also interpreted calls for the UN to ‘do less with less’ in the context of UN80 as an implicit call for the organisation to focus less on development issues. All sides will watch the next Secretary-General’s reform priorities closely, to see if they seem to lean more towards the Global South or the West. To balance these competing interests, the next Secretary-General will need to perform a complex balancing act. She or he will need to sketch out ways to shrink the UN bureaucracy – for example by institutional mergers – while ensuring that it channels as many resources as possible to developing states. It will also be necessary to lay out ideas for improving the UN’s work on conflict prevention and peacemaking in a way that avoids irritating the vet powers in the Security Council. Ultimately, UN reform always involves making compromises between differing demands. The organisation has to satisfy multiple constituencies. Even if UN members were to whittle down the system’s thousands of overlapping mandates, they would still agree on a very mixed set of taskings for the world body. Even if the UN streamlined its various agencies with overlapping humanitarian mandates, they merged organisations would end up juggling multiple crises. The history of the UN also shows that reform is a never-ending process. As Manuel Fröhlich, an expert on the UN bureaucracy, noted twenty years ago, all UN reform processes begin ambitiously, then gradually go off track, and lead to eventual calls for the ‘reform of the reform’. Nonetheless, this year’s US budget cuts have performed an important function by forcing the UN leadership and UN members to acknowledge that the existing multilateral system is over-extended and unsustainable in its current form. The US may or may not eventually reconcile with the UN system (perhaps under a future president) and restore funding. For now, it falls to other UN members to debate what the organisation is for, and how it can meet their interests, in a period in which the world organisation is becoming smaller, poorer and less sure of its future.

Richard Gowan Oct 25, 2025

Technology

FPIs turn net sellers on Friday, pull out ₹1,167 crore from Indian markets

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) turned net sellers on Friday, withdrawing ₹1,167.05 crore from Indian markets after two consecutive days of net buying, according to data from the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL). The selling on October 24 was primarily led by equities, where FPIs pulled out ₹796.83 crore, marking a sharp reversal from the net inflow of ₹764.34 crore recorded on October 23. On October 20, FPIs had invested ₹882.21 crore in equities, indicating volatile sentiment through the shortened Diwali week. “The declining trend in FII selling which started in early October continues. FIIs turned buyers too in many days of October. Total FII selling through exchanges up to 25th October stood at a negligible ₹3,363 crore,” said Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited. The debt segment witnessed mixed flows during the week. On Friday, FPIs sold ₹408.07 crore through the Fully Accessible Route (FAR), reversing the strong inflows of ₹1,218.03 crore and ₹1,399.24 crore seen on October 23 and October 20, respectively. Debt investments under the General Limit also saw an outflow of ₹41.74 crore on Friday, while Debt-VRR recorded a withdrawal of ₹39.96 crore. However, hybrid schemes attracted net inflows of ₹115.73 crore on October 24, significantly higher than the ₹6.36 crore and ₹42.89 crore invested on October 23 and October 20, respectively. “The long-term trend of FIIs continuously buying/investing through the primary market continued in October, too, with a total investment of ₹10,692 crore up to 25th,” Vijayakumar added. “Investing through the primary market has been a steady source of profit for the FIIs and, therefore, this trend is likely to continue.” Over the three days, FPIs’ cumulative net investment stood at ₹1,037.78 crore across all asset classes. While equities saw a net inflow of ₹849.72 crore for the period, debt investments remained volatile with FAR debt recording the highest net inflow of ₹2,209.20 crore. Market analysts point to several factors that could influence FPI flows in the coming weeks. “Going forward, there are certain important factors that may lead to FIIs turning buyers in India. One, the valuation differential between India and other markets has declined discouraging further FII selling in India and moving money to other markets. Two, earnings growth in India is slowly picking up and will gather momentum in FY27,” Vijayakumar said. Shrikant Chouhan, Head Equity Research at Kotak Securities, noted that “FIIs continued to be net cash sellers to the tune of ₹865.53 crore as of Oct’25 (Till date).” He added that “Indian markets were buoyed by news reports of a trade deal with the US, which may see a sharp reduction of US tariffs. Indian markets also priced in a decent set of Q2FY26 earnings, which were broadly in line with expectations so far.” “There are indications of a trade deal between India and US which can substantially improve market sentiments. These factors have the potential to turn FIIs into buyers in the Indian market. However, at higher levels they may again turn sellers, thereby restricting a sustained rally in the market,” Vijayakumar cautioned. The Nifty 50 index ended the week at 25,795.15 after coming close to its all-time high during the Diwali week, while the Sensex closed at 84,211.88. The benchmark indices witnessed profit booking after a sharp rally of over 1,500 points on the Nifty from its low of 24,588 within 15 trading sessions. Published on October 25, 2025

Anupama Ghosh Oct 25, 2025

Sports

History says Michigan State football must do this to pull off upset, beat Michigan - Detroit Free Press

EAST LANSING – The stat of the series speaks to the physicality of the rivalry. Over the past 55 years, the winner of the rushing battle between Michigan State football and Michigan has emerged victorious 48 times. An embodiment of the Midwestern spirit of Paul Bunyan himself. And a challenge to the Spartans’ offensive and defensive lines to assert their dominance Saturday, Oct. 25.

Chris Solari Oct 25, 2025

World

How Trump’s ballroom will dwarf the White House - The Washington Post

Trump’s new 90,000-square-foot White House ballroom would be almost as large as the rest of the complex.

Aaron Steckelberg, Manuel Canales, Maureen Linke, Javier Zarracina Oct 25, 2025

E ardhmja e prezantimeve do të sjellë më pak faqe, por më shumë kuptim

PowerPoint nuk është thjesht një mjet prezantimi; është një mjet komunikimi. Qëllimi nuk është të mbushim slide-t, por të përqendrohemi në mesazhin kryesor. Në shumë organizata, prezantimet janë kthyer në rituale të pafund me dhjetëra slide plot me numra, por me pak kuptim. Njerëzit flasin për “të dhëna të shumta dhe njohuri të pakta”, dhe mënyra si komunikohen idetë përmes PowerPoint-it është një nga arsyet kryesore. Shumë drejtues e barazojnë sasinë e faqeve me seriozitetin e përgatitjes, ndërsa prezantimet e tejzgjatura dhe të mbushura me tekst krijojnë lodhje dhe vështirësojnë kuptimin e mesazhit. Studimet e psikologut amerikan Richard Mayer tregojnë se përsëritja e fjalëve të folura si tekst në ekran nuk ndihmon publikun, përkundrazi e ngarkon mendërisht dhe e bën më të vështirë përthithjen e informacionit. Ndërkohë, një anketë me mbi 1,000 punonjës në Gjermani tregoi se ata shpenzojnë rreth 20 orë në muaj për prezantime, nga të cilat tetë orë vetëm për formatimin, kohë që rrallë kthehet në vlerë reale për organizatën. Problemi nuk është mjeti në vetvete, por mënyra si përdoret. PowerPoint mund të jetë një mjet i fuqishëm komunikimi nëse fokusohet tek ideja kryesore dhe mesazhi që duhet të mbërrijë te audienca. Një prezantim i mirë nuk është çështje dizajni apo efektesh vizuale, por qartësie, empatie dhe pranie. Siç vëren ekspertja e komunikimit Nancy Duarte, shumica e drejtuesve nuk kanë mungesë teknikash, por mungesë lidhjeje të sinqertë me atë që duan të përcjellin. Prezenca është ajo që e kthen një fjalim të zakonshëm në komunikim të vërtetë dhe që ndihmon në ndërtimin e besimit dhe ndikimit. Në vend që të mbushin faqe me grafikë e tabela, drejtuesit duhet të sjellin përvojat e njerëzve të vërtetë, të punonjësve, klientëve apo partnerëve, sepse pas çdo statistike fshihet një histori. Të dhënat tregojnë çfarë po ndodh, por tregimet shpjegojnë pse. Amazon, për shembull, e ka zëvendësuar formatin tradicional të slide-ve me memorandume narrative, të cilat lexohen përpara diskutimeve për të nxitur reflektim dhe koherencë. Kjo qasje nxit mendimin e thelluar dhe shndërron prezantimin në një proces kuptimi, jo thjesht në një raportim. E ardhmja e prezantimeve po lëviz drejt formateve më bashkëpunuese dhe interaktive. Në vend të monologëve të njëanshëm, do të mbizotërojnë bisedat që ndërtojnë mirëkuptim, me më shumë përfshirje të audiencës, pyetje në kohë reale dhe përdorim të mjeteve dixhitale për mendim të përbashkët. Prezantimet do të bëhen më të personalizuara, me përmbajtje që përshtatet sipas interesit të dëgjuesve, duke përdorur mjete të inteligjencës artificiale për të thjeshtuar anën teknike dhe për të lënë njerëzit të fokusohen te përmbajtja dhe ndjenja. Në vend të slide-ve të mbushura me informacion, dizajni minimalist do të ndihmojë çdo faqe të përcjellë një ide të vetme, të qartë dhe të kuptueshme. Prezantimet nuk do të përfundojnë më me mbylljen e takimit, por do të shndërrohen në dokumente të gjalla që ushqejnë dialogun e mëtejshëm dhe ndihmojnë në marrjen e vendimeve. Në thelb, prezantimet e së ardhmes nuk do të matin suksesin me numrin e slide-ve apo me efektet grafike, por me aftësinë për të nxitur mendim, bashkëpunim dhe veprim. Kur të dhënat bashkohen me historinë, kur drejtuesit flasin me qartësi dhe prani, atëherë informacioni merr kuptim, edhe komunikimi bëhet mjet i vërtetë udhëheqjeje. / Forbes

Megi Oct 25, 2025

Technology

Instagram just added the most important feature for Reels of all time: watch history

If I could have back all the time I've spent searching Instagram in vain for a Reel I saw in passing — trying for weeks to come up with the right combination of hashtags or keywords that would bring it back — well, I'd have back hours, I'd guess. Enough time to go to the gym or call my mom. These are the sacrifices I make to pursue my goal of pushing the known human limits of how much short-form video content can be consumed before one is driven to madness.Which is why I was thrilled — Ecstatic! Rapturous! Ready to smash that like button! — upon learning from Instagram head Adam Mosseri that Instagram has added a new "watch history" feature.This new tool lets you scroll back through all the Reels you saw over the last 30 days.To access the watch history, go to your profile, then the Settings menu > Your activity > Watch history (scroll all the way down). You can sort from oldest to newest, or even by author.Hallelujah!Finally, I can use this to go back and find that weird video I saw last week, I forgot to save, but want to show someone today.Despite my initial reservations, I've come to really enjoy Reels. It's developed a sort of culture of its own, and I've noticed that its algorithm leads me to very different types of content than I get shown on TikTok. (I see a lot of front-facing videos of people talking about topics I'm interested in on TikTok; on Reels, I tend to get more slice-of-life videos of people doing things outside. I don't understand why this is different.)Instagram knows that most people are now spending time on the app watching Reels and DMing their friends — and often DMing Reels to their friends. It's rolled out a handful of new features that cater to this. You can now see the videos your friends "liked," as well as the "Blend" feature in DMs, where you can essentially share your algorithm with a friend to show them the crazy videos you get shown (this feature is actually really fun).Just recently, Instagram also launched a big redesign that puts messaging and Reels at the forefront of the bottom nav bar.It's slightly sad that Instagram, as we knew it, has really changed — it's no longer an app for people to post brunch pics. But I do appreciate that it's been launching new features like "Blends" in DMs to accommodate new behavior. (Meta's new product/feature launches aren't always so good; Vibes, the new AI slop feed in its Meta AI app, is a total dud.)Now, the only downside to this new Reels history feature is that it goes back only 30 days — that's not far enough!(One note: As of Friday afternoon, there was a small bug that makes it seem as if you can pick a custom date range further back than 30 days — Meta confirmed to Business Insider that you can't, and that there's a fix in the works.)TikTok already has the watch history feature, and it will let you go back six months. Which is far better when you know you've seen some funny or interesting thing and want to pull it back up.Is it mildly creepy to see your own watch history? Slightly! Feels a little embarrassing when you notice you went down a 10-video rabbit hole of one person's account, like an older man who makes near-daily videos complaining about the parking situation on Nantucket or a 20-something who filmed his mom yelling at him about how he needs a haircut, and then you had to see all his other videos to see if the mom was right. (I can't tell you why I was so rapt by this, other than to say I appreciate the full breadth of the human experience.)But we're way past the point of feeling creeped out by realizing Instagram remembers what videos we've seen. Of course it does! Duh!Look, I came to Instagram to do two things: feed advertisers data on my personal shopping preferences to increase shareholder value, and to LOL at some funny videos. And guess what? I'm going to do both until my brain oozes out of my ears.

Katie Notopoulos Oct 25, 2025

Technology

Did you plan on attending Saturday’s “Aloha to Aloha Stadium” event?

Did you plan on attending Saturday’s “Aloha to Aloha Stadium” event? | Honolulu Star-Advertiser Saturday, October 25, 2025 Today's Paper Share on Facebook Share by email Did you plan on attending Saturday’s “Aloha to Aloha Stadium” event? C. Nope, not interested (409 Votes) B. Considered it, but no (54 Votes) A. Yes; last hurrah before demolition (12 Votes) Log In to Vote This is not a scientific poll — results reflect only the opinions of those voting. Previous Poll Do you support the U.S. campaign of bombing/killing suspected drug smugglers at sea? Subscriber Favorites 1 dead, 6 injured in alleged drunk-driving crash on Hawaii island HMSA names new president, chief operating officer Hawaii traffic deaths reach 106, topping last year’s total USDA says it won’t use emergency funds for food aid Alaska Air profits sag as integration with Hawaiian Airlines progresses Most Recent Stories 2 males in critical condition after being rescued from waters off Kaena Point Target to cut 1,800 corporate roles in turnaround effort Donor who gave $130M to pay troops is reclusive heir to Mellon fortune NBA insider arrests highlight risks of leagues embracing betting U.S. struggles to break out from China’s grip on rare earths Looking Back Oct. 15, 1956: No casualties after Pan Am flight from Honolulu ditches in Pacific

Chelsee Yee Oct 25, 2025