WASHINGTON: President George W. Bush on Monday pardoned 14 people and commuted the sentences on two others, leaving the door open for more clemency measures in the two months he has left in office, the White House said. There were no high-profile personalities among the pardoned people who had been convicted of drug, environmental, animal endangerment, tax and fraud offenses, according to a list published by the Justice Department. It is customary for US presidents to issue a flurry of last-minute pardons in the waning weeks of their tenure. Including Monday's announcements, Bush has pardoned 117 people and commuted the sentences of eight others since he took office in January 2001, the White House said."The President carefully considered recommendations for pardons and commutations on a case-by-case basis and made his determinations," said White House spokesman Carlton Carroll. "He will continue to review clemency requests," he added.
Friday, August 14, 2009 MUMBAI: A 26-year-old woman died Thursday of H1N1 swine flu in the southern city of Bangalore, raising India's death toll from the virus to 20, authorities said.The death was the first reported in India's information technology capital, the Press Trust of India reported.Meanwhile in Pune, the worst-affected in India, two more victims of the virus died Thursday, raising the death toll in that western city near Mumbai to 12, the report said. The victims were an 11-month-old boy and a 75-year-old old woman.US media reported movie halls, schools and colleges were ordered closed Thursday for three days to a week in Mumbai, the commercial and financial capital of the country, as fear of the pandemic spread.Prajakata Lavangare, a spokeswoman for the government of Maharashtra state of which Mumbai is the capital, said similar orders were issued in Pune, which is also located in the state.The woman who died in Bangalore was identified only as Roopa, a teacher in...
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