The Times of India
'They’re Coming For Your Vote'

The front page of the Times of India heralds the start of India’s general election. It’s the fifteenth time the country has been to the polls since independence from Britain in 1948.

The election has been hailed as the world’s largest democratic ballot. 714 million voters are eligible to cast their votes over the next 28 days. Round one gets underway today, with 143 million people from central and eastern India due to go to the polls.

124 seats are up for grabs today, representing just over a fourth of parliament’s seats, which means the outcome will be critical to the power bids of all contenders.

The Guardian (UK)
'700m voters, 28 days, 250,000 police: world’s biggest democratic poll begins'

British daily The Guardian puts the scale of the ballot into perspective by giving some statistics. 43 million citizens have been added to the electoral roll since 2004 – that’s more than the adult population of England.

With the Mumbai attacks still fresh in people’s minds, 250,000 police will be patrolling the streets to curb violence. The colourful map shows the five phases of voting and points out the key districts for politicians.


Le Figaro (France)
'En campagne dans L’Uttar Pradesh, ou se fabriquent les premiers ministers.'

French daily Le Figaro has published a report on one of these key districts, Uttar Pradesh. It’s India’s most populous state with 10 million voters, who will send 80 MPs to parliament.

It talks about villager’s reaction to David Miliband’s recent visit there as the guest of Rahul Gandhi, who wanted to give the British foreign minister a flavour of the real India. The article says the outcome in this district will determine who the country’s next Prime Minister will be.

The New York Times (USA)
'Third-World Stove Soot Is Target in Climate Fight '

Staying with India, the New York Times has an article about a small village in the centre of the country called Kohlua. The village has no cars, little electricity and near-zero carbon dioxide emissions…but scientists believe it could be contributing significantly to climate change.

Soot coming from stoves in tens of thousands of villages like Kohlua is emerging as a major cause of climate change. While carbon dioxide remains the number one contributor to rising global temperatures, scientists say soot or black carbon as it is also known, is following not far behind.

Recent studies estimate that soot could be responsible for 18 percent of the planet’s warming, compared with carbon dioxide’s 40 percent.


Los Angeles Times (USA)
'Awaiting Obama, Mexico hopes for change'

Barack Obama arrives in Mexico today. His visit comes as the country struggles to get to grips with the violent drugs war being fought by cartels within its borders. 10,000 lives have been lost in just over two years.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon desperately wants to secure some concrete co-operation from Obama, but the article says the visit is largely a symbolic show of support from the US president.

However, with their economies closely linked, it will be in both countries’ interest to try and deal with drugs and immigration reform as a matter of priority.

The Independent (UK)
'Paws for Thought'

In a series of three photographs in the Independent, a three-year-old polar bear that has grown up in the spotlight appears to be going to ever greater lengths to stay in it.

The photographer who took these photos in the Independent insists Knut was dancing in front of waiting crowds at the German zoo where he lives.

Knut was at the centre of an international row after animal rights activists argued he should be put down rather than raised as a domestic pet. It propelled the bear into the limelight and earned the bear an army of loyal supporters.