Violence kills at least 53 in Iraq
BAGHDAD, Iraq, May 6 (UPI) -- A wave of violence killed at least 53 people throughout Iraq Sunday.
The worst was in Baghdad where a car bomb exploded near a market, destroying buildings and killing at least 27 people, police said.
The deadliest attack in Baghdad in recent days came amid a surge of U.S. troops intended to bring stability to Iraq's capital city, the BBC reported.
Elsewhere in Baghdad, a car bomb in the Mansur district killed at least two people, while U.S. soldiers raided a Shiite stronghold in the Sadr City district, killing as many as 10 insurgents.
In Samara, insurgents detonated a car bomb at a police station, killing at least three people and an attack on a police checkpoint left at least one police officer dead in another part of the city.
North of Hillah, an unidentified number of insurgents were killed when a bomb they were trying to plant exploded in the town of al-Muwaileha, and one person died when a bomb exploded in the town of Haswa, reported KUNA, the Kuwait news agency.
Kenya plane may have crashed in forest
DOUALA, Cameroon, May 6 (UPI) -- The search for a Kenya Airways flight with 114 aboard was narrowed Sunday to a dense forest in Cameroon.
Flight KQ507 was en route to Nairobi when it disappeared after take off from Douala, Cameroon, Friday night.
Rescuers were focused Sunday on a dense area of forest south east of Douala, reported Kenya's Capital News.
Wet weather was slowing the search by a helicopter and a plane from the Cameroon government.
French voters to elect new president
PARIS, May 6 (UPI) -- More than 3,000 police were deployed in Paris as voting began Sunday to elect a new president in France.
Socialist Segolene Royal, 53, and Conservative Nicolas Sarkozy, 52, were vying to succeed 12-year incumbent Jacques Chirac.
The police were on alert in Paris and its multi-ethnic suburbs to prevent rioting if, as many expected, Sarkozy won the election, the BBC reported.
Sarkozy had dismissed claims by Royal that a win by his party would trigger violence across the country.
A heavy voter turnout was expected. Preliminary voting earlier this month drew 85 percent of the electorate, the highest voter turnout for a presidential primary in 40 years, the BBC noted.
Sarkozy advocated a tough line on immigration and law and order, while Royal supported raising the minimum wage and creating subsidized jobs for young people.
Tornadoes roar a second night
WICHITA, Kan., May 6 (UPI) -- Storms roared through the U.S. midsection putting six states on alert just 24 hours after a tornado killed nine in Kansas.
More than 60 tornado touchdowns were reported Saturday night in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and Iowa, the National Weather Service reported. South Dakota, Iowa and Nebraska were on alert for flooding, CNN reported Sunday.
There was extensive damage from a tornado in Sweetwater, Okla., but no major injuries or deaths reported Sunday.
Meanwhile, rescuers continued searching Sunday for people trapped in the rubble of Greensburg, Kan., home to about 1500. Saturday's tornado killed eight in Kiowa County, where Greensburg is located, and one in Stafford County, to the northeast.
The storm leveled most of Greensburg and left people walking the streets in shock, said witness Darin Brunin. Buildings were leveled, limping dogs wandered aimlessly, and injured cattle were scattered across a highway, Brunin told CNN.
Greensburg is best known for being home to a 1,000-pound pallasite meteorite. After the storm, the meteorite was reported missing.