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PM Modi’s home state Gujarat votes in key regional election

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat is voting in local polls with his Hindu nationalist party expected to win a seventh straight term, but any unexpected slips could herald a tighter contest in national polls due by 2024.The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has not lost in the western industrial state since 1995 and Modi served as its chief minister for nearly 13 years before becoming the prime minister in 2014.

Opinion polls conducted in the lead-up to the Gujarat polls projected the BJP to comfortably retain power in the state despite criticism of inflation and unemployment.The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which was formed only a decade ago and has claimed power in Delhi and the state of Punjab, is set to become one of the main opposition parties in the state of more than 60 million people, at the expense of the Congress party.

The second phase of voting is on Monday and results are due on December 8.Dheeraj Patel, 45, who cast his vote in the city of Surat, hopes corruption and unemployment in the state would be addressed after the polls.

“The BJP has a stronghold in the state. They have also developed it a lot but we want that the growing corruption should be addressed which is going on along with the development,” Patel told Al Jazeera. “No one is talking about the corruption and unemployment here.”

Another Surat resident, Vishnu Kumar, a textile businessman, said the AAP has made the contest triangular in the state.

“AAP has forayed into politics in Gujarat and is creating a perception that they would be a strong opposition to the BJP here. But it would be worth watching whether these talks turn into votes,” he said.In the last state election five years ago, the BJP won 99 seats in the 182-member assembly while Congress took 77.

The BJP is expected to win 131 to 139 seats this time, ABP-CVoter projected in November. Congress could win 31 to 39 seats while the Aam Aadmi Party could bag up to 15.

According to an India TV-Matrize opinion poll, also conducted in November, the BJP may win up to 119 seats.The AAP has promised voters subsidies on electricity and other bills in their bid to become the main challenger to the BJP.

Congress, on the other hand, launched a cross-country “unity march” in September against what it calls “hate and division”, hoping to revive its fortunes and regain some popularity.

The polls are being held a month after the collapse of a suspension bridge in the town of Morbi killed 135 people. The disaster angered people across the state but analysts say it will not dent the BJP’s popularity in the polls.

The right-wing party also expects to emerge victorious in assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh state in the north, which were held last month with results to be declared on 08 December. Source: Al Jazeera



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One dead in US after being struck by taking off Frontier Airlines plane

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A Frontier Airlines jetliner taxis down a runway for take off from Denver International Airport in Denver, Colorado [Aljazeera]

A person has died after jumping an airport perimeter fence in the US state of Colorado and being struck by a Frontier Airlines plane, according to authorities.

Denver International Airport said the unusual incident occurred late Friday, after the unidentified individual gained access to the tarmac.

It said the “pedestrian jumped the perimeter fence and was hit just two minutes later while crossing the runway”.

A brief engine fire followed the collision, which was put out by emergency responders, according to the airport.

It said that 12 of the 231 people on board suffered minor injuries, with five hospitalised.

The airport said investigators had examined the fence line where the individual entered and “found it to be intact”.

It added that the struck individual “is not believed to be an employee of the airport”.

“We are extremely saddened by this incident and express our sympathies to those involved,” the airport said.

Both local authorities and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) were investigating the incident.

Airport safety in the US came under renewed scrutiny earlier this year amid a prolonged shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which temporarily left both Transportation Security Agents (TSA) and air traffic controllers working without pay.

While instances of people being killed on airport tarmacs are rare, Friday’s incident came a day after a Delta employee was killed after an airport vehicle struck an airbridge at Orlando International Airport.

In March, two pilots were  killed after an Air Canada Express plane crashed into a fire-rescue vehicle at LaGuardia Airport in New York.

About 225,000 people travel through Denver International Airport a day.

[Aljazeera]

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Showers above 100 mm are likely at some places in the  Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central, Southern, Uva, North-western and Northern provinces and in Anuradhapura district.

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WEATHER FORECAST FOR 10 MAY 2026
Issued at 05.30 a.m. on 10 May 2026 by the Department of Meteorology

The low-level atmospheric disturbance in the vicinity of Sri Lanka is likely to develop into a low-pressure area around 11th of May. Therefore, the prevailing showery conditions over the island are expected to continue during the next few days.

Showers or thundershowers will occur at most places over the island, and cloudy skies are expected over the island. Heavy showers above 100 mm are likely at some places in the  Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central, Southern, Uva, North-western and Northern provinces and in Anuradhapura district.

The general public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damage caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.

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Lanka Port City officials to meet investors in Dubai

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ECONOMYNEXT –Colombo Port City (CPC) officials will head to Dubai to meet with investors on June 11, as Sri Lanka’s most ambitious economic zone looks for further foreign investments.

“We are meeting people in Dubai and the Middle East in order to demonstrate that Colombo Port City can be a supplementary zone of investment,” Harsha Amarasekara, Chairman, Colombo Port City Economic Commission (CPCEC), told Economynext.

The meeting will be organised by CPCEC, China Harbour Engineering Company, Consulate General of Sri Lanka – Dubai, and the Embassy of Sri Lanka – Abu Dhabi.

Foreign investor meetings have been a consistent factor in marketing CPC, and identifying potential markets has been a priority for CHEC and CPCEC.

“We have shortlisted and identified primary markets and we have combed the globe in that to say have a rationale behind why you would want to do certain things, a road show in a particular country,” Thulci Aluwihare, Deputy Managing Director, CHEC Port City Colombo, told Echelon Media.

“Once we kind of shortlist on that, then we aggressively go and market Port City, first Sri Lanka I should say, then Port City.”

“Sri Lanka is known in the world as a tourist destination, not essentially for a doing business capital. That is the narrative that we are trying to change,” he added.

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