Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed strong confidence in a "historic NDA majority" as the first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections commenced on Thursday, November 6, 2025, across 121 constituencies. This crucial electoral exercise witnessed a record-breaking 64.66% voter turnout, the highest ever in Bihar's Assembly election history, underscoring the high stakes for the ruling coalition and serving as a significant test of PM Modi's popularity.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has officially commended India's significant progress in combating financial crimes, specifically recognizing the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) pivotal role in establishing global benchmarks for asset recovery in its latest report. This international acknowledgment underscores India's strengthened position in global financial governance and its crucial contribution to shaping new, comprehensive guidelines for recovering criminal assets worldwide.
President Donald J. Trump announced groundbreaking agreements with pharmaceutical giants Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk on November 6, 2025, to dramatically lower the cost of popular drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy for American patients, aiming for a $350 price point through the new "TrumpRx" program. This initiative seeks to align U.S. prescription drug prices with those in other developed nations by reviving the "Most-Favored-Nation" pricing concept and includes commitments to boost domestic manufacturing.
The United Nations Environment Programme's "Emissions Gap Report 2025: Off Target" starkly warns that recent climate pledges have failed to alter the trajectory of global warming, projecting that global average temperatures will likely surpass the critical 1.5°C threshold before 2035. This alarming forecast comes as global greenhouse gas emissions reached a record high of 57.7 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2024, underscoring the urgent need for accelerated action ahead of the COP30 climate conference.
Typhoon Kali, also known as Kalmaegi or Tino, has caused widespread devastation across the central Philippines, leading to at least 140 fatalities and 127 missing, making it the deadliest natural disaster globally this year. In response to the catastrophic impact on nearly 2 million people, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared a state of national calamity to expedite emergency funds and facilitate crucial relief and rehabilitation efforts.
The UK rail industry is undergoing a significant transformation, marked by Alstom's multi-million-pound investment creating over 100 new jobs at its Crewe facility for HVAC refurbishment and Northern Rail's initiative to simplify fares in Greater Manchester, reducing average costs by 5.6% from December. This modernization drive also includes a notable step towards digital signalling, as the last traditional semaphore signals in the Eastern region were recently removed from Manea, Cambridgeshire.
Google's Quantum Computing division has announced a significant breakthrough, achieving a "quantum advantage" with its Willow chip and a novel Quantum Echoes algorithm, performing complex simulations 13,000 times faster than the most powerful supercomputers. This verifiable advancement moves quantum computing from theory to practical application, promising transformative impacts across various sectors while also raising concerns about the future of current encryption methods.
The World Health Organization (WHO) launched a critical report on November 6, 2025, calling for robust financing and access strategies for novel tuberculosis (TB) vaccines, which could save millions of lives and fundamentally alter the course of the global epidemic. This groundbreaking analysis emphasizes the urgent need to ensure these life-saving vaccines reach adolescents and adults in high-burden countries, particularly as initial demand is expected to significantly outpace supply, risking delays in their vital public health impact.
The rare interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS has reappeared from behind the Sun, captivating astronomers with its unusual and shifting colors, including recent observations of a faint bluish hue. As only the third confirmed interstellar object ever observed, scientists are diligently tracking this celestial wanderer, which was discovered on July 1, 2025, and is anticipated to make its closest approach to Earth around December 19, 2025.
The United States federal government shutdown has become the longest in the nation's history, reaching its 36th day on November 5, 2025, due to an unresolved dispute over the extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits. This unprecedented deadlock has furloughed hundreds of thousands of federal workers, disrupted essential services, and is projected to cost the U.S. economy billions.
Frida Kahlo's significant self-portrait, "El sueño (La cama)," is set to be auctioned at Sotheby's this November, with an estimated value of $40 million to $60 million, potentially shattering the auction record for a female artist. This rare masterpiece, depicting Kahlo in a dreamlike state, highlights her personal struggles and artistic peak, drawing considerable international attention.
Scientists in Antarctica have unearthed 6-million-year-old ice, the oldest directly dated ice and air ever found, offering an unprecedented direct record of Earth's ancient atmosphere and climate. Announced on November 5, 2025, this groundbreaking discovery reveals a dramatic cooling trend and is expected to revolutionize our understanding of long-term climate dynamics and refine future climate models.