Friday, June 05, 2009 LONDON: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will reshuffle his government Friday, Downing Street said, following the resignation of five ministers and as poor local election results came in."We can confirm it's going to happen today," a Downing Street spokesman told, after Work And Pensions Secretary James Purnell called on Brown to go in his resignation letter Thursday.Purnell is one of three cabinet ministers who have resigned in the past week. Two other ministers outside the cabinet have also resigned. British news agency reported that finance minister Alistair Darling, who is leading Britain's response to the recession, would stay in his job, despite talk that Brown could replace him with his ally, Schools Secretary Ed Balls. Purnell said he was quitting because Brown's continued leadership made a victory at the next general election by the main opposition Conservatives "more, not less, likely."The first local election results were out early Friday, with Labour losing councillors to the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats' gain, after voters went to the polls Thursday. European poll results are being held back till Sunday, in line with other EU countries. Britain's 72 seats in the European Parliament were up for grabs, while voters in various parts of England also chose 2,318 local councillors and three mayors. Opinion polls suggested Labour could finish behind the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats, and even fringe euro skeptics the United Kingdom Independence Party
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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