Left-leaning independent Connolly set to be Ireland's next president after her rival concedes defeat
London (AP): Left-wing independent Catherine Connolly is set to become Ireland's next president after her rival conceded defeat in the country's presidential elections on Saturday.
Vote counting was still underway but ahead of the official result being declared, Heather Humphreys, of the centre-right party Fine Gael, told reporters that she “wanted to congratulate Catherine Connolly on becoming the next president of Ireland."
“Catherine will be a president for all of us and she will be my president, and I really would like to wish her all the very, very best,” she said.
Polls have suggested consistent and strong voter support for Connolly, 68, over Humphreys, 64, for president, a largely ceremonial role in Ireland.
Connolly, a former barrister, and an independent lawmaker since 2016, has been outspoken in criticising Israel over the war in Gaza.
The politician has garnered the backing of a range of left-leaning parties, including Sinn Féin, the Labour Party and the Social Democrats.
Others, including deputy premier Simon Harris, who leads Humphreys' Fine Gael party, and the Social Democrats also congratulated Connolly.
“From day one, her message of inclusion, equality and social justice resonated with voters in every corner of Ireland," said Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns.
Initial and incomplete results show Connolly taking more than 60 per cent of votes.
Connolly and Humphreys were the only contenders after Jim Gavin, the candidate for Prime Minister Micheál Martin'sFianna Fail party, quit the race three weeks before the election over a long-ago financial dispute.
Martin, who heads Ireland's government, had personally backed Gavin as a presidential candidate. Though Gavin had stopped campaigning, his name remained on the ballot paper because of his late withdrawal from the race.
While Irish presidents represent the country on the world stage, host visiting heads of state and play an important constitutional role, they do not have the power to shape laws or policies.
The leader of the Irish Labour Party said Connolly has united parties “with an alternative vision."
Ivana Bacik said left-wing parties could now look at how they can “combine together” and “offer a real alternative” in the next general election.
Others — including musician Bob Geldof and the former mixed martial arts champion Conor McGregor — had indicated they wished to run for president but failed to receive enough backing for a nomination.
Connolly will succeed Michael D. Higgins, who has been president since 2011, having served the maximum two seven-year terms. She will be Ireland's 10th president and the third woman to hold the post.
Voting slips were being counted by hand. The final result will be declared later Saturday once all 43 electoral constituencies have completed counting.
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Screenwriter Salim Khan on ventilator support and stable, say doctors
Mumbai (PTI): Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan suffered a brain haemorrhage which has been tackled, is on ventilator support as a safeguard and stable, doctors treating him said on Wednesday, a day after he was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital here.
The 90-year-old, one half of the celebrated Salim-Javed duo which scripted films such as "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don" with Javed Akhtar, is in the ICU and recovery might take some time given his age.
"His blood pressure was high for which we treated him and we had to put him on a ventilator because we wanted to do certain investigations. Now the ventilator was put as a safeguard so that his situation doesn't get worse. So it is not that he is critical," Dr Jalil Parkar told reporters.
"We did the investigations that were required and today we have done a small procedure on him, I will not go into the details. The procedure done is called DSA (digital subtraction angiography). The procedure has been accomplished, he is fine and stable and shifted back to ICU. By tomorrow, we hope to get him off the ventilator. All in all, he is doing quite well," he added.
Asked whether he suffered a brain haemorrhage, the doctor said, "Unko thoda haemorrhage hua tha, which we’ve tackled. No surgery is required.
As concern over Khan's health mounted, his children, including superstar Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan, daughter Alvira, and sons-in-law Atul Agnihotri and Aayush Sharma, have been seen outside the hospital along with other well-wishers. His long-time partner Akhtar was also seen coming out of the hospital.
Khan, a household name in the 70s and 80s, turned 90 on November 24 last year. It was the day Dharmendra, the star of many of his films, including "Sholay", "Seeta aur Geeta" and "Yaadon Ki Baraat", passed away.
Hailing from an affluent family in Indore, Khan arrived in Mumbai in his 20s with dreams of stardom. He was good looking and confident he would make a mark in the industry as an actor. But that did not happen. And then, after struggling for close to a decade and getting confined to small roles in films, he changed lanes.
He worked as an assistant to Abrar Alvi and soon met Akhtar to form one of Hindi cinema's most formidable writing partnerships. They worked together on two dozen movies with most of them achieving blockbuster status.
Other than "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don", Khan and Akhtar also penned "Trishul", "Zanjeer", "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Haathi Mere Saathi", "Yaadon Ki Baarat" and "Mr India".
