International News

YOUNGSTOWN, United States, (APP/AFP): Voters began going
to the polls Tuesday in five make-or-break presidential nominating contests, with Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton seeking to tighten
their grip as their party’s front runners.
Polls opened at 1030 in the states of North Carolina and Ohio, and at
1100 GMT in Florida, Illinois and Missouri, in an event dubbed “Super Tuesday 2.”
Trump is seeking to push one or two of his rivals out of the race,
while Clinton hopes to fend off a resurgent Bernie Sanders and assert her claim as the party’s all-but-certain presidential nominee.
“I love you Ohio. You can make the difference!” Trump said at a late
Monday rally at the Youngstown airport — a last minute push which suggested that he viewed the Midwestern state as his closest of the five races.
Violent clashes and protests at Trump rallies over the weekend dominated US headlines, with rivals in both parties accusing the billionaire real estate mogul of creating a toxic campaign environment.
The latest polls showed the Republican frontrunner poised to win the
Tuesday contests, although Ohio’s Governor John Kasich held a narrow lead in
his state in some surveys.