Tuesday, October 06, 2009 WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama called up Greece's next prime minister, George Papandreou, to congratulate him on his success in Sunday's elections, the White House said.Obama "wished all Greeks well who participated in the democratic process. The president reiterated the importance of the US-Greece relationship and said he looks forward to working with Mr Papandreou", according to a statement released by the White House. Papandreou's Socialist party won 44 percent of the votes, or 160 of 300 parliamentary seats, according to the interior ministry, which had counted 87 percent of the votes. Papandreou's victory was seen as an expression of voters' discontent over the conservative government's handling of the economic crisis and corruption. His father and grandfather also served as prime ministers in Greece over past decades.
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...
Comments