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Showing posts from July 6, 2009

140 killed, 800 hurt in China riots

Monday, July 06, 2009, BEIJING: Chinese state media says that 140 people have been killed and more than 800 hurt in violence in the country's western Xinjiang region. The official news agency did not immediately give any other details Monday on the number of deaths, but said the death toll ``was still climbing.'' It earlier reported that four people had been killed in violence after protesters from a Muslim ethnic group rioted Sunday in the region's capital Urumqi, overturning barricades, attacking bystanders and clashing with police. The protesters were demanding an investigation into a fight between Uighurs and Han Chinese workers at a southern China factory last month that state media said left two people dead.

Canada says 3 more die of swine flu

Tuesday, July 07, 2009 TORONTO: Canadian health officials have reported three more deaths related to swine flu, bringing the country's total to 36.Dr. Andre Corriveau, Alberta's chief medical health officer, said Monday that a child under 10 and two adults have died after contracting the illness. The child was from Saskatchewan, and the adults from Manitoba and Alberta.Corriveau says all the three people also suffered from other health problems, but he would not elaborate on those illnesses.Canada currently has 8,883 confirmed cases of swine flu, 663 of which have required hospitalization.

Jackson to be buried Tuesday in LA: official

LOS ANGELES: Michael Jackson will be buried at a Los Angeles cemetery on Tuesday shortly before a gala tribute to the pop icon at an arena here, the city's acting mayor said. The funeral will take place at Forest Lawn Cemetery at 8:00 am (1500 GMT), two hours before the memorial service at the downtown Staples Center, Jan Perry told the local NBC television affiliate Monday. The funeral would end speculation that the family may wait to clear legal hurdles to bury the King of Pop at his Neverland Ranch, his fantasy estate north of Los Angeles that some fans wanted to turn into a memorial. Perry, a city councilwoman, is in charge of Los Angeles as Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is on vacation in South Africa. Forest Lawn, located near some Hollywood studios, is one of Los Angeles' best-known cemeteries and is no stranger to celebrities. Screen legends Humphrey Bogart, Clark Gable and Jean Harlow are buried at Forest Lawn. The cemetery also tries to preserve pre-Hollywood aspects of

Brown warns Iran over diplomatic reprisals

Monday, July 06, 2009 EVIAN-LES-BAINS: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown warned Iran Monday that the European Union was ready to act in response to British embassy staff detentions and expulsion of diplomats."The Iranian regime must be clear that if this action continues and we are forced to act, we will act together with our European partners," Brown said at a joint news conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.Britain confirmed earlier that Iran had released an eighth local staff member of the British embassy in Tehran, leaving one still in detention.Iran has accused the embassy employees of having instigated riots following the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad."We both agree that the outcome of Iran's election is a matter for the Iranian people," Brown said in the Alpine town of Evian-les-Bains."But the totally unjustified expulsions of foreign diplomats and continued detention of embassy staff is unacceptable and unjustif

Snake bite deaths

Monday, July 06, 2009 COLOMBO: The Sri Lankan government recorded some 33,000 snake bites in 2008, with most of the victims coming from remote villages.The Department of Government Information said in a statement that most of the snake bite cases could be fatal if neglected.The statement said snake bites are often neglected in Sri Lanka as victims do not seek treatment at hospitals where advanced medication is available. Instead, the victims rush to traditional type of treatment which could be a risk, reports Xinhua.Snake bites death at domestic level, outside hospitals, go unrecorded, said the statement.Most victims of snake bite are from the rural and remote villages where there is no electricity after dusk.Statistics show that Sri Lanka has over 90 species of snake with around 10 species possessing venom capable of killing a human being.In Sri Lanka the annual death rate due to snake bite envenoming is one of the highest in the world being 6 in 100,000 population.

Michael Jackson memorial tomorrow

Updated at: 1455 PST, Monday, July 06, 2009 LOS ANGELES: Michael Jackson’s memorial will be held in Los Angeles tomorrow. Tickets for memorial were advertized for sale on the Internet Sunday as the winners of a hugely over-subscribed online lottery were notified. Some 1.6 million people registered to enter the draw for the event, hoping to be among 8,750 lucky fans chosen at random by a computer to receive a pair of tickets for Tuesday's service.Late Sunday, dozens of adverts offering tickets for sale had begun to appear on the popular website, although most were swiftly flagged for removal. Authorities on Friday pleaded against ticket scalpers seeking to cash in on the event. Ticket winners who beat the 183-1 odds of being chosen will be given a wristband to wear when they are issued with their tickets in order to make it harder for scalpers.

Iran's reaction to attack would be 'very decisive': official

Monday, July 06, 2009 TOKYO: A senior Iranian official, reacting to comments by US Vice President Joe Biden, on Monday said his country would respond "in a very full-scale and very decisive way" if it were attacked by Israel. In Tokyo, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, chairman of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, said: "I think that America and Israel are fully aware what kind of result such a wrong judgment will entail. "Israel showed its military power sufficiently in the 22-day war," its offensive in Gaza early this year, he told reporters. "That kind of erroneous judgment poses a threat to the entire Middle Eastern region and the world."He added: "If an Israeli attack occurred, then the Islamic Republic of Iran will respond in a very full-scale and very decisive way."

Bomb kills 5, injures 8 in southeast Turkey

Monday, July 06, 2009 ISTANBUL: Five people were killed and eight were injured when a roadside bomb destroyed the vehicle in which they were travelling in southeastern Turkey, local broadcaster reported on Monday. The vehicle was carrying workers in the province of Sirnak,it said. No further details were immediately available.