>> >> india decides the first of 800 million eligible voters make their choices about the future of their country. >> this is the world top stories on al jazeera. also on the program... >>. >> he's expecting a new child. journalism is not a cam. >> pleas to free our journalists after 100 days in detention. >> mounting tensions in eastern

ukraine. protesters occupy state buildings in three cities. >> oil deal in libya. rebels agree to end an 8-month petroleum blockade. >> the world's biggest election has begun for the next five weeks. indians will cast their votes in a ballot believed by many to be its most important in 30 years. more than 1500 political parties are contesting the general election. the two most popular parties are the congress or the b.j.p. though popular neither party is expected to achieve the 272 seats needed for an outright majority. so a whole host of other middleweight and regional parties will throw support behind either of the two men

depending on the concessions offered, or stay outside the government. the election marks the emergence of a party led by an anticorruption campaigner. the indian electorate is diverse and fractured. it is reflected in the political landscape. many parties speak on behalf of their own group and the nation as a whole. >> we go to outside a polling station. that hearing is a vote being cast on the electronic voting machine. in this election there's no paper ball odds. the crowd has been lining up since 7 this morning. in the first hour of voting, 10% of one million voters in this constituency cast their ballot. they are showing a good turn out and election commissions say they are aiming for an 81% turn

out. the issue among voters is the same for the rest of the country - economy. people have noticed a grocery bill going up. they say this place votes for the governing congress party. vetters say they been in power for 10 years and when they look at the bills, they are willing to give the opposition a try. voting goes on into the evening hours. >> to other news, and it's 100 days since al jazeera's journalists were detained in egypt. the trial of peter greste, mohamed fadel fahmy, and mohammed badr is due to continue on thursday. they are accused of providing a platform to the outlawed muslim brotherhood. a force journalist abdullah al-shami has been imprisoned without trial since last august. after 77 cause on hunger strike his health is deteriorating.

al jazeera rejects all the charges against its journalists and demands their immediate release. >> the brother of mohammed badr made a video plea for the journalists to be released. >> he has two children, 4 years old and 3 years old. he is expecting a new child. he's a very kind person. all our relatives and friends like him so much. he started with newsagency japan and trained by three bureau chiefs of japanese media. journalism is not a crime. >> i'm joined by alison bethel-mckenzie, the director of the international press institute in vienna. good to have you with us on al

jazeera. it's been 100 days since our journalists have been in prison in egypt. widespread international condemnation, how is it that the egyptian authorities can keep them in britain, how do you evaluate the case against them? >> there is no case against them. they should be released. they should not be gaoled for doing their jobs. i'm happy to sit here knowing there's consensus among colleagues from victoria to new york, london, vienna, that re will not stop asking and pressuring the government to release the journalist from gaol. most certainly the three journalists who have been in gaol for 100 days, abdullah al-shami, who has been in gaol for longer and is on a hunger strike. we are asking for their release,

we won't ask for the release. if egypt is serious, for the constitution, or citizens of egypt, that guarantees freedom of expression and the press, they'll release the journalist when they come to trial on thursday, april 10th. >> how serious do you think egypt is about living up to its constitution. what do you say about full press freedom, you mentioned the international consensus about our journalists on trial. is it feeling the heat at all? >> that's a good question. i think they are feeling some sort of heat. i think there was a lot going on in the background, but we urge them, the government, to solve its issues, and to voice serious

concerns about the way that journalists are doing work in egypt, so we can address them. but as it appears now, a confiscating materials and arresting journalists without evidence or charges for doing their work. i should mention that egypt's press freedom situation has deteriorated greatly for the last few years and we are concerned about that. >> that's alison bethel mckenzie. >> elizabeth. can i interrupt for one second. >> absolutely. >> thank you. i want to remind my colleagues around the world to pick up your phone today, pick up your cell phone. hash tag free aj's staff. hash tag. make your voices known that we will not accept journalists not only in egypt, but use it as an

opportunity u to call for the release of journalists in turkey, vietnam and syria and all the other countries that are big gaolers of journalists. >> that's the director of the international press institute joining us from vienna. >> you can get more on the campaign to free our journalists on the website. you'll see the interactive journalism is not a crime. there's messages from family members and our staff at aljazeera.com. >> now, ukraine's acting president has been meeting security chiefs in an emergency meeting after protesters stormed buildings. the pro-russian demonstrates broke through police lines. there was strong support for former president viktor yanukovych in eastern ukraine. well, the demonstrators entered

several government buildings in donetsk. the city lies about 80km west of the russian boarder, they are calling for referendums in the east on whether to join russia. >> kim joins us from donetsk. how tense is the situation there? >> things have calmed down here. protesters are still in control of this lockal government administration building here behind me. it's here overnight. they reenforced the barricade with tyres and wires. it stands a couple of metres high. the police are few and far between. they are organised having food brought in, serving breakfast to everyone here behind me now. they are asking representatives from different towns in donetsk. to come here because they want to form a people's council, which was announced last night.

once they have done that, they plan to ask the government in kiev to amend the constitution and recognise the area of donetsk as autonomous from the rest of the country, so they can make their own decisions about joining russia. >> how is kiev reacting to all of this. how much of a threat is this - a further threat is this to ukraine. could it lead to further russian take overs. ? >> well, the interior minister of ukraine has come out and he's accused viktor yanukovych of conspiring with russian prisoners to cause discontent and stir up unrest. suggesting that russia may have sent in provocateurs. the polls suggest that pro-russian sentiment in the region is falling.

>> what it shows, those that back viktor yanukovych, they are mobilized, active and determined to be heard. the security services building is still in the hands of a pro-russian protestor. all the shows - this issue of autonomy to the region and serialization will be key going forward, looking ahead to the presidential election. >> thank you for that. kim joining us from donetsk. >> across ukraine's western border in neighbouring moldova there has been pro and anti-russian protests. demonstrators marched saying they didn't want the crimean matter repeated here, they are pushing head with an e.u. trade deal despite opposition.

>> australian search ships have detected signals from what is suspected to be the black boxes from mh370. the chief search coordinator says it helped narrow down the arch area, but they -- search area, but they can't confirm anything until wreckage of the plane is found. it's months exhibits the plain disappeared, with 239 people on board. >> clearly this is a most promising lead. and probably in the search so far, it's the - it's probably the best information that we have had. the area in which the signals have been received has a depth of approximately 4,500 metres. this is also the limited cape ability of the autonomous underwater vehicle. i need to be honest with you. it could take some days before

the information is available to establish whether these detections can by confirmed as being from mh370. >> still to come on al jazeera - hungary's prime minister viktor orban cruises to victory as he secures a second term in office. plus - how sri lanka's cricketers made history at the world 2020 final. -- world twenty20 final.

>> good to have you with us. these are the top stories on al

jazeera. voting is underway in india in the world's biggest general election. people in the states of asam and ptua are the first to take part. 800 million are eligible to vote in several phases over the next month. >> it's 100 days since al jazeera journalists were detained. the trail of peter greste, mohammed badr, and mohamed fadel fahmy is due to begin on tuesday. they are falsely accused of providing a platform for the outlined muslim brotherhood. >> ukraine's president meets security chiefs after activists enters government buildings in several eastern cities. let's get more on the indian elections now. our correspondent joins us from new delhi.

the world's biggest election has released its much anticipated manifesto. what is in it. is it different to the congress manifesto. >> yes, it is different to the manifesto that was released a few weeks ago by congress and the common man party, another contender for the elections. the b.j.p. said they'd release it but delayed until today. election rules here, only allow us to talk about the manifesto, we can't show pictures of the launch. one big issue is the economy. they think the congress has not dealt with the economy, and the particularly part of it, foreign, direct investments. the congress party, incumbent party want investors in the supermarket, industry. b.j.p. says no way. they want to try to help foreign

investors see india as a lucrative market and attract the investment in other areas other than supermarkets. >> the other issue that stood out to me as being controversial was the more hindu nothingsalists -- nationalists, b.j.p.'s plan to build a temple on a disputed site. >> indeed, yes. the demolition of the bagri mosque in 1992 incorporated a great deal of upset and widespread condemnation domestically and internationally. hindus and muslims see it as a sacred pace. it's the birthplace, a spiritual place for muslims as well. the destruction of the mosque in "92 enflamed tensions. a statement by the b.j.p. in the

manifesto, that they want to establish the rahm temple could be a problem in the future, should they win the general election and gain power. it will be interesting how they deal with that seeing they might be handing out the olive branch, saying they are a secular party and will represent them in the parliament. we'll have to see what happens on may the 16th when the results come out. >> that's our correspondent joining us from the indian capital. >> rebels in eastern libya agreed to reopen two out of four oil ports they've been blockading. it's cost the country billions in loft revenue. we have this report from tripoli. >> the deal means the reopening of two out of four ports after an 8-month blockade by armed groups. it had cost billions in lost

revenue, devastating libya's economy. after talks between the protest leaders and government intermediaries there's a deal. >> translation: the mediators reached an agreement to reopen the ports in two stages. xua teena and hoour eega open and the other two will open in two to four weeks. there'll be other conditions and terms. >> the first signs of movement came less than a week ago with the release of three men who stole "the morning glory" i will tappinger with $30 million on board. the men were raided by army seals who raided the tanker and handed it over to the government. the man's leader received a hero return. he was behind the demand for autonomy and a larger share of

the oil revenue for the eastern regions. there's believed to be dissent among some groups about making a deal with the government. >> it happened on a day when the eastern city of benghazi expressed anger at the way leaders are running the country. strikes were held in the public and private sectors, shutting schools and university. approach roads to the airport were blocked. staff stopped work in the main terminal. all international flights in and out of the airport from cancels on sunday. protesters demanded that the general national congress based here should be disbanded immediately. infighting amance parliament air -- amongst parliamentarians has been a breakdown. any semblance of it throughout the country, particularly in the east. >> there may be optimism with oil due to flow - a combination of anger, depression and

frustration is bearing down on this government. >> and you can get more indepth information about the turmoil in libya on the website. you can see how "inside story" fold the struggle with the oil. >> voters in hungary gave prime minister viktor orban another four years in office. it secured two-thirds majority. we have this report from budapest. >> grating supporters hungary's incumbent prime minister viktor orban declared election victory. >> translation: every doubt and uncertainty dissipated. we have won. >> hungary again is a place where it is worth living, working and starting a family. we declared that we are not turning back.

>> as the first results started to trickle in, supporters rallied at party headquarters. victory never in any doubt. >> i feel a lot of joy. he voted, and we hope he'll transform the country for the best. >> i hope the government will stay in power. the country is headed in the right direction and should keep going that way. >> the battle for second pleas is a contest between the left winning unity and the far right yobic party. ultra nationalism has been taking hold in hungary, but for some they are upfaced. >> over the last four years viktor orban has consolidated his power by changing the constitution to favour supporters and his party, by taking control over the media. support for viktor orban, grows.

>> during the day voter turn out was high. >> hungary - the opposition is not strong enough. they have what i call charisma. that is a very, very strong feature in his - i mean, in the whole viktor orban phenomenon. >> the party will rule hungary for another four years, a dominant force in european politics. >> nine patients and a caretaker have been killed in a fire at a nursing home near piako city near chile. they were locked in their rooms and couldn't escape. neighbours rescued three others from the blaze. >> costa rica has a new president. opposition candidate louie solece won.

the result was expected as they won a viable draft-out. the national liberation front was so far behind the polls they gave up their campaign. >> biotechnology company in bangladesh created a genetically modified correspondent resistant to pests. environmentalists are worried about the safety of the product. >> this plan could change the life of farmers. it's bangladesh's first genetically modified crop much scientists are distributing the plants made from genes developed by a biotechnology company to a select group of farmers. this man is a farmer, he hopes that the crop will make his life easier. it is resistant to the fruit and chute bore, an insect that

destroys crops. there are a number of pests that harm them, but that is the most problematic. >> we have to spray pesticides at this twice a week to grow regular egg plants. sign tests tell us we won't need to any more. >> not everyone is as optimistic. >> there's many varieties of egg plants in bangladesh. protesters say introducing foreign element into the soil will alter the ecological system and harm local crops. >> supporters of the crop see the protesters as misguided. >> translation: why are they putting effort into this when they should protest against the use of the pesticides. almost everything we grow and eat in bangladesh is sprayed with poison.

>> critics find out it was developed in india, but new dealy has not approved the crop. >> they'll solve the problem of one insect. there's many of them. they still need pesticide. this is a call, something that will solve the problems. >> they hope cultivation in bangladesh will prove that it is safe to use. it comes down to one thing - whether the genetically modified crop is good for business. aid workers in the solomon islands are searching flow rubble for the bod why is of 40 missing people. 21 people have been confirmed killed in what has been described as the worst flash flooding in the island's history. an estimated 49,000 people have been left homeless. whole communities were swept away when a river burst its

banks in the capital. japan laid out the red carpet for australia's prime minister. tony abbott is leading a delegation of 600 leaders with hopes of reaching a free trade agreement. japan is the best trading partner after china. tariffs on beef and car exports are the sticking points. >> sri lanka won the world twenty20 cricket title, beating india by six wickets in the final. not surprisingly there has been wild celebrations in sri lanka. >> joy on the streets of colombo. sri lanka's long wait ending on a high note. >> i'm proud to be a sri lankan. >> going into the finals with a lot to prove. the team began a campaign from the first ball, restricting india to 130 run, they chased

the target in style. thousands of fans poured on to the streets of colombo. >> one of our happiest days, because sri lanka has been the twenty20 championship. >> cricket has been an important part of sri lanka. at the peak of the war both sides would stop fighting when the matches were played. the t20 final was no different. giant screens dotted the capital. >> the mood around me is ecstatic. the sri lankan team gave fans plenty of reason to party, and winning a world cup is definitely a reason to party. >> now, the british royal family's newest member took his first official trip overseas. 8-month-old toured new zealand with his parents, the british duke and duchess of cambridge.

the royals were greeted by rain during the welcome. apprenticeships george is -- prince george is third in line to the throne. given his young age will only attend a few engagements. >> more on that and the rest of the day's news can be found on the website at aljazeera.com. >> nairobi is my city, well perhaps not exactly. i was born here and so were my parents, but i spent most of my life living overseas. i've been here now for less than a year, but the city has really grown on me.