BJP’s Modi files papers as election enters second stage

VADODARA: Indian election frontrunner Narendra Modi waved to thousands of cheering supporters as he filed his papers to stand in the country's mammoth six-week election which entered its second of nine phases on Wednesday.

Modi, a hardline Hindu nationalist widely tipped to emerge as prime minister when results are published on May 16, is standing from the Vadodara constituency in the western state of Gujarat.

Making a rare public outing in a jeep, Modi waved at crowds waving the saffron-coloured flag of his Bharatiya Janata Party, which is forecast to inflict a crushing defeat on the ruling Congress party.

In the remote northeast of the country meanwhile, voting began amid tight security in constituencies in four insurgency-wracked states close to the disputed border with China.

Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur and Nagaland are the second wave of voting in the election process which has been staggered to allow security forces to re-deploy in between stages.

Voters flocked early to polling stations in Arunachal Pradesh, an eastern stretch of the Himalayas that China claims as its own, despite pouring rain overnight, the Press Trust of India reported.

During campaigning in February in the area, the scene of a 1962 war between India and China, Modi had warned Beijing to shed its "expansionist mindset".

Hundreds of extra security forces have been deployed in neighbouring and underdeveloped Nagaland, where rebels from tribal groups have waged a decades-long campaign for more rights.

Security was also tight in nearby Meghalaya, where ethnic and separatist groups have also long fought against the state, and the border with Bangladesh has been closed, Press Trust of India news agency said.

Six seats are up for grabs on Wednesday ahead of the third phase of voting Thursday which will be by far the biggest to date with constituencies in 14 states including the capital region heading to the ballot box.

The opposition BJP is expected to sweep to power in the world's biggest election at a time of low economic growth as well as anger over corruption and rising food prices.

As well as a Vadodara, Modi is also set to stand from a second seat in the northern holy Hindu city of Varanasi on the river Ganges in the battleground state of Uttar Pradesh.

Missing Malaysia airlines plane: Files were deleted from flight simulator

A pilot of a Royal Malaysian Air Force CN-235 aircraft shows a map during a search and rescue operation for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane over the waters at Malacca straits, Malaysia.

Investigators are trying to restore files deleted last month from the home flight simulator of the pilot aboard the missing Malaysian plane to see if they shed any light on the disappearance, Malaysia’s defense minister said Wednesday.
Hishammuddin Hussein told a news conference that the pilot, Capt. Zaharie Ahmad Shah, is considered innocent until proven guilty of any wrongdoing. He said members of Zaharie’s family are cooperating in the investigation.
Files containing records of the simulations carried out on the program were deleted on Feb. 3, Malaysian police chief Khalid Abu told the news conference.
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 with 239 people aboard went missing March 8 on a night flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Malaysian authorities have not ruled out any possible explanations, but have said the evidence so far suggests the flight was deliberately turned back across Malaysia to the Strait of Malacca. They are unsure what happened next.
Investigators have identified two giant arcs of territory spanning the possible positions of the plane about 7½ hours after takeoff, based on its last faint signal to a satellite. The arcs stretch up as far as Kazakhstan in central Asia and down deep into the southern Indian Ocean.
Police are considering the possibility of hijacking, sabotage, terrorism or issues related to the mental health of the pilots or anyone else on board, and have asked for background checks from foreign agencies on all foreign passengers.
Hishammuddin said background checks have been received for all the foreigners except those from Ukraine and Russia — which account for three passengers. He said none of the checks has turned up anything suspicious.
Relatives of passengers on the missing airliner have grown increasingly frustrated over the lack of progress in the search after 12 days. Planes sweeping across vast expanses of the Indian Ocean and satellites peering on Central Asia have turned up no new clues in the hunt.
“It’s really too much. I don’t know why it is taking so long for so many people to find the plane. It’s 12 days,” Subaramaniam Gurusamy, 60, said in an interview from his home on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. His 34-year-old son, Pushpanathan Subramaniam, was on the flight heading to Beijing for a work trip.
“He’s the one son I have,” Subaramaniam said.
Before Wednesday’s news briefing at a hotel near the Kuala Lumpur airport, Chinese relatives of passengers held up a banner and started shouting at the venue before police escorted them out.

Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan files complaint against WhatsApp text

Bollywood actor, Aamir Khan (Photo-DC)

 Mumbai: Actor Aamir Khan lodged a complaint with the Mumbai police on Saturday over alleged “malicious” messages circulating on WhatsApp and social networking sites about the source of donations for the second season of reality show Satyamev Jayate.
According to Aamir, the messages wrongly claim the donations are being sought by Humanity Trust, which is involved in masjid construction and finding employment for Muslim youth. The actor, on his Facebook page has clarified that the show is actually associated with another organisation with the same name based in Hanspukur in West Bengal, which specialises in charitable and free healthcare in rural areas.
“I would like to clarify that all donations sought in SMJ are used and channelised for entirely deserving and secular causes, contrary to the content of the highly mischievous/malicious insinuations in the messages, being circulated by vested and unscrupulous interest,” said Aamir.
On Saturday, he met the crime branch chief, joint CP where he submitted a written complaint following which a preliminary inquiry has been initiated.
“We have accepted a written application and have  forwarded the case to the cyber crime investigation cell to seek more information. Depending upon their findings, we will decide whether to register a cognisable offence in the case,” said joint CP  Sadanand Date.
Aamir has appealed to people on Facebook to disregard the “malicious” messages.