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By Kanishka Singh, Reuters Photo: AFP / Jessica McGowan Bomb threats led to evacuations in Maryland, California Officials to resume counting ballots on Saturday (local time) Everyone determined to be safe after threats Bomb threats were made against several Maryland boards of elections and election offices in at least two California counties on Friday, state authorities said, adding that everyone was safe and law enforcement officials were investigating. Election officials were counting mail-in ballots when the threats came in Maryland. State Administrator of Elections Jared DeMarinis said the threats led to the evacuation of some buildings. He called the threats "cowardly", adding that local officials would resume counting on Saturday (local time). "Safety is a top concern - but ...

Security personnel inspect wreckage after an explosion at a railway station in Quetta, in Pakistan's Balochistan province. Photo: BANARAS KHAN / AFP At least 24 people have been killed and more than 40 injured in a bomb blast at a railway station in Quetta in southwestern Pakistan, officials say. Pakistan is grappling with a surge in strikes by separatist ethnic militants in Balochistan province in the south and Islamist militants in its northwest. A decades-old insurgency has destabilised Balochistan and created security concerns for projects trying to access the province's untapped resources. Inspector general of police for Balochistan, Mouzzam Jah Ansari, said 24 people have died so far on Saturday from the blast at the railway station, which is usually busy early in the day. "The ta...

Residents of Eputobi village watch the eruption of Mount Lewotobi on 8 November. Photo: BAYU ISMOYO and ARNOLD WELIANTO / AFP Indonesia's Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki has erupted at least three times on Saturday, spewing an ash column 9km high, as authorities plan to widen the restricted area, officials say. A big eruption on 3 November by the volcano in East Nusa Tenggara province killed nine. Since then, authorities have been scrambling to evacuate 16,000 people from villages nearest the crater as eruptions continue. "The eruption accompanied by the ejection of hot lava and hot clouds to the west and northwest of Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki is still occurring," said Muhammad Wafid, head of the volcanology agency. The agency plans to expand to 9 km from 8 km the zone southwest to northwest of...