India recorded a 62.31 per cent voter turnout in the fourth phase of elections on Monday.
Controversial politicians, actors and the country's youngest candidate were in the fray for the fourth round of the multistage elections across nine states and the federally administered Kashmir region for 96 parliamentary seats in the Lok Sabha – the lower house of parliament.
The elections are being held in the southern states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, eastern states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal, the central state of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh in the north and Maharashtra on the west coast.
The highest voter turnout was recorded in West Bengal with 75.66 per cent whereas Kashmir recorded the lowest with 35.75 per cent, as per the Election Commission of India.
More than 170 million people – 89 million men and 87 million women – were eligible to vote in the fourth phase. They include 1.29 million voters over the age of 85.
Authorities increased security for voting in the parliamentary constituency of Srinagar, the main city of the former state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in 2019 scrapped the limited autonomy granted to the Muslim-majority region – which is also claimed by Pakistan and has witnessed a decades-long insurgency – and placed it under federal rule.
Candidates from two biggest pro-India parties in the region, the National Conference and the People’s Democratic Party, are fielding candidates for the Srinagar seat.
Among the 1,700 candidates whose immediate political fate will be decided on Monday is the youngest to take part in this election, Shambhavi Choudhary, 25.
She is contesting from Samastipur in Bihar as a candidate of the National Democratic Alliance coalition led by Mr Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
As Mr Modi seeks a third consecutive term in office, his party has sewn up alliances with about 40 parties as part of the NDA.
The main opposition Congress party is leading the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc made up of nearly two dozen national and regional parties.
Other prominent candidates include former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav, former cricketer Yusuf Pathan, Mahua Moitra and Asaduddin Owaisi, a fiery Muslim politician from Hyderabad.
Ms Moitra, 49, a former investment banker who is seeking a second term in the Krishnanagar constituency in West Bengal, is one of India’s most prominent female politicians.
Known for her outspoken criticism of Mr Modi and his policies, Ms Moitra made headlines in November after being accused of taking bribes from a business tycoon to raise questions in parliament about the billionaire Gautam Adani, who is considered to be close to Mr Modi.
In Hyderabad, a family bastion for Mr Owaisi, he is being challenged by Maadhavi Latha, a former award-winning actress fielded by the BJP.
Mr Owaisi is known for raising the issues of Muslims in parliament. In 2022 he won the Best Parliamentarian award given annually by a private media house.
Voters in Andhra Pradesh and neighbouring Odisha will also be electing their state legislative assemblies on Monday.
While Andhra Pradesh is holding elections for all 175 seats in the state legislature, polling in Odisha will be for 23 seats as part of a four-stage election to its 147-seat legislature.
Meanwhile, Mr Modi held a roadshow in his constituency of Varanasi in northern Uttar Pradesh on Monday, a day before filing his nomination. The seat will go for polls on June 1.
Perched on top of an open vehicle adorned with saffron flowers, Mr Modi rode for six kilometres across the city – one of the world’s oldest and known to be the spiritual capital of Hinduism.
He waved at followers who flanked the sides of the road wearing saffron clothes and carrying BJP flags. They chanted his name while the sounds of supporters blowing through conch shells, a Hindu ritual, and drumbeats filled the air. Life-size posters of the prime minister had been placed across the city.
Varanasi has been a bastion of the ruling BJP since 1991 with Congress having breached it only once in 2004.
Mr Modi had won with more than 581,000 votes in 2014 and over 674,000 votes in 2019, respectively, from the constituency.
This year’s general election is the second-longest in India's history after its first post-independence vote held over four months in 1951-52. The previous election in 2019 took 39 days.
About 970 million people are eligible to vote throughout this year's ballot.
The first phase took place on April 19 when 66.14 per cent of voter turnout was registered, while the second phase on April 26 drew 66.71 per cent out to cast their ballot.
The next phase of polls is due on May 20.
The elections will conclude on June 1 and counting of votes will be held on June 4, when the results will also be declared.
Women’s World T20, Asia Qualifier
UAE results
Beat China by 16 runs
Lost to Thailand by 10 wickets
Beat Nepal by five runs
Beat Hong Kong by eight wickets
Beat Malaysia by 34 runs
Standings (P, W, l, NR, points)
1. Thailand 5 4 0 1 9
2. UAE 5 4 1 0 8
3. Nepal 5 2 1 2 6
4. Hong Kong 5 2 2 1 5
5. Malaysia 5 1 4 0 2
6. China 5 0 5 0 0
Final
Thailand v UAE, Monday, 7am
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
Day 3, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Just three balls remained in an exhausting day for Sri Lanka’s bowlers when they were afforded some belated cheer. Nuwan Pradeep, unrewarded in 15 overs to that point, let slip a seemingly innocuous delivery down the legside. Babar Azam feathered it behind, and Niroshan Dickwella dived to make a fine catch.
Stat of the day - 2.56 Shan Masood and Sami Aslam are the 16th opening partnership Pakistan have had in Tests in the past five years. That turnover at the top of the order – a new pair every 2.56 Test matches on average – is by far the fastest rate among the leading Test sides. Masood and Aslam put on 114 in their first alliance in Abu Dhabi.
The verdict Even by the normal standards of Test cricket in the UAE, this has been slow going. Pakistan’s run-rate of 2.38 per over is the lowest they have managed in a Test match in this country. With just 14 wickets having fallen in three days so far, it is difficult to see 26 dropping to bring about a result over the next two.
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company%C2%A0profile
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EShaffra%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDIFC%20Innovation%20Hub%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Emetaverse-as-a-Service%20(MaaS)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Ecurrently%20closing%20%241.5%20million%20seed%20round%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Epre-seed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%20Abu%20Dhabi%20and%20different%20PCs%20and%20angel%20investors%20from%20Saudi%20Arabia%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enine%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
HAJJAN
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LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
SPECS
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The%C2%A0specs%20
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Teaching your child to save
Pre-school (three - five years)
You can’t yet talk about investing or borrowing, but introduce a “classic” money bank and start putting gifts and allowances away. When the child wants a specific toy, have them save for it and help them track their progress.
Early childhood (six - eight years)
Replace the money bank with three jars labelled ‘saving’, ‘spending’ and ‘sharing’. Have the child divide their allowance into the three jars each week and explain their choices in splitting their pocket money. A guide could be 25 per cent saving, 50 per cent spending, 25 per cent for charity and gift-giving.
Middle childhood (nine - 11 years)
Open a bank savings account and help your child establish a budget and set a savings goal. Introduce the notion of ‘paying yourself first’ by putting away savings as soon as your allowance is paid.
Young teens (12 - 14 years)
Change your child’s allowance from weekly to monthly and help them pinpoint long-range goals such as a trip, so they can start longer-term saving and find new ways to increase their saving.
Teenage (15 - 18 years)
Discuss mutual expectations about university costs and identify what they can help fund and set goals. Don’t pay for everything, so they can experience the pride of contributing.
Young adulthood (19 - 22 years)
Discuss post-graduation plans and future life goals, quantify expenses such as first apartment, work wardrobe, holidays and help them continue to save towards these goals.
* JP Morgan Private Bank
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
