| Swine
flu death toll mounts to 7 Pune:
A 35-year old chemist Sanjay Tilekar died of swine flu on Monday at the Sasoon
Hospital in Pune, registering the seventh death by H1N1 virus in the country.
Earlier in the day, a 35-year old ayurvedic doctor and a four-year-old boy died
of swine flu here. and Chennai. Taking preventive measures to tackle the deadly
virus, Government of Maharashtra on Monday ordered the closure of all educational
institutions for the next one week in Pune and also in the industrial townships
on the outskirts of the city, where swine flu has claimed five lives so far. This
was stated by Ajit Pawar, District Guardian Minister overseeing Pune region at
a press conference here on Monday. "From today till August 17, all colleges, high
schools, primary schools should be closed, all private classes should be stopped
in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. All children are advised to stay indoors," said
Pawar. Besides schools and colleges, the Government has also ordered the closure
of all the theatres for the next three days. He also informed that three swine
flu patients in Pune were critical. "Out of the four positive cases (in Sassoon
Hospital) three are critical. We have been giving them appropriate treatment,"
Pawar added. Capital
takes precautionary measures for swine flu Top New
Delhi: With the swine flu claiming seven lives in India, authorities in New
Delhi have asked doctors to protect themselves from HINI virus. The test report
of three doctors of the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital suspected to have swine flu
turned out to be negative, but the authorities nevertheless asked doctor to be
careful. "Kits are being distributed to doctors who are examining swine flu patients
for their personal protection. As for other doctors, masks are being distributed
and if they show any symptoms then they should get themselves examined," said
N K Chaturvedi, Medical Superintendent, Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. Meanwhile,
authorities at the Junior Modern School have decided to close down for a week
after two of its student tested positive for swine flu. "School is closed for
a week beginning today. There are only two cases. There is no need for panic.
Schools have taken all precautionary measures to control the situation. Heath
officials are here from the government," said Arvind, a member of the parent teacher
association of the school. The parents who were seen taking away their wards from
the school said they would wait for further announcement from the school about
its resumption. "The school will be closed for one week and on Monday that is
17th, they said they will inform about the situation whether they want to close
it further or the school will start working," said Alok Wadhva, a parent. India
on Monday reported two more swine flu deaths. A 35-year-old Ayurvedic doctor in
Pune and a four-year-old boy in Chennai succumbed to the virus this morning. In
Pune, Babasahib Mane, an Ayurvedic doctor, was admitted to the Sassoon General
Hospital five days ago and had been on the ventilator for the past three days,
and was declared dead on Monday. Meanwhile, a four-year old Chennai boy was admitted
to a private hospital first, but later died from multiple-organ failure. Delhi's
IIT has three swine flu affected Top New
Delhi: Even as a high-level meeting of the Ministry of Health officials is
being held here this morning, the number of Indian Institute of Technology (I.I.T)
staff infected with HINI influenza has gone up to three. One IIT staffer was reported
to have contacted the virus, two IIT students are already infected. The latest
victim has been admitted to M.M. Malviya Hospital. Union Minister for Health and
Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad is presiding over the meeting. Cabinet Secretary
K.Chandrashekhar is also attending the meeting. Meanwhile, even as the Delhi Government
asked people not to panic and refused to issue an advisory for the closure of
schools, some private schools opted to close down voluntarily as a preventive
measure against swine flu. At least five schools have closed down in the National
Capital Region (NCR) till next Monday. On Monday, the total number of swine flu
affected cases were reported to be 864 in the country. Altogether 511 patients
of the total cases had been discharged till Sunday after treatment. The rest were
being treated in stipulated government hospitals across the country. This virus
is contagious but, at this time, it is not known how easily the virus spreads
between people. The symptoms
of H1N1 swine flu in people are similar to the symptoms of regular human flu and
include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some
people have reported diarrhoea and vomiting associated with H1N1 swine flu. Severe
illness (pneumonia and respiratory failure) and even deaths have been reported
with H1N1 swine flu infection. Like seasonal flu, H1N1 swine flu may cause a worsening
of underlying chronic diseases. In children, emergency warning signs that need
urgent medical attention include fast breathing or difficulty in breathing, bluish
or gray skin colour, not drinking enough fluids, severe or persistent vomiting,
not waking up or not interacting, being so irritable that the child does not want
to be held, flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough.
In adults, emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include
difficulty in breathing or shortness of breath, pain or pressure in the chest
or abdomen, sudden dizziness, confusion, severe or persistent vomiting. Flu-like
symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough. Two
more Indian students attacked in Australia Top Melbourne/Indore:
Two more Indian students were assaulted in Australia. Gaurav Kakkar, a student
of a hairdressing course, was attacked by a group of men on Friday when he was
talking to his family in Punjab's Ferozpur from a local telephone booth. On the
same day, Mohit Mangal from Indore was attacked when he was on his way to a shopping
mall in Sydney. According to sources, Mohit was attacked from behind with a beer
bottle on his head and beaten up with a baseball bat on his waist and leg. According
to Mohit father, his condition was out of danger. Mohit, who works as a mall supervisor,
had gone to Australia about two years back to pursue his study in BE. The attacks
assumes significance as India's External Affairs Minister S M Krishna is currently
on a visit to Australia to raise concern over the recent violence against Indian
students in Australia. About the motive of these attacks, Krishna said: "By and
large, I think there are so many other considerations which have led to this attack
on Indian students." "In India itself, we will have to take some measure like
regulate unscrupulous agents to ensure students understand what is in store for
them when they go abroad to study," he added. Australian police told Krishna that
the attacks had not been racially motivated and blamed Indian media for labelling
the incidents as 'racially motivated'. Maoists
kill two in Orissa Top Rayagada
(Orissa): Maoists killed two people in Orissa's Rayagada district suspecting
them to be police informers. Ashish Kumar Singh, superintendent of police, Rayagada
district said that the Maoist were terrorising people fearing that their support
among the masses was eroding. "They are creating panic in the people by committing
such types of offences by killing civilians or common people to terrorise them.
Actually earlier they were not getting the proper support from the people and
they are thinking that if they commit such type of violent action against the
civilians then due to the fear the people will support them," said Singh. The
Maoists have increasingly spread out of their rural eastern strongholds and are
active in nearly a third of the country's 630 districts, up from a presence in
less than a tenth of them in 2001, government and independent data shows. Maoist
rebels say they are fighting for the rights of poor farmers and the disenfranchised.
The rebels regularly attack railway lines and factories, aiming to cripple economic
activity. Sukhbir
Singh Badal sworn in again as Punjabs Deputy CM Top Chandigarh:
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal was sworn-in as Deputy
Chief Minister of Punjab today. Governor S F Rodrigues administered the oath of
office and secrecy to him at the Raj Bhawan. The 47-year-old Sukhbir took the
oath in Punjabi. Besides Parkash Singh Badal, the ceremony was attended by the
Chief Minister's cabinet colleagues and BJP leaders from the state, among others.
Badal registered a thumping victory from Jalalabad constituency in Ferozpur district,
as his party swept all three seats in a by election to the Punjab Assembly. Badal
defeated his nearest rival former Minister Hans Raj Joshan of Congress by over
80,000 votes. Earlier, Badal had resigned from the post of Punjab 's Deputy Chief
Minister, after he failed to make it to the Legislature Assembly in the prescribed
six-month duration. Badal was sworn-in as MLA alongwith two other newly elected
MLAs. Hundreds
hurt in 11-hour California prison riot Top Los
Angeles: A 11-hour riot, at the Reception Center West at the California Institution
for Men in Chino , about 40 miles east of Los Angeles , on Saturday night and
Sunday morning, has left 250 prisoners injured and 55 being admitted to hospital.
Black prison gangs fought Latino gangs in hand-to-hand combat; the New York Times
quoted the prison authorities, as saying. No prison employees were injured and
no deaths were reported. The riot has, however, led to 10 of the state's 33 prisons
being placed in lockdown mode to prevent the unrest from spreading. Damage to
the 1,300-inmate medium-security prison was "significant and extensive," said
a spokesman, Lt. Mark Hargrove. One housing unit was virtually destroyed by fire,
Hargrove said, adding that prisoners had smashed windows, torn down gates and
used whatever they could to battle one another in the riot. With more than 150,000
inmates, the California prison system is one of the most crowded in the nation,
with many of its facilities holding more than double the number of inmates they
were designed for. The Chino prison is trying to put into effect a 2005 Supreme
Court decision that prohibits automatic and systematic racial segregation of prison
inmates after more than three decades of racial separation in the corrections
system. Prison officials said they were still questioning inmates to understand
what set off the uprising. They said no demands or complaints had been directed
at the guards. Aide
says Baitullah Mehsud alive, but ill Top WANA
(NWFP, Pakistan): An aide to Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan chief Baitullah Mehsud,
Maulana Noor Saeed, has rubbished reports of him being killed by a US drone strike
last Wednesday, and said that he is alive, but ill. Saeed was quoted by the BBC,
as saying that Baitullah will issue a video message some time on Monday to quash
speculations regarding his demise. Earlier, Turkistan Bhittani, a commander of
the opposition Abdullah Mehsud group said clashes took place between those contending
for Baitullah's position, in which several important commanders, including Waliur
Rehman and Hakimullah Mehsud, were killed. Saeed told the BBC that "no such clash
had taken place and there was no difference of opinion withen the Taliban." 'The
opposition group is spreading rumours against us,' the BBC quoted Saeed as saying.
According to Saeed, Baitullah went to his father-in-law Ikramuddin's home last
Wednesday. He had left the area before the drone strike occurred. Baitullah's
wife, however, did die in the attack. Saeed said if Baitullah speaks live to the
media, there is a danger that he will be targeted through a drone attack. |
