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LOS ANGELES — The insurance taken out on Michael Jackson for his London concert series does not cover cancellations if the pop star was found to have illegally possessed drugs or was involved in the "illicit taking of drugs," according to a copy of the policy provided Friday to The Associated Press. It was not immediately clear whether any medications Jackson was taking would negate a payout up to $17.5 million, which would ultimately benefit his estate. Jackson's doctor administered multiple sedatives along with the powerful anesthetic propofol, a potentially lethal combination, hours before the singer died June 25, a law enforcement official who requested anonymity because the death investigation is ongoing told the AP. The insurance policy, covering the first 13 shows of the 50-show run, was taken out by Jackson and concert promoter AEG Live in April. Such a policy and its provisions are considered standard for events on the scale of the one for which Jackson was prepa...

COLOMBO — Voting for two local councils began Saturday near Sri Lanka's former war zone, officials said, as independent media was denied access to the area. Election officials said voting for the Jaffna and Vavuniya municipal councils would last nine hours till Saturday evening, with nearly 125,000 people eligible to vote. The two councils are located just outside the Wanni war zone where security forces defeated Tamil Tiger rebels in mid-May. Media rights groups have slammed the authorities for not allowing independent media access to the region. "It is unacceptable that the government should impose such a ban (on independent journalists) on nothing more than the vaguest security grounds," Paris-based Reporters Without Borders said. "As well as violating the population?s fundamental rights by preventing them from circulating freely, this measure dashes any hope of a transparent election." Saturday's vote does not cover areas recently captured from the Tiger...

BEJI, Indonesia — Indonesian police stormed a house Saturday where the regional militant leader suspected in last month's attacks on hotels in the capital was believed hiding out with several followers, witnesses and police said. The raid broke a 16-hour siege of the house in central Java province that had officers trading automatic weapons fire with the militants. At least five loud explosions have rocked the building since dawn. Police spokesman Nanan Sukarna said officers believed alleged Malaysian militant leader Noordin Mohammad Top and two or three of his followers were inside, but could not immediately confirm their fate. Minutes after the raid, witnesses said officers outside the house took off their helmets and were shaking hands with each other, suggesting all those inside had either been killed or captured. The firing ceased. A police officer at the scene said a body was found in the bathroom of the house. Noordin is suspected in last month's attacks on the J.W. Marr...

Baitullah Mehsud, Public Enemy No 1, scourge of the security establishment and commander of what seemed to be an endless supply of suicide bombers, may finally be no more. If he is indeed dead — and many credible sources have independently suggested that he is in fact dead — then a devastating blow has been struck right at the heart of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, the umbrella group of militant networks formed under Mehsud’s command in December 2007. Several factors combined to make Mehsud an extraordinary threat to Pakistan: his de facto kingdom in South Waziristan gave him a phenomenal base in which to organise his militia, estimated to be in the thousands; his charismatic leadership made him a larger-than-life figure in the pantheon of militant leaders in Pakistan; and he rabidly, in many ways unprecedentedly, opposed the Pakistani state, which he accused of collaborating with Americans against the country’s interests. Welcome as Mehsud’s elimination may be, it urgently raises sev...

August 07, 2009 COLOMBO: Umar Akmal smashed an unbeaten 102 off 72 balls as Pakistan won the fourth one-dayer by 146 runs on Friday to record their first win on a dismal tour of Sri Lanka.Umar's maiden international century and a dogged 89 from skipper Younus Khan lifted Pakistan to 321-5 after the tourists elected to bat in the day-night match at the Premadasa stadium.Seamer Rao Iftikhar then grabbed 5-30 as Sri Lanka were shot out for 175 in 36.1 overs, handing Pakistan a badly-needed win after they were beaten 2-0 in the Test series and lost the first three one-dayers.The fifth and final match will be played at the same venue on Sunday.Umar, 19, younger brother of the team's wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal, pounded four sixes and five boundaries in only his third international and was declared the man of the match.Younus stayed rock-solid at the other end as Umar punished the wayward Sri Lankan attack during a fifth-wicket partnership of 176 runs after Pakistan slipped to 130-4.S...

MANILA: Two European tourists and nine Filipinos were killed from flooding and landslides triggered by heavy rain north of the Philippine capital, police and officials said Friday. In addition to the two dead, a French tourist is missing after 12 European and South Korean hikers were caught in heavy rain after scaling Mount Pinatubo volcano on Thursday, said regional police official Chief Superintendent Leo Nilo De La Cruz.De La Cruz said the two fatalities were French, but Belgian embassy official Ivy Weisz later said that one of the dead was Belgian.However, six French nationals and three South Koreans were rescued by an air force helicopter.French embassy consul Arnaut Rayar said he had spoken to the French survivors earlier in the day but "they were too shocked to go into details."The foreigners had hiked up the volcano, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) northwest of Manila, but after they descended were caught by heavy rain that mixed with volcanic ash on the slopes to fo...

Friday, August 07, 2009 CARACAS: A Venezuelan court accused a radical supporter of President Hugo Chavez of assault and illegal use of a firearm, accusations stemming from an attack against an opposition-sided television channel. The court upheld seven criminal charges against Lina Ron, the leader of a leftist political party, for her role in this week's attack on the Globovision TV channel's studios. The court ruled that Ron must remain in custody while she awaits trial. On Monday, government supporters riding motorcycles and waving the flags of Ron's party tossed tear gas canisters at Globovision, the country's last over-the-air television station that is a strong critic of Chavez. Globovision broadcast video of the incident, allegedly showing Ron among the attackers. Chavez has recognized Ron as an ally, but he has also criticized some of her actions. Last year, she led Chavez supporters when they stormed and temporarily occupied the offices of the Vatican's rep...

Friday, August 07, 2009 MUMBAI: Bollywood mega star Rekha is planning to bring out a book that deals with her life story, sources said.Through this biography, the actress will share her experiences and express gratitude towards all the people who shaped up her life. According to sources, Rekha said, “I have been carefully going back in time to identify every person who has shaped my life and made me realise that I am a product of love. The most important person, of course, is my mother, who couldn't have given me more love.”But as of now, Rekha doesn’t want to reveal much on this. She wants to make up her mind before she makes the formal announcement. Sources reveal that the actress will be ready with the final plans in a couple of months. The legendary beauty has also plans to turn the biography into a film, sources further added.Looks like the work is going to be a timeless treasure for her ardent fans.

Friday, August 07, 2009 MOSUL: A car bomb killed at least 20 people in Iraq's main northern city of Mosul on Friday as a wave of attacks targeting pilgrims left four people dead in the capital Baghdad. "Twenty people were killed and 61 others were injured when a car bomb exploded as the faithful were leaving the mosque after Friday prayers," a police official said requesting anonymity. The mosque targeted is a one used by members of the Turkmen minority in the mainly Sunni Muslim city, the police official said. He said worshippers were walking to an annexe of the mosque to offer condolences when the bombers detonated the explosives which had been hidden in a car parked nearby. Dr Hikmat Sobhi of Mosul's Medical City hospital said the emergency room had received the bodies of 20 dead and was treating 61 wounded, some of them for serious injuries. The attack follows a bombing in Mosul late on Thursday in which two Christian women were wounded. The city -- Iraq's se...

Friday, August 07, 2009 VIRGINIA: US president Barack Obama has declared that actions taken by his administration had helped stop an economic freefall and said the United States may be seeing the "very beginnings" of the end of the recession. "We're losing jobs at half the rate we were at the beginning of this year," Mr Obama told a rally outside Washington for the Democratic candidate for Virginia governor. "Our financial system is no longer on the verge of collapse. The market is up." Mr Obama acknowledged more work was needed on recovery efforts but struck back at Republican critics, reminding his audience he had inherited the economic crisis when he took office in January. It began under his Republican predecessor, George W. Bush. "I don't want the folks who created the mess to do a lot of talking. I want them to get out of the way so we can clean up the mess," he said to loud cheers. Many Republicans have accused Mr Obama of making ...

Friday, August 07, 2009 NEW YORK: It is rare that the rosters of the Yankees and the Red Sox can be brought together for any common event, other than nine innings of baseball on a summer night. Before Thursday's game, the members of the classic rivalry halted their preparation to appreciate and honor something they could all agree on. Muhammad Ali is still "The Greatest." The three-time world heavyweight champion and 1960 Olympic gold medalist was honored at Yankee Stadium, circling the warning track in a motorized cart while waving to the grandstands from behind dark sunglasses. As he moved toward home plate, the Boston and New York players in the outfield all stopped their stretching and tossing. Johnny Damon and Jacoby Ellsbury applauded, and Jorge Posada walked over to the cart to shake Ali's hand. "I got chill-bumps, to tell you the truth," Posada said. "I didn't know what to say. I was struck. It was a good feeling to see him at the Stadium....

Friday, August 07, 2009 LONDON: Men with angina are much more likely than women to develop further serious heart problems, a study suggests.Researchers found male patients were twice as likely to have a heart attack and almost three times as likely to suffer a heart disease-related death. Angina, a type of chest pain, is common and can be the first sign of heart disease - but the risks are unclear. Angina is caused by insufficient supply of blood to the heart muscle. Recent research in Britain suggest that 4.8% of men and 3.4% of women aged over 16 in England have angina.