73.70 percent voting in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala saw at least 73.70 percent of its 24.2 million voters turning out Thursday to elect 20 Lok Sabha members from the state.

Poll officials said the figure is provisional and accounts for votes polled only until 6 p.m. The actual tally of votes is expected to rise further.

In 2009, Kerala polled 73.37 per cent votes.

Voters showed great enthusiasm especially during the early part of Thursday, queuing up at polling stations even before the first ballot was cast.

Officials say that many more of Kerala's 24.2 million voters would have come out to cast their ballot, if it weren't for the rains which lashed across parts of the state towards evening.

Barring a few skirmishes, voting by and large ended on a positive note with state Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala expressing his thanks to all the political parties and the people for maintaining a high level of discipline.

Of the 20 Lok Sabha seats that are up for grabs in Kerala, Vadakara seat represented by union Minister of State for Home Mullapally Ramachandran recorded the highest turnout of 81.40 percent, closely followed by Kannur with 80.90 percent.

The least turnout was recorded at the Pathanamthitta constituency - 65.80 percent.

The Thiruvananthapuram constituency, which has conventionally seen the lowest voting percentage witnessed 68.60 percent polling, up from 65.74 percent in 2009.

The 269 candidates in the fray included 27 women.

In Kerala, the fight is mainly between the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and the CPI-M led Left Democratic Front (LDF). Leaders of the both rival fronts have claimed victory because of the high turnout.

In the 2009 elections, UDF won 16 seats while the LDF won four.

Speaking to IANS, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said that whenever the voter turnout is high, his party and the UDF benefits directly.

'We have no doubt. We will do extremely well, you just wait and see,' said Chandy.

On the other hand, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) state secretary Pinnarayi Vijayan predicts that the huge turnout means that the UDF is heading for its worst-ever rout.

'We expect that 2004 will repeat (LDF had won 18 seats that year) as people are fed up with both the central and state governments,' said Vijayan.

In the State capital, which is witnessing a keen triangular contest, BJP candidate and veteran leader O. Rajagopal appears confident that this time the lotus will finally bloom in Kerala.

'The Congress is going to become history and you wait and see the outcome here,' said Rajagopal, whose campaign got a shot in the arm after senior party leader L.K. Advani canvassed for him on the last day of the campaign here.

IANS

73.70 percent voting in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala saw at least 73.70 percent of its 24.2 million voters turning out Thursday to elect 20 Lok Sabha members from the state.

Poll officials said the figure is provisional and accounts for votes polled only until 6 p.m. The actual tally of votes is expected to rise further.

In 2009, Kerala polled 73.37 per cent votes.

Voters showed great enthusiasm especially during the early part of Thursday, queuing up at polling stations even before the first ballot was cast.

Officials say that many more of Kerala's 24.2 million voters would have come out to cast their ballot, if it weren't for the rains which lashed across parts of the state towards evening.

Barring a few skirmishes, voting by and large ended on a positive note with state Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala expressing his thanks to all the political parties and the people for maintaining a high level of discipline.

Of the 20 Lok Sabha seats that are up for grabs in Kerala, Vadakara seat represented by union Minister of State for Home Mullapally Ramachandran recorded the highest turnout of 81.40 percent, closely followed by Kannur with 80.90 percent.

The least turnout was recorded at the Pathanamthitta constituency - 65.80 percent.

The Thiruvananthapuram constituency, which has conventionally seen the lowest voting percentage witnessed 68.60 percent polling, up from 65.74 percent in 2009.

The 269 candidates in the fray included 27 women.

In Kerala, the fight is mainly between the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and the CPI-M led Left Democratic Front (LDF). Leaders of the both rival fronts have claimed victory because of the high turnout.

In the 2009 elections, UDF won 16 seats while the LDF won four.

Speaking to IANS, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said that whenever the voter turnout is high, his party and the UDF benefits directly.

'We have no doubt. We will do extremely well, you just wait and see,' said Chandy.

On the other hand, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) state secretary Pinnarayi Vijayan predicts that the huge turnout means that the UDF is heading for its worst-ever rout.

'We expect that 2004 will repeat (LDF had won 18 seats that year) as people are fed up with both the central and state governments,' said Vijayan.

In the State capital, which is witnessing a keen triangular contest, BJP candidate and veteran leader O. Rajagopal appears confident that this time the lotus will finally bloom in Kerala.

'The Congress is going to become history and you wait and see the outcome here,' said Rajagopal, whose campaign got a shot in the arm after senior party leader L.K. Advani canvassed for him on the last day of the campaign here.

IANS

37 killed, 86 injured in Iraq violence

Baghdad: As many as 37 people were killed and 86 injured in a wave of attacks in different parts of Iraq Thursday.

At least 12 people were killed and 55 injured in two car bomb attacks in the evening, police and medical sources said. Seven of them were killed and 39 left wounded when a car bomb went off in Baghdad's Alamein districtin the evening, Xinhua quoted an interior ministry source as saying.

Five people were killed and 16 injured in another car bomb attack near a hospital in Sadr City, a Shiite district of northeastern Baghdad, the source said.

Earlier in the day, 25 people were killed and 31 wounded in separate violent attacks in the country, according to police and medical sources.

The violence came just 20 days before Iraq's landmark parliamentary elections due to be held April 30, which is the first in the country since the withdrawal of US troops in late 2011.

IANS

37 killed, 86 injured in Iraq violence

Baghdad: As many as 37 people were killed and 86 injured in a wave of attacks in different parts of Iraq Thursday.

At least 12 people were killed and 55 injured in two car bomb attacks in the evening, police and medical sources said. Seven of them were killed and 39 left wounded when a car bomb went off in Baghdad's Alamein districtin the evening, Xinhua quoted an interior ministry source as saying.

Five people were killed and 16 injured in another car bomb attack near a hospital in Sadr City, a Shiite district of northeastern Baghdad, the source said.

Earlier in the day, 25 people were killed and 31 wounded in separate violent attacks in the country, according to police and medical sources.

The violence came just 20 days before Iraq's landmark parliamentary elections due to be held April 30, which is the first in the country since the withdrawal of US troops in late 2011.

IANS

Over 100 lives claimed by Ebola in Guinea

Conakry:Over 100 people, out of 157 people infected, have died in the Ebola outbreak in Guinea, the country's health authorities said.

'There was a marked reduction in the spread of the disease,' said Sakoba Keita, head of the disease prevention unit, Xinhua reported Wednesday.

A total of 20 cases and eight deaths have been reported in the capital city of Conakry.

'I think the combined efforts made by the government and its development partners as well as sensitisation of the population has helped in the fight against the disease,' Keita said.

He, however, noted that the World Health Organisation will only declare the end of the epidemic if there is no new case within 42 days.

Over 100 lives claimed by Ebola in Guinea

Conakry:Over 100 people, out of 157 people infected, have died in the Ebola outbreak in Guinea, the country's health authorities said.

'There was a marked reduction in the spread of the disease,' said Sakoba Keita, head of the disease prevention unit, Xinhua reported Wednesday.

A total of 20 cases and eight deaths have been reported in the capital city of Conakry.

'I think the combined efforts made by the government and its development partners as well as sensitisation of the population has helped in the fight against the disease,' Keita said.

He, however, noted that the World Health Organisation will only declare the end of the epidemic if there is no new case within 42 days.

Series of car bombs in Baghdad kills 16 people

Baghdad: A wave of car bombings hit several, mostly Shiite neighbourhoods of Baghdad today, killing at least 16 people and wounding dozens, officials said, the latest bout of violence as Iraq prepares to hold the country's first parliament elections since the 2011 US troop withdrawal.

The explosions, all from parked explosives-laden vehicles, coincided with the anniversary of the 2003 fall of Baghdad in the hands of US troops.

The bombings bore the hallmarks of an al-Qaeda-inspired group and other Sunni insurgents, who frequently use car bombs and suicide attacks to target public areas and government buildings in their bid to undermine confidence in the Shiite-led government.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombings.

The deadliest of the day's attacks took place in Baghdad's central Nidhal Street, where four civilians were killed and 11 were wounded, police officials said.

In the northern Kazimiyah district, three people died and nine were wounded in another car bombing. Car bombs also exploded in the areas of Shaab, Shammaiya, Karrada and Maamil, killing a total of seven people and wounding 30, police officials added.

Medical officials confirmed the causality figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to the media.

Violence has surged in Iraq since last year, with the country weathering its deadliest bout of violence since it pulled back from the brink of civil war in 2008. UN figures showed that last year, Iraq saw the highest death toll in attacks, with 8,868 people killed.

More than 9,000 candidates will vie in the April 30 elections for 328 seats in the parliament.

Yesterday, the country's Independent High Electoral Commission announced that balloting would not be held in parts of the Sunni-dominated Anbar province engulfed in clashes between security forces and al-Qaeda-inspired militants. AP

Series of car bombs in Baghdad kills 16 people

Baghdad: A wave of car bombings hit several, mostly Shiite neighbourhoods of Baghdad today, killing at least 16 people and wounding dozens, officials said, the latest bout of violence as Iraq prepares to hold the country's first parliament elections since the 2011 US troop withdrawal.

The explosions, all from parked explosives-laden vehicles, coincided with the anniversary of the 2003 fall of Baghdad in the hands of US troops.

The bombings bore the hallmarks of an al-Qaeda-inspired group and other Sunni insurgents, who frequently use car bombs and suicide attacks to target public areas and government buildings in their bid to undermine confidence in the Shiite-led government.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombings.

The deadliest of the day's attacks took place in Baghdad's central Nidhal Street, where four civilians were killed and 11 were wounded, police officials said.

In the northern Kazimiyah district, three people died and nine were wounded in another car bombing. Car bombs also exploded in the areas of Shaab, Shammaiya, Karrada and Maamil, killing a total of seven people and wounding 30, police officials added.

Medical officials confirmed the causality figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to the media.

Violence has surged in Iraq since last year, with the country weathering its deadliest bout of violence since it pulled back from the brink of civil war in 2008. UN figures showed that last year, Iraq saw the highest death toll in attacks, with 8,868 people killed.

More than 9,000 candidates will vie in the April 30 elections for 328 seats in the parliament.

Yesterday, the country's Independent High Electoral Commission announced that balloting would not be held in parts of the Sunni-dominated Anbar province engulfed in clashes between security forces and al-Qaeda-inspired militants. AP

Student stabs 22 people in US high school

Washington' Twenty-one students and an adult were injured when a teenager, armed with knives, attacked students and staff at a high school in the US state of Pennsylvania Wednesday, officials said.

'A critical incident has occurred at the high school. All elementary schools are cancelled, the middle school and high school students are secure,' said the Westmoreland County school district in a statement posted on its web site.

A 16-year-old boy - identified by authorities as Alex Hribal - was arrested after the incident at Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville, 40 km from Pittsburgh. Police said he is the attacker and a student at the school, the spokesperson for the county's Emergency Department, Dan Stevens, told reporters.

He added that the attack began shortly before the first class of the day, lasted only minutes and the attacker wielded two knives 20 and 25 centimeters (8 and 10 inches) long.

The suspect was later questioned by police and taken to a hospital for minor head injuries.

Initial reports broadcast by local television say that the attacker went through the high school's halls acting 'crazy' and stabbing as many students as he could before he was overpowered.

Several of the injured were taken to medical centers by helicopter with eight of them being transported to the Forbes Regional Hospital in Monroeville with stab wounds, Pittsburg's Channel 4 TV reported.

Forbes Hospital physician Mark Rubino said that three of the students required surgery and two are in critical condition. Other medical authorities said that at least seven people were seriously injured with cuts and penetrating wounds in the chest and abdomen.

US President Barack Obama sent a message of solidarity to the relatives and victims of the attack from Texas, where he is attending the funeral services for the victims of the shooting attack last week that left four people dead and 16 wounded on the Fort Hood military base.

Student stabs 22 people in US high school

Washington' Twenty-one students and an adult were injured when a teenager, armed with knives, attacked students and staff at a high school in the US state of Pennsylvania Wednesday, officials said.

'A critical incident has occurred at the high school. All elementary schools are cancelled, the middle school and high school students are secure,' said the Westmoreland County school district in a statement posted on its web site.

A 16-year-old boy - identified by authorities as Alex Hribal - was arrested after the incident at Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville, 40 km from Pittsburgh. Police said he is the attacker and a student at the school, the spokesperson for the county's Emergency Department, Dan Stevens, told reporters.

He added that the attack began shortly before the first class of the day, lasted only minutes and the attacker wielded two knives 20 and 25 centimeters (8 and 10 inches) long.

The suspect was later questioned by police and taken to a hospital for minor head injuries.

Initial reports broadcast by local television say that the attacker went through the high school's halls acting 'crazy' and stabbing as many students as he could before he was overpowered.

Several of the injured were taken to medical centers by helicopter with eight of them being transported to the Forbes Regional Hospital in Monroeville with stab wounds, Pittsburg's Channel 4 TV reported.

Forbes Hospital physician Mark Rubino said that three of the students required surgery and two are in critical condition. Other medical authorities said that at least seven people were seriously injured with cuts and penetrating wounds in the chest and abdomen.

US President Barack Obama sent a message of solidarity to the relatives and victims of the attack from Texas, where he is attending the funeral services for the victims of the shooting attack last week that left four people dead and 16 wounded on the Fort Hood military base.