In a landmark case on the separation of powers between India's Union (Federal) and State governments, the Supreme Court ruled that state Governors - who are appointed by the Union Government - must assent to a bill if it is placed before them a second time by the State Legislature. The SC also ruled that the ten bills that had been pending with Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi for months could be deemed to have received his assent.

The Governor's assent was historically seen as a mere formality in the passage of a bill. But over the last few years, state governments not led by the BJP - which leads India's Union Government - have complained that Governors reject or delay assent for bills passed by them. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, whose government brought this case to the Supreme Court, hailed the verdict as a victory for federalism and all state governments.

The National People's Power alliance of Sri Lanka's new President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has won a majority of seats in the Sri Lankan Parliament, and is on course to a two-thirds majority with about 62% of the vote (up from 4% in 2020). Led by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (People's Liberation Front), they campaigned on a platform of punishing corruption, renegotiating austerity policies imposed by the IMF, and uniting the country's various ethnic groups. They have also become the first Sinhala-majority party to win a district (Jaffna) in the Tamil-majority north, also making gains in the Muslim-majority east and Malaiyaha-dominated centre. The traditional poles of Sri Lankan politics - the centre-left, Sinhala nationalist SLFP / SJB and the centre-right, socially liberal UNP / NDF, as well as Tamil nationalist parties that often supported the UNP, lost seats.

Elections to the territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the state of Haryana gave mixed results for political parties. A coalition led by the J&K National Conference won 49 (JKNC 42, Congress 6, Communist 1) of 90 elected seats in the territory. This puts JKNC leader Omar Abdullah in a comfortable position to form the next government, even with the addition of five members nominated by the federal government. The BJP, which leads India's federal government and controversially removed J&K's special status, won 29 seats.

In Haryana, the BJP overcame anti-incumbancy and farmer protests to win 48 out of a total 90 seats, thanks to a strong local campaign and a popular leader in Nayab Singh Saini. The opposition Congress improved its vote and seat-share, but failed to dislodge the BJP. Olympian wrestler Vinesh Phogat - who had accused Wrestling Federation President and BJP MP Bri

Across the world, the biggest smartphone manufacturers are Apple (28%), Samsung (24%), Xiaomi (12%), Oppo (6%) and Vivo (5%). However, there are geographic patterns in popularity, with Apple dominating North America and East Asia, while Samsung leads in South America, Europe, Africa and West Asia in addition to its home turf of South Korea. Xiaomi is the most popular phone brand across South Asia, Spain, Venezuela, Ukraine, Madagascar, Kyrgyzstan and Palestine, while Tecno is popular in West and Central Africa. Oppo, Vivo and Huawei lead in Indonesia, Bhutan and Togo respectively.

Across the world, the biggest smartphone manufacturers are Apple (28%), Samsung (24%), Xiaomi (12%), Oppo (6%) and Vivo (5%). However, there are geographic patterns in popularity, with Apple dominating North America and East Asia, while Samsung leads in South America, Europe, Africa and West Asia in addition to its home turf of South Korea. Xiaomi is the most popular phone brand across South Asia, Spain, Venezuela, Ukraine, Madagascar, Kyrgyzstan and Palestine, while Tecno is popular in West and Central Africa. Oppo, Vivo and Huawei lead in Indonesia, Bhutan and Togo respectively.

Across the world, the biggest smartphone manufacturers are Apple (28%), Samsung (24%), Xiaomi (12%), Oppo (6%) and Vivo (5%). However, there are geographic patterns in popularity, with Apple dominating North America and East Asia, while Samsung leads in South America, Europe, Africa and West Asia in addition to its home turf of South Korea. Xiaomi is the most popular phone brand across South Asia, Spain, Venezuela, Ukraine, Madagascar, Kyrgyzstan and Palestine, while Tecno is popular in West and Central Africa. Oppo, Vivo and Huawei lead in Indonesia, Bhutan and Togo respectively.

Cheung Ka-long's 15-14 victory in an Olympic fencing final against Filippo Macchi has resulted in a war of words between their fans. Italy supporters have attacked Cheung's social media accounts, arguing that the referees - from South Korea and Taiwan - may have been biased towards him. In response, Hongkongers have posted their love of 'pineapple on pizza' and 'pasta with soy sauce'. Pizza hut Hong Kong has announced free pineapple toppings on pizza orders.

South Korea's Supreme Court ruled that the state health insurance agency should provide the same benefits to spouses in same-gender relationships as it does to those in heterosexual marriages. The ruling is final and cannot be appealed.

South Korea, like most of East Asia, neither prohibits nor recognises same-sex relationships. As of now, only three places in Asia - Nepal, Thailand and Taiwan - have full marriage equality.

The Labour party has won over 400 seats (out of 650) in the 2024 UK General Elections, and Keir Starmer is expected to replace Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister. The Conservatives, in power for the last fourteen years, have suffered a rout, losing over two-thirds of their seats. The SNP has collapsed in Scotland, mostly to Labour, and the Liberal Democrats have gained over sixty seats.

Results for the 2024 Indian Parliament elections for the state of Maharashtra - constituencies coloured according to winning party (Cyan - Congress (13 seats), Green - SSUBT (9), Orange - BJP (9), Pink - NCPSP (8), Yellow - SHS (7), Blue - NCP(AP) (1), Grey - Ind (1)).

Cyan - Congress (13 seats), Green - SSUBT (9), Orange - BJP (9), Pink - NCPSP (8), Yellow - SHS (7), Blue - NCP(AP) (1), Grey - Ind (1)

The shapefile is from the Election Commission of India website.

Preliminary results for the 2024 Indian General election suggest that the Bharatiya Janata Party is set to lose its absolute majority in the lower house of Parliament. However, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) it leads is projected to cross the halfway mark. The opposition INDIA alliance is projected to more than double its seat count, from 92 to around 200 seats.

I have about 500GB of data (photos, documents, videos etc.) that I have accumulated over the years. Currently, I keep them on my computer and rsync all additions / changes once a month or so to an external hard drive. Do I need to be worried about data loss (sectors going bad, bit rot, bit flip, whatever it is called)?

To clarify,

1. None of this is commercially important; I just don't want to get into a situation where I look up an old family photo or video twenty years down the line and it has got corrupted.
2. Both my computer and the external HD are HDDs. They are fairly cheap here (and very cheap if second hand). Buying SSDs or dedicated hardware would be expensive.

Following the last day of voting for the 2024 Indian Parliamentary elections, exit polls predicted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's National Democratic Alliance would retain its majority, winning 340 - 401 seats compared to 353 in 2019. The main opposition INDIA alliance was expected to win 109 - 169 seats, up from 91 in 2019. Three 'neutral' regional parties - the BRS, BJD and TMC, were expected to lose seats.

Compared to 2019, the NDA was expected to win West Bengal from the TMC, and to make inroads into south India, where it has historically been weak. In return, INDIA was expected to pick up seats in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Haryana and Bihar, and to wrest Telangana from the BRS.

The Indian ocean could warm by a further 1.7-3.8 degrees in the coming eighty years, according to a study published by scientists at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune. Each second, the ocean is absorbing heat comparable to that released by the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. In addition to sea level rise, this warming could lead to stronger monsoons and coral bleaching.

The Supreme Court of India, in a case concerning the protection of the Great Indian Bustard, ruled that the right against climate change is a fundamental right. Fundamental rights are rights guaranteed by the constitution (such as the rights to equality and personal freedom) or 'interpreted' as such by the Supreme Court (so far, only the right to privacy). They apply to all Indian residents, rather than only citizens, and cannot be removed except by constitutional amendment. The court also set up an expert panel to monitor the protection of the bird, and urged governments to speed up expansion of solar power.

A report by the World Inequality Lab, co-authored by French economist Thomas Piketty, has estimated that in 2022-23, India's income and wealth inequalities were at their highest levels since records began in 1922 and 1961 respectively. The richest 1% of the population now own 40.1% of the nation's wealth, higher than in the US (34.9%), China (32.6%) or France (24%). Previously, inequality fell from Indian independence in 1947 to the 1980s and has been rising since.

The Indian Space Research Organisation has shortlisted four Indian Air Force pilots - Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, Group Captain Ajit Krishnan, Group Captain Angad Pratap and Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla, for India's first manned space mission, Gaganyaan. They have completed basic training at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Russia, and will undergo specialised training at the Crew Training Facility in India.

Source: Part 1 and Part 2

Tl;dw - Unlike China and Japan, medieval Korea followed an extreme school of Confucianism that emphasized hierarchy and age over practicality. After WW2, the South Korean dictatorship government used this tradition to cement their own power. The video argues that these have made South Korea an extremely hierarchical, and in particular, sexist, society. A video game's refusal to sexualize a female character for their (mostly male) audience was thus seen as an attack on the system. A female artist at the studio was accused of being a 'radical feminist', and either fired or resigned to appease fans.

Source: Part 1 and Part 2

Tl;dw - Unlike China and Japan, medieval Korea followed an extreme school of Confucianism that emphasized hierarchy and age over practicality. After WW2, the South Korean dictatorship government used this tradition to cement their own power. The video argues that these have made South Korea an extremely hierarchical, and in particular, sexist, society. A video game's refusal to sexualize a female character for their (mostly male) audience was thus seen as an attack on the system. A female artist at the studio was accused of being a 'radical feminist', and either fired or resigned to appease fans.

Edit: As Denjin pointed out, it should be Ming Dynasty and not Tang Dynasty.