Slow and steady, north Karnataka voters turn up at booths
Bengaluru (PTI): The second phase of polling in Karnataka on Tuesday went on so smoothly that booth officials dressed up in costumes in Shivamogga managed to snag much of the attention.
Not only did the election officials dress up as kings and queens, the booth also had a throne for voters to take selfies flaunting their inked fingers.
Despite the searing heat, people turned up to cast their votes, and the polling percentage breaching the 50% mark by 3 pm. In the last Lok Sabha Election, also held in two phases in 2019, a voter turnout of 68.66% was registered in the 14 constituencies of north Karnataka.
Earlier Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Meena had told PTI that elaborate planning went into booth management to mitigate any unforeseen incidents.
Explaining, Meena said they had details about the number of young voters, women, servicemen, elderly and disabled voters, and checked whether polling stations are equipped with all facilities or not.
Noting the turnout last time, the plan also took into consideration what people were saying about why they did not vote, what they wanted, what should be done to enhance the voter percentage, he said.
According to him, every constituency had five 'Sakhi booths' decorated in pink and wholly managed by women polling personnel.
Apart from the Sakhi booths, there were also 'Go Green' booths that were decorated to create awareness about the climate crisis.
Meanwhile, just as Bengaluru saw a host of shops and restaurants offer discounts and freebies to encourage people to vote, a liquor shop in Hubballi has promised discounts for those who vote.
Karnataka Wines Shop on Kusugal Road has announced that people with inked fingers will get a 3% discount on MRP on May 8, the day after polling.
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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
