Jackson fans mark 5th anniversary of icon’s death

GLENDALE: Dozens of Michael Jackson fans laid heaps of flowers Wednesday at the mausoleum where the pop icon is interred, to mark the 5th anniversary of his death.

Around 100 fans, some dressed as the self-proclaimed King of Pop, gathered at the Forest Lawn cemetery outside Los Angeles, where the 50-year-old died while rehearsing for a comeback tour.

"We love you Michael," read a banner on a giant red heart placed outside the small mausoleum in Glendale, north of downtown LA.

Jackson died on June 25, 2009 of an overdose of the clinical anesthetic propofol, administered by his doctor to help treat insomnia as the singer prepared for "This is It" shows in London.

His personal medic Conrad Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in 2011 over the star´s death and jailed for four years. He was released in October after serving two years.

He had debts of up to $500 million before his death, but in the five years since, his executors have earned more than $700 million, according to a recent book, "Michael Jackson Inc.

"Money-making ventures have included the "This is It" movie of rehearsals for the doomed tour, a touring Cirque du Soleil stage show and two posthumous albums so far, with more to come. (AFP)

Egypt confirms 183 death sentences, including Islamist chief

MINYA: An Egyptian court on Saturday confirmed death sentences for 183 Islamists, including Muslim Brotherhood chief Mohamed Badie, a prosecutor said, after a speedy mass trial that sparked an international outcry.

The court in the central city of Minya had initially sentenced 683 people to death, but on Saturday it commuted death sentences of four to life in prison, including two women, and acquitted 496 other defendants.

Since the army ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July last year, hundreds of his supporters and Badie himself have been sentenced to death in trials criticised by Egyptian and global human rights bodies.

Those sentenced on Saturday, in a session that lasted about 15 minutes, were accused of involvement in the murder and attempted murder of policemen in Minya province on August 14, the day police killed hundreds of Morsi supporters during clashes in Cairo.

Saturday´s sentencings came after the court´s initial ruling was referred to Egypt´s top Islamic scholar as required under the country´s law.

In March, the same court presided by judge Said Youssef Sabry had reduced 492 of 529 death sentences to life in prison.

 

West Africa Ebola death toll hits 337: WHO

GENEVA: The death toll in West Africa´s three-nation Ebola outbreak has risen to 337, the World Health Organization said Wednesday, making it the deadliest ever outbreak of the haemorrhagic fever.

Fresh data from the UN health agency showed that the number of deaths in Guinea, the hardest-hit country, has reached 264, while 49 had died in Sierra Leone and 24 in Liberia.

The new toll marks a more than 60-percent hike since the WHO´s last figure on June 4, when it said 208 people had succumbed to the deadly virus.

Including the deaths, 528 people across the three countries have contracted Ebola, one of the deadliest viruses known to man, the WHO said.

Yet agency spokeswoman Fadela Chaib insisted the far higher number of cases did not mean the virus was spreading faster.

"There is no sudden rise," she said in an email to AFP, pointing out that the increase could be explained by the heightened vigilance in the region and the confirmation of previously suspected cases.

Retroactive investigations were pushing up the numbers, she said, stressing that WHO´s toll should be seen as "provisional", since "new samples are being taken daily and tests are underway." (AFP)

Death toll from Karachi airport attack rises to 22

KARACHI: Death toll from a brazen militant attack on Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport attack has risen to 22 after recovery of two more bodies from Cargo Terminal, according to a spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority.

The spokesman said that the two men were burnt to death after a fire erupted at the terminal during the militant attack.

He further said that five people were still missing and efforts were underway to recover them.

Death toll doubles in attack on Afghanistan´s Abdullah

KABUL: The death toll from two explosions targeting Afghan presidential front-runner Abdullah Abdullah doubled on Saturday, with at least 12 people confirmed dead in an attack that triggered strong international condemnation.

Abdullah survived the assassination attempt on Friday when the blasts, including a suicide bombing, targeted his campaign motorcade in Kabul ahead of next week´s hotly contested run-off election.

It was the second attack on Abdullah during Afghanistan´s fractious election season, which has seen an uptick in violence with Taliban militants threatening to disrupt the polls.

"The casualty toll has increased to 12 people, while a further 40 people, including one woman, were wounded," Sayed Gul Agha Hashemi, head of Kabul police´s criminal investigation branch, told AFP.

Afghan officials on Friday said that six people were killed in the attack. Abdullah himself escaped unhurt but said he had lost three of his campaign workers.

The UN Security Council condemned the attack strongly, calling for an orderly transition to a new government in Afghanistan.

"The members of the Security Council underlined their support for Afghanistan´s democratic processes, and looked forward to the second round of the presidential election," it said in a statement on Friday.

The United States also denounced the attack, saying that "the Afghan people deserve democracy -- which they´ll be exercising next week -- not violence".

No one has thus far claimed responsibility for the assassination attempt but Taliban militants have vowed to disrupt the June 14 run-off election.

"The high number of civilians killed and injured further shows a complete disregard for the lives of ordinary Afghans," said Jan Kubis, head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.

"Such an attack on a busy road used by many civilians violates the most basic principles of humanity," he said in a statement.

Afghanistan is in the middle of elections to choose a successor to President Hamid Karzai, who has ruled since the fall of the 1996-2001 Taliban regime.

Abdullah fell short of the 50 percent threshold needed for an outright victory in the April first round and will face former World Bank economist Ashraf Ghani in the run-off.

Doctor blamed for death of babies at Karachi hospital

KARACHI: An initial probe report into the death of four newborn babies at a private hospital has blamed doctor’s negligence for the horrific incident.

The report states that the doctor was not present at the time of the incident and was giving instructions to technicians over the telephone.

The newborn babies lost their lives after oxygen supply to their incubators was disconnected due to load shedding at the hospital.

According to the spokesman of Sindh Department of Health, seven pre-mature babies were born at a private hospital in Korangi no.6 two days ago who were kept in incubators for intensive care.

However, the oxygen supply was discontinued due to load shedding that resulted in the death of four infants.

The parents and relatives of the deceased children protested outside the hospital and alleged that the newborn babies were not provided with adequate first aid and negligence of doctors resulted in their death.

The sources told that the hospital staff along with the doctors disappeared after the incident while the Sindh Health Department has requested to arrest the entire staff.

The Health department sealed the hospital and arrested three persons while raids are being conducted to search the owner of the hospital.

Two minor girls burnt to death in Lahore

LAHORE: Two minot girls were burnt to death and another critically injured in their house in Ichhra area of Lahore, Geo News reported.

Rescue sources said the fire erupted in the house when the mother of the ill-fated girls turned on the stove in the kitchen and went to buy some commodities from the market.

On the other hands, some sources said the fire erupted due to short circuit.

Rescue personnel and local residents doused the fire that killed the siblings aged between 3-5 years.

Woman stoned to death: PM takes notice

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has taken notice of a woman being stoned to death outside the Lahore High Court (LHC).

The prime minister has directed Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif to take submit a report of the attack. Meanwhile, the Punjab chief minister has directed the top police officer of the province to arrest those involved in the attack and charge them under the anti-terrorism act.

25-year-old Farzana was attacked by her father, brothers and other family members for marrying out of choice. Farzana was on her way to the LHC to contest an abduction case her family had filed against her husband when she was brutally attacked. Fazana’s father surrendered to the police after the attack and termed it an honour killing.

The attack was the subject of international headlines and highlighted the issue of honour killings in Pakistan. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, a private group, said in a report last month that some 869 women were murdered in honor killings in 2013.

Iraq attacks kill 33 as 2014 death toll tops 4,000

BAGHDAD: Attacks across Iraq killed 33 people on Wednesday, the latest in a months-long surge in violence that has left more than 4,000 people dead this year.

The shootings and bombings struck in Baghdad and restive parts of the north and west, leaving dozens more wounded, security and medical officials said.

The protracted spike in bloodletting has fuelled fears that Iraq is slipping back into the all-out conflict that plagued it in 2006 and 2007, when a brutal sectarian war left tens of thousands dead.

In the deadliest attack, a suicide car bomb exploded in north Baghdad, killing at least 16 people and wounding 50 others, security and medical officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Elsewhere in and around the capital, six people were killed in multiple attacks, while three others died in the northern provinces of Kirkuk and Nineveh.

Also in north Iraq, a series of 11 bombings in the ethnically mixed town of Tuz Khurmatu killed five people, four of them members of the same family, and wounded 11.The blasts targeted homes belonging to ethnic Turkmen.

The town, which is also populated by Arabs and Kurds, lies in a stretch of territory that Kurdish leaders want to incorporate into their autonomous region over the objections of the central government.

Insurgents often exploit poor communication between Arab and Kurdish security forces to carry out attacks in the area.

Saudi reports one more death from MERS virus

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s health ministry says one more patient who contracted the potentially fatal Middle East virus related to SARS has died and that 14 new cases have been detected.

The ministry said on its website Sunday that a Saudi man in his 70s died in Riyadh. It says this brings to 112 the number of deaths from the virus in the kingdom since September 2012.

The new 14 cases raise the number of those infected in Saudi Arabia to 411. Five of the new cases were detected in Riyadh, five in Jeddah and four in Makka — three women and a 14-year-old boy.

MERS belongs to the coronavirus family that includes the common cold and SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, which caused some 800 deaths globally in 2003. (AP)

MERS death toll in Saudi climbs to 107

 Health

 

RIYADH: Saudi health authorities announced Saturday two new deaths from the MERS coronavirus, raising to 109 the number of fatalities since the disease appeared in the kingdom in September 2012.

A 25-year-old man has died in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah and a woman of 69, who suffered from tuberculosis and anaemia, died in Mecca, also western Saudi Arabia, the health ministry said.

At the same time, 35 new cases of the severe respiratory disease have been recorded, raising the number of sufferers in the Gulf state over the past two years to 396, the world´s highest tally.

On Friday, US health officials said the first case of MERS has been confirmed in the United States.

The person infected with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is a health care provider who had travelled to Riyadh for work, they said.

And last week, Egypt recorded its first infection after a person who arrived from Saudi Arabia tested positive.

Public concern in Saudi Arabia over the spread of MERS has mounted after the resignation of at least four doctors at Jeddah´s King Fahd Hospital who refused to treat patients for fear of infection.

Some research has suggested that camels are a likely source of the virus.

MERS is considered a deadlier but less-transmissible cousin of the SARS virus that erupted in Asia in 2003 and infected 8,273 people, nine percent of whom died.

There are no vaccines or antiviral treatments for MERS, a disease with a mortality rate of more than 40 percent that experts are still struggling to understand. (AFP)

Death toll hits 32 in India rebel violence: police

GUWAHATI: Police found nine more bodies Saturday after a deadly rampage by tribal separatists in India´s remote northeastern Assam state, taking the death toll to 32 following two days of violence.

The nine bodies, including those of women and children, were recovered from Narayanguri village in Baksa district, some 200 kilometres (125 miles) west of Assam´s main city of Guwahati.

"The death toll has gone up to 32," police inspector general S. N. Singh told. "Security has been further tightened with police and paramilitary troopers deployed in strength.

"Fresh violence erupted Friday night when tribal rebels killed 12 Muslims, a day after they had killed three villagers in the same district and eight more in neighbouring Kokrajhar, opening fire on the victims as they slept in their homes.

The attacks have prompted security forces to launch a massive hunt for the guerillas and have spurred some 5,000 people to flee from their homes, Singh said.

He added that an indefinite curfew has also been imposed in the violence-torn districts, with police given shoot-on-sight orders.

The victims of the attacks were Muslim migrants who have been locked in land disputes with indigenous Bodo tribes in the tea-growing state that borders Bhutan and Bangladesh.

The attacks come as India votes in a multi-phased general election that began on April 7. Polling winds up on May 12, with results to be announced four days later.

Voting in Assam has ended, with April 24 the last day of polling.

Police blamed the attacks on the outlawed National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), which has been demanding a separate homeland for decades.

Seventeen people were killed in clashes in the same region in January and thousands of others fled their homes for fear of further attacks.

In 2012, ethnic clashes in the same area claimed about 100 lives and displaced more than 400,000 people.

Death toll hits 32 in India rebel violence: police

GUWAHATI: Police found nine more bodies Saturday after a deadly rampage by tribal separatists in India´s remote northeastern Assam state, taking the death toll to 32 following two days of violence.

The nine bodies, including those of women and children, were recovered from Narayanguri village in Baksa district, some 200 kilometres (125 miles) west of Assam´s main city of Guwahati.

"The death toll has gone up to 32," police inspector general S. N. Singh told. "Security has been further tightened with police and paramilitary troopers deployed in strength.

"Fresh violence erupted Friday night when tribal rebels killed 12 Muslims, a day after they had killed three villagers in the same district and eight more in neighbouring Kokrajhar, opening fire on the victims as they slept in their homes.

The attacks have prompted security forces to launch a massive hunt for the guerillas and have spurred some 5,000 people to flee from their homes, Singh said.

He added that an indefinite curfew has also been imposed in the violence-torn districts, with police given shoot-on-sight orders.

The victims of the attacks were Muslim migrants who have been locked in land disputes with indigenous Bodo tribes in the tea-growing state that borders Bhutan and Bangladesh.

The attacks come as India votes in a multi-phased general election that began on April 7. Polling winds up on May 12, with results to be announced four days later.

Voting in Assam has ended, with April 24 the last day of polling.

Police blamed the attacks on the outlawed National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), which has been demanding a separate homeland for decades.

Seventeen people were killed in clashes in the same region in January and thousands of others fled their homes for fear of further attacks.

In 2012, ethnic clashes in the same area claimed about 100 lives and displaced more than 400,000 people.

Residents protest after death from toxic material kills 9 DI Khan

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Residents protested against the local administration after nine people were killed from toxic material at a Sugar Mill here.

On Friday, nine people were killed after they inhaled toxic fumes from a water canal flowing from the sugar mill. After the funeral prayers of the deceased, residents protested outside the sugar mill and broke the main gate. Protesters entered the mill and set fire to a tractor. Police used tear gas and baton charged the protestors to disperse them.

Assistant Commissioner Irfanullah Mehsud said compensation would be announced for the families of the deceased. Police have lodged a case and arrested seven people including the General Manager of the sugar mill.

683 Muslim Brotherhood supporters sentenced to death

An Egyptian court has added yet another dimension to the ongoing crackdown against the supporters of deposed President Mohamed Morsy by sentencing to death 683 backers of the Muslim Brotherhood, including the organisation’s Supreme Guide, Mohamed Badie.

A court in the city of Minya, found the defendants guilty of attacking a police station on August 14, 2013, which led to the killing of a police officer. The assault apparently followed the crackdown on two pro-Morsy encampments in Cairo that led to the deaths of at least 1,000 supporters of the deposed President.

The defendants were also found guilty of inciting and committing violence, rioting, and destroying public and private property. The Grand Mufti of the country must now ratify the verdict, before the sentences can be carried out. The final judgment will be passed on June 21, after the Grand Mufti has arrived at a conclusion.

On Monday, intervention by the Grand Mufti spared the lives of 492 people out of a group of 529 who had been sentenced to death by the same court in March. The Minya court pronounced that only 37 will now face capital punishment, while the rest will spend the remaining part of their lives in jail.

In the shadow of the court verdict, the interim Egyptian administration is engaged in hectic preparations for fresh Presidential elections next month in the hope of overriding the storm that has been stirred by its heavy crackdown against the Muslim Brotherhood and its supporters.

Seeking legitimacy, Field Marshall Abel Fattah El-Sisi — the mastermind behind Mr. Morsy’s exit — is standing in the two-day presidential elections that commence on May 26. Analysts say that there is little doubt that the former military chief will win the polls, where he has to contend with only one candidate — Hamdeen Sabahi, who had stood third in the elections that had brought Mr. Morsy to power. The deposed President’s supporters and pro-Brotherhood political parties have called for a boycott of the upcoming elections.

Saudi reports new MERS death

JEDDAH: A Saudi man has died of MERS in the western city of Jeddah, where authorities have sought to calm fears over the spreading respiratory illness, the health ministry said Wednesday.

The ministry said five more people were infected with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, including two medics, all in Jeddah.

The latest death of a 52-year-old brings to 71 the total number of people to have died from MERS, out of 205 infections in Saudi Arabia, it added.

Health authorities on Tuesday reported the death of a 59-year-old, also in Jeddah, as well as four other infections in the same city, including three medics.

Last week panic over the spread of MERS among medical staff in Jeddah forced the temporary closure of an emergency room at a major hospital, prompting Health Minister Abdullah al-Rabiah to visit the facility in a bid to calm the public.

"The situation concerning the coronavirus is reassuring," said a government statement.

The MERS virus was initially concentrated in the eastern region of Saudi Arabia but has now spread across other areas.

The World Health Organisation said Friday it had been told of 212 laboratory-confirmed cases of MERS infection worldwide, of which 88 have proved fatal.

The MERS virus is considered a deadlier but less-transmissible cousin of the SARS virus that erupted in Asia in 2003 and infected 8,273 people, nine percent of whom died.

Experts are still struggling to understand MERS, for which there is no known vaccine.

A recent study said the virus has been "extraordinarily common" in camels for at least 20 years, and may have been passed directly from the animals to humans. (AFP)

Death toll in Ebola outbreak rises to 121

DAKAR:An outbreak of Ebola in West Africa has been linked to the deaths of more than 120 people, according to the latest World Health Organization count.

There is no vaccine and no cure for the deadly virus, and its appearance in West Africa, far from its usual sites in Central and East Africa, has caused some panic.

Health workers are trying to contain its spread, tracking down anyone with whom the sick have had contact. Mali announced Tuesday that samples from all its suspected cases had tested negative for the disease.

Malian Health Minister Ousmane Kone said that the country had sent out 10 samples for testing at labs in the United States and Senegal, and all were declared negative for Ebola. There are no other known suspected cases in the country.

As of Monday, the U.N. health agency said it had recorded a total of 200 suspected or confirmed cases of Ebola, the majority of which are in Guinea. That figure includes some of the Mali cases that the government now says are negative. The organization said the deaths of 121 people in Guinea and Liberia have been linked to the disease.

Officials have said the current outbreak could last months.

Another Saudi MERS death raises kingdom toll to 67

JEDDAH: Saudi health authorities announced on Wednesday another death caused by the MERS virus in the capital Riyadh, bringing the nationwide toll to 67.

The 57-year-old Saudi national had been suffering from chronic illnesses, the health ministry said.

It also reported that another two Saudis had been infected by the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome -- one a 51-year-old and the other a 90-year-old, both of whom are suffering chronic illnesses.

The latest figures bring to 179 the number of cases of MERS in Saudi Arabia since the virus first appeared in the kingdom in September 2012. The virus was initially concentrated in the eastern region but has now spread across more areas.

Eleven new cases were reported in the western port city of Jeddah in recent weeks, causing a wave of panic fuelled by rumours circulated on social networks.

Of the 11 victims, two died while six have recovered and another three are undergoing treatment, according to the health ministry.

Three of the patients in Jeddah were health workers, including one of the two who died, prompting authorities to close the emergency department at the city’s King Fahd Hospital.

Patients were transferred to other hospitals while the department was disinfected in a process expected to take 24 hours, the ministry said on Tuesday.

The MERS virus is considered a deadlier but less-transmissible cousin of the SARS virus that erupted in Asia in 2003 and infected 8,273 people, nine percent of whom died.

Experts are still struggling to understand the disease, for which there is no known vaccine. A study revealed that the virus has been "extraordinarily common" in camels for at least 20 years, and may have been passed directly from the animals to humans.

The World Health Organisation said at the end of March that it had been told of 206 laboratory-confirmed cases of MERS infection worldwide, of which 86 had been fatal.

Second death anniversary of Bashir Quraishi today

KARACHI: Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM) observing the second death anniversary of its former chairperson, Bashir Khan Quraishi, on Monday (today), Geo News reported

Bashir Khan belonged to a poor family of Ratodero, Larkana. Quraishi died on April 7, 2012, in Sakran taluka, Benazirabad. The party and his family believe that he was poisoned and have been demanding that an FIR be registered against the government and law enforcers.

Bashir Quraishi was a true disciple of the founder of Jeay Sindh Movement, G.M. Syed, whose non-violence policy attracted him to join the Jeay Sindh Students Jderation in 1976.

Later, he was elected JSQM chairman in 1998 and played an important role in making the party popular among the students and the people of the province of Sindh.

Bashir Quraishi died at the age of 52 and his death still remains a mystery as even after lapse of two years no convincing investigation could reveal the cause of his sudden death.

Zulifkar Ali Bhutto’s death anniversary being observed

ISLAMABAD: The 35th Death anniversary of former prime minister and founding chairman of Pakistan People s Party (PPP) Zulfikar Ali Bhutto is being observed today (Friday).

Arrangements have been finalized for the huge gathering to be held at Garhi Khuda Baksh in Larkana. People from different parts of the country have started reaching Garhi Khuda Baksh.

Tight security arrangements have been made on the occasion. Special functions will be held to pay tribute to late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

Sindh government has announced public holiday throughout the province on the occasion of 35th death anniversary of the former prime minister.