Friday, September 18, 2009 MOGADISHU: Twin suicide bombings ripped through the headquarters of African Union peacekeepers in Somalia Thursday, killing 14 soldiers in the deadliest such attack against the force. "At least two bombs" exploded at the force's headquarters in a fortified compound at Mogadishu airport, the AU said in a statement, which condemned what it called a "barbaric attack" in which at least 15 other soldiers were wounded. Rebels claimed responsibility for the attack. "Among those who died is the AMISOM deputy commander Major General Juvenal Niyonguruza," who was about to complete his tour of duty in Somalia, Ugandan army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Felix Kulayigye said. Ten Burundi soldiers were killed, the country's army spokesman Lazare Nduhayo told media, raising an ealier toll of nine to 14. "Five soldiers died on the spot and five others succumbed to their injuries," he said in Bujumbura. The peacekeepers' commander, General Nathan Mugisha, who took up his post only last month, suffered minor injuries. The circumstances surrounding the attack were unclear Thursday but witnesses said the bombers entered the compound using two vehicles with United Nations markings.Kulayigye, who said Mugisha was about to host negotiations at the compound, said the bombers had got in "with a group that was coming for talks". He did not elaborate.United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon condemned the blast in the "strongest terms." Somali government spokesman Abdulkadir Walayo condemned the "terrorist" attack, which he said was carried out by "two criminals using previously robbed UN cars."
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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