Seven people were killed and dozens more injured in India on Saturday after clashes over local polls in West Bengal, a state notorious for political violence during election campaigns.
India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has in recent years worked hard to gain a toehold in West Bengal – ruled by a communist party for much of its history – to expand its reach beyond its Hindi-speaking northern heartlands.
Voters were casting their ballots in a fierce contest to elect municipal leaders, with more than 200,000 candidates across the state of 104 million people.
“Seven people have been killed and dozens wounded in poll-related violence in different villages across the state,” Jawed Shamim, additional director general of West Bengal's police force, said.
Another police official said five of the dead were from the state's ruling Trinamool Congress party.
The other two were affiliated with the BJP and West Bengal's Communist Party of India (Marxist).
Video aired by local broadcasters showed rival party workers roaming streets with batons, as well as ballot boxes being snatched and set alight outside polling stations.
There was a heavy security presence at voting centres, with paramilitary troops posted to keep order.
More than 200 crude bombs, a staple of West Bengal elections that are used to intimidate voters, were confiscated during the polls, police said.
West Bengal has been ruled by Trinamool leader Mamata Banerjee since 2011, when her party defeated the Communist-led administration that had ruled the state for the prior three decades.
Ms Banerjee, a fierce critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has accused his Hindu nationalist BJP of attempting to import divisive sectarian politics into the state, which has a large Muslim minority.
Mr Modi has in turn accused her administration of endemic corruption.
But the roots of political violence in the state stretch back decades, with police recording thousands of murders around election time since the 1960s.
During state polls in 2021, which were won emphatically by Trinamool but with a strong BJP showing, several activists from both parties were shot or hacked to death, their bodies sometimes hung from trees as an intimidation tactic.
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The line up
Friday: Giggs, Sho Madjozi and Masego
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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company name: Play:Date
Launched: March 2017 on UAE Mother’s Day
Founder: Shamim Kassibawi
Based: Dubai with operations in the UAE and US
Sector: Tech
Size: 20 employees
Stage of funding: Seed
Investors: Three founders (two silent co-founders) and one venture capital fund
The%20Kitchen
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The Bio
Favourite holiday destination: Either Kazakhstan or Montenegro. I’ve been involved in events in both countries and they are just stunning.
Favourite book: I am a huge of Robin Cook’s medical thrillers, which I suppose is quite apt right now. My mother introduced me to them back home in New Zealand.
Favourite film or television programme: Forrest Gump is my favourite film, that’s never been up for debate. I love watching repeats of Mash as well.
Inspiration: My late father moulded me into the man I am today. I would also say disappointment and sadness are great motivators. There are times when events have brought me to my knees but it has also made me determined not to let them get the better of me.
match info
Southampton 2 (Ings 32' & pen 89') Tottenham Hotspur 5 (Son 45', 47', 64', & 73', Kane 82')
Man of the match Son Heung-min (Tottenham)
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (c), Chamani Senevirathne (vc), Subha Srinivasan, NIsha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Esha Oza, Ishani Senevirathne, Heena Hotchandani, Keveesha Kumari, Judith Cleetus, Chavi Bhatt, Namita D’Souza.
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
About Housecall
Date started: July 2020
Founders: Omar and Humaid Alzaabi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech
# of staff: 10
Funding to date: Self-funded
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