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PM Narendra Modi secures big lead in Varanasi against Cong's Ajay Rai

News Network
May 23, 2019

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is surging ahead in Varanasi Lok Sabha seat, according to early trends. His main opponents Ajay Rai of Congress and Shalini Yadav of the Samajwadi Party are trailing. Modi's constituency went for polls in the last phase of Lok Sabha election 2019 on May 19. A total of 25 contestants fought elections against the PM from Kashi. These candidates belong to various states including Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra.

Apart from Modi's two-day mega show of strength before filing his nomination from Kashi on April 26, the saffron party's big leaders like Amit Shah, Piyush Goyal, Sushma Swaraj and Yogi Adityanath held several poll campaigns in this high-profile constituency. Opposition parties, led by Priyanka Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati, also held road-shows but none of them matched the enthusiasm and euphoria of Modi's rallies.

Echoing the scenes of his 2014 election campaign when the Modi wave swept the entire nation, his 2019 poll rallies had also created a similar buzz among the people of Kashi. The city of gods was virtually painted in saffron when thousands thronged the streets chanting 'Modi, Modi' and 'Main Bhi Chowkidar' as Modi traversed through the streets of Varanasi on his black Range Rover.

In 2014, PM Modi had 41 candidates contesting the poll against him but the number this time has gone down to 25. Modi won the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat by defeating Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by a massive margin of 3.37 lakh votes. Congress' Ajay Rai had secured mere 75,614 votes in 2014 and finished third after Kejriwal while BSP candidate Vijay Prakash Jaiswal had got 60,579 votes.

Modi had received 5, 16,593 votes -- about half of the total votes. Modi's victory margin in this eastern Uttar Pradesh constituency was the highest ever for the Lok Sabha seat in 2014. However, it remains to be seen if the BJP leader succeeds in breaking his own record this time.

Among the main opponents of Modi in 2019 Lok Sabha is SP-BSP alliance candidate Shalini Yadav. A newbie in the electoral politics, Yadav had contested mayoral polls in Varanasi in 2017 but had finished second after securing 1.14 lakh votes. She is the daughter of former Union minister and Congress leader Shyam Lal Yadav.

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Agencies
July 29,2020

Dubai, Jul 29: Muslim pilgrims on Wednesday begin the annual Haj, downsized this year as the Saudi hosts strive to prevent a coronavirus outbreak during the five-day pilgrimage.

The Haj, one of the five pillars of Islam and a must for able-bodied Muslims at least once in their lifetime, is usually one of the world's largest religious gatherings.

But this year only up to 10,000 people already residing in the Kingdom will participate in the ritual, a tiny fraction of the 2.5 million pilgrims from around the world that attended last year.

"There are no security-related concerns in this pilgrimage, but (downsizing) is to protect pilgrims from the danger of the pandemic," said Khalid bin Qarar Al Harbi, Saudi Arabia's director of public security.

Pilgrims will be required to wear masks and observe social distancing during a series of religious rites that are completed over five days in the holy city of Makkah and its surroundings in western Saudi Arabia.

Those selected to take part in the Haj were subject to temperature checks and placed in quarantine as they began trickling into Makkah at the weekend.

State media showed health workers sanitising their luggage, and some pilgrims reported being given electronic wristbands to allow authorities to monitor their whereabouts.

Workers, clutching brooms and disinfectant, were seen cleaning the area around the Kaaba, the structure at the centre of the Grand Mosque draped in gold-embroidered cloth towards which Muslims around the world pray.

Haj authorities have cordoned off the Holy Kaaba this year, saying pilgrims will not be allowed to touch it, to limit the chances of infection.

They also reported setting up multiple health facilities, mobile clinics and ambulances to cater to the pilgrims.

Saudi authorities said only around 1,000 pilgrims residing in the Kingdom would be permitted for the Haj. Some 70 per cent of the pilgrims are foreigners residing in the Kingdom, while the rest will be Saudi citizens, authorities said.

All worshippers were required to be tested for coronavirus before arriving in the holy city of Makkah and will also have to quarantine after the pilgrimage as the number of cases in the Kingdom nears 270,000.

They were given elaborate amenity kits that include sterilised pebbles for a stoning ritual, disinfectants, masks, a prayer rug and the Ihram, a seamless white garment worn by pilgrims, according to a Haj ministry programme document.

"I did not expect, among millions of Muslims, to be blessed with approval," Emirati pilgrim Abdullah Al Kathiri said in a video released by the Saudi media ministry.

"It is an indescribable feeling... especially since it is my first pilgrimage."

The Haj ministry said non-Saudi residents of the Kingdom from around 160 countries competed in the online selection process but it did not say how many people applied.

Despite the pandemic, many pilgrims consider it safer to participate in this year's ritual without the usual colossal crowds cramming into tiny religious sites, which make it a logistical nightmare and a health hazard.

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Agencies
August 2,2020

New Delhi, Aug 2: Union Home Minister Amit Shah today tested positive for COVID-19 coronavirus infection and has been admitted to a hospital. 

Shah took to social media today to inform about his infection. “I have tested positive but my health is fine," he said, adding that he has been hospitalised on the assistance of doctors. 

The Union Home Minister also appealed to those who came into close contact with him in the last few days to get themselves tested for COVID-19.

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News Network
January 21,2020

Beijing, Jan 21: The Chinese official investigating a pneumonia outbreak stemming from a new coronavirus said the disease can spread from person to person but can be halted with increased vigilance, as authorities on Tuesday confirmed a fourth death.

Zhong Nanshan said there was no danger of a repeat of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic that killed nearly 800 people globally during a 2002-2003 outbreak, which started in China, as long as precautions were taken.

"It took only two weeks to identify the novel coronavirus," state news agency Xinhua quoted Zhong as saying late on Monday.

The outbreak was still in its early stages and China had good surveillance and quarantine systems to help control it, he added.

The outbreak has spread from the central city of Wuhan to cities including Beijing and Shanghai, with more than 200 cases reported so far. Four cases have been reported outside China - in South Korea, Thailand and Japan.

Australia on Tuesday said it would screen passengers on flights from Wuhan amid rising concerns that the virus will spread globally as Chinese travellers take flights abroad for the Lunar New Year holiday starting this week.

Authorities around the globe, including in the United States and many Asian countries, have stepped up screening of travellers from Wuhan.

Chinese authorities confirmed a total of 217 cases of the virus in China as of 6 p.m. (1000 GMT) on Monday, state television reported, 198 of which were in Wuhan.

A fourth person died on Jan. 19, the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission said. The 89-year-old man, who had underlying health diseases including coronary heart disease, developed symptoms on Jan. 13 and was admitted to hospital five days later, it added.

Zhong, who is renowned in China for his work fighting SARS in 2003, confirmed that the virus can pass from person-to-person.

Fifteen medical workers in Wuhan had been diagnosed with pneumonia, with one other suspected case, the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission said. Of the infected staff, one was in critical condition.

In Shanghai, officials on Tuesday confirmed a second case involving a 35-year-man who had visited Wuhan in early January, and said they were monitoring four other suspected cases.

The virus causes a type of pneumonia and belongs to the same family of coronaviruses as SARS. Symptoms include fever and difficulty in breathing, which are similar to many other respiratory diseases and pose complications for screening efforts.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Monday an animal source appeared most likely to be the primary origin of the outbreak and that some "limited human-to-human transmission" occurred between close contacts.

The Geneva-based U.N. agency convened an emergency committee for Wednesday to assess whether the outbreak constitutes an international health emergency and what measures should be taken to manage it.

So far, the WHO has not recommended trade or travel restrictions, but a panel of independent experts could do so or make other recommendations to limit spread.

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