October 20, 2009 JAKARTA: Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was sworn in as Indonesia's president today after winning an historic second five-year term. The former General and servant of a dictator swore on the Koran to uphold the constitution during a ceremony in the national assembly in Jakarta, the capital that was watched throughout the vast archipelago of 234 million people. "By Allah I swear I will adhere to the constitution as faithfully as possible, and will commit myself to the country and the people," the 60-year-old President said.Yudhoyono's election win in July, with promises of economic growth and political reform, confirmed the remarkable political stability which has developed in Indonesia under his leadship, eleven years after the fall of the longstanding dictator, Suharto. He defeated Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) leader Megawati Sukarnoputri, the former president, and the Golkar Party's Jusuf Kalla to become the first Indonesian leader to be re-elected. His centrist Democratic Party won the most seats in parliament in April general elections just eight years after it was founded.
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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