Wednesday, November 04, 2009 UNITED NATIONS - UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday urged Israel to end its "provocative actions" in east Jerusalem and to abide by its commitments to freeze all settlement activity in the occupied West Bank, Geo news reported on Tuesday."The Secretary General is dismayed at continued Israeli actions in occupied east Jerusalem, including the demolition of Palestinian homes, the eviction of Palestinian families and the insertion of settlers into Palestinian neighbourhoods," a UN statement said."The eviction today of a Palestinian family in East Jerusalem is just the most recent incident," it added.Warning that such actions "stoke tensions, cause suffering and further undermine trust," Ban urged Israel "to cease such provocative actions."He also reiterated his call on Israel "to implement its commitments" under the blueprint for Middle East peace put forward by the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations "by freezing all settlement activity, including natural growth; dismantling outposts; and reopening Palestinian institutions in East Jerusalem."Earlier Tuesday, dozens of Israeli settlers took over a house in mostly Arab east Jerusalem, armed with a court order secured after a protracted legal battle with a Palestinian family, witnesses and police said.Members of the Al-Kurd family demonstrated in front of the house along with other Arab residents and pro-Palestinian activists as the settlers hurled the family's belongings out into the street, a neighbour told media.Jerusalem police spokesman Shmulik Ben Rubi said police who were sent in to break up the demonstration arrested one activist.Israel's support for Jewish settlements in east Jerusalem and its demolition of Palestinian homes built there without permits have drawn international criticism in recent months.British Foreign Secretary David Miliband called settlements in east Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank an "obstacle to peace" during a visit to Jordan on Tuesday and expressed "concern" over the events at the Al-Kurd house.
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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