Fatal tornadoes wreak havoc in six US states

Russians head to presidential polls

VOTERS are heading to the polls in Russia for a three-day presidential election that is all but certain to extend President Vladimir Putin’s rule by six more years after he stifled dissent.

At least half a dozen cases of vandalism at polling stations were reported, including a firebombing. The election takes place against the backdrop of a ruthless crackdown that has crippled independent media and prominent rights groups and given Mr Putin full control of the political system.

Voters are casting their ballots from yesterday until tomorrow at polling stations across the vast country’s 11 time zones, in illegally annexed regions of Ukraine and online.

But in St Petersburg, a woman threw a Molotov cocktail onto the roof of a school that houses a polling station. The deputy head of the Russian Central Election Commission said people poured green liquid into ballot boxes in five places, including in Moscow.

News sites also reported that a woman in Moscow set fire to a voting booth. Mr Putin, 71, is running for his fifth term virtually unchallenged. The three other candidates on the ballot are low-profile politicians from token opposition parties.

SEVERE storms with probable tornadoes have torn through several central US states, damaging homes and businesses and killing at least three people, with more bodies likely to be discovered, authorities said.

Yesterday officials scrambled to assess the extent of the destruction with the power out. The three deaths came in Logan County, Ohio, according to the sheriff’s office there.

Thursday night’s storms also left trails of destruction in Kentucky, Indiana and Arkansas. Tornadoes were also suspected in Illinois and Missouri. “Three people have been confirmed dead. We are working on identifying the victims,” said a statement from chief deputy Joe Kopus, of the Logan County Sheriff’s Office.

There were “many, many significant injuries” after a suspected tornado in Winchester, Indiana, where search efforts were under way, officials said. There were no known fatalities as of yesterday morning.

“I’m shaken; it’s overwhelming,” said Bob McCoy, mayor of the town of 4,700 about 70 miles north-east of Indianapolis. “I heard what sounded like a train, and then I started hearing sirens.”

West of Winchester, emergency management officials said initial assessments suggested as many as half the structures in the town of Selma were damaged by a possible tornado. Only minor injuries were reported, the Delaware County Emergency Management Agency said.

In Ohio’s Logan County, a suspected tornado tore through the villages of Lakeview and Russells Point, causing multiple injuries, authorities said.

Amber Fagan, president and chief executive of the Indian Lake Area

Chamber of Commerce, said the community of Lakeview was “completely demolished”, with homes and camp grounds hit by the tornado.

“There’s places burning,” she said. “There’s power lines through people’s windows.”

In Ohio’s Huron County, emergency officials posted on Facebook that there was a “confirmed large and extremely dangerous tornado” near Plymouth, some 75 miles north-east of Indian Lake.

Storms also damaged homes and trailers in the Ohio River communities of Hanover and Lamb in Indiana.

Another suspected tornado struck Jefferson County, on the Ohio River north of Louisville, Kentucky, damaging homes and downing trees and power lines.

He posted photos on X showing one home with its roof torn off, as well as an image of a baseball-sized hailstone. In Kentucky, Trimble

County Emergency Management director Andrew Stark told the Courier Journal of Louisville that the storms damaged at least 50 structures, including homes.

There was significant damage in the town of Milton, Kentucky governor Andy Beshear said in a statement, with potentially more than 100 structures damaged.

In Arkansas, a suspected tornado struck the retirement community of Hot Springs Village, about 40 miles south-west of Little Rock.

Baseball-sized hail also fell and some buildings were destroyed, but there were no reports of fatalities or injuries, Mr Green said.

There were unconfirmed reports of tornadoes in Jefferson County, Missouri, and Monroe County, Illinois, but no immediate reports of damage. Large pieces of hail were also reported in parts of the St Louis area on Thursday afternoon.