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TODAY:

In Mexico, 88 candidates for office have been murdered since last fall — six of them in the past two weeks — as violence spills over into the election campaign ahead of the July 1 vote

Authorities on Hawaii's Big Island are warning that the Kilauea volcano is entering a dangerous new phase

Ireland's upcoming referendum on abortion rights is fast becoming an international cyber tug-of-war

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Power from the barrel of a gun

Democracy is under siege in Mexico, as the country's long-running drug violence spills over into its national election campaign.

At least 88 candidates for office have been murdered since last fall — six of them in the past two weeks.

The latest victim, Abel Montufar Mendoza, was a local mayor running for seat in state legislature in Guerrero. He was found dead in his car in the city of Ciudad Altamirano on Tuesday, pantless and riddled with gunshot wounds.

People take part in a massive protest against violence, crime and the disappearance of people in Guadalajara, Mexico, on May 4. (Ulises Ruiz/AFP/Getty Images) About 3,400 offices are up for grabs in the July 1 elections, from local councils all the way up to the presidency. 3,400 offices are up for grabs in the July 1 elections, from local councils all the way up to the presidency.

But the brutal drug cartels that control so much of Mexican life are unwilling to leave the choice to voters, and have instead been selecting the losers via bullets. Thereby ensuring that whoever takes power won't dare to interfere with business.

Last year was the most violent in Mexican history, with 29,168 recorded murders, a 27 per cent increase from 2017.

The beginning of 2018 has been trending even worse, with 7,667 killings by the end of March — an average of 85 per day.

The battles have even spread into previously safe tourist areas like Cancun, with 14 people gunned down in the space of 36 hours in early April.

State policemen patrol after two men were killed during a confrontation on the highway near the tourist city port of Acapulco, on April 27. Guerrero is one of the regions of Mexico most affected by the violence related to drug trafficking. (Francsico Robles/AFP/Getty Images) Almost all the murders have been and their endless fights to control Mexico's lucrative domestic and international drug trade. attributed to organized criminal groups and their endless fights to control Mexico's lucrative domestic and international drug trade.

Few people feel secure. A recent survey by Mexico's national statistics agency found that 77 per cent of urban residents admit to feeling unsafe in their homes.

Two-thirds of respondents said that they had witnessed assaults or robberies, and 40 per cent said they have frequently heard gunfire.

Efforts by the government — aided by the United States — to stamp out the cartels have proven fruitless, with Mexico having endured more than 200,000 homicides since the army was first put into the streets in 2006.

And it doesn't seem to matter who is in charge. As of the end of March, there had been 104,583 reported homicide cases during the term of President Enrique Peña Nieto, just slightly more than the 102,859 under his predecessor Felipe Calderon.

There have been more than 104,500 reported homicide cases in Mexico during the term of President Enrique Peña Nieto. (Rebecca Blackwell/Associated Press) Politicians , however, are more at risk than members of the general public, especially at the local level. In 2016, for example, the , however, are more at risk than members of the general public, especially at the local level. In 2016, for example, the murder rate for Mexican mayors was 12 times higher than the national average.

The debate over public safety turned a corner earlier this week, when Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the frontrunner to become Mexico's next president, said he is willing to go a different route if elected.

ALMO, as he is known, mused about asking international organizations to help Mexico fight drug violence and corruption, and instituting a South-African style peace and reconciliation process.

Supporters reach for presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador as he leaves a campaign rally in Mexico City on Monday. Mexico will choose a new president in general elections on July 1. (Rebecca Blackwell/Associated Press) "We'll invite Pope Francis, the Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres, representatives of international organizations ... so that, with local experts, and with the victims and families of the victims, we elaborate a joint plan to attain peace in this country," he said at a Mexico City event Tuesday. Pope Francis, the Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres, representatives of international organizations ... so that, with local experts, and with the victims and families of the victims, we elaborate a joint plan to attain peace in this country," he said at a Mexico City event Tuesday.

If elected, López Obrador is promising to remove Mexico's Army from the drug fight. He even pitched the idea of an amnesty for traffickers — which was not particularly well-received.

Still, the leftist former mayor of Mexico City remains the man to beat.

A poll published this week gives AMLO 42 per cent support, nine points ahead of his nearest rival, the conservative Ricardo Anaya. Jose Antonio Meade, who is carrying the banner of the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), is in third place with 19 per cent support.

An explosive danger in paradise

Authorities on Hawaii's Big Island are warning that the Kilauea volcano is entering a dangerous, new phase — one that could see an explosive eruption in the coming weeks.

Lava flows from a four-kilometre-long series of fissures have already destroyed 26 homes and 10 other structures over the past week.

An ash plume rises from the Halemaumau crater within the Kilauea volcano summit caldera in Hawaii on Wednesday. The volcano has spewed lava and high levels of sulfur dioxide gas into communities, triggering an evacuation. (Mario Tama/Getty Images) Now there is a rising risk that the magma in the mountain's crater will come into contact with the groundwater below. That threatens to touch off a steam explosion that could send boulders as big as 1.8 metres in diameter flying up to 1.6 kilometres, and spread ash clouds over much of the island. rising risk that the magma in the mountain's crater will come into contact with the groundwater below. That threatens to touch off a steam explosion that could send boulders as big as 1.8 metres in diameter flying up to 1.6 kilometres, and spread ash clouds over much of the island.

The danger is neatly summarized in this graphic from the U.S. Geological Survey.

<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HVO?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HVO</a>/<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/USGS?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#USGS</a> Volcanic Activity Notice <br>for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Kilauea?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Kilauea</a>: Steady lowering of lava lake at summit of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KilaueaVolcano?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KilaueaVolcano</a> has raised potential for explosive eruptions in coming weeks. <a href="https://t.co/7sDZqcOJ5s">https://t.co/7sDZqcOJ5s</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CivilDefenseHI?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CivilDefenseHI</a> will issue alerts if needed: <a href="https://t.co/uYm7YGqOmq">https://t.co/uYm7YGqOmq</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KilaueaErupts?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KilaueaErupts</a> <a href="https://t.co/2tPcrlxiZS">pic.twitter.com/2tPcrlxiZS</a> —@USGSVolcanoes

A similar lava-lake drop in 1924 touched off a major eruption at Kilauea that killed one person and sent rocks and dust into the air for 17 straight days.

Kilauea is by far the deadliest volcano in the United States, responsible for more than half of the 708 eruption-related deaths recorded since 1784.

But as this Washington Post graphic shows, steam-driven flying rocks aren't the biggest danger, but rather pyroclastic density currents — the choking clouds of hot gas and ash that follow the blast.

How volcanoes kill people. <a href="https://t.co/KAMu1qGyqd">pic.twitter.com/KAMu1qGyqd</a> —@angelafritz

And a more pressing danger for area residents might be only tangentially related.

Last night, Hawaii Gov. David Ige warned about a "very, very hazardous" situation at the nearby Puna Geothermal Venture plant, where 190,000 litres of the highly flammable gas pentane are stored. Workers are busy trying to move it off-site, in case a lava vent opens up and touches off an explosion.

A fissure eruption sent a massive lava flow into a subdivision near Pahoa, Hawaii, on Sunday. (Bruce Omori/EPA-EFE/Paradise Helicopters) Pentane, an organic compound with lots of hydrogen, has a number of commercial uses, mostly due to its low boiling point. lots of hydrogen, has a number of commercial uses, mostly due to its low boiling point.

But it can be every bit as deadly as a volcano. In 1956, a blaze at a North Texas refinery touched off a pentane blast that killed 19 firefighters.

And it occasionally kills in home settings, too.

A 2011 explosion and fire that killed two residents of a Woodstock, Ont., apartment building was traced back to pentane gas in a laundry room — released by someone putting plastic in a clothes dryer.

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Ireland referendum tug-of-war

Ireland's upcoming referendum on abortion rights is fast becoming an international cyber tug-of-war.

Yesterday, Google announced that it will halt all advertising related to the May 25 vote on whether or not to repeal the Eighth Amendment to the country's constitution, which recognizes the "equal right to life of the mother and the unborn."

The company said it was concerned that ads on its platforms like YouTube might be undermining its global efforts to protect "election integrity."

Pro-Life and Pro-Choice posters are seen in Dublin, Ireland, on Monday. (Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters) The move came one day after to people or organizations based outside of Ireland, citing similar concerns. Facebook announced that it will no longer sell referendum-related ads to people or organizations based outside of Ireland, citing similar concerns.

Passed in a divisive 1983 vote, the Eighth Amendment has effectively banned abortions in all but the most medically threatening situations, with 25 performed at Irish hospitals in 2016.

An opinion poll released earlier this week suggests that the Yes campaign to do away with the restrictions is in the lead with 45 per cent, versus 34 per cent for the No side. It indicated that 18 per cent of voters remain undecided.

It's the battle to sway those who remain on the fence that concerns the internet giants and many Irish politicians, amid growing calls for a law to regulate online election ads.

Demonstrators hold posters as they march for more liberal Irish abortion laws in Dublin on Tuesday. (Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters) The has been crowdsourcing a database of all Yes and No ads on Facebook, cataloguing 624 of them as of Wednesday. The aim of some of the sponsoring organizations, such as Save the 8th or Together for Yes, is clear, but other groups like Men for Repeal or Transparent Referendum Initiative has been crowdsourcing a database of all Yes and No ads on Facebook, cataloguing 624 of them as of Wednesday. The aim of some of the sponsoring organizations, such as Save the 8th or Together for Yes, is clear, but other groups like Men for Repeal or Undecided on the 8th seem murkier.

Many of the ads have been purchased by American-based pro-life organizations, with some reports suggesting that "hundreds of U.S. religious and political groups" have been involved in the Irish campaign.

There are also fears that data is being harvested for a further "microtargeting" push ahead of the vote.

Anti-abortion campaigners hold placards as they protest outside the Supreme Court in London on Oct. 24, 2017. The court was hearing a case to overturn restrictions on abortions in Northern Ireland. (Carl Court/Getty Images) Yesterday, , saying it will result in a "level playfield" over the campaign's final two weeks. Yes supporters welcomed the intervention by Google and Facebook , saying it will result in a "level playfield" over the campaign's final two weeks.

A coalition of No groups issued a statement denouncing the moves.

"This decision is not about 'concerns about the integrity of elections,'" it read. "It is about concerns the No side will win … Online was the only platform available to the No campaign to speak to voters directly. That platform is now being undermined, in order to prevent the public from hearing the message of one side."

Quote of the moment

"We will not let Iran turn Syria into a forward base against Israel. This is the policy, a very, very clear policy, and we're acting according to this policy … They need to remember this arrogance of theirs. If we get rain, they'll get a flood. I hope that we ended this chapter and that everyone understood."

- Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman, speaking at an annual security conference north of Tel Aviv, about Thursday's Israeli military strikes on Iran's military installations in Syria. Israel says the strikes were in response to an Iranian rocket barrage on Israeli positions in the occupied Golan Heights.

Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman speaks at the Herzliya Conference on Thursday. (Nir Elias/Reuters)

What The National is reading

Will fatwa by Islamic scholars force Taliban to join peace talks? ( Al Jazeera)

Al Jazeera) Kenya dam bursts, killing at least 32 ( CBC)

CBC) Australia's oldest scientist takes own life at 104 ( Guardian)

Guardian) Cocaine breathalyser 'one step closer' ( BBC)

BBC) Mom who argued self-defence in assault against 8-year-old son found not guilty ( CBC)

CBC) A soldier needed an ear transplant, doctors grew her one on her arm ( Washington Post)

Washington Post) Korea debuts 'you walk, it locks' phone app for pedestrian safety ( Yonhap News)

Yonhap News) Bioluminescent plankton bathe Southern California surf in aqua glow ( CNN)

Today in history

May 10, 1959: The struggle for Berlin

"So long as the West is here, Berlin has the stamina for survival," says reporter Michael Maclear. Although the nearly $1 billion in financial aid that the U.S. and West Germany had provided to the city since the end of the war surely helped too. In the spring of 1959, the four occupying powers were heading to a big conference in Geneva to discuss the future of the divided city. Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev wanted the West out, and an end to the flow of refugees fleeing the East. Britain, France and the U.S. refused to budge, and two years later, construction began on the wall.

The Soviets issue an ultimatum to the Western powers: get out of Berlin or we will turn it over to East Germany. 12:24

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