18 Dead in Indian Election Violence

300 passengers freed

(NEWSER) - Suspected Maoist rebels who hijacked an India train ended a four-hour standoff with authorities and released 300 passengers, reports CNN. No one was injured. Hundreds of men surrounded and disabled the train as it traveled through a forest in the state of Jharkhand early today. Rebel attacks in the area have mounted as India's month-long elections get underway. More»

Candidates call for cancellation, cite 'massive fraud'

(NEWSER) - As protesters hit the streets, presidential candidates in Haiti banded together yesterday to demand the election be canceled, citing foul play, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Twelve of the 19 candidates are accusing the outgoing president’s party of “massive fraud.” Protesters—some peaceful, some throwing stones—marched after hundreds of voters said they were barred from voting at polling stations because their names weren’t on rolls. More»

Election Center polling place finder packed with errors

(NEWSER) - Hundreds of thousands of voters who used Google to find their assigned polling places may have been sent to the wrong spot. Aristotle, a political technology firm that makes a polling place finder of its own, calculates that one of Google's Election Center apps may have given the wrong information to some 700,000 voters in 12 battleground states, Politico reports. The error rate ranged from 0.001% for Iowa to 18% for Washington state. More»

At least 65 dead after blast

(NEWSER) - At least 65 people have been killed by a train crash in eastern India that officials believe was the work of Maoist rebels. A blast hit an overnight passenger train from Calcutta as it passed through a rebel stronghold, sending 13 cars into the path of an oncoming cargo train. Over 200 people were injured, and authorities fear more bodies are trapped in the wreckage, the Telegraph reports. More»

(AP) - Hard-line incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was heading for a surprise landslide with nearly 80% of votes counted in Iran's stormy presidential elections, the Interior Ministry has said. But his pro-reform rival countered that he was the clear victor and accused authorities of fraud. Ahmadinejad's main challenger, Mir Hossein Mousavi, is backed by a growing youth-oriented movement. A large turnout at the polls had boosted victory hopes for Mousavi supporters. More»