Indonesia to host international badminton championship in August
Indonesia is to hold the BWF International Badminton Championship from August 10 to 16 in Jakarta with players from 54 countries and regions planning to vie for the titles, officials said here on Tuesday.
“The preparation as a host of the event has been done well,” Anton Subowo, chairman of the committee said at Museum of Bank Indonesia.
“The world’ s athletes will vie into the event and perform their best skill,” Poul Erik Hoyer, president of badminton world federation (BWF).
Among the participating countries at the BWF International Badminton Championship are China, South Korea, Denmark, Thailand,Japan, Britain, theUnited States, Germany and France, said Yuni Kartika, spokesperson of the Indonesian badminton association.
Memphis police officer shot dead during traffic stop
A Memphis policeman has been fatally shot during a traffic stop, at about 9:15 p.m. local time Saturday (2:15 a.m. GMT Sunday), AP reported, citing local Police Director Toney Armstrong. He added that the incident is “a reminder of how dangerous” their job is. The officer was shot multiple times, and died at the hospital. The shooter hasn’t been detained yet. For the moment, the dead officer hasn’t been identified, awaiting the notification of next of kin.
4 dead, 65 infected as NYC battles Legionnaires outbreak
New York City is dealing with a deadly outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease, a type of severe pneumonia. Four people have died and 65 have been infected in the Bronx since July 10, Reuters quoted health officials as saying. The outbreak is regarded as very unusual, as it involves five times more cases than the previous one, in which only 12 people fell sick. The disease is spread by Legionella bacteria, which resides in some plumbing systems, including hot tubs, cooling towers, hot water tanks, and humidifiers. People can be infected by breathing in mist from the water. The bacteria cannot spread from person to person. Outbreaks usually occur in the summer or early fall. Some of the symptoms are coughing, fever, headaches and muscle pain.US, allies launch 30 airstrikes against ISIS in a day – US military
The US and its allies launched 19 airstrikes in Iraq and 11 in Syria on Friday, targeting Islamic State militants (IS, formerly known as ISIS/ISIL), the Combined Joint Task Force said on Saturday. “By destroying staging areas like this one, we diminish Daesh’s [Islamic State] ability to conduct their terror operations in this region,” said Chief of Staff Kevin Killea in a press release.“Inevitably, these weapons and supplies find themselves in the hands of ISIL terrorists combating the ISF and terrorizing civilians.” The strikes carried out as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, which has lasted over a year.1,332 Iraqis killed in war against ISIS in July – UN
At least 1,332 Iraqis, including over 840 civilians, were killed, and 2,108 were wounded, in the violence spread by the war against Islamic State that began last year, the United Nations mission to Iraq reported on Saturday. According to the UN, Baghdad was the worst affected province. The figures reveal a slight drop since June, when over 1,400 people were killed.Suspected MH370 wing part arrives at French lab for analysis
The wing part found at Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean this week, suspected to be from Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 that disappeared last year, has arrived at a defense lab in Toulouse for analysis. The military lab is expected to determine whether the debris belongs to the missing aircraft. The wing flap was found by beachcombers on the Saint-Andre coast of the French island on Wednesday. Malaysian authorities said it belongs to a Boeing 777, but could not confirm whether it was wreckage from the plane that vanished in March 2014 with 239 passengers on board.
Thousands protest in #Berlin against attacks on the freedom of press #netzpolitik#germany http://bit.ly/1DirUhu
Two bloggers, Markus Beckedahl and Andre Meister quotated national online snooping program.
Hundreds of protestors came out in Berlin on Saturday to show their support for two journalists from a German news website that were accused of state treason for leaking information on online surveillance.
Markus Beckedahl and Andre Meister from the prominent Netzpolitik.org news website, had been under investigation for quoting an intelligence report on the expansion of a national online snooping program. Further the probe has been suspended for “the greater good” of protecting freedom of the press.After a massive outpour of support for the bloggers and government criticism online, more than 2,000 people came out to demonstrate in the German capital against the treason allegations, Deutsche Welle reports. Media agencies
Pakistan releases over 163 Indian fishermen
Pakistan on Sunday to have released over 163 Indian fishermen.
This is as a goodwill gesture amid tensions between India and Pakistan on over cross-border fire exchanges in recent weeks.According to officials, the authorities in the port city of Karachi freed a group of 163 Indian fishermen, including an eleven- year-old boy who was taken into custody with his uncle when they had intruded into Pakistani water for fishing.
Prime Ministers of the two countries agreed last month in a meeting in Ufa, Russia, that they will release all fishermen in two weeks. However the release was delayed for some days due to escalations along the border.Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi had also agreed to reduce tensions along the Line of Control in the disputed Kashmir and Working Boundary, the international border.
The two leaders had also agreed that Pakistan security adviser Sartaj Aziz will visit India to discuss several key issues including anti-terror cooperation.The Indian fishermen are likely to be handed over to the Indian officials at the Wahga border on Monday.Media agencies
Myanmar with 27 being confirmed dead as declared by Department of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement on Saturday.
UN International agencies and NGOs along with other international organizations are supporting food and other relief supplies to flood victims in some regions but supplies are still needed, the reports said.
Reports of agri-minisstry reports over 524,896 acres (212,582 hectares) of farmland were inundated in June and July.
Chin and Rakhine states, as well as Sagaing and Magway regions were declared as the disaster-hit areas, the government announced on Friday.
Water levels in Myanmar’s five major rivers, the Ayeyawady, Chindwin Thanlwin, Sittoung and Ngawun are dangerously high and likely to exceed flood warning benchmarks over the next two days, the weather bureau said.
The weather bureau also warned of heavy rain in Magway, Sagaing, Bago, Taninthayi and Yangon regions, as well as Rakhine and Chin States, due to deep depression formed over Bangladesh and more torrential rain is expected in the coming days.
A national disaster preparedness committee is making evacuation and resettlement efforts in Ayeyawaddy and Bago regions, as well as Kayin and Mon states, which are also experiencing floods.
