, Tuesday, August 04, 2009 JOHANNESBURG: Health officials say that a college student has become the first South African to die from swine flu.The 22-year-old male student from the University of Stellenbosch, near Cape Town, died July 28 after being sick for a week.Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said that the H1N1 virus was confirmed as the cause of death Monday.The student went to the campus clinic with flu symptoms but was later admitted to a private hospital. He was treated for pneumonia but did not recover.There have been more than 500 swine flu cases reported in South Africa since mid-June. Some schools in Johannesburg have temporarily closed after pupils tested positive for swine flu.
BEIRUT: Thousands of people converged Saturday on central Beirut to mark the fourth anniversary of the assassination of Lebanese former premier Rafiq Hariri.Waving Lebanese flags and carrying pictures of the slain leader, men, women and children gathered under sunny skies in Martyr's Square where members of the parliamentary majority were to address the crowd. The rally comes as final preparations are underway in The Hague for the launch of the international tribunal set up to bring Hariri's killers to justice. It also comes as the country prepares for legislative elections in June that will pit Western-backed political parties against a Hezbollah-led alliance backed by Syria and Iran.Hariri died in a massive car bombing on February 14, 2005 that also killed 22 others. The assassination was widely blamed on then Lebanese power-broker Syria, which has denied any involvement. The attack on the Beirut seafront was one of the worst acts of political violence to rock Lebanon since t...
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