An outbreak of influenza in India has killed at least two people, officials say.
A highly contagious strain of the respiratory virus, H3N2, is spreading across the country.
An 82-year-old man died in southern Karnataka and one person died in northern Haryana, health officials confirmed.
H3N2 normally affects birds and pigs but can infect humans, according to the Centres for Disease Control, America's public health agency.
Those infected with the virus show symptoms of fever and upper respiratory infections. They may develop a cough, experience nausea, vomiting, chills as well as sore throat and muscle and body aches.
While cases of respiratory illness and fever started in December last year, the infections have been rapidly increasing.
The Indian Council for Medical Research, the country’s top health sciences body, has confirmed that a majority of the patients are infected with the H3N2.
There are at least 90 cases of the virus across the country, according to multiple media reports.
One of the two fatalities, Hire Gowda, of Hassan in Karnataka, died on March 1. His samples were sent for examination and on March 6, it was confirmed that he was infected with H3N2.
The state has at least 26 positive cases of the virus, Chief Minister K Sudhakar confirmed earlier this week.
Hospitals are receiving more patients with symptoms of the virus.
At least 50 people were reportedly admitted to a hospital on Wednesday in Kanpur city in northern Uttar Pradesh with high fever, persistent cough and shortness of breath.
The ICMR released a list of dos and don’ts including urging people to cover their mouth and nose while sneezing and coughing and avoiding touching their eyes and nose.
The first cases of the virus were reported in North America in April 2009.
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
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Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
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Australia |
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10. |
South Korea |
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New Zealand police began closer scrutiny of social media and online communities after the attacks on two mosques in March, the country's top officer said.
The killing of 51 people in Christchurch and wounding of more than 40 others shocked the world. Brenton Tarrant, a suspected white supremacist, was accused of the killings. His trial is ongoing and he denies the charges.
Mike Bush, commissioner of New Zealand Police, said officers looked closely at how they monitored social media in the wake of the tragedy to see if lessons could be learned.
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