GENEVA: The World Health Organisation said on Sunday its laboratories had confirmed a total of 658 H1N1 flu infections in 16 countries, including 16 deaths in Mexico. The WHO's toll lags national reports about the virus but is considered more scientifically secure. The Mexican government said on Saturday that out of more than 100 suspected deaths from the strain, 19 had been confirmed. Authorities in the country, which has been most affected by the disease, had previously made an estimate of 176 suspected deaths. The WHO's most recent figures say that 397 people have been infected in Mexico, and 160 people have been infected in the United States, the two countries most affected by the virus widely known as swine flu. There has also been one U.S. death, identified by authorities there, as a Mexican infant. The WHO has also confirmed flu infections, without deaths, in the following countries: Austria (1), Canada (51), Hong Kong- China Region (1), Costa Rica (1), Denmark (1), France (2), Germany (6), Israel (3), Netherlands (1), New Zealand (4), South Korea (1), Spain (13), Switzerland (1) and Britain (15).
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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