Tuesday, August 18, 2009 WASHINGTON: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Monday that the United States was impartial in Afghanistan's upcoming election and was ready to work with whomever voters pick.Afghanistan on Thursday heads to the polls in its second-ever presidential election, which comes as the new US administration pours more troops in the country in hopes of bringing stability and rooting out Islamic extremists."The United States of America remains impartial in this election," Clinton said in a statement."Like the Afghan people we want to see credible, secure and inclusive elections that all will judge legitimate," she said, adding: "We look forward to working with whomever the Afghan people select as their leaders for the next five years."While predicting challenges ahead, she said: "The Afghan people should be commended for their courage in conducting this election despite the stresses of wartime, and we and the international community are proud to support them."President Hamid Karzai, who has ruled Afghanistan since the US-led invasion overthrew the Taliban regime in 2001, is the frontrunner but a strong campaign by former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah could force a run-off.US President Barack Obama is widely seen as cooler to Karzai than his predecessor George W. Bush, who enjoyed a warm relationship with the Afghan leader and frequently spoke to him by videoconference.
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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