06112020-TTB-01.qxd 11/5/2020 11:51 PM Page 1 13 chandigarh | gurugram | jalandhar | bathinda | vol.140 no.308 | 12 pages | ~5.00 | regd.no.chd/0006/2018-2020 established in 1881 COVID SCARE: CHINA BARS INDIAN TRAVELLERS WORLD /thetribunechd SAUDI’S PUBLIC FUND INVESTS ~9,555 CR IN RELIANCE RETAIL BUSINESS BENGAL BLOCKED 80 CENTRAL SCHEMES: SHAH BACK PAGE /thetribunechd www.tribuneindia.com friday, november 6,2020 No winner yet, outcome hingeson 4 states Biden inches closer to victory, claims US media |Team Trump cries foul over counting in three states Washington, November 5 Weary Americans will have to wait for some more time to know the clear winner of the closely fought election between Republican President Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Joe Biden, as the final outcome hinged on four states on Thursday where a flood of mail-in ballots triggered by the Covid pandemic was still being counted. Two days after the presidential poll, Biden is nearing the magic figure of 270 electoral votes to win the race to the White House, with the former US Vice-President bagging 253 votes compared to 213 won by Trump, according to latest US media projections. Projections on Wednesday put Biden as the winner in STATES THAT HOLD KEY TO THE WHITE HOUSE RECORD VOTES FOR BIDEN ■ The final outcome in the US ■ 72 mn votes for ■ President Trump must win all Prez race hinges on four states where a flood of mail-in ballots, triggered by Covid pandemic, remains to be counted DONALD TRUMP 213 these — Georgia (16 votes) | Pennsylvania (20) | North Carolina (15) | Nevada (6) — to reach the magic figure of 270 JOE BIDEN 253 MAGIC NUMBER 270 | VOTES IN ELECTORAL COLLEGE 538 TRUMP FILES LAWSUIT ■ Trump campaign filed a lawsuit in Georgia to ensure late arriving ballots are not counted Biden, the most won by any presidential candidate ever ■ 68 mn votes for Trump, 4 million more than he gained in 2016 BUMPY ROAD AHEAD If victorious, Biden faces a tough battle to govern, with Republicans appearing poised to keep control of the US Senate MARKET BUOYANT ■ Trump’s campaign said they would seek a recount Stock index futures jumped as investors in Wisconsin; projections put Biden as winner here bet that potential gridlock could reduce ■ Police in Portland arrest 11 armed persons the chance of major policy changes US President Donald Trump’s supporters with a banner during a ‘Stop the Steal’ protest in North Las Vegas, Nevada. REUTERS Michigan and Wisconsin, two states Trump won in 2016. “Every vote must be counted. Keep the faith, guys. We’re gonna win,” he tweet- ed. An hour later, Trump tweeted, “Stop the count!” The results in Georgia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Nevada are yet to be declared as officials counted millions of votes, some that were cast on Tuesday and many more during weeks of early voting amidst the surging pandemic. To reach the magic figure of 270 to claim victory, Trump must win all the four remaining battleground states. Biden could reach the 270 vote threshold if he holds onto his leads in Arizona and Nevada. Trump, however, still has a continued on back page edit: contested election Reverse decision on Covid resurge: Over 50K cases in a day Kartarpur Sahib: MEA New Delhi, November 5 The first signs of a Covid-19 surge during festivals appeared today with daily new infections breaching the 50,000-mark after 11 days. The country saw 50,210 new cases in 24 hours. Cases had remained below 50,000 between October 26 and November 4, dropping to 36,470 on October 27 after 105 days. The consolation was a Shrine control given to trust New Delhi, November 5 India has condemned the move by Pakistan to transfer the management of Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara to the Evacuee Trust Property Board, a non-Sikh body. The Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC), a body run by the minority Sikh community, had been in control of the shrine so far. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) today asked Pakistan “to reverse its arbitrary decision depriving the Sikh minority community of its right to manage affairs of Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara”. “This unilateral decision by Pakistan is highly condemnable and runs against the spirit of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor as also religious sentiments of the Sikh community at large,” the Ministry of Exter- Bhola’s Drug ring PO, film producer held, arms seized Mansa, November 5 The police have arrested Amneet Sher Singh alias Kaku, “Nikka Zaildar” fame Punjabi film producer, and Harpreet Singh, a proclaimed offender, in the Jagdish Bhola drug case. An Audi car, firearms and fake doucuments were seized from them. — TNS IN BRIEF Bombay HC to hear Arnab’s plea today MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court will on Friday hear Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami’s plea seeking interim bail in the 2018 abetment of suicide case in which he has been arrested. — PTI Bishop Franco’s review plea junked NEW DELHI: The apex court has dismissed the review plea of Bishop Franco Mulakkal seeking directions to discharge him in the Kerala nun rape case. “We do not find any error in the order impugned so as to call for a review,” it said. — IANS COVID-19CASES INDIA COUNT 83,64,086 TOTAL RECOVERED DEATHS RECOVERED 77,11,809 FRESH FATALITIES 704 TOTAL DEATHS 1,24,315 WORLD 4,87,36,874 3,48,55,025 12,35,322 steady trajectory of sustained fall in active cases that remained below 6 lakh for PAK REJECTS OBJECTION Rejecting the Indian objection, the Pakistan Foreign Office said the gurdwara remained under the control of PSGPC, which was responsible for carrying out rituals as per the Sikh “rehat maryada”. It said the Project Management Unit under the Evacuee Trust Property Board had been created only to facilitate the PSGPC in this regard. nal Affairs said in a statement. Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) president Manjinder Singh Sirsa led a delegation to meet joint secretary of the Pakistan Desk this afternoon. — TNS Hostage drama 25 patwaris and 16 panchayat secretaries were held hostage by protesting farmers at Bahadurpur village in Sangrur on Thursday. 12 more die in two dists, toll rises to 42 Mukesh Tandon Tribune News Service Panipat/Sonepat, November 5 With seven deaths in two Panipat villages and five more in Sonepat, the toll in the suspected spurious liquor tragedy across the two Haryana districts climbed to 42 today. The deaths in Panipat were reported from Dhansoli and Nanglapar villages of Sanoli belt. In Sonepat, 30 deaths had already been reported over the past four days while the five deaths today occurred in Gumar village. An official said viscera samples of the deceased had been sent for forensic examination to ascertain the exact cause of the deaths. “The process may take a month,” he said. HOOCH DEATHS 2 COPS SUSPENDED Mohana police station SHO Shree Bhagwan and SI Surender have been suspended The police, meanwhile, unearthed two units at Naina Tatarpur and Kharkhoda villages in Sonepat that were allegedly involved in manufacturing spurious liquor. Panipat SP Manisha Chaudhary said a special investigation team had been formed to probe the case. The officials were freed late in the evening on the promise that no action would be initiated against the farmers for stubble burning. Hry Bill on 75% job quota for locals cleared Chandigarh, November 5 The Haryana Assembly today passed the Bill for providing 75 per cent job reservation to locals in the private sector. The Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Bill, 2020, was passed amid protests by a section of legislators, including Ram Kumar Gautam, the JJP MLA from Narnaund. Gautam said the Bill would set a bad precedent and if other states followed suit, Haryanavis would be barred from jobs there. Congress’ BB Batra said the Bill violated the right to equality in employment. Chief Minister ML Khattar said the Bill would go a long way in providing jobs to the local youth. INSIDE Dry spell hits HP power generation Subhash Rajta Tribune News Service Shimla, November 5 A prolonged dry spell in Himachal Pradesh has hit power generation. According to the Himachal Pradesh State Load Dispatch Centre, all stations connected to the State Transmission Utility network generated 348 million units in October com- PRODUCTION PANGS MONTH OCT 2020 348 MU 2019 378 MU AUG 841 MU 873 MU pared to 378 million units in the corresponding month last year — a decline of 8 per cent. “The shortfall could be attributed to poor rainfall in the past two months,” an offi- cial said. September recorded 77 per cent less rainfall than normal while October was almost dry. A mere 348 million units of power was generated in October. While the generation has declined, the demand has spiked. Compared to a demand of 800 million units in October last year, it was 880 million units this October. BAN DISINFECTION TUNNELS The apex court has asked the Centre to ban or regulate, within a month, the use of disinfection tunnels spraying chemical or organic disinfectants on humans. Similar directions might be issued on exposure of humans to artificial ultraviolet rays, the court added. the seventh day today. A steep rise in Covid cases during festivals is being wit- nessed in Kerala and Delhi that reported 8,516 and 6,842 cases, respectively, today. Health Minister Harsh Vardhan held a review meeting with Delhi L-G Anil Baijal and state Health Minister Satyendra Jain and flagged that Delhi's recovery rate (89%) was lower than the national average, while the death rate (1.71%) was higher than the national average. — TNS ‘My last election’says , Nitish, creates flutter Final phase: 78 seats across 19 Bihar dists Vibha Sharma Tribune News Service New Delhi, November 5 Ahead of the last phase of the Bihar Assembly elections, the campaigning for which came to an end today, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar created a flutter, saying these were his “last elections”. Addressing a rally at Dhamdaha in Purnia district, the JD(U) chief made an emotional appeal to people, saying: “Today is the last day of electioneering. Polling will take place day after tomorrow. This is my last election.” While his opponents termed it an “admission of defeat”, the BJP said it was his personal view. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in an open letter, said the Nitish Kumarled government would ensure that there were no obstructions in the state’s development. “I have full faith that the power of ‘double engine’ will take Bihar to new heights in this decade,” he said. BJP president JP Nadda, while addressing a rally, cited US elections to tell how PM Modi’s “right decision at the right time saved India from the onslaught of Covid”. NOT WITH YOGI ON CAA NDA partners BJP and JD-U appear divided on the contentious new citizenship law, with Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath asserting illegal immigrants ‘will be thrown out of the country’ and Nitish calling such talk ‘faltu baat’. HE CAN’T HANDLE IT ❝ Nitish Kumar has realised he cannot handle Bihar. Today, he has understood the ground reality and decided to quit. Tejashwi Yadav, RJD