Mideast peace process ‘irreversible’: Bush

WASHINGTON: US President George W. Bush has said that the Middle East peace talks are a hard but "irreversible" process as he met Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas one month before he leaves the White House.

Speaking beside the US leader, Abbas said Palestinians are "practically committed" to negotiations launched by Bush a year ago and was confident incoming President Barack Obama would pick up where Bush leaves off.

Their comments came as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned that renewed violence against Israel following the end of a six-month truce by Abbas's rival Hamas movement will only hurt the Palestinian goal of statehood.

Abbas paid tribute to the "foundation" of negotiations laid by Bush.

However Abbas, whose authority is limited to the occupied West Bank, found his calls were ignored by Hamas which ousted his forces and seized control of the coastal enclave of Gaza in June 2007.

With Hamas accusing Israel of failing to respect the truce's terms, fears arose of a new flare-up of violence.

Aides to Abbas, who hoped to discuss the situation in Gaza with Bush, want an end to the Israeli economic "blockade" and "its military escalation" in the territory.

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India's swine flu death rate is increasing

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...

Tennis: Clijsters wins US Open, second time

NEW YORK: Kim Clijsters of Belgium won the US Open on Sunday by defeating Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark 7-5, 6-3 in the final.She is the first mother to win a Grand Slam title since Evonne Goolagong in 1980, the victory coming just five weeks after she returned to the sport following a 27-month retirement. She was the first wildcard, man or woman, to win a US Open title in the history of the tournament.

42 killed in wave of Iraq bombings

BAGHDAD: At least 42 people were killed and nearly 100 wounded in a spate of bomb attacks near the restive northern Iraqi city of Mosul and in the capital Baghdad on Monday, police said. In the deadliest single attack, two booby-trapped lorries exploded before dawn in the village of Khaznah, east of Mosul, leaving 25 people dead and 70 others wounded. Thirty-five houses were destroyed in the village, which is home to members of the tiny Shabak community, a sect of Kurdish origin. In Baghdad, two car bombs went off as day labourers were gathering in the early morning hours looking for jobs.The first bomb exploded at Hay al-Amel, in the west of the capital, killing nine people and injuring 46. The second bomb attack in Shurta Arbaa in the north of the city killed seven people and wounded 35 others.

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