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SDLP MP Alasdair McDonnell has said he is personally saddened by Michael Martin's decision to resign as Speaker of the House of Commons.

The South Belfast MP said though the Speaker's position had become untenable he felt he had been made a scapegoat.

Sinn Fein MP Conor Murphy said the resignation was not the answer to the expenses controversy.

He said the public wanted a system in place that showed that money is spent in a transparent way.

Mr Martin told MPs on Tuesday afternoon that he intended to stand down as Commons Speaker, amid criticism of his role in the MPs' expenses row.

He told MPs he would relinquish the office of Speaker on 21 June - to maintain "unity" in the House.

In a short statement to a packed House of Commons he said a new Speaker would be elected the following day.

A motion of no confidence in him has been backed by 23 MPs. Mr Martin is also expected to step down as an MP.

It is the first time a Speaker has been effectively forced out since 1695.

The Mumbai slum home of one of the child stars of the Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire has been demolished by city authorities.

Reports say that police smacked the boy, Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail, with a bamboo stick before ordering him out.

The authorities claim he and other families were squatting on land that was owned by the government.

He played a younger version of one of the main characters in the film, which scooped eight Oscars.

The family lived in a temporary makeshift shelter made up of plastic sheets over bamboo sticks, in a slum near Bandra East in Mumbai.

The mother of the child actor said that she did not know what would happen to her family now.

"Our house has been broken down by officials. We have not been given any alternate accommodation. Earlier the authorities had said they would give us a house. But I don't think that will happen any more," Shamim Ismail told the BBC.

Municipal official, Uma Shankar Mistry, who was present during the demolition, told the BBC that the authorities only razed temporary and illegal homes which had recently been erected next to the slum.

He said the houses were in an area that was meant for a public garden.

Seven more students in the Indian city of Jalandhar have tested positive for swine flu, raising the total number of those infected in the country to 30.

The students belong to a group who returned from a trip to the US recently. One of them had already tested positive over the weekend.

The government has urged Indians to defer plans to travel abroad until the disease is under control.

Last week the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global flu pandemic.

The swine flu (H1N1) virus first emerged in Mexico in April and has since spread to 74 countries.

Official reports say there have been nearly 30,000 cases globally and 141 deaths, with figures rising daily.

Doctors in Jalandhar city said the affected students are between 14 and 17 years of age.

They were part of a group of 31 students and three teachers who returned over the weekend after a 10-day educational trip to the US.

Indian officials say they have tracked down eight people who were sitting near the group of students on the flight to Delhi from New York.

"They have been advised to watch for flu symptoms and take adequate precautions against possibly spreading the virus," an official said.

Separately, federal health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has urged Indians, especially students, to put off travelling abroad till the flu was under control.

"Till the disease is controlled globally, I would like to request young people from educational institutions going abroad that they can suspend their visits from the time being," he was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India news agency.

Fresh cases have been detected in the northern city of Jalandhar, as well as Hyderabad and Bangalore in the south.

Earlier this month, India issued an alert against the flu. Airport screening has been tightened and more testing facilities would come.

The government has said that India was fully equipped to deal with the outbreak.

The pace of home demolitions in Arab East Jerusalem appears to be increasing under the city's new mayor, an Israeli rights group has warned.

More than 1,000 new demolition orders have been issued in Nir Barkat's first six months in office, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel said.

Many Palestinian and Arab residents of the city build illegally because of difficulties getting building permits.

The municipality said the Acri report was deceptive and inaccurate.

"There have been no changes to the city's enforcement policy [of demolition orders], nor has the mayor given any orders to increase the rate," the municipality said.

"In terms of Barkat's actions and budget allocations, there appears so far to be no connection between promises and deeds"
Acri report

Demolitions build Jerusalem tension

Obstacles to peace: Jerusalem

Profile: Nir Barkat

Building in mainly Arab East Jerusalem is a highly politicised issue.

The Palestinians want the area to be the capital of a future state, while Jewish groups are trying to increase the number of Jewish settlements there.

While Mr Barkat has said he intends to streamline the application process for building permits, Acri said the municipality had added two new requirements to the process, which would make it harder for Israeli Arabs and Palestinians to get permission to build.

In a recent decision he also allocated only 7% of funds of a recent, interim budget to East Jerusalem, while the rest went to the Israeli west of the city, Acri said.

The Jerusalem municipality said this was misleading, and funds were not allocated geographically.

"In terms of Barkat's actions and budget allocations, there appears so far to be no connection between promises and deeds, and thus there is difference between him and his predecessors; Barkat also neglects and discriminates," the report said.

According to figures released by Acri, 67% of families are under the poverty line in East Jerusalem, compared to 23% in West Jerusalem.

It says there is a shortage of 1,500 classrooms in the district, with a 50% drop-out rate and 9,000 children not attending school.

But the municipality said Mr Barkat had made improving the quality of life in East Jerusalem a priority.

"Attempts to blame Barkat, who has been in office for less than six months, for the failures of the government and the municipality for 40 years are populist," the municipality said.

Earlier this month, the UN asked Israel to freeze all pending demolition orders in East Jerusalem and to do more to provide for the housing needs of Palestinians.

Israel has occupied East Jerusalem since 1967. It has annexed the city and declared its east and west Israel's eternal capital.

This is not recognised by the international community, with the east of the city considered occupied territory.