Incumbent US President Donald Trump received a defeat at the hands of Joe Biden just a day ago. But if reports are true, another storm may be heading his way. As per a news report published by Daily Mail, Melania Trump may soon divorce her husband.

Daily Mail has quoted former aides of Donald Trump who, from their quotes published in the news report, have appeared to suggest a serious marital discord in America's first couple.&nbsp;

Stephanie Wolkoff, a former aide of Donald Trump made a claim to Daily Mail and said that Melania Trump was negotiating a postnuptial agreement in order to give their son Barron&nbsp;an equal share of the Trump fortune. Wolkoff claimed that Donald Trump and Melania had separate bedrooms in the White House and that their marriage was just 'transactional'.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/biden-vows-to-unite-america-in-first-address-as-us-president-elect-341540">Biden vows to unite America in first address as US president-elect</a> 
 
Daily Mail quoted another former Trump aide, Omarosa Newman who claimed that Melania was 'counting every minute' before Donald Trump was out of the Oval Office so that she could divorce him. Newman said that Melania is apprehensive that Donald Trump would punish her if she divorced him while he was still in office as this would be a great humiliation to incumbent US President.&nbsp;

Incumbent US President Donald Trump received a defeat at the hands of Joe Biden just a day ago. But if reports are true, another storm may be heading his way. As per a news report published by Daily Mail, Melania Trump may soon divorce her husband.

Incumbent US President Donald Trump received a defeat at the hands of Joe Biden just a day ago. But if reports are true, another storm may be heading his way. As per a news report published by Daily Mail, Melania Trump may soon divorce her husband. Daily Mail has quoted former aides of Donald Trump who, from their quotes published in the news report, have appeared to suggest a serious marital discord in America's first couple. Stephanie Wolkoff, a former aide of Donald Trump made a claim to Daily Mail and said that Melania Trump was negotiating a postnuptial agreement in order to give their son Barron an equal share of the Trump fortune. Wolkoff claimed that Donald Trump and Melania had separate bedrooms in the White House and that their marriage was just 'transactional'. Also Read | Biden vows to unite America in first address as US president-elect Daily Mail quoted another former Trump aide, Omarosa Newman who claimed that Melania was 'counting every minute' before Donald Trump was out of the Oval Office so that she could divorce him. Newman said that Melania is apprehensive that Donald Trump would punish her if she divorced him while he was still in office as this would be a great humiliation to incumbent US President.

Melania to leave Donald Trump? Former aides predict divorce

There's no saying what may help investigation officials as they try and solve a crime. Smallest of details can lead to a major revelation. The official just needs to be clever enough to spot the detail. UP Police cracked a murder case in Hardoi due to weak spelling skill of the accused.

The accused Ram Pratap Singh had kidnapped and 8-year-old boy from his grandmother's house on October 26 and murdered him. The same day however, he sent a message to the boy's father through a stolen phone and demanded 200,000 rupees for the release of the boy.

In the message sent to the boy's father, Singh wrote '"Do lakh rupay Seeta-Pur lekar pahuchiye. Pulish ko nahi batana nahi to hatya kar denge (Reach Sitapur with Rs 2 lakh. Don`t inform the police or your son will be murdered)."

"When the boy`s family lodged a missing complaint, we formed teams to trace him. We called back on the mobile phone number but it was switched off. The cyber-surveillance cell was roped in and we detained a person in whose name the SIM was issued, but he said his phone had been stolen," said Anurag Vats, Superintendent of Police in Hardoi.

On the basis of CCTV footage and tip-offs, police picked up 10 suspects including Ram Pratap Singh.

Now the real task was to nab the real killer from the crowd.

Police asked all suspects to write: "Main police main bharti hona chahta hoon. Main Hardoi se Sitapur daud kar ja sakta hoon (I want a police job. I can run from Hardoi to Sitapur)."

Ram Pratap Singh fell into the trap as he wrote police as 'pulish' and Sitapur as 'Seeta-pur', just as he had done in the ransom message to the boy's father.

He was arrested on Saturday and later confessed to the crime.

(With IANS inputs)

There's no saying what may help investigation officials as they try and solve a crime. Smallest of details can lead to a major revelation. The official just needs to be clever enough to spot the detail.

There's no saying what may help investigation officials as they try and solve a crime. Smallest of details can lead to a major revelation. The official just needs to be clever enough to spot the detail. UP Police cracked a murder case in Hardoi due to weak spelling skill of the accused. The accused Ram Pratap Singh had kidnapped and 8-year-old boy from his grandmother's house on October 26 and murdered him. The same day however, he sent a message to the boy's father through a stolen phone and demanded 200,000 rupees for the release of the boy. In the message sent to the boy's father, Singh wrote '"Do lakh rupay Seeta-Pur lekar pahuchiye. Pulish ko nahi batana nahi to hatya kar denge (Reach Sitapur with Rs 2 lakh. Don`t inform the police or your son will be murdered)." "When the boy`s family lodged a missing complaint, we formed teams to trace him. We called back on the mobile phone number but it was switched off. The cyber-surveillance cell was roped in and we detained a person in whose name the SIM was issued, but he said his phone had been stolen," said Anurag Vats, Superintendent of Police in Hardoi. On the basis of CCTV footage and tip-offs, police picked up 10 suspects including Ram Pratap Singh. Now the real task was to nab the real killer from the crowd. Police asked all suspects to write: "Main police main bharti hona chahta hoon. Main Hardoi se Sitapur daud kar ja sakta hoon (I want a police job. I can run from Hardoi to Sitapur)." Ram Pratap Singh fell into the trap as he wrote police as 'pulish' and Sitapur as 'Seeta-pur', just as he had done in the ransom message to the boy's father. He was arrested on Saturday and later confessed to the crime. (With IANS inputs)

Weak spelling skills of murderer help police arrest him

Azeris celebrated in country's capital Baku after Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev said on Sunday that Azeri forces had captured second-largest city in Nagorno-Karabakh. The claim has been denied by Armenian officials.

"(This day) will become a great day in the history of Azerbaijan," Aliyev said after ge announced capture of the city of Shusha, also called Sushi by Armenia.

The city is of cultural and strategic importance to both countries and is located 15 km south of Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh's largest city.

At least 1000 people have died in fighting that has gone on for nearly six weeks in and around Nagorno-Karabakh.

Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but has ethnic Armenian population.

In Baku, Azeris gathered in large numbers to celebrate, waving flags and chanting slogans, while drivers sounded their car horns.

Officials from the Nagorno-Karabakh region and Armenia`s Defence Ministry denied Aliyev`s statement. 
"Shushi remains an unattainable pipe dream for Azerbaijan. Despite heavy destruction, the fortress city withstands the blows of the enemy," the Nagorno-Karabakh Rescue Service said.

Armenia`s defence ministry said that heavy fighting for the strategic site continues, while the Defence Army of Nagorno-Karabakh said they had repelled multiple attempts by the Azeri side to advance on the town.

Emboldened by Turkish support, Azerbaijan has the upper hand in the bloodiest fighting in more than 25 years in the South Caucasus. In just over a month, it has retaken much of the land in and around Nagorno-Karabakh that it lost in a previous war over the territory in the 1990s.

The city could serve as a key staging post for an Azeri assault on the enclave`s largest city, Stepanakert. Both have come under heavy shelling in recent days. Azerbaijan`s defence ministry said allegations that it had shelled civilian areas were `misinformation`.

The town is also culturally significant to both sides, Thomas de Waal, analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said.

Its population was predominantly made up of Azeris before the previous conflict, making it historically significant for Azerbaijan. For Armenians, it is the site of Karabakh`s cathedral, de Waal said.

(With Reuters inputs)

Azeris celebrated in country's capital Baku after Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev said on Sunday that Azeri forces had captured second-largest city in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Azeris celebrated in country's capital Baku after Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev said on Sunday that Azeri forces had captured second-largest city in Nagorno-Karabakh. The claim has been denied by Armenian officials. "(This day) will become a great day in the history of Azerbaijan," Aliyev said after ge announced capture of the city of Shusha, also called Sushi by Armenia. The city is of cultural and strategic importance to both countries and is located 15 km south of Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh's largest city. At least 1000 people have died in fighting that has gone on for nearly six weeks in and around Nagorno-Karabakh. Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but has ethnic Armenian population. In Baku, Azeris gathered in large numbers to celebrate, waving flags and chanting slogans, while drivers sounded their car horns. Officials from the Nagorno-Karabakh region and Armenia`s Defence Ministry denied Aliyev`s statement. "Shushi remains an unattainable pipe dream for Azerbaijan. Despite heavy destruction, the fortress city withstands the blows of the enemy," the Nagorno-Karabakh Rescue Service said. Armenia`s defence ministry said that heavy fighting for the strategic site continues, while the Defence Army of Nagorno-Karabakh said they had repelled multiple attempts by the Azeri side to advance on the town. Emboldened by Turkish support, Azerbaijan has the upper hand in the bloodiest fighting in more than 25 years in the South Caucasus. In just over a month, it has retaken much of the land in and around Nagorno-Karabakh that it lost in a previous war over the territory in the 1990s. The city could serve as a key staging post for an Azeri assault on the enclave`s largest city, Stepanakert. Both have come under heavy shelling in recent days. Azerbaijan`s defence ministry said allegations that it had shelled civilian areas were `misinformation`. The town is also culturally significant to both sides, Thomas de Waal, analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said. Its population was predominantly made up of Azeris before the previous conflict, making it historically significant for Azerbaijan. For Armenians, it is the site of Karabakh`s cathedral, de Waal said. (With Reuters inputs)

Nagorno-Karabakh: Azerbaijan claims capture of major city, Armenia refutes claim

Several hundred protesters gathered in Baghdad on Saturday and demanded ouster of US troops from Iraq. Iraqi Parliament had voted to this effect earlier this year.

"We will choose resistance if parliament's vote is not ratified!" read one of the banners at the demonstration, which took place near an entrance to the high-security Green Zone, where the US embassy and other foreign missions are located.&nbsp;

Some of the protesters carried sign having logo of Hashed-al-Shaabi. It is a state-sponsored network of armed groups including many supported by Iran.

In January, after US airstrike killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani and the Hashed's deputy head, outraged Iraqi parliamentarians had voted to oust all foreign forces deployed in the country.

The US has sent thousands of troops to Iraq since 2014 to lead an international coalition helping Baghdad fight the Islamic State jihadist group.

Washington has drawn down those forces in recent months to around 3,000, and other coalition countries have also shrunk their footprint.

Starting in October 2019, rockets regularly targeted those troops as well as diplomats at the US embassy. 
Over the summer, there was a marked increase in attacks against coalition logistics convoys using roadside bombs.

Enraged by the ongoing attacks, the US in late September threatened to close its Baghdad embassy and carry out bombing raids against hard-line elements of the Hashed.

Pro-Iran factions announced a temporary truce in October that put an end to the attacks, with no rockets targeting the embassy or foreign troops since.

Iraq has long been caught in the struggle for influence between its two main allies, the US and Iran, with the tug-of-war intensifying under US President Donald Trump.

Baghdad has been closely monitoring the results of the US presidential elections, seeing a change in the White House as a sign that tensions between Washington and Tehran could decrease.&nbsp;

(With inputs from AFP)

Several hundred protesters gathered in Baghdad on Saturday and demanded ouster of US troops from Iraq. Iraqi Parliament had voted to this effect earlier this year.

Several hundred protesters gathered in Baghdad on Saturday and demanded ouster of US troops from Iraq. Iraqi Parliament had voted to this effect earlier this year. "We will choose resistance if parliament's vote is not ratified!" read one of the banners at the demonstration, which took place near an entrance to the high-security Green Zone, where the US embassy and other foreign missions are located. Some of the protesters carried sign having logo of Hashed-al-Shaabi. It is a state-sponsored network of armed groups including many supported by Iran. In January, after US airstrike killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani and the Hashed's deputy head, outraged Iraqi parliamentarians had voted to oust all foreign forces deployed in the country. The US has sent thousands of troops to Iraq since 2014 to lead an international coalition helping Baghdad fight the Islamic State jihadist group. Washington has drawn down those forces in recent months to around 3,000, and other coalition countries have also shrunk their footprint. Starting in October 2019, rockets regularly targeted those troops as well as diplomats at the US embassy. Over the summer, there was a marked increase in attacks against coalition logistics convoys using roadside bombs. Enraged by the ongoing attacks, the US in late September threatened to close its Baghdad embassy and carry out bombing raids against hard-line elements of the Hashed. Pro-Iran factions announced a temporary truce in October that put an end to the attacks, with no rockets targeting the embassy or foreign troops since. Iraq has long been caught in the struggle for influence between its two main allies, the US and Iran, with the tug-of-war intensifying under US President Donald Trump. Baghdad has been closely monitoring the results of the US presidential elections, seeing a change in the White House as a sign that tensions between Washington and Tehran could decrease. (With inputs from AFP)

Hundreds demand US ouster from Iraq in Baghdad

A decade ago, a band of astronomers set out to investigate one of the oldest questions taunting philosophers, scientists, priests, astronomers, mystics and the rest of the human race: How many more Earths are out there, if any? How many far-flung planets exist that could harbor life as we know it?

Their tool was the Kepler spacecraft, which was launched in March 2009 on a 3-1/2-year mission to monitor 150,000 stars in a patch of sky in the Milky Way. It looked for tiny dips in starlight caused by an exoplanet passing in front of its home star.

“It’s not E.T., but it’s E.T.’s home,” said William Borucki when the mission was launched in March 2009. It was Borucki, an astronomer now retired from NASA’s Ames Research Center, who dreamed up the project and spent two decades convincing NASA to do it.

Before the spacecraft finally gave out in 2018, it had discovered more than 4,000 candidate worlds among those stars. So far, none have shown any sign of life or habitation. (Granted, they are very far away and hard to study.) Extrapolated, that figure suggests that there are billions of exoplanets in the Milky Way galaxy. But how many of those are potentially habitable?

After crunching Kepler’s data for two years, a team of 44 astronomers led by Steve Bryson of NASA Ames has landed on what they say is the definitive answer, at least for now. Their paper has been accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/scientists-uncover-oldest-evidence-of-slingshot-tongue-341109">Scientists uncover oldest evidence of 'slingshot' tongue</a> 
 
Kepler’s formal goal was to measure a number called eta-Earth: the fraction of sunlike stars that have an Earth-size object orbiting them in the “goldilocks” or habitable zone, where it is warm enough for the surface to retain liquid water.

The team calculated that at least one-third, and perhaps as many as 90%, of stars similar in mass and brightness to our sun have rocks like Earth in their habitable zones, with the range reflecting the researchers’ confidence in their various methods and assumptions. That is no small bonanza, however you look at it.

According to NASA estimates there are at least 100 billion stars in the Milky Way, of which about 4 billion are sunlike. If only 7% of those stars have habitable planets — a seriously conservative estimate — there could be as many as 300 million potentially habitable Earths out there in the whole Milky Way alone.

“We want to be very conservative in case nature has any surprises regarding habitability,” said Ravi Kumar Kopparapu, a researcher at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and one of the authors of the report. “So we are lowballing the estimates intentionally.”

On average, the astronomers calculated, the nearest such planet should be about 20 light-years away, and there should be four of them within 30 light-years or so of the sun.

“It took 11 years from launch to publication, but this is it,” said Natalie Batalha, an astronomer at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who directed the Kepler mission during most of its life and was one of the authors of the new paper, in a triumphant email. “This is the science result we’ve all been waiting for — the reason that Kepler was selected for flight in December 2001.”

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/did-we-just-discover-the-moons-long-lost-sibling-340734">Did we just discover the Moon's long-lost sibling?</a>

The new result means that the galaxy is at least twice as fertile as estimated in one of the first analyses of Kepler data, in 2013. That finding, by Andrew Howard, Erik Petigura and Geoffrey Marcy, who were not part of the Kepler team, concluded that about one-fifth of sunlike stars harbored planets in their habitable zones.

Batalha said that one improvement this time around was the addition of data from the European GAIA satellite, which has measured the position and brightness of 1 billion stars. That knowledge allowed the Kepler scientists to more precisely chart the habitable zones of their stars.

Another improvement was better handling of the statistics, although, as Batalha noted, “surveys are inherently incomplete. You can’t call up every citizen; you can’t observe every star.”

In the case of Kepler, that limitation was serious. The spacecraft’s orientation system failed before Kepler could complete its prime survey, which limited it to detecting planets that had orbital periods of less than about 700 days — about twice the duration of an Earth year.

In an email, David Charbonneau, of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, said he was slightly skeptical of the results: “The Kepler Mission didn’t detect many (arguably, any) true Earth analogues, i.e. planets with the same radius as Earth AND orbiting at the same period, and hence receiving the same amount of light, AND orbiting sun-like stars.”

As Batalha said at the time, “We don’t yet have any planet candidates that are exact analogues of the Earth in terms of size, orbit or star type.” We still don’t. As a result, the astronomers had to extrapolate data from the planets they did see.

Although these Kepler planets are Earth-size — one-half to 1 1/2 the radius of Earth — and are presumably rocky, nobody knows what they are like in any detail, nor whether anything does, or could, live on them. They are too far away for further study. So far we know of only one planet, our own, that harbors life.

But there are plenty of opportunities yet to find one. The Kepler measurement of eta-Earth only pertains to stars like the sun, but in the galaxy those stars are vastly outnumbered by smaller, dimmer stars known as red dwarfs. One-quarter to one-half of red dwarfs also harbor habitable-zone planets, according to work by Courtney Dressing, now at the University of California, Berkeley, although some astronomers worry that radiation flares from such stars would doom any life trying to get started there. Red dwarf planets were not included in the new analysis of eta-Earth.

The red dwarf planets are relevant to the search for life because Kepler has passed the torch to a spacecraft called the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, or TESS, which was launched in 2018 to scour the entire sky for exoplanets within a few hundred light years of Earth — the local neighborhood. So far TESS has discovered 66 new exoplanets and has cataloged more than 2,000 candidates.

Most of those planets were expected to be found circling red dwarfs, said George Ricker, an astrophysicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and principal investigator for the mission, in an email: “Since about three-fourths of the stars in the solar neighborhood are M dwarfs, that leaves open a very large discovery space for TESS in the decade ahead!”

Batalha said that young scientists in the future might yet find a way to improve the value of eta-Earth; “until then, this will be the de facto standard.”

The value of eta-Earth is an important and hitherto unknown factor in a mathematical expression known as the Drake equation. It is used by astronomers to estimate how many technological civilizations might exist in the galaxy — and that we might be able to contact by radio or other means some cosmic day.

It’s time to move on the next factor in the Drake equation for extraterrestrial civilizations: the fraction of these worlds on which life emerges. The search for even a single slime mold on some alien rock would revolutionize biology, and it is a worthy agenda for the next half-century as humans continue the climb out of ourselves and into the universe in the endless quest to end our cosmic loneliness.

A decade ago, a band of astronomers set out to investigate one of the oldest questions taunting philosophers, scientists, priests, astronomers, mystics and the rest of the human race: How many more Earths are out there, if any?

A decade ago, a band of astronomers set out to investigate one of the oldest questions taunting philosophers, scientists, priests, astronomers, mystics and the rest of the human race: How many more Earths are out there, if any? How many far-flung planets exist that could harbor life as we know it? Their tool was the Kepler spacecraft, which was launched in March 2009 on a 3-1/2-year mission to monitor 150,000 stars in a patch of sky in the Milky Way. It looked for tiny dips in starlight caused by an exoplanet passing in front of its home star. “It’s not E.T., but it’s E.T.’s home,” said William Borucki when the mission was launched in March 2009. It was Borucki, an astronomer now retired from NASA’s Ames Research Center, who dreamed up the project and spent two decades convincing NASA to do it. Before the spacecraft finally gave out in 2018, it had discovered more than 4,000 candidate worlds among those stars. So far, none have shown any sign of life or habitation. (Granted, they are very far away and hard to study.) Extrapolated, that figure suggests that there are billions of exoplanets in the Milky Way galaxy. But how many of those are potentially habitable? After crunching Kepler’s data for two years, a team of 44 astronomers led by Steve Bryson of NASA Ames has landed on what they say is the definitive answer, at least for now. Their paper has been accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal. Also Read | Scientists uncover oldest evidence of 'slingshot' tongue Kepler’s formal goal was to measure a number called eta-Earth: the fraction of sunlike stars that have an Earth-size object orbiting them in the “goldilocks” or habitable zone, where it is warm enough for the surface to retain liquid water. The team calculated that at least one-third, and perhaps as many as 90%, of stars similar in mass and brightness to our sun have rocks like Earth in their habitable zones, with the range reflecting the researchers’ confidence in their various methods and assumptions. That is no small bonanza, however you look at it. According to NASA estimates there are at least 100 billion stars in the Milky Way, of which about 4 billion are sunlike. If only 7% of those stars have habitable planets — a seriously conservative estimate — there could be as many as 300 million potentially habitable Earths out there in the whole Milky Way alone. “We want to be very conservative in case nature has any surprises regarding habitability,” said Ravi Kumar Kopparapu, a researcher at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and one of the authors of the report. “So we are lowballing the estimates intentionally.” On average, the astronomers calculated, the nearest such planet should be about 20 light-years away, and there should be four of them within 30 light-years or so of the sun. “It took 11 years from launch to publication, but this is it,” said Natalie Batalha, an astronomer at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who directed the Kepler mission during most of its life and was one of the authors of the new paper, in a triumphant email. “This is the science result we’ve all been waiting for — the reason that Kepler was selected for flight in December 2001.” Also Read | Did we just discover the Moon's long-lost sibling? The new result means that the galaxy is at least twice as fertile as estimated in one of the first analyses of Kepler data, in 2013. That finding, by Andrew Howard, Erik Petigura and Geoffrey Marcy, who were not part of the Kepler team, concluded that about one-fifth of sunlike stars harbored planets in their habitable zones. Batalha said that one improvement this time around was the addition of data from the European GAIA satellite, which has measured the position and brightness of 1 billion stars. That knowledge allowed the Kepler scientists to more precisely chart the habitable zones of their stars. Another improvement was better handling of the statistics, although, as Batalha noted, “surveys are inherently incomplete. You can’t call up every citizen; you can’t observe every star.” In the case of Kepler, that limitation was serious. The spacecraft’s orientation system failed before Kepler could complete its prime survey, which limited it to detecting planets that had orbital periods of less than about 700 days — about twice the duration of an Earth year. In an email, David Charbonneau, of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, said he was slightly skeptical of the results: “The Kepler Mission didn’t detect many (arguably, any) true Earth analogues, i.e. planets with the same radius as Earth AND orbiting at the same period, and hence receiving the same amount of light, AND orbiting sun-like stars.” As Batalha said at the time, “We don’t yet have any planet candidates that are exact analogues of the Earth in terms of size, orbit or star type.” We still don’t. As a result, the astronomers had to extrapolate data from the planets they did see. Although these Kepler planets are Earth-size — one-half to 1 1/2 the radius of Earth — and are presumably rocky, nobody knows what they are like in any detail, nor whether anything does, or could, live on them. They are too far away for further study. So far we know of only one planet, our own, that harbors life. But there are plenty of opportunities yet to find one. The Kepler measurement of eta-Earth only pertains to stars like the sun, but in the galaxy those stars are vastly outnumbered by smaller, dimmer stars known as red dwarfs. One-quarter to one-half of red dwarfs also harbor habitable-zone planets, according to work by Courtney Dressing, now at the University of California, Berkeley, although some astronomers worry that radiation flares from such stars would doom any life trying to get started there. Red dwarf planets were not included in the new analysis of eta-Earth. The red dwarf planets are relevant to the search for life because Kepler has passed the torch to a spacecraft called the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, or TESS, which was launched in 2018 to scour the entire sky for exoplanets within a few hundred light years of Earth — the local neighborhood. So far TESS has discovered 66 new exoplanets and has cataloged more than 2,000 candidates. Most of those planets were expected to be found circling red dwarfs, said George Ricker, an astrophysicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and principal investigator for the mission, in an email: “Since about three-fourths of the stars in the solar neighborhood are M dwarfs, that leaves open a very large discovery space for TESS in the decade ahead!” Batalha said that young scientists in the future might yet find a way to improve the value of eta-Earth; “until then, this will be the de facto standard.” The value of eta-Earth is an important and hitherto unknown factor in a mathematical expression known as the Drake equation. It is used by astronomers to estimate how many technological civilizations might exist in the galaxy — and that we might be able to contact by radio or other means some cosmic day. It’s time to move on the next factor in the Drake equation for extraterrestrial civilizations: the fraction of these worlds on which life emerges. The search for even a single slime mold on some alien rock would revolutionize biology, and it is a worthy agenda for the next half-century as humans continue the climb out of ourselves and into the universe in the endless quest to end our cosmic loneliness.

Looking for another Earth? Here are 300 million, maybe

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US election 2020 result LIVE updates: Biden echoes message of calm, unity as vote counts show him on the brink of win Get the latest update on US Election 2020..

US election 2020 result LIVE updates: Biden echoes message of calm, unity as vote counts show him on the brink of win Get the latest update on US Election 2020...Click Here Donald Trump's chief of staff, Mark Meadows, tests positive for coronavirus: Reports An official statement from the White House and Mark Meadows' office is still awaited...Read More Amid tense US election vote count, coronavirus cases exceed over 100,000 for third consecutive day US hospitalizations for coronavirus rose for the twelfth consecutive day...Read More We hope 'lesson' has been learnt, says Iran on nuclear deal with USA The nuclear deal with Iran had been struck by former US President Barack Obama after spending much of his political capital in the year 2015. The huge effort had resulted in Iran agreeing to limit its nuclear program under a deal with P5+1 (USA, Russia, UK, France, China and Germany)...Read more Azerbaijan, Armenia engage in heavy fighting near key town in Karabakh Although both sides had reached a ceasefire agreement in Moscow last month however fighting started almost immediately with both sides opening fire...Read More Several countries concerned over faulty Chinese military equipment The case with Pakistan, to this end, looks surprising -- considering Beijing and Islamabad are all-weather allies...Read More Aung San Suu Kyi's party expected to win second term in Myanmar polls despite accusations of genocide In 2015, Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy party roared to a landslide election victory. Critics have since felt her administration failed to embrace democratic principles, and have often accused it of genocide of Rohingya Muslims...Read More Afghanistan: Former TV presenter killed in bomb attack Afghanistan's interior ministry has blamed Haqqani network, a group linked to the Taliban. It did not claim responsibility for the blast in the immediate aftermath...Read More Nawaz Sharif a 'jackal' trying to create 'rebellion' in Pak Army: PM Khan Sharif, the 70-year-old supreme leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) who was ousted from power in 2017 by the apex court on graft charges, had last month for the first time directly named Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa and ISI head Lt Gen Faiz Hameed for interfering in the general elections of 2018 to ensure victory of Khan....Read More Taiwan government to host mega Diwali celebration The increased societal interaction comes even as China has been aggressive with both India and Taiwan this year...Read More

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Former Afghan television presenter Yama Siawash was killed in bomb attack on Saturday in Kabul. He was killed as a bomb attached to his vehicle exploded near his home. Two other civilians were killed in the blast. Siawash used to be prominent political and current affairs presenter with Tolo News and was known for hard hitting style of interviewing. Tolo News is Afghanistan's biggest private TV channel.

Afghanistan's interior ministry has blamed Haqqani network, a group linked to the Taliban. It did not claim responsibility for the blast in the immediate aftermath.

"Such targeted attacks and explosions of sticky bombs is the continuation of crimes by Haqqani network and the Taliban," Tariq Arian, spokesman for the ministry, told reporters.

Haqqani network has been designated by the US as a terrorist group.

Siawash's death drew immediate condemnation from senior Afghan officials and foreign diplomats.

"I am shocked at the killing of former Tolo News anchor Yama Siawash," Ross Wilson, US charge d'affaires in Kabul, said on Twitter.

"This attack is an assault on freedom of the press, one of Afghanistan's core democratic principles." 
Abdullah Abdullah, who heads the country's overall peace and reconciliation process, also said Siawash's murder targeted freedom of expression in Afghanistan.

"This is an unforgivable and unforgettable crime," he said in a statement.

Targetted killings

The Afghan Journalists Safety Committee, a panel set up by media networks to oversee security for journalists in the country, called for "identifying and prosecuting the perpetrators" of the attack.

President Ashraf Ghani ordered an investigation into the murders, the presidential palace said.

Targeted killings of prominent figures, including journalists, clerics, politicians and rights activists, have become more common in recent months amid growing violence in the country.

On Thursday, the father of Zarifa Ghafari, one of Afghanistan's first female mayors, was gunned down in front of his house in Kabul.

His assassination was condemned by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who had awarded Ghafari with the International Women of Courage award earlier this year.

US watchdog Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) said in a report this week that violent attacks in the country had surged by 50 per cent during three months to September when compared to the previous quarter.

Dozens of people were killed in less than two weeks in Kabul in brutal attacks that also left scores wounded. 
On Monday, a deadly raid by militants on Kabul University left 22 people dead, many of them students.

The Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for the attack but the government blamed the Haqqani network.

The attack on the university came just days after a suicide bombing near an educational centre killed 24 people. That attack was also claimed by IS.

(With AFP inputs)

Former Afghan television presenter Yama Siawash was killed in bomb attack on Saturday in Kabul. He was killed as a bomb attached to his vehicle exploded near his home.

Former Afghan television presenter Yama Siawash was killed in bomb attack on Saturday in Kabul. He was killed as a bomb attached to his vehicle exploded near his home. Two other civilians were killed in the blast. Siawash used to be prominent political and current affairs presenter with Tolo News and was known for hard hitting style of interviewing. Tolo News is Afghanistan's biggest private TV channel. Afghanistan's interior ministry has blamed Haqqani network, a group linked to the Taliban. It did not claim responsibility for the blast in the immediate aftermath. "Such targeted attacks and explosions of sticky bombs is the continuation of crimes by Haqqani network and the Taliban," Tariq Arian, spokesman for the ministry, told reporters. Haqqani network has been designated by the US as a terrorist group. Siawash's death drew immediate condemnation from senior Afghan officials and foreign diplomats. "I am shocked at the killing of former Tolo News anchor Yama Siawash," Ross Wilson, US charge d'affaires in Kabul, said on Twitter. "This attack is an assault on freedom of the press, one of Afghanistan's core democratic principles." Abdullah Abdullah, who heads the country's overall peace and reconciliation process, also said Siawash's murder targeted freedom of expression in Afghanistan. "This is an unforgivable and unforgettable crime," he said in a statement. Targetted killings The Afghan Journalists Safety Committee, a panel set up by media networks to oversee security for journalists in the country, called for "identifying and prosecuting the perpetrators" of the attack. President Ashraf Ghani ordered an investigation into the murders, the presidential palace said. Targeted killings of prominent figures, including journalists, clerics, politicians and rights activists, have become more common in recent months amid growing violence in the country. On Thursday, the father of Zarifa Ghafari, one of Afghanistan's first female mayors, was gunned down in front of his house in Kabul. His assassination was condemned by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who had awarded Ghafari with the International Women of Courage award earlier this year. US watchdog Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) said in a report this week that violent attacks in the country had surged by 50 per cent during three months to September when compared to the previous quarter. Dozens of people were killed in less than two weeks in Kabul in brutal attacks that also left scores wounded. On Monday, a deadly raid by militants on Kabul University left 22 people dead, many of them students. The Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for the attack but the government blamed the Haqqani network. The attack on the university came just days after a suicide bombing near an educational centre killed 24 people. That attack was also claimed by IS. (With AFP inputs)

Afghanistan: Former TV presenter killed in bomb attack

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said he hoped that three-year experience was a 'lesson' for the next US government. His apparent reference was Donald Trump's policy of applying 'maximum pressure on the Iranian regime just a year after it had entered into a nuclear deal with the US and other world powers. Donald Trump has withdrawn US from the nuclear deal.

"We hope the three-year experience will be a lesson for America's next administration to abide by laws and regulations and return to its commitments," Rouhani said in a televised speech.

"Our people have faced economic terrorism for the past three years and shown unparalleled resistance and patience."

Rouhani said Iran would "continue its resistance and patience until the other side bows before laws and regulations".

The Islamic republic hoped that "those imposing sanctions realise their path was wrong and that they will not achieve their goals in any way".

The nuclear deal with Iran had been struck by former US President Barack Obama after spending much of his political capital in the year 2015. The huge effort had resulted in Iran agreeing to limit its nuclear program under a deal with P5+1 (USA, Russia, UK, France, China and Germany).

Trump had unilaterally withdrawn USA from the deal and took steps to reimpose stringent sanctions on Iran.

Donald Trump is increasingly appearing to lose the White House to Joe Biden, the former Vice-president of the USA.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/biden-addresses-us-vows-action-against-coronavirus-341333">Biden addresses US, vows action against coronavirus</a>

Biden has said he plans to embark on a "credible path to return to diplomacy" with Iran if he wins the presidency and raised the possibility of returning to the 2015 nuclear deal

Iranian officials have said they will focus on the policies of the next US administration rather than who becomes president.

Tehran has also stressed that a possible US return to the nuclear agreement would have to be accompanied by compensation for damages caused by the withdrawal and a "guarantee" it will not be repeated.

(With Reuters inputs)

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said he hoped that three-year experience was a 'lesson' for the next US government. His apparent reference was Donald Trump's policy of applying 'maximum pressure on the Iranian regime just a year after it had entered into a nuclear deal with the US and other world powers.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said he hoped that three-year experience was a 'lesson' for the next US government. His apparent reference was Donald Trump's policy of applying 'maximum pressure on the Iranian regime just a year after it had entered into a nuclear deal with the US and other world powers. Donald Trump has withdrawn US from the nuclear deal. "We hope the three-year experience will be a lesson for America's next administration to abide by laws and regulations and return to its commitments," Rouhani said in a televised speech. "Our people have faced economic terrorism for the past three years and shown unparalleled resistance and patience." Rouhani said Iran would "continue its resistance and patience until the other side bows before laws and regulations". The Islamic republic hoped that "those imposing sanctions realise their path was wrong and that they will not achieve their goals in any way". The nuclear deal with Iran had been struck by former US President Barack Obama after spending much of his political capital in the year 2015. The huge effort had resulted in Iran agreeing to limit its nuclear program under a deal with P5+1 (USA, Russia, UK, France, China and Germany). Trump had unilaterally withdrawn USA from the deal and took steps to reimpose stringent sanctions on Iran. Donald Trump is increasingly appearing to lose the White House to Joe Biden, the former Vice-president of the USA. Also Read | Biden addresses US, vows action against coronavirus Biden has said he plans to embark on a "credible path to return to diplomacy" with Iran if he wins the presidency and raised the possibility of returning to the 2015 nuclear deal Iranian officials have said they will focus on the policies of the next US administration rather than who becomes president. Tehran has also stressed that a possible US return to the nuclear agreement would have to be accompanied by compensation for damages caused by the withdrawal and a "guarantee" it will not be repeated. (With Reuters inputs)

We hope 'lesson' has been learnt, says Iran on nuclear deal with USA      

The UK government has published guidance it says will help UK firms negotiate the "ethical, legal and commercial" questions they may encounter in China, or when working with Chinese businesses, and safeguard national security concerns.

The guidance released by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on Friday sets out key issues digital and tech small and medium enterprises (SMEs) should consider as they weigh the benefits and risks of commercial ventures, as well as signposting specialist sources of advice.

The DCMS notes that China is the UK's third-largest export market and the world's second-largest and fastest-growing major economy. But warns that accessing the market should be done 'safely'&nbsp;and in a way that reflects the UK's values and takes account of national security concerns.

"The latest statistics show UK-China bilateral trade has exceeded the 76 billion pound mark for the first time and our digital tech sector is the fifth biggest exporter of services in the world. But we recognise the ethical, legal and commercial questions businesses face when they work in China or with Chinese businesses, said UK Minister for Digital and Culture Caroline Dinenage.

"The UK is determined to support our businesses to engage with China in a way that reflects the UK's values and takes account of national security concerns," she said.

A new online hub, which the DCMS said has been developed in response to demand from the tech sector, will support "safe and appropriate" UK-China collaboration in digital and tech. The guidance will help SMEs to make a success of business ventures linked to China, to choose the right partners and to manage risk by taking appropriate steps.

"We welcome the government's launch of the bespoke guidance to SMEs and we look forward to working together to help digital and tech SMEs to grow safely and successfully in China," said Julian David, CEO of tech UK.

"At techUK, we recognise the massive opportunity that China presents for the UK's digital and tech businesses as well as challenges that firms face when navigating each other's unique marketplaces. To be successful and protect their operations, digital and tech businesses need to know the challenges and take the right steps to navigate them," he said.

The DCMS said that the new hub complements measures announced earlier in the year to support UK tech companies to seize trade and investment opportunities overseas.

These included a new Digital Trade Network for Asia-Pacific, which will support UK SMEs to break into the Asian market, and a new Tech Exporting Academy to provide expert advice to UK scaleups on subject areas essential to expansion, including regulation, intellectual property, and compliance.

In June, the UK government had stipulated that Chinese giant Huawei will be completely removed from the UK's 5G networks by the end of 2027 in the wake of US sanctions on the company over data privacy concerns.&nbsp;

Restrictions on Huawei operating in the 'sensitive'&nbsp;and critical parts of the UK network have also been in place.

The UK government has published guidance it says will help UK firms negotiate the "ethical, legal and commercial" questions they may encounter in China, or when working with Chinese businesses, and safeguard national security concerns.

The UK government has published guidance it says will help UK firms negotiate the "ethical, legal and commercial" questions they may encounter in China, or when working with Chinese businesses, and safeguard national security concerns. The guidance released by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on Friday sets out key issues digital and tech small and medium enterprises (SMEs) should consider as they weigh the benefits and risks of commercial ventures, as well as signposting specialist sources of advice. The DCMS notes that China is the UK's third-largest export market and the world's second-largest and fastest-growing major economy. But warns that accessing the market should be done 'safely' and in a way that reflects the UK's values and takes account of national security concerns. "The latest statistics show UK-China bilateral trade has exceeded the 76 billion pound mark for the first time and our digital tech sector is the fifth biggest exporter of services in the world. But we recognise the ethical, legal and commercial questions businesses face when they work in China or with Chinese businesses, said UK Minister for Digital and Culture Caroline Dinenage. "The UK is determined to support our businesses to engage with China in a way that reflects the UK's values and takes account of national security concerns," she said. A new online hub, which the DCMS said has been developed in response to demand from the tech sector, will support "safe and appropriate" UK-China collaboration in digital and tech. The guidance will help SMEs to make a success of business ventures linked to China, to choose the right partners and to manage risk by taking appropriate steps. "We welcome the government's launch of the bespoke guidance to SMEs and we look forward to working together to help digital and tech SMEs to grow safely and successfully in China," said Julian David, CEO of tech UK. "At techUK, we recognise the massive opportunity that China presents for the UK's digital and tech businesses as well as challenges that firms face when navigating each other's unique marketplaces. To be successful and protect their operations, digital and tech businesses need to know the challenges and take the right steps to navigate them," he said. The DCMS said that the new hub complements measures announced earlier in the year to support UK tech companies to seize trade and investment opportunities overseas. These included a new Digital Trade Network for Asia-Pacific, which will support UK SMEs to break into the Asian market, and a new Tech Exporting Academy to provide expert advice to UK scaleups on subject areas essential to expansion, including regulation, intellectual property, and compliance. In June, the UK government had stipulated that Chinese giant Huawei will be completely removed from the UK's 5G networks by the end of 2027 in the wake of US sanctions on the company over data privacy concerns. Restrictions on Huawei operating in the 'sensitive' and critical parts of the UK network have also been in place.

UK creates tech hub for more 'ethical' business with China

Indian origin faces in US Elections this year

In a fresh signal that Ethiopia, Africa's second-most populous country was heading for an extended internal conflict, Ethiopian military regarded its conflict with Tigray region a "war" on Thursday.

"Our country has entered into a war it didn't anticipate. This war is shameful, it is senseless," Berhanu Jula, the deputy army chief, told a press conference in Addis Ababa.

Fighting between Ethiopian and Tigrayan sides continued and troops reportedly amassed at the region's borders. There is heated rhetoric from both sides.

"We're working to ensure the war won't come to the centre of the country. It will end there" in Tigray, Berhanu said.&nbsp;

Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed announced on Wednesday that he had ordered military operations in Tigray in response to an "attack" by the region's ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), on a military camp there.&nbsp;

The TPLF denies the attack occurred and accuses Abiy of concocting the story to justify deploying the military against it.

"What has been initiated against us is clearly a war, an invasion," Tigray President Debretsion Gebremichael said at a press conference Thursday.

"This is a war we're conducting to preserve our existence," he added.&nbsp;

Debretsion said fighting persisted in western Tigray, and that federal troops were gathering on the border in neighbouring Amhara and Afar regions.

Ethiopian officials did not disclose the casualties although diplomats in Addis Ababa said that they were likey to take place on both sides.

Internet and phone connections in Tigray were cut for a second day, making any tolls difficult to verify.

State of emergency

Lawmakers in Addis Ababa on Thursday unanimously endorsed a six-month state of emergency in Tigray that had been announced the previous day by Abiy's government.

According to Ethiopia's constitution, under a state of emergency the government has "all necessary power to protect the country's peace and sovereignty" and can suspend some "political and democratic rights".&nbsp;

A senior government official told AFP that in Tigray this could lead to a curfew, searches without warrants, transportation and communications restrictions and the detention of "any person that [officials] suspect is taking part in illegal activities that threaten the constitutional order".

The state of emergency could also be extended beyond Tigray if needed, the official said.&nbsp;

Ahead of Thursday's vote, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, the national rights body, pointed to the need to maintain key services and supplies for civilians.

Lawmakers "should in particular consider ensuring humanitarian access and support including for food, medicine and other essential civilian services to avoid a complete blockage of communication and transport facilities," it said.&nbsp;

'Shuttle diplomacy'

The fighting in Tigray has drawn expressions of concern from the UN, the US and the EU.

An official at the African Union told AFP Thursday that the body, headquartered in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, was reaching out to "all actors" to try to bring a swift end to the conflict.

"The African Union is engaged in shuttle diplomacy in the region and with all actors at the moment to try to find some sort of solution. But it's clearly very sensitive right now," the official said.

"I know that everybody is clamouring for public pronouncements. The situation is so dire that it's really about the doing. A solution is not going to be found on Twitter."&nbsp;

However multiple diplomats said both Abiy's government and the TPLF did not currently seem open to negotiations.

Abiy's government has not revealed a timeline or a clear military objective for the campaign, though a spokesman for a newly-formed crisis committee said Wednesday the goal was to "liberate" the region from the TPLF.&nbsp;

The TPLF dominated politics in Ethiopia for nearly three decades before Abiy came to power in 2018 on the strength of anti-government protests.&nbsp;

Under Abiy, Tigrayan leaders have complained of being unfairly targeted in corruption prosecutions, removed from top positions and broadly scapegoated for the country's woes.&nbsp;

In previous weeks, tensions had been rising over control of military assets in the region.

The TPLF claims the military's Northern Command has broken with Abiy, though Abiy's office has dismissed this as false.&nbsp;

In a fresh signal that Ethiopia, Africa's second-most populous country was heading for an extended internal conflict, Ethiopian military regarded its conflict with Tigray region a "war" on Thursday.

In a fresh signal that Ethiopia, Africa's second-most populous country was heading for an extended internal conflict, Ethiopian military regarded its conflict with Tigray region a "war" on Thursday. "Our country has entered into a war it didn't anticipate. This war is shameful, it is senseless," Berhanu Jula, the deputy army chief, told a press conference in Addis Ababa. Fighting between Ethiopian and Tigrayan sides continued and troops reportedly amassed at the region's borders. There is heated rhetoric from both sides. "We're working to ensure the war won't come to the centre of the country. It will end there" in Tigray, Berhanu said. Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed announced on Wednesday that he had ordered military operations in Tigray in response to an "attack" by the region's ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), on a military camp there. The TPLF denies the attack occurred and accuses Abiy of concocting the story to justify deploying the military against it. "What has been initiated against us is clearly a war, an invasion," Tigray President Debretsion Gebremichael said at a press conference Thursday. "This is a war we're conducting to preserve our existence," he added. Debretsion said fighting persisted in western Tigray, and that federal troops were gathering on the border in neighbouring Amhara and Afar regions. Ethiopian officials did not disclose the casualties although diplomats in Addis Ababa said that they were likey to take place on both sides. Internet and phone connections in Tigray were cut for a second day, making any tolls difficult to verify. State of emergency Lawmakers in Addis Ababa on Thursday unanimously endorsed a six-month state of emergency in Tigray that had been announced the previous day by Abiy's government. According to Ethiopia's constitution, under a state of emergency the government has "all necessary power to protect the country's peace and sovereignty" and can suspend some "political and democratic rights". A senior government official told AFP that in Tigray this could lead to a curfew, searches without warrants, transportation and communications restrictions and the detention of "any person that [officials] suspect is taking part in illegal activities that threaten the constitutional order". The state of emergency could also be extended beyond Tigray if needed, the official said. Ahead of Thursday's vote, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, the national rights body, pointed to the need to maintain key services and supplies for civilians. Lawmakers "should in particular consider ensuring humanitarian access and support including for food, medicine and other essential civilian services to avoid a complete blockage of communication and transport facilities," it said. 'Shuttle diplomacy' The fighting in Tigray has drawn expressions of concern from the UN, the US and the EU. An official at the African Union told AFP Thursday that the body, headquartered in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, was reaching out to "all actors" to try to bring a swift end to the conflict. "The African Union is engaged in shuttle diplomacy in the region and with all actors at the moment to try to find some sort of solution. But it's clearly very sensitive right now," the official said. "I know that everybody is clamouring for public pronouncements. The situation is so dire that it's really about the doing. A solution is not going to be found on Twitter." However multiple diplomats said both Abiy's government and the TPLF did not currently seem open to negotiations. Abiy's government has not revealed a timeline or a clear military objective for the campaign, though a spokesman for a newly-formed crisis committee said Wednesday the goal was to "liberate" the region from the TPLF. The TPLF dominated politics in Ethiopia for nearly three decades before Abiy came to power in 2018 on the strength of anti-government protests. Under Abiy, Tigrayan leaders have complained of being unfairly targeted in corruption prosecutions, removed from top positions and broadly scapegoated for the country's woes. In previous weeks, tensions had been rising over control of military assets in the region. The TPLF claims the military's Northern Command has broken with Abiy, though Abiy's office has dismissed this as false.

Ethiopian Military: We are at 'war' with Tigray region

President Donald Trump promised early Wednesday morning to ask the Supreme Court to intervene in the election. “We’ll be going to the U.S. Supreme Court,” he said. “We want all voting to stop.”

The first statement was premature. The second did not make sense.

The Supreme Court decides actual disputes, not abstract propositions, and then only after lower courts have made their own rulings. While there have been countless election cases filed around the nation, it is not clear which of them might reach the court in the coming days.

But one candidate is already on the court’s docket. Last month, the court refused to put a case from Pennsylvania on a fast track, but three justices indicated that the court might return to it later if need be.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Trump campaign asked the Supreme Court for permission to participate in the case alongside Republican state lawmakers and the Republican Party of Pennsylvania. The court has not said whether it would hear the case or when it might decide whether to grant review.

As far as voting is concerned, it stopped on Election Day. But some states allow votes cast by mail on or before Election Day to be counted if they are received up to several days afterward. In Pennsylvania, for instance, the state Supreme Court extended the deadline for receiving ballots from Election Day to three days later.

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Should the vote in Pennsylvania have the potential to determine the outcome in the Electoral College and should those late-arriving ballots have the potential to swing the state — two big ifs — the U.S. Supreme Court might well intercede.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ordered a three-day extension for ballots clearly mailed on or before Election Day and for those with missing or illegible postmarks “unless a preponderance of the evidence demonstrates that it was mailed after Election Day.”

Late last month, on Oct. 28, the justices refused a plea from Republicans in the state to fast-track a decision on whether the Pennsylvania Supreme Court had acted lawfully.

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The court’s refusal to move more quickly came a little more than a week after it deadlocked, 4-4, on an emergency application in the case Oct. 19.

Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh said they would have granted a stay blocking the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision. On the other side were Chief Justice John Roberts and the court’s three-member liberal wing: Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who joined the court Oct. 27, did not take part in the decision not to fast-track the case. A court spokesperson said Barrett had not participated “because of the need for a prompt resolution” and “because she has not had time to fully review the parties’ filings.”

The U.S. Supreme Court has not hesitated to block orders from federal judges that sought to alter state rules for conducting elections. Rulings from state courts present more difficult questions because the Supreme Court generally defers to them in cases concerning interpretations of state law, while the Constitution empowers state legislatures to set the times, places and manner of congressional elections.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-result-2020-trumps-campaign-files-lawsuit-in-georgia-asking-to-pause-vote-count-340622">US Election result 2020: Trump's campaign files lawsuit in Georgia asking to pause vote count</a> 
 
In a statement issued when the court refused to speed the Pennsylvania case, Alito, joined by Thomas and Gorsuch, criticized his court’s treatment of the matter, which he said had “needlessly created conditions that could lead to serious postelection problems.”

“The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has issued a decree that squarely alters an important statutory provision enacted by the Pennsylvania Legislature pursuant to its authority under the Constitution of the United States to make rules governing the conduct of elections for federal office,” he wrote, adding that he regretted that the election would be “conducted under a cloud.”

“It would be highly desirable to issue a ruling on the constitutionality of the state Supreme Court’s decision before the election,” Alito wrote. “That question has national importance, and there is a strong likelihood that the state Supreme Court decision violates the federal Constitution.”

But there was not enough time, he wrote. Still, Alito left little doubt about where he stood on the question in the case.

“The provisions of the federal Constitution conferring on state legislatures, not state courts, the authority to make rules governing federal elections would be meaningless,” he wrote, “if a state court could override the rules adopted by the legislature simply by claiming that a state constitutional provision gave the courts the authority to make whatever rules it thought appropriate for the conduct of a fair election.”

Pennsylvania officials have instructed county election officials to segregate ballots arriving after 8 p.m. on Election Day through 5 p.m. three days later. That would as a practical matter allow a ruling from the Supreme Court to determine whether they were ultimately counted.

Alito’s statement in the Pennsylvania case echoed an earlier concurring opinion by Kavanaugh in a voting case from Wisconsin. Kavanaugh also said that state legislatures, rather than state courts, have the last word in setting state election procedures.

Taken together, the Oct. 17 deadlock and statements from four justices suggest that Barrett could cast the decisive vote if the Pennsylvania dispute holds the key to the election.

President Donald Trump promised early Wednesday morning to ask the Supreme Court to intervene in the election. “We’ll be going to the U.S. Supreme Court,” he said.

President Donald Trump promised early Wednesday morning to ask the Supreme Court to intervene in the election. “We’ll be going to the U.S. Supreme Court,” he said. “We want all voting to stop.” The first statement was premature. The second did not make sense. The Supreme Court decides actual disputes, not abstract propositions, and then only after lower courts have made their own rulings. While there have been countless election cases filed around the nation, it is not clear which of them might reach the court in the coming days. But one candidate is already on the court’s docket. Last month, the court refused to put a case from Pennsylvania on a fast track, but three justices indicated that the court might return to it later if need be. On Wednesday afternoon, the Trump campaign asked the Supreme Court for permission to participate in the case alongside Republican state lawmakers and the Republican Party of Pennsylvania. The court has not said whether it would hear the case or when it might decide whether to grant review. As far as voting is concerned, it stopped on Election Day. But some states allow votes cast by mail on or before Election Day to be counted if they are received up to several days afterward. In Pennsylvania, for instance, the state Supreme Court extended the deadline for receiving ballots from Election Day to three days later. Also Read | The Hail-Mary Keep-Counting US Presidential Election Should the vote in Pennsylvania have the potential to determine the outcome in the Electoral College and should those late-arriving ballots have the potential to swing the state — two big ifs — the U.S. Supreme Court might well intercede. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ordered a three-day extension for ballots clearly mailed on or before Election Day and for those with missing or illegible postmarks “unless a preponderance of the evidence demonstrates that it was mailed after Election Day.” Late last month, on Oct. 28, the justices refused a plea from Republicans in the state to fast-track a decision on whether the Pennsylvania Supreme Court had acted lawfully. × The court’s refusal to move more quickly came a little more than a week after it deadlocked, 4-4, on an emergency application in the case Oct. 19. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh said they would have granted a stay blocking the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision. On the other side were Chief Justice John Roberts and the court’s three-member liberal wing: Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who joined the court Oct. 27, did not take part in the decision not to fast-track the case. A court spokesperson said Barrett had not participated “because of the need for a prompt resolution” and “because she has not had time to fully review the parties’ filings.” The U.S. Supreme Court has not hesitated to block orders from federal judges that sought to alter state rules for conducting elections. Rulings from state courts present more difficult questions because the Supreme Court generally defers to them in cases concerning interpretations of state law, while the Constitution empowers state legislatures to set the times, places and manner of congressional elections. Also Read | US Election result 2020: Trump's campaign files lawsuit in Georgia asking to pause vote count In a statement issued when the court refused to speed the Pennsylvania case, Alito, joined by Thomas and Gorsuch, criticized his court’s treatment of the matter, which he said had “needlessly created conditions that could lead to serious postelection problems.” “The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has issued a decree that squarely alters an important statutory provision enacted by the Pennsylvania Legislature pursuant to its authority under the Constitution of the United States to make rules governing the conduct of elections for federal office,” he wrote, adding that he regretted that the election would be “conducted under a cloud.” “It would be highly desirable to issue a ruling on the constitutionality of the state Supreme Court’s decision before the election,” Alito wrote. “That question has national importance, and there is a strong likelihood that the state Supreme Court decision violates the federal Constitution.” But there was not enough time, he wrote. Still, Alito left little doubt about where he stood on the question in the case. “The provisions of the federal Constitution conferring on state legislatures, not state courts, the authority to make rules governing federal elections would be meaningless,” he wrote, “if a state court could override the rules adopted by the legislature simply by claiming that a state constitutional provision gave the courts the authority to make whatever rules it thought appropriate for the conduct of a fair election.” Pennsylvania officials have instructed county election officials to segregate ballots arriving after 8 p.m. on Election Day through 5 p.m. three days later. That would as a practical matter allow a ruling from the Supreme Court to determine whether they were ultimately counted. Alito’s statement in the Pennsylvania case echoed an earlier concurring opinion by Kavanaugh in a voting case from Wisconsin. Kavanaugh also said that state legislatures, rather than state courts, have the last word in setting state election procedures. Taken together, the Oct. 17 deadlock and statements from four justices suggest that Barrett could cast the decisive vote if the Pennsylvania dispute holds the key to the election.

Supreme Court and the election: What we know

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Zee News Rajasthan

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Manas Joshi

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