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Saturday, July 04, 2009 KARACHI: Over 800 Pakistanis, went to perform Umrah in Saudi Arabia, have been betrayed by Travel Agent Mafia working in Pakistan, as the money of their return tickets have been refunded here in Pakistan, leaving them in Lurch in Saudi Arabia.Over 800 Pakistanis went Saudi Arab through separate airlines belonging to various cities who are unable to get back to country due to lack of their return tickets while travel agents in Jeddah have denied them of any support or help to avert this malfunction.According to sources, the corrupt travel agents in Pakistan have refunded the money of the return tickets of over 800 Pakistanis currently staying in Jeddah for Umrah and their subagents have advised the Saudi authorities to hand them over to Saudi Security Agencies.Reports have also reached here regarding the involvement of country managers of some airlines in all this corruption while those victimized told Geo news that they cannot afford to buy return tickets again....

Saturday, July 04, 2009,NEW DELHI: Employees of India's national carrier Air India staged a nationwide two-hour strike on Friday to protest what they said was management's failure to pay salaries on time.The walkout was called by the airline's two largest unions, despite a warning from company executives that they would deduct wages from employees who participated in any stoppage.Last month the management of the struggling state-run airline -- which merged with government-run domestic carrier Indian Airlines last year -- sent a notice to its employees saying it would defer 73 million dollars in June wages until July 15.But the carrier later said it would pay salaries to lower-ranked employees by Friday."We are staging a walkout and demonstration for two hours as the management has failed to honour its commitment given to the unions to pay our June salaries by today," George Abraham, general secretary of the Aviation Industry Employees' Guild told the Press Tr...

Saturday, July 04, 2009 LONDON: Two children died after a fire in a London tower block, police said Friday. "We understand there have been two fatalities of children, one three weeks old and one seven years," a Metropolitan Police spokesman told media. A total of 13 people were taken to hospital after the blaze in Camberwell, south London, most with smoke inhalation. Some 30 people were trapped inside but have now been brought out, London Fire Brigade said, adding that the blaze was under control and there were no reports of people still trapped inside. Around 100 firefighters were at the scene of the fire, which started on the fourth floor and spread to the 11th. Witnesses spoke of distressing scenes as the fire, which was reported just before 4:30 pm (1530 GMT), took hold. "There were kids screaming, there was all sorts of stuff going on," Rob Atthill told media television. "The people I was with, they climbed on the roof to see what was happening and they c...

Friday, July 03, 2009 CHICAGO: Visitors to the Sears Tower's new glass balconies agree that the first step is the hardest.The balconies are suspended 1,353 feet in the air and jut out four feet from the building's 103rd floor. Their transparent walls, floor and ceiling leave visitors with the impression they're floating over the city.The balconies can hold five tons, and the glass is an inch-and-a-half thick, officials said. Sears Tower officials have said the inspiration for the balconies came from the hundreds of forehead prints visitors left behind on Skydeck windows every week. Now, staff will have a new glass surface to clean: floors.The balconies are just one of the big changes coming to the Sears Tower. The building's name will change to Willis Tower later this summer. Last week, officials announced a 5-year, $350 million green renovation complete with wind turbines, roof gardens and solar panels.

Friday, July 03, 2009 BEIJING: Thousands driven from their homes as monsoon rains cause devastation across China. A state of emergency has been declared in the provinces of Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu and Anhui. The government has already moved tens of thousands of people from low-lying areas along the Yellow River. Chinese authorities have warned that much wider damage could be caused if the Yellow River floods, since it runs high above the surrounding countryside due to heavy silting. Each summer floods triggered by seasonal rains devastate wide areas of China. Millions of people remain vulnerable to waterborne diseases.

Friday, July 03, 2009 VIENNA The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has elected a Japanese diplomat to replace outgoing Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei. The new chief faces a tough tenure, with challenges ranging from North Korea to Iran and Syria. After failing to agree on a new head earlier this year, the 35-nation board of the International Atomic Energy Agency selected Yukiya Amano of Japan to succeed current chief Mohamed ElBaradei of Egypt who steps down in November.During a board meeting in Vienna, Amano was elected after six rounds of voting that pitted him against Abdul Samad Minty of South Africa in a ballot that roughly reflected divisions between developed and developing nations. The final vote was 23 to 11, with one abstention.

Friday, July 03, 2009 LOS ANGELES: A video released Thursday showed Michael Jackson vigorously practicing a song-and-dance routine days before his death, supporting accounts he had been in good health. In footage obtained by a French news agency, the pop legend performed at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on June 23, two days before he died, as he prepared for a 50-date set in London starting in July. Jackson, while thin, is seen dancing with energy in a tightly choreographed sequence with a group of performers. Jackson sings on a headset and at one point pushes back his jacket to reveal his red shirt underneath. In the footage, Jackson switches sharply in styles in a medley of some of his hits. The video starts with Jackson dancing wildly in front of a rock 'n' roll guitarist before a pause for dramatic effect. Jackson then shifts to a snippet of "Billie Jean," one of his greatest hits, before singing, "They Don't Care About Us," one of his most cont...

Friday, July 03, 2009 WASHINGTON: The King of Pop had a fan in the White House as President Barack Obama described himself as a longtime follower of Michael Jackson, the legendary performer who died June 25 at age 50."I grew up on his music — still have all his stuff on my iPod," Obama said in a media interview Thursday, adding that Jackson "will go down in history as one of our greatest entertainers."At the time of his death, the pop icon was preparing a series of comeback concerts to overcome years of sexual scandal and financial calamity — a troubled history the president acknowledged without naming specifics."I think that his brilliance as a performer also was paired with a tragic and, in many ways, sad personal life," Obama said.He expressed pleasure that the public is celebrating Jackson for his talents, instead of dwelling on his personal tragedies."I'm glad to see that he is being remembered primarily for the great joy that he brought to ...

Friday, July 03, 2009 LONDON: Venus and Serena Williams, who will contest the Wimbledon singles final for a fourth time on Saturday, reached the final of the women's doubles for a second successive year on Friday.The three-time defending champions defeated top seeds Cara Black of Zimbabwe and America's Liezel Hueber 6-1, 6-2.They will face either Spanish duo Virginia Ruano Pascual and Anabel Medina Garrigues or Australian pair Samantha Stosur and Rennae Stubbs in Sunday's final.The Williams sisters were doubles champions here in 2000, 2002 and 2008.

Friday, July 03, 2009 WIMBLEDON: For the eighth time in 10 years, the Wimbledon women's trophy will be lifted by a Williams. The Williams sisters are back in the final again, Venus for the eighth time and Serena for the fifth. And it's the fourth Williams-vs.-Williams final at the All England Club and eighth in a Grand Slam title match. Fittingly, the show will take place on the Fourth of July, Independence Day in the United States. The more we play, the better it gets,'' Serena said. When we play our match on Saturday, it's for everything. This is what we dreamed of when we were growing up in Compton (California) 20-something years ago. This is what we worked for, and this is what we want.'' If the semifinals are anything to go by, five-time winner and two-time defending champion Venus is clearly the one to beat. Two-time champion Serena had to save a match point and use all her fighting skills to overcome Elena Dementieva of Russia 6-7 (4), 7-5, 8-6 in a ...

Friday, July 03, 20 09 SINGAPORE: In an inaugural Asian Youth Games, Chinese leading the overall tally with 13 gold medals, nine more than Japan and 10 more than South Korea. The track and field competition began on Tuesday, with 18 gold medals up for grabs in the first three days of competition. To date, China have plundered seven gold medals at Bishan Stadium. In the nine events on Thursday, Chinese featured in five of them, and they won all five gold medals. Their boys won the 110m hurdles, 400m hurdles and long jump, while the girls bagged gold in the discus and 400m hurdles. Japanese athletes won the boys' 400m and girls' 100m hurdles. So far, they have won three golds in athletics entering the final day of track and field today. Singapore's Inez Leong came in third in the girls' 100m hurdles, making it three bronze medals for the hosts on the penultimate day of athletics.