RIYADH: Saudi Arabia's earthquake monitoring service is urging residents of several villages in the kingdom's western region to evacuate after it recorded a temblor measuring5.39 on the Richter scale. The Saudi National Center for Earthquakes and Volcanos said in a statement Wednesday the pre-dawn quake caused no damage or injuries. But it urged residents of five villages west of the holy city of Medina to head to tent camps and shelters set up by authorities. Arab satellite new channels had reported that many have already fled the area. Authorities have been distributing surgical masks after many complaints about unpleasant odors emanating from the fissures caused by the quake. Earlier, a magnitude 4.9 quake was registered in the same area.
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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