Tuesday, June 09, 2009 LONDON: British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown faced down critics in his Labour party Monday, admitting weaknesses but pledging to change in a confrontation likely to win him some respite after a week of turmoil.After seven turbulent days which saw the resignation of 11 ministers, reports of an attempted coup and historic drubbings in local and European elections, Brown promised to fight on but said Labour must reunite. "I have my strengths and I have my weaknesses. I know there are some things I do well, some things not so well," he told a weekly meeting of Labour MPs.But he said: "You solve the problem not by walking away but by facing it and doing something about it." Labour was beaten into third place in Thursday's European elections, behind the main opposition Conservatives and the once fringe anti-Europeans the UK Independence Party (UKIP), in a humiliating defeat for the ruling party.The closed-door meeting on Monday night was the first time Labour MPs could confront Brown about the results, but while several former ministers called on him openly to quit, a reported rebellion failed to materialise.
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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