2 Blasts on Train at Chennai Railway Station, Woman Dead

Chennai:  Two bombs planted on a train killed a 22-year-old woman and wounded nine others at the Chennai Central Railway Station on Thursday morning. 

Sources say a man has been held and is being questioned. He was reportedly hiding inside the train an hour after the explosions.

The blasts took place at around 7:15 am on the Bangalore-Guwahati Express, which had just pulled into the platform 9 of the station for a 10-minute stop. 

The nature of the blasts, which come in the middle of India's national election, is not known yet. A National Investigation Agency team is going to Chennai to join the investigations.

"There were two minor intensity blasts," RK Mishra, a senior railway officer, said at the station.

The blasts took place between the S4 and S5 coaches of the train. 

A woman, Swati, was killed on the spot when one of the bombs exploded under her seat. Officials said she was traveling to Bangalore, from where she was heading to her home in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. Her relatives have been called to Chennai.

Two people have been critically wounded, while seven have received minor injuries.

"We heard a very loud explosion. It was only after the chaos and the police came that we realised what had happened," said a passenger on the train.

The station has been cordoned off and is teeming with police personnel who are checking the rest of the coaches. Sniffer dogs have been scouring the platforms. The injured have been taken to a hospital near the station. (see pix)

Officials said they hoped to resume train operations within an hour.

After these blasts, surveillance has been increased on all trains and stations in Andhra Pradesh.

 The state government has announced compensation of one lakh for the family of the woman who died, Rs. 55,000 for those who are critical and Rs. 5,000 for the others who were injured.

The Tamil Nadu government has announced a helpline number, 044 25357398.

Gujarat, UP, Punjab votes for Lok Sabha, assembly

Brisk polling in Gujarat as 26 Lok Sabha seats go to polls - Polling started on a brisk note in most of Gujarat's 26 Lok Sabha seats Wednesday with long queues witnessed at some places even before the polling stations opened. According to state election officials, an average of 8-10 percent voting has been recorded ...

Chandigarh, Apr 30 (IANS): Balloting began Wednesday in Punjab for all its 13 Lok Sabha seats that went to the polls in a single phase, officials said.

Prominent candidates are Akali Dal's Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Bharatiya Janata Party's Arun Jaitley, Congress's Amarinder Singh, and three-time BJP MP, actor Vinod Khanna.

As many as 253 candidates are in the fray.

People queued up at polling stations even before 7 a.m.

A total of 234,011 poll officials have been deployed.

The Election Commission is expecting a voter turnout of 80 percent this time. In the 2009 election, Punjab had recorded over 70 percent polling.

Over 75,000 police and paramilitary personnel have been stationed across the state to ensure peaceful polling, said Director General of Police Suresh Arora.

Punjab has 13,582 polling stations and 22,060 polling booths. Out of these, 2,442 polling stations have been declared hyper-sensitive and 4,632 sensitive, Arora said.

Lucknow, Apr 30 (IANS): Lok Sabha polls in 14 constituencies and by-polls for two state assembly seats began in Uttar Pradesh Wednesday, officials said.

The candidates to look out for include Congress president Sonia Gandhi from Rae Bareli and Bharatiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh from Lucknow.

The other prominent contenders include BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi from Kanpur against former union minister Sriprakash Jaiswal of the Congress.

Over 24.6 million voters are eligible to vote at 25,380 polling booths.

As many as 233 candidates are in the fray for the Lok Sabha polls.

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UPDATE 2-North Korea conducts firing drills near disputed border with South

(Updates after North Korea starts firing drill)

By Ju-min Park and James Pearson

(Reuters) - North Korea conducted live fire drills on Tuesday in two areas near a disputed sea border with South Korea that have been the scene of deadly clashes and where they fired hundreds of artillery rounds only weeks ago.

North Korea conducted similar drills in late March, firing more than 500 artillery rounds near the Northern Limit Line (NLL), a disputed maritime border that has been the de facto sea border since the 1950-53 Korean war.

More than 100 rounds landed south of the border during that drill, prompting South Korea to fire hundreds of rounds back into the North's waters.

The latest round of firing began at about 2 p.m. local time (0500 GMT) on Tuesday. No rounds appeared to have landed south of the NLL border, a military official from the South said.
It came hours after the North notified South Korea of the areas near populated South Korean islands where it would conduct the exercise.

The Northern Limit Line is an extension of the land border between the two Koreas, stretching into the sea west of the Korean peninsula.

North Korea has refused to recognise the line as the sea border and has periodically challenged the South by violating it and demanding a new border be set further to the south.

The existing line curves northwards, effectively isolating five remote, South Korean-controlled islands from the mainland. The furthest of those islands is closer to Pyongyang than Seoul.
South Korean military officials told residents to seek cover in one of many shelters dotted around the small fishing villages and farming hamlets on the islands, another official from the South said.

South Korea increased its military presence on the islands after the 2010 bombardment of Yeonpyeong island by the North, which it said was in response to South Korean artillery drills.

Naval clashes, most notably in 1999 and 2002, killed an unconfirmed number of sailors on both sides.
In March 2010, a South Korean navy ship was hit by a torpedo and sunk, killing 46 on board. North Korea has denied blame. (Writing by Jack Kim; Editing by Paul Tait)

Kerry: I do not believe Israel is an apartheid state

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry denied on Monday night that he in any way considered Israel to be an apartheid state.

"I do not believe, nor have I ever stated, publicly or privately, that Israel is an apartheid state or that it intends to become one," Kerry said, in a rare personal statement released by the U.S. State Department.

That said, Kerry did not deny that he had used the word "apartheid" in conjunction with Israel in a closed meeting in Washington last week, as reported by Haaretz. The statement was greeted with dismay by Israel and heavily criticized in the United States.

"If I could rewind the tape, I would have chosen a different word to describe my firm belief that the only way in the long term to have a Jewish state and two nations and two peoples living side by side in peace and security is through a two state solution," the secretary of state said in his statement.

Noting that Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and former prime ministers Ehud Barak and Ehud Ohlmert had all "invoked the specter of apartheid to underscore the dangers of a unitary state for the future," Kerry conceded that "it is a word best left out of the debate here at home."

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry makes a statement on Ukraine at the briefing room of the State Department April 24, 2014 in Washington, DC. Photo by AFP

Chemi Shalev adds that the White House was also unhappy with the uproar created by Kerry's words, according to a knowledgeable source, and likely pressed Kerry to issue his personal statement.

The secretary defended his record on Israel, saying, "for more than 30 years in the U.S. Senate, I didn’t just speak words in support of Israel, I walked the walk when it came time to vote and when it came time to fight. As Secretary of State, I have spent countless hours working with Prime Minister Netanyahu and Justice Minister Livni because I believe in the kind of future that Israel not only wants, but Israel deserves.

"I want to see a two state solution that results in a secure Jewish state and a prosperous Palestinian state, and I’ve actually worked for it… I will not allow my commitment to Israel to be questioned by anyone, particularly for partisan, political purposes."

Kerry reiterated that, "in the long term, a unitary, binational state cannot be the democratic Jewish state that Israel deserves or the prosperous state with full rights that the Palestinian people deserve."

Ukraine mayor Gennady Kernes fighting for life after being shot

The mayor of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, was fighting for his life on Monday after unidentified gunmen shot him in the back as he went for a morning swim.

Gennady Kernes, 54, was undergoing emergency surgery in hospital, his office said. "The doctors are fighting to save his life," said his spokeswoman Tatiana Gruzinsyaka. It was unclear who was behind the apparent assassination attempt.

Kernes was a leading figure in the Party of Regions of Ukraine's ex-president Viktor Yanukovych. The mayor had bitterly attacked the Maidan demonstrations that caused Yanukovych flee to Russia in February. A flamboyant figure with alleged ties to organised crime in the 1990s, Kernes had backed closer relations with Moscow.

Since the change in government in Kiev, however, Kernes's statements had become more patriotic. He stated that Kharkiv, an eastern university city25 miles from the Russian border, should remain part of Ukraine. A billionaire, he also claimed he was himself a victim of Yanukovych's corrupt system.

Kharkiv journalist Zurab Alasania blamed Russia for Monday's shooting. He noted in a Facebook post that the mayor had not changed his routine of going for a morning lake swim, despite the deteriorating security situation in the east.

"The Russian Federation is identifying and liquidating key centres of resistance," Alasania said.

A group of 30 pro-Russian gunmen seized a police station in the eastern city of Konstantinovka, 30 miles south of the rebel stronghold of Slavyansk. The masked men entered the building at 6am. The police offered no resistance and allowed the gunmen to take over.

The town is 65 miles north of Donetsk, the regional capital, and on the main highway to Slavyansk. It has little strategic importance but appears part of an ongoing plan to establish a rebel "Donetsk People's Republic" on the ground, before a separatist-organised "referendum" due to take place on 11 May.

Via - http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/28/ukraine-mayor-kharkiv-gennady-kernes-shot

Narendra Modi shows 'mirror' to Farooq Abdullah on secularism

New Delhi: Reacting strongly to Farooq Abdullah's remark that “those who vote for Modi should drown in the sea”, Narendra Modi tore into the National Conference chief and asked him to look into a mirror before commenting on the secular culture of the country. 

“India's secularism is not because that word has been added in the Constitution. For thousands of years, India has believed in the philosophy of Sarva Path Sambhav [all Dharmas (truths) are equal to or harmonious with each other]. India is the only country which says there is only one truth, seekers express it in different ways,” Modi said in a video released by his office on Monday. 

“India is the only country which says Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah, Sarve Santu Nir-Aamayaah, Sarve Bhadraanni Pashyantu, Maa Kashcid-Duhkha-Bhaag-Bhavet
 (May all become happy, may all be free from illness. May all see what is auspicious, may no one suffer). India never says Hindus be happy, India thinks about everybody,” he added.
“India has never attacked any thought, any society in the world, with a sword. Expansionism is not in the blood of India. Neither us nor anybody should teach such a country about secularism. Those people who talked about secularism...I want to ask Farooq sahab...the power of India's secularism is so strong and it is in our veins. It is not in the Constitution, it is in our views. It is a country which prays to the nature, to water, the society lives with the ideal of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam(The world is my family).” 

“And in such society such language is used. Even if a statement comes from someone (apparently referring to Giriraj Singh), is India's secularism so useless that it will get split by one statement? I want to say to Farooq Abdullah...the biggest injury to the thousands of years of secularism in India has been done in Kashmir and that too because of the politics of your father, because of your politics and because of your son's politics. In this country, it is only in Kashmir from where Pandits have been thrown out on the basis of religion. The Sufi tradition of Kashmir has been turned into communal for personal political gains by you, your son.” 

“And you talk about drowning people who vote for Modi in the sea? Your father, you, your son have done the sin of give communal colour to the politics of Kashmir in the eyes of the world. Kashmir was always all-inclusive society, you tainted that tradition. It doesn’t suit you that you give such statements and if anyone needs to get drowned then look at your face in the mirror; put your father's face in front of the mirror and then ask this question. With what face can the people who threw out Kashmiri Pandits give discourse on secularism to the country? It doesn’t suit them.”

“We are silent but that doesn’t mean that they can hurt the secular tradition of the country whenever they feel like. Even today, because of our culture, because of our blood and not because of politics, because of patriotism, we say that the path of Sarva Path Sambhav is ideal for India. Politics of development not politics of vote bank is ideal for India.” 

“This is our commitment, Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas. We will move forward with this mantra. People like Farooq Abdullah sahab cannot derail the vehicle,” Modi said. 

“The country will never waver from its lofty ideals,” he added. 

Fruitless search for MH370 to enter 'new phase': Tony Abbott

The search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 will enter a new phase after 52 days of searching failed to find any sign of the plane wreckage.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott said it was now also highly unlikely that any debris from the plane would be found on the ocean surface.
But Mr Abbott defended the search operation in the southern Indian Ocean and said authorities remained confident that signals detected some weeks ago were from a black box recorder.

Search for missing flight enters "new phase". Prime Minister Tony Abbott addresses the media with chief of the Joint Agency Co-ordination Centre, Air Chief Marshall Angus Houston. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen

Speaking in Canberra on Monday, Mr Abbott said the “most difficult search in human history” would switch its focus to underwater operations over an expanded area.

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The Bluefin 21 submersible, which has been criticised as unreliable, will still be used to search the ocean floor, along with specialised sonar equipment towed by ships that will scan the seabed for wreckage.
“We will do everything we humanly can, everything we reasonably can, to solve this mystery. We will not let people down,” Mr Abbott said.
“While the search will be moving to a new phase in coming weeks, it certainly is not ending.”
Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston warned the revised search could take up to eight months to complete.
He said searchers were still confident they were searching in the right area.
“If everything goes perfectly, I would say we will be doing well if we do it in eight months,” he said.
“But then you have issues, potential issues, with weather, potential issues with equipment, witness what's happened with the 'Bluefin 21' - a number of teething problems with it.”
Mr Abbott defended his handling of the search and his declaration at the time the signals were detected that searchers were confident they were in the right area.
“Our way of operating at all times has been to release credible information as soon as we've had it so that we could be as transparent as possible,” Mr Abbott said.
“All of the different leads we've had we believe to be credible and important at the time.”


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/fruitless-search-for-mh370-to-enter-new-phase-tony-abbott-20140428-zr0sb.html#ixzz309sMG2y5

BJP's sharpest attack ever on Robert Vadra

New Delhi: In its strongest attack against Congress president Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra, the BJP on Sunday released a video on his alleged land deals terming it as 'Robert Vadra model of development'. (Please explain Vadra model of development, BJP taunts Congress)

Alleging that the 'model' became successful due to the patronage provided by the Gandhi family to Robert Vadra, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said at a press conference in New Delhi on Sunday, "There was gross violation of laws relating to land and environment. The influence of the family helped make Vadra big earnings in the deals." (BJP seeks a Supreme Court-monitored probe into Robert Vadra's land deals)

The party also returned the 'big heart' and 'moral strength' taunt by Mr Vadra's wife Priyanka.

"A member of the Gandhi family has talked about moral strength and large heart. So, we want to know on basis of which moral strength has Vadra built such a big business? And whose large heart helped him?" BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

"A 56-inch chest is not needed to run this country, a big heart is needed to run it. To run this country cruel force of power is not needed, but moral strength is needed. It needs an internal strength," Priyanka had said at a rally in Gorakhpur recently. (Read more)

Apart from the 8-minute video, the BJP also released a six-page booklet titled 'Damad (son-in-law) Shree' which refers to the alleged deals of Mr Vadra in Rajasthan and Haryana.

Alleging that the land deals involving Mr Vadra were a "textbook case of corruption and crony capitalism under state patronage", Mr Prasad said the BJP wants to know from Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi as to under whose patronage Mr Vadra was allowed to carry out the deals in Haryana and Rajasthan "violating various environmental and land laws".

Ravi Shankar Prasad, however, said the BJP was not targeting an individual but the issue of corruption. (India Votes 2014: full coverage)

The Congress hit back, saying old and baseless allegations are being regurgitated at election time. "The BJP is panicking due to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's campaign in Raebareli and Amethi," Congress spokesperson Ajay Maken said.

"They don't have any proof or document against Mr Vadra. Even the courts have rejected the issue. These are baseless allegations," Congress leader Rajiv Shukla said.

BJP's latest offensive on the Gandhi family is in direct response to Sonia Gandhi's attack on Narendra Modi's Gujarat model of development. On Saturday, at a rally in Punjab, she described Narendra Modi's model as destructive and divisive.

"God save the country from this sort of model. It has many problems," Mrs Gandhi had said.

Narendra Modi in Varanasi: biggest road-show in world's largest election

Varanasi: Narendra Modi is wearing pristine white, but there is no lack of colour as Varanasi turns out in a celebration extraordinaire to cheer the BJP's prime ministerial candidate. (Track LIVE updates)


Thousands of BJP workers and supporters have washed the ancient city in saffron. But there is also the red of rose petals being showered from the terraces and windows of homes as Mr Modi's open truck crawls along the two-km route from Banaras Hindu University or BHU where he landed in a helicopter and the collectorate where he will file his nomination papers. (In pictures: Modi's road show in Varanasi)

His vehicle, draped in the BJP's colours, has covered about 500 metres in the last two hours, so thick is the crowd of cheering people on the roads. 

There are people everywhere in a carnival-like  atmosphere, on terraces, on trees; those who have come in from other states are in traditional attire, holding up hundreds of flags with the BJP's lotus symbol. 

At BHU, Mr Modi garlanded the statue of the university's founder Madan Mohan Malaviya whose grandson, a retired judge is among those who will propose his name. In a programme designed for symbolism, a singer, a weaver and a boatman are the other proposers. 
  
On the streets are priests and even people dressed as Gods. A 'Hanuman' is waving a wave. The sound of conch shells punctuates the sloganeering.   
 
Across town, hundreds of prayer ceremonies are being held to bring luck to Mr Modi.
 
The BJP leader is garlanding other statues on his way - freedom fighter Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and thinker Swami Vivekananda are leaders he avowedly follows and profusely quotes. Also a BR Ambedkar statue.    
 
Mr Modi has cannily chosen a polling day to file his papers. His party is backing that with a grand show to ascertain top of the mind recall as votes are cast in 117 constituencies in 11 states. 
 
His chief opponent in Varanasi is Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal, who filed his nomination yesterday. (I have Rs. 500 in my pocket and an old jeep: Arvind Kejriwal in Varanasi)
 
In a blog post, Mr Modi has sought the blessing and support of the city and has promised "a magnificent future for Varanasi" and an end to "a larger decay across UP." 
 
Read More here - http://www.ndtv.com/elections/article/election-2014/modi-in-varanasi-biggest-road-show-in-world-s-largest-election-513121

Lok sabha polls | 6th phase 10 most high profile battles

Mulayam Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Priya Dutt, Milind Deora among those whose fate will be decided today

Voting is underway in 117 Lok Sabha constituencies in round six of the national election that ends on May 12. Of the 117 seats, the Congress holds 37 and the BJP 24 at present.Mulayam Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Priya Dutt, Milind Deoraamong those whose fate will be decided today. Here's a quick look at the top ten contests:

1) Samajawadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav is contesting from Mainpuri (Uttar Pradesh). Mulayam is facing BJP's' Shatrughan Singh Chauhan and BSP's Dr Sanghamitra Maurya. The BJP candidate has asked the Election Commission to declare the constituency extra-sensitive. The SP chief won this seat in 1996, 2004 and 2009.

Dimple Yadav, the daughter-in-law of Mulayam Singh Yadav and chief minister Akhilesh Yadav's wife, is seeking to defend her Kannauj seat that she won in 2012.

2) In Mathura, Jayant Chaudhary, son of Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Ajit Singh, is locked in a stiff contest with Bharatiya Janata Party candidate and Bollywood star Hema Malini, whose campaign has been lacklustre, but Narendra Modi was there at a recent rally.

Milind Deora

3) Union minister of state for IT and Communications Milind Deora, seeking a hat-trick win from South Mumbai seat, is locked in a quadrangular fight with Bala Nandgaonkar (Maharashtra Navnirman Sena), Arvind Sawant (Shiv Sena) and Meera Sanyal (Aam Aadmi Party). Sanyal, who polled approximately 10,000 votes in 2009, may draw some Muslim and minority votes due to AAP's relentless posturing against Modi.


4) Social activist turned politician, Medha Patkar recently joined AAP and is the Lok Sabha candidate from North East Mumbai constituency of Maharashtra. She is facing stiff competition from Sanjay Dina Patil of Nationalist Congress Party and BJP's Kirit Somaiya.

 

Priya Dutt, Congress MP

5) Priya Dutt, the daughter of late Congress leader Sunil Dutt and Poonam Mahajan, the daughter of former Union minister and BJP heavyweight Pramod Mahajan are locked in a tough fight for North-Central Mumbai seat. Samajwadi party's Farhan Azmi is also in the fray. While Priya is a two-time MP from the constituency, Poonam had got a drubbing in the 2009 Maharashtra Assembly elections when she fought on a BJP ticket from Ghatkopar West.

6) The Congress faces an acid test in West Bengal as it fought the 2009 Lok Sabha poll as an alliance partner of the Trinamool Congress. President Pranab Mukherjee’s son Abhijit and Mamata Banerjee’s bete noire Deepa Dasmunshi (Raiganj) are among the candidates. Abhijit had won the Jangipur seat by a slender margin of 2,536 votes in a 2012 by-election when his father Pranab Mukherjee vacated the seat to become the President of India. Read More article here - Lok sabha polls | 6th phase 10 most high profile battles

Australians to Spend $13,000+ for 2014 Travels, Double Global Average of $5,500

A TripBarometer survey by travel site TripAdvisor among 50,000 people from different countries namedAustralia and Italy as their top dream destinations with the two nations tied for first place.

They were followed by the U.S., France and New Zealand.

But they are merely dream destinations, not based on actual travel intentions of plans, since the survey was premised on money not being a problem in reaching their desired destinations.

The same survey found that Aussies listed Canada and Italy as their dream destinations, but they actually plan to go to the U.S. in the next 12 months. The information shows a shift in preference since in the last year, Thailandwas the favourite destination of Australians.

Australia being a progressive country, it would not be surprising that Aussies plan to spend an average of $13,831 for their 2014 travel, more than double the yearly global average spend of $5,498.

Tourist-oriented establishments would be happy to know that prospects appear bright in the coming months since 90 per cent of the survey respondents plan domestic travel, while 77 per cent plan to go overseas.

Here are the top 10 dream destinations of the respondents:

1. & 2. Australia and Italy

3. U.S.

4. France

5. New Zealand

6. Caribbean

7. Greece

8. Japan

9. Spain

10. Switzerland.  

To contact the editor, e-mail: editor@ibtimes.com

Britain's Prince William and his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, walk during a reception at the Sydney Opera House April 16, 2014. Prince William and his wife are undertaking a 19-day official visit to New Zealand and Australia with their son, Prince George. REUTERS/Jason Reed (AUSTRALIA - Tags: ROYALS) April 16, 2014

Read More click here - Australians to Spend $13,000+ for 2014 Travels, Double Global Average of $5,500

Women Urged To Stop Britons Fighting In Syria

A sharp rise in the number of people being arrested for travelling to Syria has prompted a new campaign.

Female loved ones of those thinking of heading to the war-torn state are being encourage to stop the men leaving.

Scotland Yard revealed that 40 Syria-related arrests were made in the first three months of this year, up from 25 in the whole of 2013.

The campaign comes after several Britons are thought to have died in Syria in the last few months.

Bashar al Assad's government is fighting a civil war against a group of Western-backed rebels and also an al Qaeda-linked extremist group.

Around 400 Britons are believed to have gone to Syria over the last two years to train in camps or take part in the fighting, with an estimated 20 having died in total.

Senior National Co-ordinator Counter-Terrorism Helen Ball, said: "We are increasingly concerned about the numbers of young people who have or are intending to travel to Syria to join the conflict.

"We want to ensure that people, particularly women, who are concerned about their loved ones are given enough information about what they can do to prevent this from happening.

"We want to increase their confidence in the police and partners to encourage them to come forward so that we can intervene and help.

"This is not about criminalising people it is about preventing tragedies."

Around 400 Britons are thought to have travelled to Syria to train or fight

Read More here - Women Urged To Stop Britons Fighting In Syria

Other Britons, including orthopaedic surgeon Dr Abbas Khan, have died after going to help with humanitarian relief.

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