LONDON: Pop singer Michael Jackson has converted to Islam and changed his name to Mikaeel. The 50-year-old star, pledged his allegiance to the Koran in a ceremony at a friend's mansion in Los Angeles, the Sun reported. Jackson sat on the floor wearing a tiny hat after an Imam was summoned to officiate -- days before the singer is due to appear at London's High Court where he is being sued by an Arab Sheik, the paper said. The star decided to adopt the new religion while he was recording a song at the home of his friend where a Jehovah's witness was brought up to help him through the ceremony. Apparently the star of hits like 'the Way You Make Me Feel-was convinced by his producer and songwriter friends David Wharnsby and Phillip Bubal. "They began talking to him about their beliefs, and how they thought they had become better people after they converted. Michael soon began warming to the idea. "An Imam was summoned from the mosque and Michael went through the shahada, which is the Muslim declaration of belief," the source revealed. Mikaeel is the name of one of Allah's angels. "Jacko rejected an alternative name, Mustafa meaning "the chosen one", the source added. The singer, who rarely ventures out without a mask, is due to give evidence on Monday in a 4.7 million pound lawsuit brought by Prince Abdulla Al-Khalif of Bahrain for defaulting on an exclusive recording contract.
Friday, August 14, 2009 MUMBAI: A 26-year-old woman died Thursday of H1N1 swine flu in the southern city of Bangalore, raising India's death toll from the virus to 20, authorities said.The death was the first reported in India's information technology capital, the Press Trust of India reported.Meanwhile in Pune, the worst-affected in India, two more victims of the virus died Thursday, raising the death toll in that western city near Mumbai to 12, the report said. The victims were an 11-month-old boy and a 75-year-old old woman.US media reported movie halls, schools and colleges were ordered closed Thursday for three days to a week in Mumbai, the commercial and financial capital of the country, as fear of the pandemic spread.Prajakata Lavangare, a spokeswoman for the government of Maharashtra state of which Mumbai is the capital, said similar orders were issued in Pune, which is also located in the state.The woman who died in Bangalore was identified only as Roopa, a teacher in
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