World's largest democratic event

India, the most populous democracy on the planet, is about to hold elections that will seat a new parliament and prime minister. It will be the largest democratic event in history. About 15,000 candidates from 500 political parties are vying for 543 seats in the Lok Sabha, or lower house of Parliament. Those candidates are expected to spend about $5 billion on campaigning. That's second only to the most expensive U.S. presidential campaign -- $7 billion in More than 814 million voters are eligible to vote at 930,000 polling stations. Electronic voting machines will be used and will, for the first time, contain a None of the Above (Nota) button - an option for voters who do not want to cast their ballot for any of the candidates. Once they have voted, their fingers are stained with indelible ink, a sign that they had exercised their right to vote. Parliamentary elections in India are held every five years. The nine-phase voting got under way Monday and will conclude on May 12. Votes will be counted on May 16. It is being staggered over more than a month for security and logistical reasons.

In Other News After weeks of searching vast swaths of ocean, investigators now have their "most promising" lead yet in finding Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. A pinger locator in the Indian Ocean has detected signals consistent with those sent by a flight data recorder and a cockpit voice recorder. The sounds were heard at a depth of 4,500 meters (about 14,800 feet). But it could take days before officials can confirm whether the signals did indeed come from the plane, which fell off the radar on March 8 with 239 people on board. Actor Mickey Rooney, one of Hollywood's brightest stars in the 1930s and 1940s, died Sunday in California, the Los Angeles County Coroner's office said. He was 93. A 1-year-old girl who became seriously ill on a sailboat hundreds of miles off Mexico was on a U.S. Navy frigate Sunday and in stable condition. Her parents thanked those who played a part in their rescue. They defended themselves against critics who question their decision to sail with their family. "Please know that this is how our family has lived for seven years, and when we departed on this journey more than a year ago, we were then and remain today confident that we prepared as well as any sailing crew could," they wrote. Pro-Russian protesters have seized state buildings in several east Ukrainian cities, prompting accusations from Kiev that Moscow is trying to "dismember" the country. The protests are the latest challenge to Ukraine's embattled new government, coming just weeks after Russia annexed the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea from Ukraine, after a local referendum deemed illegal by Kiev and the West. On Sunday, a Russian soldier shot dead a Ukrainian navy officer. Concerns are high that Russia, which U.S. officials have said had about 40,000 troops near the frontier, might seek to enter eastern Ukraine. U.S. Soccer has announced that Tom Sermanni has been relieved of his duties as head coach of the U.S. Women's National Team. Team USA is hoping to contend for a title at the 2015 World Cup in Canada. The squad has finished in the top three in each of the last three events, but it has not won since 1999.