KATMANDU: Nepal's prime minister fired the army chief Sunday, accusing him of defying government orders, while his deputy has been appointed Acting Army chief, officials said.Information Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara told reporters the prime minister announced army chief Rookmangud Katawal's removal after calling a special Cabinet meeting Sunday. ``The army chief was removed because he failed to give satisfactory explanation on why the government orders were ignored,'' Mahara said.The army's second in command, Kul Bahadur Khadka, has been appointed the new acting army chief, he said. Most political parties in the coalition government walked out in protest, with the main opposition Nepali Congress warning of street protests. But a vote was taken by the ruling Maoists _ led by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal _ to fire Katawal.
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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