TEHRAN: Iran's hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad insisted on Wednesday that Tehran has no plans to build a nuclear bomb, in a speech on the eve of its annual national atomic energy day.Addressing a large gathering in the central city of Isfahan where Iran has a uranium conversion facility, Ahmadinejad referred to US President Barack Obama as saying Iran has no right to have an atomic bomb. "Recently, you (Obama) said that Iran can have nuclear technology for peaceful purpose, but does not have the right to have a bomb," Ahmadinejad said. "I am telling you that the Iranian nation was never seeking a bomb as the era of bombs and armies is over," he said as the crowd cheered with chants of "Death to America."Ahmadinejad said Iran was still waiting for "fundamental and real changes" from Obama and the United States, with whom Tehran has had no diplomatic ties for three decades. "If you are talking of change ... bismillah (In the name of God) ... change your method, your vocabulary and the path towards Iran," the Iranian leader said. "You have extended your hand to us. If you are sincere in it, we welcome it, but if not, then our reply will be same as the one we gave to Mr. (George W.) Bush." On Thursday, Iran is to mark its national atomic energy day in Isfahan where Ahmadinejad is expected to make a key announcement.
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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