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Showing posts from July 11, 2009

'Jackson died of lethal levels of potent drugs'

Saturday, July 11, 2009 LONDON: The leaked toxicology report of Michael Jackson claims that the pop star had lethal levels of potent painkillers and drugs in his body at the time of his death, triggering suspicion that it may be a case of homicide. Jackson was on a diet of deadly cocktail potent enough to have killed a normal person instantly but his body had developed a tolerance due to the longtime use of huge doses, the British newspaper Sun claimed quoting the findings of his preliminary toxicology reports.Apart from high levels of Demerol, a strong painkiller and heroin substitute Methadone, Jackson's blood tests found high doses of antianxiety drug Xanax, according to the leaked toxicology report submitted to the Los Angeles county coroner's office, the paper said.Lower levels of powerful anaesthetic drug Propofol was also present in Jackson's body. Jackson's close aides, the pop star, who suffered from insomnia, used the medicine as a sleeping pill. Another medi

Manmohan says didn’t intend to hurt Zardari

NEW DELHI: "It was not my intention in any way to hurt Zardari Sahib's feelings," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday on his virtual public snub to Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari. Speaking to reporters accompanying him on his way back home from Italy, said he had not intended to say that in the presence of all the media. "Let me say that what I had said to Zardari Sahib, I had not intended to say that in the presence of all the media. I simply forgot that the media were present there. It was not my intention in any way to hurt Zardari Sahib's feelings," he said in reply to a question. Ahead of their meeting in Yekaterinburg in Russia last month, Singh had told Zardari in their first meeting after the chill brought about by the Mumbai terror strike that . "I am happy to meet you but my mandate is limited to telling you that the territory of Pakistan must not be allowed to be used for terrorism against India." He was replying to a questio

Jacksons' custody hearing delayed

Saturday, July 11, 2009 LOS ANGELES: A Los Angeles court delayed the custody hearing for Michael Jackson's three children, which will now take place on July 20.The hearing was scheduled to take place on July 13, but according to a court statement, it has been delayed at the request of Jackson's mother and his ex-wife Deborah Rowe."The guardianship hearing originally scheduled for Monday, July 13, 2009 will be continued to July 20, 2009," a statement said.On June 29 a Los Angeles court named the star's 79-year-old mother Katherine Jackson as the temporary guardian of Prince Michael, Paris and younger brother Prince Michael II, who was born to a secret surrogate."All prior orders remain in full force and effect, with Katherine Jackson as temporary guardian of the children," the court said. But Rowe, who was married to Jackson from 1996 to 1999, has said she planned to fight for custody of her two children with the pop star.

8 British troops die in Afghanistan in 24 hours

Saturday, July 11, 2009 LONDON/L'AQUILA: Britain said eight soldiers had been killed in Afghanistan, its worst death toll in a 24-hour period.Five troops on foot patrol were killed by two blasts, the highest death toll in a single attack. Britain has now lost 184 soldiers in Afghanistan since it joined the U.S.-led invasion in 2001, more than the 179 deaths during its campaign in Iraq that began in 2003. Fifteen soldiers, including four officers, have been killedin the past 10 days in the fight against Taliban insurgents. On the other hand, the head of Britain's military insisted the Taliban were losing the fight in Afghanistan, as London reflected Saturday on one of the most tragic days for its troops in decades. Air Chief Marshal Jock Stirrup admitted it was "tough going" in Afghanistan after eight soldiers were killed within 24 hours, taking the British military death toll higher than in Iraq.

Nicolas Sarkozy named presidential jet Carla after his wife

Saturday, July 11, 2009 PARIS: Mr Sarkozy defied the recession last year to order £240 million worth of planes, including an Airbus designed to be bigger than any flown by other European leaders, and two corporate run-arounds for shorter trips.The first, a hugely luxurious Dassault Falcon 7X with a range of 6,000 nautical miles, has now been delivered complete with the hand-painted "Carla One" glistening on its side, in honour of his wife Carla Bruni.When they married last year, Mr Sarkozy made it clear that the former super model would have the very best in aviation luxury to transport her around the world.The Falcon comes with full leather seats and teak desks - it is understood to be red, white and blue.

Jackson's hometown holds memorial for pop icon

Saturday, July 11, 2009 INDIANA: Michael Jackson's boyhood hometown bade farewell to the King of Pop with a celebration of his life and music. More than 6,000 people showed up for an upbeat memorial event that featured performers singing and dancing to his hits, video montages of Jackson and comments from the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Gary's mayor and people who knew Michael Jackson when his family lived in Gary. Mayor Rudy Clay said Jackson had made the city known worldwide and told the crowd that he has moved on to a better place.

One killed, 18,000 houses collapsed in China’s earthquake

Saturday, July 11, 2009 BEIJING: More than 400,000 people were being evacuated Friday after an earthquake hit southwest China, killing one person, injuring hundreds and flattening more than 18,000 homes, officials said.A government relief official in Yao'an county, a mountainous area of remote Yunnan province, said one person had died and 328 had been injured.The US Geological Survey said the 5.7-magnitude quake struck at 7:19 pm (1119 GMT) Thursday at a shallow depth of 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) in Yunnan province.The quake was centred on a relatively sparsely populated area 98 kilometres (61 miles) east-northeast of the tourist city of Dali.Several aftershocks followed, driving residents outdoors into the warm night for fear of greater damage, Xinhua said.The USGS reported a 5.0-magnitude aftershock just after 5 pm (0900 GMT) on Friday.More than 18,000 houses collapsed and over 75,000 others were damaged in six counties of Yunnan, with 30 people suffering serious injuries, accor

Tyson Gay of US stands first in 100 m race in Rome

Saturday, July 11, 2009 ROME: Tyson Gay has scorched to victory in the 100m here in 9.77sec, leaving fierce rival Asafa Powell in his wake as he set the fastest time of the year at the Rome Golden League meeting.Gay's run was his first over the distance this season and proved that the 2007 world champion over 100m and 200m is in scintillating form ahead of the defence of his titles next month.Powell, who had been suffering from an ankle problem recently, ran his best time of the year to come home second in 9.88sec.But it was Gay's race that really set the pulses racing, equalling his own personal best and American record and running 0.09sec faster than Olympic champion Usain Bolt's best time this year.But with just a month to go to the World Championships in Berlin, this race proved that there should be a mouth-watering clash between the three fastest men on the planet.Set alongside Bolt's 9.86sec in Kingston, Jamaica, last month, the times ran by both Gay and Powell h