Voting for the 47th presidential election of the United States is underway. Voting begins at 5 am local time (12 noon GMT) in the eastern state of Vermont. Voting will last 12 to 14 hours.

18 crore 60 lakh voters in the 50 states and the District of Columbia of the United States can vote. However, more than 8 crore people have already voted due to the postal and early voting system in most states.

Although the voting has begun, who is holding the key to the White House? Will the United States, the most influential country in the world, get its first female president, or will Donald Trump come to power for the second time?

International media reports say that Democratic Party candidate Kamala Harris is on the verge of making history. On the other hand, Republican Party candidate Donald Trump is determined to make a comeback by erasing the shame of his defeat in the last election. However, surveys indicate a close fight.

Who will win the fight to capture the White House, who will have the last laugh - Kamala Harris or Donald Trump. The answer to this question is now waiting for the last minute. Many voters will make their decisions at the last minute. There are many silent voters. So, it is not possible to guess who will win before the results are announced.

Kamala, a struggling woman from California, is currently the Vice President of the United States. On the other hand, Donald Trump is one of the richest men in the US. Not only to the people of the United States; is this year’s US election also significant to the world in the midst of a world devastated by war and a turbulent global economy.

Apart from Kamala Harris-Donald Trump, Jill Stein of the Green Party, Chase Oliver of the Libertarian Party, independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (who withdrew from the election but is still on the ballot in most states) and Cornel West (independent) are competing in the US presidential election.

Only citizens of the country can vote in the US presidential election. They must be 18 years of age on or before Election Day. In addition, certain residency requirements must be met, which vary from state to state.

As of September of this year, 18 crore 60 lakh Americans have registered to vote. That is, 8 out of every 10 Americans of voting age have registered.

The US election system is quite complex. The president is not elected by popular vote in the United States. The 50 states and the District of Columbia, the capital of the United States, Washington, DC, have 538 Electoral College votes. To win the election, 270 Electoral College votes are needed. Each state has a different number of Electoral College votes. The party that wins a state gets all the Electoral College votes in that state. That is, winners get all.

The main competition in this election is in seven swing states. Among these swing states, Wisconsin has 10, Pennsylvania has 19, Arizona has 11, Georgia has 16, Michigan has 15, Nevada has 6, and North Carolina has 16 Electoral College votes. Washington, DC has three Electoral College votes.

However, the global geopolitical arena for the next four years depends on whether Donald Trump or Kamala Harris occupies the White House. In addition to regional politics, the next four years will see the strategic planning, decision-making, and power showdowns that will shape the direction of global politics. However, the world is welcoming a positive and orderly global geopolitical management. The torch of peace will burn throughout the world.

When will the results be known?

Each constituency has its own voting deadline. Different states have different laws regarding ballot counting and when mail-in ballots can be accepted. For this reason, the final results of some states will be known the day after the election or even later.

In 2020, the results of the presidential election took several days to be announced. This time too, it may be necessary to wait until several days after November 5 to know the names of the new president and other important officeholders.

A volcano in eastern Indonesia has erupted, sending ash and fireballs into nearby villages, burning down several houses. At least 10 people have died.

The Qatar-based media outlet Al Jazeera reported on Monday (November 4).

Authorities said that Mount Leotobi Laki-Laki, two volcanoes located at an altitude of 1,703 meters (5,587 feet) on the popular tourist island of Flores, began erupting after midnight on Monday. Villagers were then ordered to evacuate. But many did not obey. Several houses later burned down, killing 10 people.

Abdul Muhari, a spokesman for the country's disaster mitigation agency, confirmed the death toll at a news conference. He said that 10,295 people were affected by the eruption. It is not yet clear how many have been rescued. The toll is still rising.

The country's volcanology agency has raised the alert level to the highest level and has asked locals and tourists to avoid activities within a seven-kilometer (4.3-mile) radius of the eruption.

A press release from the agency on Monday said there has been a "significant increase in volcanic activity at Mount Leotobi Laki-Laki."

It warned that rain could increase lava flows and urged locals to wear masks to avoid exposure to volcanic ash.

The mountain had several major eruptions in January, prompting authorities to issue the highest level of alert at the time and urge at least 2,000 residents to evacuate.

Indonesia, a vast archipelago nation, is prone to frequent eruptions due to its location on the Pacific Ocean's "Ring of Fire." It is an area prone to intense volcanoes and earthquakes.

US election today. In addition to English, four languages have been included in the ballot paper of New York City in this election. Among these, Bengali language has been included. The remaining three languages are - Chinese, Spanish and Korean.

According to the news agency PTI, Bengali is also included in the ballot paper of the state of New York along with other languages. According to the report, Bengali is the first among the Asian-Indian languages to be printed on the ballot paper of New York.

Michael J. Ryan, executive director of the New York State branch of the Board of Elections, the organization that conducts elections in the United States, gave this information in a press briefing on Monday.

At a briefing held in New York City, the main city of New York, Ryan said, 'For the convenience of immigrant voters, the Board of Elections New York branch has decided to include four languages along with English. These languages are Chinese, Spanish, Korean and Bengali.'

In response to a question in the briefing, Michael J. Ryan said, "I understand that other Indian speakers may be upset by choosing only Bengali (for the ballot paper) and excluding other Indian languages, but we had no other choice."

It is worth noting that a case was filed in a New York court two years ago under the US Voting Rights Act, 1965. The plaintiffs demanded that ballot papers be issued in at least one immigrant language in addition to English in areas where there is a large number of immigrants in New York.

Later, the decision to publish ballot papers in these four languages was taken based on an agreement between the New York state administration and the plaintiffs.

Earlier, Bengali ballots were introduced in the Queens state of the country considering immigrants.

Incidentally, the state of New York in the United States is inhabited by immigrants. A large part of the country's total immigrants live in various cities of this state, including New York City. Of all the Bengalis living in the country, 40 percent live in New York. Overall, lakhs of Bangladeshis can exercise their voting rights across the United States. In this situation, it is believed that the New York administration has decided to use the Bengali language on the ballot for the convenience of Bangladeshi voters.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Baghai has strongly criticized the deployment of US B-52 bombers in the region, calling it a "destabilizing presence," according to a report in the Times of Israel on Monday (November 4).

In response to a question about the deployment of the B-52 bombers, Ismail Baghai said, "We always believe that the American presence in the region is a destabilizing presence. However, this US aircraft will not hinder our strong morale to defend ourselves."

Iran's response to Israel, which is at war with the Iranian-backed armed groups Hamas and Hezbollah, will be "determined and firm," Baghai said, adding that "Iran supports all initiatives and efforts for a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon."

Citing a recent speech by Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at a news conference, Baghai said the Islamic Republic would be "equipped with everything necessary for self-defense."

Earlier, the US military announced the deployment of the B-52 bombers on Saturday (November 2). They said the B-52 bombers in the Middle East come after Iran recently announced it would retaliate for Israeli attacks on its military installations. Their decision to deploy is a warning to Iran.

Earlier (October 1), Iran fired more than 200 ballistic missiles at Israeli military and intelligence bases in response to the assassination of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh, Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and IRGC General Abbas Neelforoushan.

In response to that attack, Israel claimed to have targeted military installations in Iran on Saturday (October 26). The Israeli military said it was carrying out the strikes in response to continued attacks by Iran and its allies.