Life & death: Polling day witnesses contrasting incidents in Karnataka
Bengaluru, May 10: The voting day for Karnataka Assembly elections presented a sharp contrast where birth and death happened in polling booths on Wednesday.
The booths also witnessed brides and bridegrooms voting for their public representative before tying the nuptial knot with their chosen ones.
According to information received, a woman delivered a baby boy soon after casting her vote at Korlagundi village in Kurugodu Taluk of Ballari district.
A medical team along with some other women present at the booth made the arrangements and helped the woman, who developed pain, go into labour. "Without much suffering, she delivered a baby boy at the polling station. The entire polling booth burst into joy," an official said.
At Chikkole village in Belur Taluk of Hassan district, 49-year-old Jayanna died of heart attack soon after casting his vote. In another incident, Paravva Sidnal (70) died even before casting her vote at Yarajharvi village in Belagavi district.
At a village near Hangal town in Haveri district, the entire village initially refrained from voting as they were mourning the demise of an ox, which people used to worship. In keeping with their age-old tradition, the villagers used to decorate it during Deepavali and made it run through a crowded track.
The villagers had an emotional bonding with the Hori', the ox. After its death, the entire village went into mourning and got themselves busy with conducting its last rites.
When Election officials learnt about it, they rushed to the village and appealed to the people to do their duty towards democracy. Later, people went to the polling station in the evening and cast their votes.
An inspiring story came from Bengaluru, where a kidney ailment patient on dialysis Kulashekar Ramanujan on a stretcher reached the polling booth and exercised his franchise.
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There were brides and bridegrooms in the queue who voted in multiple booths.
Sahil Dhariwal (26), preferred casting his vote ahead of his marriage in Bengaluru.
"I am voting for the first time. Last time I could not vote because of certain reasons. This time I made a point not to miss this opportunity," Dhariwal said.
At Periyapatna in Mysuru district, a couple queued up for voting soon after they tied the nuptial knot.
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Israeli strikes kill 20 people in Gaza as Trump wraps up his Middle East visit
Deir Al-Balah (Gaza), May 16 (AP): Israeli strikes killed at least 20 people in Gaza on Friday morning, as US President Donald Trump wraps up his Middle East visit.
An Associated Press journalist counted the bodies at the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, where they were brought. Survivors said many people were still under the rubble.
The widespread attacks across northern Gaza come as Trump finishes his visit to Gulf states but not Israel.
There had been widespread hope that Trump's regional visit could usher in a ceasefire deal or renewal of humanitarian aid to Gaza. An Israeli blockade of the territory is now in its third month.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the strikes.
The strikes lasted hours into Friday morning sending people fleeing from the Jabaliya refugee camp and the town of Beit Lahiya and followed days of similar attacks that killed more than 130 people, according to Gaza's health ministry.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed earlier in the week to push ahead with a promised escalation of force in Israel's war in the Gaza Strip to pursue his aim of destroying the Hamas group, which governs Gaza.
In comments released by Netanyahu's office Tuesday, the prime minister said Israeli forces were days away from entering Gaza “with great strength to complete the mission ... It means destroying Hamas.”
It was unclear if Friday's bombardment was the start of the operation.
The war began when Hamas-led group killed 1,200 people in an Oct 7, 2023, intrusion into southern Israel. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, many of them women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many were combatants. Almost 3,000 have been killed since Israel broke a ceasefire on March 18, the ministry said.
Hamas still holds 58 of the roughly 250 hostages it took during its Oct. 7 attack on Israel, with 23 believed to still be alive, although Israeli authorities have expressed concern for the status of three of those.
The attacks come as Israel enters its third month of blockading Gaza, preventing food, fuel medicine and all other supplies from entering, worsening a humanitarian crisis. Israel says the blockade aims to pressure Hamas to release the hostages it still holds and that it won't allow aid back in until a system is in place that gives it control over distribution.
Earlier this week, a new humanitarian organization that has US backing to take over aid delivery said it expects to begin operations before the end of the month — after what it describes as key agreements from Israeli officials.
A statement from the group, called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, identified several US military veterans, former humanitarian coordinators and security contractors that it said would lead the delivery effort.
Many in the humanitarian community, including the UN, said the system does not align with humanitarian principles and won't be able to meet the needs of Palestinians in Gaza and won't participate it.
