Wednesday, July 29, 2009 JAKARTA: The five-star hotels hit by suicide bombers in Indonesia's capital nearly two weeks ago reopened Wednesday with tighter security, officials said.Attackers detonated explosives-laden luggage near the hotel lounges of the J.W. Marriott and Ritz-Carlton in Jakarta on July 17, killing themselves, seven victims and wounding more than 50 others.The blasts blew out windows and caused serious damage to the hotels' ground floors, but the structures remained intact and repairs were almost complete Wednesday when they reopened.The first terrorist bombings in Indonesia in nearly four years have prompted heightened security at the hotels, national police spokesman Nanan Sukarna said, without naming specific measures. Other potential targets where Westerners gather have also increased security.Els Ramadhita, a spokeswoman for the Ritz-Carlton, provided no details about the reopening, saying only that guests were again checking in.Police suspect the Southeast Asian terror network Jemaah Islamiyah is responsible for the blasts, but have yet to provided evidence or name suspects.Sukarna said the investigation into the bombers is ongoing. Police are searching for a florist who did flower arrangements for both US-owned hotels. He resigned on the morning of the bombings and has not been seen since. They also are questioning the wife of Malaysian fugitive militant Noordin Mohammed Top.Jemaah Islamiyah and its splinter factions were behind the killing of more than 240 people in four prior attacks in the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation. Noordin allegedly planned the 2002 and 2005 Bali bombings as well as attacks on the J.W. Marriott in 2003 and the Australian Embassy in 2004.Those annual strikes cut deeply into the number of foreign visitors to Indonesia, particularly to the resort island of Bali. It is not yet clear if the latest bombings will take a similar toll on the tourism sector.
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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