BEIRUT: Indifference and skepticism prevail among Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, feelings also present among most Arab nations, where little or nothing is expected from the future Israeli government.Leaders of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) Osama Hamdan, residing in Lebanon, and Fawzi Barhoum, in Gaza, said the expect "more of the same" from the Israeli policy.Hamdan affirmed he expects little from the administration that will emerge from the already complex negotiations between the Kadima and Likud parties, as their electoral program is pretty similar.According to preliminary results of the Israeli elections on Tuesday, current Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, the Kadima leader, has won 28 of the 120 parliamentary seats.Conservative Benjamin Netanyahu, the Likud leader, goes next with 27 seats, followed by ultranationalist Avigdor Lieberman (15), from Yisrael Beiteinu faction, thus making believe the future executive will comprise the most radical sectors, chiefly anti-Palestinians.In principle, it seems Netanyahu could obtain 65 seats from alliances with ultra-rightists and ultra-religious, while Livni would only win 55.Meanwhile, Barhoum rated Gaza as "the first victim of electoral demagogy by the Israeli runners," and sustained he sees no difference among the Zionist parties."We have known them for many years, and they have all massacred the Palestinian people," the Islamic leader affirmed when noting that all those factions have tried to "demonstrate which is the most extremist with Palestinians to win the elections."
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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