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Imran Khan has accused India's leaders of moral bankruptcy for trying to win votes by annexing Kashmir, after Narendra Modi pledged to remove its special autonomous status if re-elected. In outspoken remarks just days before voting begins in India's upcoming election, Mr Khan said Mr Modi was flouting a United Nations resolution and his own constitution with his manifesto pledge. Pakistan's prime minister also attacked Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, after he promised to annex Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank if he is re-elected on Tuesday. “Don't their people feel a sense of outrage and wonder at how far they will go simply to win an election?” Mr Khan asked. Mr Modi earlier this week told a crowd at Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party headquarters he would scrap the autonomous status Jammu and Kashmir has had since 1954. He would also remove laws that prevent outsiders from buying property in the state. When ldrs in Israel & India show a moral bankruptcy in their readiness to annex occupied West Bank & IOK in defiance of int law, UNSC resolutions & their own Constitution for votes, don't their ppl feel a sense of outrage & wonder how far they will go simply to win an election?— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) April 9, 2019 Scrapping the protections would help integration with the rest of the country, the BJP has argued. However political leaders in Muslim-majority Kashmir, where Indian forces are fighting a fierce armed insurgency, have predicted the repeal would stoke further unrest. Kashmir and tensions with Pakistan have become a key election battleground in the election after a suicide bombing killed at least 40 Indian paramilitary police in the region in February. Both countries claim the disputed territory Kashmir, and it has been at the the heart of military tensions between the neighbours for decades. Mr Modi's manifesto pledge on Kashmir risks a backlash in the region Credit: Reuters Mr Modi's decision to launch a retaliatory air strike inside Pakistan after the bombing was claimed by the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad militant group led him to pose as a strong national security candidate. The clash is thought to have helped Mr Modi's electoral chances by distracting from his failed economic promises. But Mr Khan has accused the BJP of “whipping up war hysteria” to win the election. Pakistan's government has accused India of plotting further military action to win votes, claiming it has “reliable intelligence” that India will attack again this month. Voting in India's general election begins on Thursday but, with around 900 million people eligible to vote, the polls will be held around the country over coming weeks, and the votes will be counted on May 23.

The plane and its pilot, a man in his 40s, went missing about 135 kilometers (85 miles) off the Japanese coast Tuesday after departing Misawa Air Base on the northeastern corner of Honshu Island, the Japan Air Self-Defense Force said in a statement. A part of what’s believed to the the plane’s tail was spotted floating near where it disappeared, Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya told reporters Wednesday. The Lockheed Martin Corp. F-35 is considered the most expensive U.S. weapons system.

Brandon Reynolds said he had a ritual that would calm him. His daughter's heart formed with a hole while she was in the womb, and from time to time, he would put his ear to her chest to hear and feel the miracle of its beat.He found it "soothing," Reynolds told police after emergency responders fought to save his five-year old daughter at his Albuquerque, New Mexico, home early Friday. Fire and rescue arrived to find her in possible cardiac arrest and no pulse.But signs of physical trauma prompted paramedics to call the police, authorities said in a news conference. The girl regained a pulse and was transferred to the University of New Mexico hospital, where she died, according to a criminal complaint obtained by The Washington Post.Reynolds was charged Friday with intentional child abuse resulting in the death of a child, authorities said, and his story began to unfurl in a taped interview at the police station.His daughter was home-schooled, he told investigators, and she did her homework on the computer. She told him she didn't want to do any homework that night, according to the complaint.That response "triggered" him, Reynolds said."That's when the discipline came in," he told investigators. He beat her with a shoe before he began "blacking out" until he realised she was lethargic and cradled her on the living room floor, the complaint said.Investigators interviewed a neighbour who reported a commotion, including Reynolds shouting, "Get up!"Officers described a violent and surreal scene inside the home. There was blood on a wall and the carpet, and Reynolds called his daughter's mother on FaceTime to tell her about the incident as officers were still there.Reynolds said he was alarmed when the girl's breathing became shallow and his ritual nearly went silent - he could barely feel her heartbeat. He then called first responders.Police observed him to be "emotionless," the complaint said.It is unclear if Reynolds is represented by an attorney.A neighbour told KOAT that she used to babysit the child. They painted each other's nails. "She was a little angel," the neighbour said. "She didn't deserve this."Detectives from the child abuse unit have helped in the investigation, Albuquerque Police Chief Michael Geier said."This is definitely a heartbreaking tragedy, and our officers and detectives are working diligently at this time to get justice for this little girl," Mr Geier said.Washington Post