Polls: Meghalaya, Nagaland witness high voter turnout

DIMAPUR/SHILLONG: Despite a boycott call by a militant outfit, Meghalaya saw a high turnout of over 85 per cent voters in the assembly polls on Saturday. In Nagaland, the other northeastern state to go to the polls along with Meghalaya, more than 83 per cent of the electorate cast their votes.

Defying the 36-hour bandh called by the Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) to keep people away from voting, a large number of voters turned up to cast their votes since morning. The HNLC, an underground outfit, has been fighting for a separate Garoland for a long time. "Polling was peaceful across the state," said Meghalaya CEO Prashant Kumar Naik. There were 345 candidates for the 60-member assembly. Compared to the Khasi and Jaintia Hills, the turnout was low in Garo Hills. The BSF had sealed Meghalaya's borders with Bangladesh to ensure peaceful polling.

Incumbent chief minister Mukul Sangma (Congress) cast his vote in Ampatigiri constituency of the Garo Hills from where he is seeking reelection. Opposition leader and contender for the CM's post, Conrad Sangma, is fighting on a National People's Party ticket from Selsella constituency. He is the son of NPP founder and former Lok Sabha speaker PA Sangma.

Meghalaya, a matrilineal state, saw more women than men waiting to cast their votes at the state's 2,485 booths. In stark contrast, the number of women contestants was just 25. Last time, only one woman had been able to win the election.

In Nagaland, voting was by and large smooth even though reports of violence poured in from different areas. Polling in one constituency was deferred because of the death of a Congress candidate. There are 60 seats in the Nagaland assembly.

"Polling was by and large peaceful in the state," said Nagaland chief electoral officer (CEO) J Alam. Voters turned up at poll stations about an hour before voting began at 7 am. In Dimapur, the state's commercial hub, miscreants opened fire in the air to disrupt polling at the Nagarjan Higher Secondary School booth. A similar incident took place at the nearby Mao Colony, too. Security personnel intensified patrolling in the Nagarjan area.

At Singrijan, 14 vehicles were damaged during a clash between Congress and Naga People's Front (NPF) supporters. Two persons have sustained bullet injuries.

There were also reports of minor scuffles between political activists at some places.

Chief minister Neiphiu Rio (NPF), who is eyeing a third consecutive win, cast his vote at the Tuophema Base booth in Northern Angami II constituency. "NPF is confident of crossing the halfway mark on its own. We will form the next government in collaboration with the BJP and the JD(U)," he said. Speaking on similar lines, Tokheho Yepthomi, Congress's candidate from Dimapur-III constituency, said, "We will emerge as the single largest party and form the next government along with other parties."

Repolling has been ordered in atleast three Nagaland booths following reports of damage to EVMs.

Election Commission officials said the percentage of voting might go up in the two states as reports from many remote booths were yet to arrive.

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FDA approves new targeted breast cancer drug

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a first-of-a-kind breast cancer medication that targets tumor cells while sparing healthy ones.

The drug Kadcyla from Roche combines the established drug Herceptin with a powerful chemotherapy drug and a third chemical linking the medicines together. The chemical keeps the cocktail intact until it binds to a cancer cell, delivering a potent dose of anti-tumor poison.

Cancer researchers say the drug is an important step forward because it delivers more medication while reducing the unpleasant side effects of chemotherapy.

"This antibody goes seeking out the tumor cells, gets internalized and then explodes them from within. So it's very kind and gentle on the patients — there's no hair loss, no nausea, no vomiting," said Dr. Melody Cobleigh of Rush University Medical Center. "It's a revolutionary way of treating cancer."

Cobleigh helped conduct the key studies of the drug at the Chicago facility.

The FDA approved the new treatment for about 20 percent of breast cancer patients with a form of the disease that is typically more aggressive and less responsive to hormone therapy. These patients have tumors that overproduce a protein known as HER-2. Breast cancer is the second most deadly form of cancer in U.S. women, and is expected to kill more than 39,000 Americans this year, according to the National Cancer Institute.

The approval will help Roche's Genentech unit build on the blockbuster success of Herceptin, which has long dominated the breast cancer marketplace. The drug had sales of roughly $6 billion last year.

Genentech said Friday that Kadcyla will cost $9,800 per month, compared to $4,500 per month for regular Herceptin. The company estimates a full course of Kadcyla, about nine months of medicine, will cost $94,000.

FDA scientists said they approved the drug based on company studies showing Kadcyla delayed the progression of breast cancer by several months. Researchers reported last year that patients treated with the drug lived 9.6 months before death or the spread of their disease, compared with a little more than six months for patients treated with two other standard drugs, Tykerb and Xeloda.

Overall, patients taking Kadcyla lived about 2.6 years, compared with 2 years for patients taking the other drugs.

FDA specifically approved the drug for patients with advanced breast cancer who have already been treated with Herceptin and taxane, a widely used chemotherapy drug. Doctors are not required to follow FDA prescribing guidelines, and cancer researchers say the drug could have great potential in patients with earlier forms of breast cancer

Kadcyla will carry a boxed warning, the most severe type, alerting doctors and patients that the drug can cause liver toxicity, heart problems and potentially death. The drug can also cause severe birth defects and should not be used by pregnant women.

Kadcyla was developed by South San Francisco-based Genentech using drug-binding technology licensed from Waltham, Mass.-based ImmunoGen. The company developed the chemical that keeps the drug cocktail together and is scheduled to receive a $10.5 million payment from Genentech on the FDA decision. The company will also receive additional royalties on the drug's sales.

Shares of ImmunoGen Inc. rose 2 cents to $14.32 in afternoon trading. The stock has ttraded in a 52-wek range of $10.85 to $18.10.

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Pistorius Family: 'Law Must Run Its Course'

South African Olympian Oscar Pistorius is spending time his family today after the athlete was freed on $113,000 bail Friday.

"We realise that the law must run its course, and we would not have it any other way," the Olympian's uncle, Arnold Pistorius said in a statement on Saturday.

The Pistorius family expressed their gratitude that the former Olympian was allowed out of jail before the trial.

"This constitutes a moment of relief under these otherwise very grave circumstances" said Arnold Pistorius."We are extremely thankful that Oscar is now home."

Pistorius, 26, is charged with premeditated murder in the Valentine's Day shooting of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

While the prosecution argued that the world-renowned athlete was a flight risk and had a history of violence, South African Magistrate Desmond Nair, who presided over the case, disagreed.

FULL COVERAGE: Oscar Pistorius

"He regards South Africa as his permanent place of abode, he has no intention to relocate to any other country" Nair said during his two hour ruling, before concluding with, "the accused has made the case to be released on bail."

'Blade Runner' Murder Charges: Oscar Pistorius Out on Bail Watch Video

Oscar Pistorius Granted Bail in Murder Case Watch Video

Pistoriuis will have to adhere to strict conditions to stay out of jail before the trial. He must give up all his guns, he cannot drink alcohol or return to the home where the shooting occurred, and he must check in with a police department twice a week.

Oscar Pistorius is believed to be staying at an uncle's house as he awaits trial.

RELATED: Oscar Pistorius Case: Key Elements to the Murder Investigation

During the hearing, the prosecution argued that Pistorius shot Steenkamp after an argument, while the defense laid out an alternate version of events saying Pistorius mistook his girlfriend for an intruder.

Nair took issue with the head detective originally in charge of the case, who he said "blundered" in gathering evidence and was removed from the case after it was revealed he is facing attempted murder charges.

RELATED: Oscar Pistorius Case: Lead Det. Hilton Botha to Be Booted From Investigation Team

After the magistrate's decision, cheers erupted in the courtroom from the Pistorius camp. Pistorius' trial is expected to start in six to eight months, with his next pre-trial court date in June.

Reeva Steenkamp Family Reaction

Steenkamp's father, Barry Steenkamp told the South African Beeld newspaper that the 26-year-old athlete will "suffer" if he is lying about accidentally shooting 29-year-old model.

PHOTOS: Oscar Pistorius Charged with Murder

Barry Steenkamp went on to say that the Pistorius will have to "live with his conscience" if he intentionally shot Reeva.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Abe: Japan acting calmly in island dispute with China

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday said he told President Barack Obama in a meeting that Japan would act calmly in its row with China over tiny islands in the East China Sea claimed by both Asian countries.

"I explained that we have always been dealing with this issue ... in a calm manner," he said through a translator, while sitting next to Obama in the White House Oval Office.

"We will continue to do so and we have always done so," he said.

Tension has raised fears of an unintended military incident near the islands, known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China. Washington says the islets fall under a U.S.-Japan security pact, but it is eager to avoid a clash in the region.

Abe said the existence of the Japan-U.S. alliance was a stabilizing factor in the area.

"We agreed that we would stay in close coordination with each other in dealing with such issues and other issues," he said.

Obama, in his remarks to reporters, said Japan was one of the United States' closest allies. He said the two men would discuss trade and other economic issues and agreed that their top priority was economic growth.

Obama declined to answer a reporter's question on whether they would discuss the Japanese yen.

Expectations for Abe's economic programs, especially monetary easing, have cut some 10 percent off the yen's value against the U.S. dollar since Abe took office, raising concern that Japan is weakening its currency to export its way out of recession.

Obama and Abe also discussed North Korea and agreed to cooperate at the United Nations over the issue. Abe said the two men also talked about additional sanctions against North Korea, which tested a nuclear bomb last week in defiance of U.N. resolutions.

(Editing by Vicki Allen)

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Slovenian government slapped with no-confidence motion

LJUBLJANA: Slovenia's main opposition party Positive Slovenia (PS) filed Friday a no-confidence vote motion against the government, likely spelling an end for Prime Minister Janez Jansa's troubled administration.

"We have decided to bring this agony to an end," the head of PS's parliamentary group Jani Moderndorfer said after filing the motion in parliament.

The centre-left party suggested its acting leader Alenka Bratusek form a new government that will "pull Slovenia out of this political crisis and end the agony of Janez Jansa's government."

Slovenia's government has been slowly falling apart ever since the country's anti-corruption watchdog in January published the results of a probe containing corruption allegations against Jansa.

Two junior partners -- the pensioners' party DESUS and the Civil List (DL) -- quit the five-way ruling coalition after Jansa rejected their call to resign, with a third party, the People's Party (SLS), threatening to leave as well.

With support from just a third of deputies in the 90-seat parliament, Jansa's government is now unlikely to survive the no-confidence vote, which has to take place in the next seven days, although a date has not yet been set.

Moderndorfer said Friday that Bratusek had already met with the leaders of the opposition Social Democrats Party (SD) as well as DESUS and the Civil List, and had their support for a new government.

"We have agreed that all the conditions exist for us to make a step forward," the PS deputy said, describing the current turmoil as "the deepest political crisis in Slovenia's history."

The no-confidence vote motion was presented only hours after Foreign Minister and DESUS leader Karl Erjavec, as well as Health Minister Tomaz Gantar, quit the government in line with their party.

Former PS leader and Ljubljana Mayor Zoran Jankovic, who was also accused of irregularities by the anti-corruption watchdog in January, finally agreed to step down on Thursday, leaving the room free for Bratusek to represent the party.

PS won early elections in 2011, gaining 27 seats in parliament. But when it failed to agree on a coalition government, the mandate went to Jansa's Slovenian Democratic Party, which has 26 seats.

- AFP/jc

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Indian Mujahideen hand becomes clearer in Hyderabad blasts

NEW DELHI: As investigators trawl the devastated spots in Hyderabad's Dilsukhnagar for clues to Thursday's twin blasts, a debate has begun in the home ministry over whether the terror attack could have been prevented.

According to reports reaching here, there is no breakthrough yet for the investigators. "We are still groping in the dark," a senior home ministry official familiar with the details of the probe said. However, there was relief after it turned out that some of the CCTV cameras in the ill-fated locality were functional at the time of the explosions on Thursday evening and, therefore, might be holding pointers.

Senior sources disputed reports that the wires of CCTV cameras had been snapped four days ago.

The MHA had fewer doubts on Friday about the involvement of Indian Mujahideen in the attack. The bombs carried the signature of IM. Both the devices were packed with ammonium nitrate and shrapnel with a timer mechanism: the staple of IM bomb-makers. The use of cycles to strap bombs has also been an IM trademark since November 2007 when they attacked courts in UP.

Both bombs were designed to ensure that the impact of explosions was concentrated on one side: again a stock in trade for IM which has used boat-shaped devices earlier in order to maximize casualties.

Faced with allegations of intelligence failure in Parliament, home minister Sushilkumar Shinde pointed out that the Centre has issued a series of alerts to authorities in Hyderabad about a possible terrorist reprisal against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.

The first advisory went out on Saturday, alerting states against the threat of United Jehad Council to launch a fresh terror campaign against India to avenge Guru's hanging. The message was amplified by Lashkar chief Hafiz Saeed.

Although the first alert was general in nature, intelligence agencies, acting on basis of intercepts, refined it to caution that Hyderabad, along with Mumbai, Bangalore, Coimbatore and Hubli and certain places in Gujarat and Maharashtra, could be on the hit list of terrorists desperate to make good their threat.

This message highlighting the threat to Hyderabad was sent on February 19. The following day, Intelligence Bureau asked the states to step up vigil at places which were known to be on the radar of terrorists and had been recced.

Centre's concern, prompted by clear inputs according to Shinde, that a terrorist strike could be in the works manifested itself again on February 20, when it repeated that Hyderabad could be among the likely targets along with other places.

The same anxiety led the government to sound the same alert anew on Thursday morning just eight hours before the bombs went off in Hyderabad, killing at least 16 and maiming many more.

Dilsukhnagar fitted the bill, having been surveyed by an IM module as recently as last year. Delhi Police had on the basis of testimonies of two alleged IM terrorists, Syed Maqbool and Imran, told Andhra authorities that the locality was recceed as recently in July last year.

Sources in the home ministry said that the emphasis on the sites which had already been reconnoitered reflected the assessment that the terrorists were under pressure to do something spectacular sooner than later and, hence, focussed on locales they were already familiar with.

Centre refrained from blaming the state government, with Shinde saying in Rajya Sabha that the calm professionalism of AP cops was worth emulating. But many in his own ministry wondered whether cops could have prevented the carnage by upping their guard in response to a series of advisories. There was also puzzlement about the reasons why they failed to do so despite the fact that terrorists had targeted the same spot in 2007.

The last attempt failed only because the device planted by IM terrorists failed to go off, sparing the locality the devastation caused by the bombs the same module led by Riyaz Bhatkal had planted at Gokul Chat Bhandar and Lumbini Park.

According to sources, one possible explanation could be the fatigue among cops over having to deal with the same kind of alerts over and over again. They said the counter-terror advisories issued in the wake of Guru's hanging were not different from those which were sent after Mumbai attacker Ajmal Kasab was sent to the gallows in November.

The alerts issued after Kasab's execution had mentioned Hyderabad along with Bangalore and Coimbatore among the vulnerable spots. Speaking in Rajya Sabha, Shinde emphasized that the Centre had strong reasons to hoist the caution sign higher after February 19 and afterwards. If this was the case, the authorities clearly failed to impress the urgency upon the men at ground zero

Sources said that the routine of having to respond to the same kind of cues repeatedly could not but lead to a dulling of response: a vulnerability which could be exploited by a terrorist group set on a particular target as has been the case with IM and Dilsukhnagar. The predominantly Hindu locality with a history of communal tension has been consistently targeted by terrorists since 1999 when they unsuccessfully planted a bomb there.

The terrorists returned again in 2002 when a bomb claimed two lives. Residents were lucky in 2007 when the bomb planted there did not go off, but the determined group had had their way on Thursday.

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FDA approves new targeted breast cancer drug

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a first-of-a-kind breast cancer medication that targets tumor cells while sparing healthy ones.

The drug Kadcyla from Roche combines the established drug Herceptin with a powerful chemotherapy drug and a third chemical linking the medicines together. The chemical keeps the cocktail intact until it binds to a cancer cell, delivering a potent dose of anti-tumor poison.

Cancer researchers say the drug is an important step forward because it delivers more medication while reducing the unpleasant side effects of chemotherapy.

"This antibody goes seeking out the tumor cells, gets internalized and then explodes them from within. So it's very kind and gentle on the patients — there's no hair loss, no nausea, no vomiting," said Dr. Melody Cobleigh of Rush University Medical Center. "It's a revolutionary way of treating cancer."

Cobleigh helped conduct the key studies of the drug at the Chicago facility.

The FDA approved the new treatment for about 20 percent of breast cancer patients with a form of the disease that is typically more aggressive and less responsive to hormone therapy. These patients have tumors that overproduce a protein known as HER-2. Breast cancer is the second most deadly form of cancer in U.S. women, and is expected to kill more than 39,000 Americans this year, according to the National Cancer Institute.

The approval will help Roche's Genentech unit build on the blockbuster success of Herceptin, which has long dominated the breast cancer marketplace. The drug had sales of roughly $6 billion last year.

Genentech said Friday that Kadcyla will cost $9,800 per month, compared to $4,500 per month for regular Herceptin. The company estimates a full course of Kadcyla, about nine months of medicine, will cost $94,000.

FDA scientists said they approved the drug based on company studies showing Kadcyla delayed the progression of breast cancer by several months. Researchers reported last year that patients treated with the drug lived 9.6 months before death or the spread of their disease, compared with a little more than six months for patients treated with two other standard drugs, Tykerb and Xeloda.

Overall, patients taking Kadcyla lived about 2.6 years, compared with 2 years for patients taking the other drugs.

FDA specifically approved the drug for patients with advanced breast cancer who have already been treated with Herceptin and taxane, a widely used chemotherapy drug.

Kadcyla will carry a boxed warning, the most severe type, alerting doctors and patients that the drug can cause liver toxicity, heart problems and potentially death. The drug can also cause severe birth defects and should not be used by pregnant women.

Kadcyla was co-developed by South San Francisco-based Genentech and ImmunoGen Inc., of Waltham, Mass. ImmunoGen developed the technology that binds the drug ingredients together and is scheduled to receive a $10.5 million payment from Genentech on the FDA decision. The company will also receive additional royalties on the drug's sales.

Shares of ImmunoGen Inc. slipped 8 cents to $14.22 in afternoon trading. They have traded in a 52-wek range of $10.85 to $18.10.

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Jodi Arias' Friends Believe in Her Innocence

Accused murderer Jodi Arias believes she should be punished, but hopes she will not be sentenced to death, two of her closest friends told ABC News in an exclusive interview.

Ann Campbell and Donavan Bering have been a constant presence for Arias wth at least one of them sitting in the Phoenix, Ariz., courtroom along with Arias' family for almost every day of her murder trial. They befriended Arias after she first arrived in jail and believe in her innocence.

Arias admits killing her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander and lying for nearly two years about it, but insists she killed Alexander in self defense. She could face the death penalty if convicted of murder.

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Nevertheless, she is aware of the seriousness of her lies and deceitful behavior.

The women told ABC News that they understand that Arias needs to be punished and Arias understands that too.

"She does know that, you know, she does need to pay for the crime," Campbell said. "But I don't want her to die, and I know that she has so much to give back."

Catching Up on the Trial? Check Out ABC News' Jodi Arias Trial Coverage

The lies that Arias admits she told to police and her family have been devastating to her, Bering said.

""She said to me, 'I wish I didn't have to have lied. That destroyed me,'" Donovan said earlier this week. "Because now when it's so important for her to be believed, she has that doubt. But as she told me on the phone yesterday, she goes, 'I have nothing to lose.' So all she can do is go out there and tell the truth."

During Arias' nine days on the stand she has described in detail the oral, anal and phone sex that she and Alexander allegedly engaged in, despite being Mormons and trying to practice chastity. She also spelled out in excruciating detail what she claimed was Alexander's growing demands for sex, loyalty and subservience along with an increasingly violent temper.

Besides her two friends, Arias' mother and sometimes her father have been sitting in the front row of the courtroom during the testimony. It's been humiliating, Bering said.

"She's horrified. There's not one ounce of her life that's not out there, that's not open to the public. She's ashamed," she said.

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French, Malian forces fight Islamist rebels in Gao

GAO, Mali (Reuters) - French and Malian troops fought Islamists on the streets of Gao and a car bomb exploded in Kidal on Thursday, as fighting showed little sign of abating weeks before France plans to start withdrawing some forces.

Reuters reporters in Gao in the country's desert north said French and Malian forces fired at the mayor's office with heavy machineguns after Islamists were reported to have infiltrated the Niger River town during a night of explosions and gunfire.

French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told a news conference in Brussels that Gao was back under control after clashes earlier in the day.

"Malian troops supported by French soldiers killed five jihadists and the situation is back to normal," he said.

In Kidal, a remote far north town where the French are hunting Islamists, residents said a car bomb killed two. A French defense ministry source reported no French casualties.

French troops dispatched to root out rebels with links to al Qaeda swiftly retook northern towns last month. But they now risk being bogged down in a guerrilla conflict as they try to help Mali's weak army counter bombings and raids.

"There was an infiltration by Islamists overnight and there is shooting all over the place," Sadou Harouna Diallo, Gao's mayor, told Reuters by telephone earlier in the day, saying he was not in his office at the time.

Gao is a French hub for operations in the Kidal region, about 300 km (190 miles) northeast, where many Islamist leaders are thought to have retreated and foreign hostages may be held.

"They are black and two were disguised as women," a Malian soldier in Gao who gave his name only as Sergeant Assak told Reuters during a pause in heavy gunfire around Independence Square.

Six Malian military pickups were deployed in the square and opened fire on the mayor's office with the heavy machineguns. Two injured soldiers were taken away in an ambulance.

French troops in armored vehicles later joined the battle as it spilled out into the warren of sandy streets, where, two weeks ago, they also fought for hours against Islamists who had infiltrated the town via the nearby river.

Helicopters clattered over the mayor's office, while a nearby local government office and petrol station was on fire.

A Gao resident said he heard an explosion and then saw a Malian military vehicle on fire in a nearby street.

Paris has said it plans to start withdrawing some of its 4,000 troops from Mali next month. But rebels have fought back against Mali's weak and divided army, and African forces due to take over the French role are not yet in place.

Islamists abandoned the main towns they held but French and Malian forces have said there are pockets of Islamist resistance across the north, which is about the size of France.

CAR BOMB

Residents reported a bomb in the east of Kidal on Thursday.

"It was a car bomb that exploded in a garage," said one resident who went to the scene but asked not to be named.

"The driver and another man were killed. Two other people were injured," he added.

A French defense ministry official confirmed there had been a car bomb but said it did not appear that French troops, based at the town's airport, had been targeted.

Earlier this week, a French soldier was killed in heavy fighting north of Kidal, where French and Chadian troops are hunting Islamists in the Adrar des Ifoghas mountains, which border Algeria.

Operations there are further complicated by the presence of separatist Tuareg rebels, whose rebellion triggered the fighting in northern Mali last year but were sidelined by the better-armed Islamists.

Having dispatched its forces to prevent an Islamist advance south in January, Paris is eager not to become bogged down in a long-term conflict in Mali. But their Malian and African allies have urged French troops not to pull out too soon.

(Additional reporting by Emanuel Braun in Gao, Adama Diarra in Bamako, David Lewis and John Irish in Dakar and Adrian Croft in Brussels; Writing by David Lewis; Editing by Jason Webb and Roger Atwood)

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Massive winter storm blankets central US

CHICAGO: A massive winter storm blanketed much of the central United States Thursday and looked set to keep dumping heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain for days as it makes its way slowly towards the east coast.

The National Weather service reported that as much as 38 centimetres of snow had fallen in parts of Colorado and New Mexico by Thursday morning and warned that many areas would get at least 30 centimetres by the time the slow-moving storm passed.

Those living on the southern end of the storm were faced with a dangerous mix of freezing rain and sleet and Arkansas was on an ice storm warning.

"Heavy snow along with some blowing and drifting snow will result in very poor visibility at times and cause snow packed and treacherous driving conditions," the weather service warned.

"The most significant ice accumulations are expected on trees, power lines and untreated highways."

The governor of Missouri declared a state of emergency as the storm lashed the midwestern state with a dangerous mix of ice and as much as 25 centimetres of snow overnight.

"Missouri stands ready to help communities in need and to deploy the resources to keep folks safe," Governor Jay Nixon said. "I urge all Missourians to keep a close eye on the weather and avoid unnecessary travel."

The state of Kansas shuttered government offices Thursday to keep non-essential workers off the treacherous roads and scores of business owners and school officials followed suit.

The blizzard was so intense in some areas that snow plows were getting stuck and ambulances had trouble getting patients to hospitals.

"The roads throughout Wichita (Kansas) are snow-packed and many are impassible," the Sedgwick county emergency management office warned on its website. "Please stay home and off the roads unless absolutely necessary."

- AFP/fa

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