| Michael
Jackson dies of heart attack after painkiller Demerol injection London:
King of pop Michael Jackson passed away at the age of 50 last night after he reportedly
suffered a massive heart attack due to drug overdose. The legendary star collapsed
and stopped breathing after he took an injection of a powerful painkiller named
Demerol. It is believed that the singer was addicted to the drug-similar to morphine
- and it is feared that he took an overdose. An emergency call made paramedics
rush to his Los Angeles home where they found he had no pulse. He was taken to
the University of California, Los Angeles Medical Centre, where staff tried to
resuscitate him but he was completely unresponsive. The 'Thriller' hit-maker had
been fighting skin cancer and was due to start a series of comeback concerts in
London next month. But, much to everybody's shock, fans around the world are today
mourning the death of the legend. In an interview, long-time family insider Arthur
Phoenix said that the Jackson family is devastated over the loss. "The family
is in mourning right now. They are devastated and very hurt," The Sun quoted Phoenix
as saying. He added: "The world of entertainment has suffered a great loss, the
biggest since the death of Elvis Presley. "It hurts me to think that one of the
world's great entertainers has passed. I wish that he had been here a lot longer."
Company that
persuaded Jacko for 50 farewell gigs faces £300m liability Top London:
King of pop Michael Jackson's death has brought AEG Live, the entertainment
company that persuaded him to sign up for 50 "farewell" concerts at the O2 arena,
under a liability of 300 million pounds. According to reports, AEG Live had agreed
to "self-insure" Jackson's shows after most insurance companies expressed doubt
whether the frail singer would be able to complete the residency. A report published
in Reinsurance magazine, which found that there was low demand in the London insurance
market for the policy to cover all dates promoted by AEG Live, reckons that the
liability could be around 300 million pounds. The first 10 gigs are believed to
have been placed on the London insurance market at a value of 80 million pounds,
reports Times Online. The report further reveals that rather than lowering expectations
for the shows, the company kept saying that Jackson would present the most spectacular
live show seen on an indoor stage. Jackson's death may have serious implications
for Seatwave, the company that traded in about 10,000 Jackson tickets on the secondary
market, in partnership with the O2 arena, often for a price far above face value.
A message placed on the company's website read: "We at Seatwave are saddened by
Michael Jackson's death. Our condolences go to his family and we appreciate the
great legacy he has left us." Meanwhile, AEG Live has announced on its official
website that fans who could not make the dates rescheduled after the opening dates
had been cancelled would get a full refund. That promise will now be honoured
for one million customers. Ticketmaster, which also sold Jackson tickets, is also
said to have a policy to refund the face value of the ticket as well as the booking
fee. Net searches
for Jacko's death reports crash Google news Top London:
The reports of Michael Jackson's death sparked a massive surge in online traffic
around the globe, leading to crashing of various sites including Google. When
news of the iconic performer's death began trickling out, scores of people turned
to the Web for news. TMZ broke the news that Jackson, 50, had died Thursday afternoon,
but the gossip hub cited only unnamed sources and offered few details, reports
The Telegraph. The massive level of interest caused the site to temporarily go
down but that did not stop the news spreading via blogs and social networking
sites. As other news services turned their attention to the story and as the public
took to the Web to learn more about the performer's condition, some web sites
began slowing down. Some Google users complained that the search engine's News
area was inaccessible for a time. The BBC News website reported UK traffic was
48 per cent higher than usual at 4am on Friday. New
Bill would make Indian judges disclose assets Top New
Delhi: Union Minister for Law and Justice M Veerappa Moily said that the Government
would bring a legislation in the coming Budget session of the Parliament to ensure
disclosure of assets by judges mandatory. The disclosure of assets by judges has
been debated for long time in the country. Barring the Chief Justice, the other
Supreme Court judges presently voluntarily file a statement about their assets
and liabilities with the Chief Justice of India. In his meeting with the members
of the Press association here, Moily said that he was confident of finalizing
judicial reforms by mid -September. Moily said it would be his endeavour to make
the Indian judicial system one of the best in the world, making justice affordable
and accessible. Expressing concern over the long list of cases pending in the
courts, Moily said the government would come out with a road map to reduce the
pending period from 15 years to three years. Outlining the first 100 days programmes
of his Ministry, Moily said that 100 Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) courts
will be established to hear corruption cases on the lines of the fast track courts.
A hundred more courts would be set up to handle the cases of atrocities against
the women and children, he added. The Law Minister disclosed that action will
be taken soon to fill the various posts in the judicial service to reduce vacancies.
Security forces
reclaim Kadasole from Maoists near Lalgarh Top Lalgarh
(West Midinapore): Security forces on Friday reclaimed control over Kadasole
village from Maoists, located north of Lalgarh in West Midinapore district, during
phase II of ongoing operations against the naxals who set off two landmine blasts.
Led by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the troops including jungle warfare
expert and personnel of the Indian Reserve Battalion and State Armed Police, who
were helped by a helicopter, exchanged fire for 45 minutes with the Maoists who
later fled the village, said a senior CRPF official. "There was no casualty and
no arrest. The operations for the day is over and Kadasole has been secured. The
forces will be stationed here," said the official. The security force launched
the operations from Goaltore in the morning, five days after taking control of
Lalgarh police station and faced no resistance till Pingboni three kilometres
away. The security forces then moved another four km to Kadasole, where they spotted
a group of 15 armed Maoists. The troops came under fire from the Maoists and retaliated
with mortars, light machine guns and AK-47s. A helicopter also arrived and tried
to spot the Maoists. Maoists triggered a landmine blast near a forest at Kadasole,
four kms from Pingboni. " Our main concern were landmines. There were two landmine
explosions at Kadasole," the officer said. Two other landmines, one an IED and
another a sophisticated one, were defused near a bridge near Kadasole, he said.
The security forces after trading fire for 45 minutes cordoned off the village
and moved in, but the Maoists had escaped by then. Mayawati
unveils Kanshi Ram's and own statues Top Lucknow:
In a hurriedly organised function on Thursday night Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister
Mayawati unveiled fifteen projects including Kanshi Ram Memorial, Ambedkar Sthal
and her own statue as well, fearing the Supreme Court might order to stay the
functions. The unveiling function were scheduled to be held on July 3, but this
surprise move was taken in the wake of public interest litigation filed in the
Supreme Court by a Delhi based lawyer Ravi Kant seeking to stop the inauguration.
The apex court is hearing the case on 29th of this month. Speaking after inaugurating
the projects Mayawati attacked her opponents alleging that they wanted to block
the projects belonging to dalits. She ruled out the allegation of corruption in
the projects. She also defended the inauguration of her own statue saying, it
was the wish of the BSP founder Kanshi Ram that, the statue of his political successor
should be installed besides his. Lawyer Ravi Shankar described this hurried inauguration
of project by the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, as the first sign of his victory.
Over a million
Americans affected by Swine flu virus: US health officials Top Washington:
US health officials estimate that as many as one million Americans may now
have the new H1N1 (swine) flu. Lyn Finelli, a flu surveillance official with the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, voiced the estimate at a vaccine advisory
meeting on Thursday in Atlanta. The estimate is based on mathematical modeling.
Nearly 28,000 US cases have been reported to the CDC, accounting for roughly half
the world's cases. The US count includes 3,065 hospitalizations and 127 deaths.
An estimated 15 million to 60 million Americans catch seasonal flu each year,
CBS News reports. The percentage of cases hospitalized has been growing, but that
may be due to closer scrutiny of very sick patients. It takes about three days
from the onset of symptoms to hospitalization, Finelli said, and the average hospital
stay has been three days. Other health problems have been a factor in most cases:
About one in three of the hospitalized cases had asthma, 16 percent diabetes,
12 percent have immune system problems and 11 percent chronic heart disease. The
numbers again highlight how the young seem to be particularly at risk of catching
the new virus. But data also show that the flu has been more dangerous to adults
who catch it. |
