Rajnandgaon: Naxals triggered an IED blast on Thursday in Chhattisgarh's Rajnandgaon district where polling for Lok Sabha elections is underway, a senior police official said.

Udupi: Polling began in the Udupi-Chikmagalur constituency with electors showing up at the polling booths early in the morning to avoid the heat-wave that grips the region around the afternoon.

Kanker: A teacher, who was on election duty at a polling booth in Chhattisgarh's Kanker district, died of a heart attack on Thursday, an official said.

Sagar: Three people died and 20 others sustained serious injuries when a private bus travelling from Honnavar towards Bengaluru, overturned Ulluru of Sagar Taluk here in the wee hours of Thursday.

Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau says a strong 6.1 magnitude earthquake has struck the east of the island.

The office said the quake happened just after 1 p.m. local time (0500GMT). The epicentre was located just over 10 kilometers (6 miles) northwest of the eastern coastal city of Hualien.

Karachi: Unidentified gunmen shot dead at least 14 passengers after forcing them to disembark from a bus on a highway in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province, a media report said Thursday.

New Delhi: Jet Airways lenders Thursday said they are reasonably hopeful of a successful bidding process for stake sale, a day after the cash-starved carrier suspended its operations.

A voter turnout of 7.60 per cent is being reported from 14 constituencies in Karnataka till 9 am, with the highest number of people voting in Dakshina Kannada and the least in Bangalore Central during the first two hours.