Four more succumb, swine flu toll mounts to 74

Four persons, including an infant and a businessman, succumbed to the dreaded swine flu, pushing the countrywide death count from the H1NI pandemic to 74 even as 137 more contracted the infection since Sunday evening.

Two fatalities occurred in Karnataka and one each in Maharashtra and Gujarat as the number of those afflicted with disease topped the 2,900 mark.

A two-and-a-half-year-old child, who was admitted to a hospital in Pune, the worst-hit by the virus, on August 21 after she tested positive, died last night, health officials said.

With the infant's death, the toll mounted to 23 in Pune where educational institutions, malls and theatres, shut two weeks ago, reopened on Monday.

A 52-year-old businessman, Rajesh Udhad, was the latest swine flu victim in Gujarat taking the number of fatalities in the state to seven, state Principal Secretary (Health) Ravi Saxena said.

Two more succumbed to the illness in Karnataka where the death count climbed to 14 as nine more tested positive for the H1N1 virus, health officials in Bangalore said.

Fifty-year-old Sarojamma breathed his last at a private hospital in Bangalore while 22-year-old Shivu, hailing from Kodagehalli in Kolar district, succumbed at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases. .

Coroner rules Jackson’s death a homicide

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles County coroner has ruled Michael Jackson’s death a homicide, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press, a finding that makes it more likely criminal charges will be filed against the doctor who was with the pop star when he died.

The coroner determined a fatal combination of drugs was given to Jackson hours before he died June 25 in his rented Los Angeles mansion, according to the official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the findings have not been publicly released. Forensic tests found the powerful anesthetic propofol acted together with at least two sedatives to cause Jackson’s death, the official said.

Dr. Conrad Murray, a Las Vegas cardiologist who became Jackson’s personal physician weeks before his death, is the target of a manslaughter investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department. According to a search warrant affidavit unsealed Monday in Houston, Murray told investigators he administered a 25 mg dose of propofol around 10:40 a.m. after spending the night injecting Jackson with two sedatives in an unsuccessful attempt to get him to sleep.

The warrant, dated July 23, states that lethal levels of propofol were found in Jackson’s system. Besides the propofol and two sedatives, the coroner’s toxicology report found other substances in Jackson’s system but they were not believed to have been a factor in the singer’s death, the official said.

Murray has spoken to police and last week released a video saying he “told the truth and I have faith the truth will prevail.” His attorney, Edward Chernoff, had no immediate comment but has previously said Murray never administered anything that “should have” killed Jackson.

A call to the coroner’s office was not returned Monday.

Murray did not say anything about the drugs he gave to Jackson.

12-year-old boy charged with assault

Hate crimes cops are investigating the case of a 12-year-old boy accused of pushing a Toronto angler into the water in Kawartha Lakes, police said today.

A 46-year-old Asian Canadian man was fishing with his family from a bridge on Canal Lake when police say the boy came up from behind and pushed him into the water about five feet below Friday afternoon.

The boy was found by police nearby and charged with one count of assault.

He was released from custody pending a Sept. 22 court appearance in Lindsay.

But given the recent history of Asian anglers being pushed into the waters of Ontario, the case could have much deeper implications than a simple assault.

"Hate crime charges have not been laid, however, the matter is still under investigation," Ontario Provincial Police Const. Mark Boileau said this afternoon. "The Hate Crimes/Extremism Unit is assisting in this investigation, obviously, considering the motivating factors in regards to

the incident."

The Ontario Human Rights Commission dove into the issue over the last couple years after several similar incidents, many of them in York Region, came to light.

In a report released earlier this year, the Commission found that in "several disturbing incidents" in 2007, "Asian Canadians, or people fishing with Asian Canadians, appeared to be targeted, and a racist slur referring to Asian Canadians was associated with reports of assaults in some areas."

The report found a common complaint against — and misconception — of Asian Canadian anglers was that they over-fish, a claim for which the Commission found no evidence to support.

Cops in Kawartha Lakes have investigated five incidents of Asian Canadian anglers being pushed into the water since 2007, Boileau said.

Under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, 12 is the youngest age a person can be charged with a criminal offence.

The 12-year-old charged Friday is the youngest of the accused arrested since 2007, Boileau said.

Killed Luke Mitchell's family's jail plea on gang bashings

THE family of good Samaritan murder victim Luke Mitchell wants mandatory jail sentences for people involved in gang attacks on Melbourne streets.

His brother, Shane, demanded politicians make those involved in vicious bashings serve a minimum three years in prison.

He said the same hardline penalty should apply to anybody who attacked police and to people convicted of carrying weapons.

Luke, 29, was bashed and stabbed to death outside a convenience store in Brunswick just minutes after intervening to


Shane Mitchell told the Herald Sun it was clear from events in the city since Luke's death that thugs would not get the message through any means other than mandatory prison sentences.

He said he was disheartened by a weekend attack that left police officer Brett Ward in hospital with head injuries.

"It's a real sad state . . . where we are as a community. We need to make some changes," Mr Mitchell said.

"In the short term, the judicial system needs to pull its finger out.

"It should be, 'Do not pass go -- straight in (to jail)'."

Mr Mitchell said a special court should be established to deal with gang bashings, hearing matters almost immediately and sentencing those convicted to a minimum three years in jail.

The community was sick of the "catch and release" method of dealing with street assaults, he said.

Mr Mitchell said it was awful to regularly read of violence on Melbourne's streets.

In the wake of Sunday's attack on Sgt Ward, the Police Association has called for a minimum one-month jail term for anyone who assaults a police officer.

Mr Mitchell said it was also time to examine whether Melbourne's licensed venues should be allowed to stay open beyond 1am.

"Someone once told me nothing good happens after 2am. Luke was killed at 2.30am," he said.

Mr Mitchell and his mother, Carol, spoke to the Herald Sun at a beach at Sanctuary Lakes, near Point Cook, where a memorial to Luke will be unveiled on Sunday.

It will be placed in the same spot, about 1km from his home, where Luke would relax and take photos.

The memorial, organised by the local community, will bear the words: "When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are stiffened."

Mrs Mitchell said the memorial was a wonderful gesture.

"We're devastated at his loss but it's an honour that they want to do it," she said.

Mrs Mitchell said she had been moved by the public reaction to her son's bravery, which ultimately cost his life.

"One lady we didn't even know said she was happy to know there were people who were still prepared to step in," she said.

"I think people have had enough of all this."

The family also called on Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to introduce a good Samaritan week to the Australian calendar.

Luke Mitchell died hours after being attacked during a night out on May 24.

Two men suspected of the killing fled to Thailand later that day.

They are still at large and it remains unclear when they will be returned to Australia.

TRANSPLANT TURNED ME INTO PERFECT HOUSEWIFE

TYPICAL man Will Palmer used to think housework was woman’s work – until an eye operation changed his life.

The 46-year-old never gave a second glance to the polishing and cleaning, and was happy to leave it to his long-suffering partner, Sarah Gadsby, 45.

His excuse was better than most. Six years ago he contracted a disease that cost him almost all of his sight, making everything he saw appear cloudy and blurred.

But now a corneal transplant has transformed his vision – and turned him into a housework fanatic. The father of three said: “Since having the transplant I can now notice every speck of dust and dirt and can’t help but have a go at cleaning up as I go along”.

Will has not been told the identity or even the gender of the donor whose cornea he received. But he suspects it was a woman.

“I must admit that at first I started to joke about having been given the cornea of a woman,” he said.
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‘The grime gets right on my nerves and I have to do something'
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“But to be honest I really have started to wonder whether that could be the case. I really do think it could be true.”

He said his children Elizabeth, 14, Charlotte, 12, and Simon, 10, make fun of him by singing Queen’s I Want To Break Free – a hit promoted by a spoof video showing Freddie Mercury doing housework in drag.

Said Will: “I do draw the line at a pinny, and I really hope I don’t start eyeing up pretty dresses”.

Six years ago he contracted an eye disease called Fuchs Dystrophy. The condition damages the inner lining of the cornea, the thin layer of the eye protecting the iris. But in spring the financial advisor underwent a 40-minute transplant which changed his life. Will said: “Since my surgery I feel as though my life is a lot brighter and I can now see the world in full colour.

“It’s amazing. My vision quickly returned and I could suddenly appreciate what I’d been missing. Everything looked like it was in 3D, I could see the textures, depth and colours of everything around me.”

The operation was performed under local anaesthetic at Sheffield’s Royal Hallamshire Hospital.

Will, from Doncaster, added: “My partner had to pester me into doing my bit around the house.

“Sarah always said I never did enough washing up and hoovering. But now I’m always at it.

“For some reason seeing the grime gets right on my nerves and I have to do something about it. There’s a reason why men don’t clean like this and I think it’s because we just don’t see the dirt, but I see it everywhere I go.

He added: “On a serious note, I feel very thankful to my surgeon.

“I’m also extremely grateful to my donor and their family who have made such a difference to my life.”

Consultant ophthalmologist Mathew Raynor, who performed the transplant, said that Will has made excellent progress.

He added: “Organ donation really is the ultimate gift. The death of a loved one is always a deeply sad time but many families gain comfort from knowing their relative’s passing has helped save or improve another’s life.”

Rape victim chases tormentors on road

PATNA: In a shameful reminder to the last month's stripping of a woman on a busy Patna road, a scantily-dressed young girl on Wednesday ran
through the market at Paliganj, some 50 km from Patna, chasing three youths after they gang-raped her.

Hundreds of shoppers and shopkeepers watched the girl hysterically running after her tormentors. None dared nab them. Gasping for breath, the girl gave up, dressed herself and went straight to the nearest police station.

Paliganj DSP Arvind Thakur said 21-year-old Rashmi (name changed) had got down from a bus at Paliganj while on way from Patna to her native village Ramnagar in Arwal district. While waiting for another bus to her destination, she tried to call her family members but her mobile didn't work.

It was around 1.30 pm that the three youths, standing nearby, offered help to get her cellphone repaired. They took her to a deserted building under construction where she was blindfolded and gagged before the youths forced themselves on her, one after another. The ordeal continued for nearly two hours.

Rashmi said in her FIR she was so furious and jittery after the lechers let her off that she ran after them without caring to cover herself. "After the criminals escaped __ after all, I put on my clothes which I was carrying in hand," she said.

While Rashmi is still under the care of cops, one of the accused, identified as Sheo Shambhu of adjoining Dulhinbazar village, was arrested on Wednesday night. "Raids are on to nab the two others," Patna SP (rural) Kshatraneel Singh told TOI on Thursday, adding the victim was being sent for medical examination.

On July 23 evening, a young woman was stripped while being chased by a few youths in full public view on Patna's Exhibition Road. Amid nationwide condemnation of the shocking sight that made its way to a section of the TV and print media the next day, chief minister Nitish Kumar had ordered stern action against the culprits. The five accused were arrested the same day.

Why lost humans walk in circles

IT'S a staple of adventure stories: the hero, lost in the wilderness, painstakingly tries to find his way back to civilisation only to stumble across his own tracks and discover that he has been walking in circles.
Now the popular belief that people in unfamiliar surroundings tend to walk round in circles has been confirmed by scientists.

Experiments in a German forest and the Sahara desert in Tunisia have shown that lost people double back on themselves unless they have a marker, such as the Sun or Moon, to guide their way.

"The stories about people who end up walking in circles when lost are true," said Jan Souman, of the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, in Tubingen, who led the research.

"People cannot walk in a straight line if they do not have absolute references, such as a tower or a mountain in the distance, or the Sun or Moon, and often end up walking in circles."

The scientists, whose work is published in Current Biology, also debunked a popular explanation of walking in circles.

It has been suggested that people might veer in one direction because one leg is slightly longer or stronger than the other. Over time such small differences could cause somebody to walk in a circle.

The new research, however, in which people were blindfolded and asked to walk in a straight line, found that while they ultimately walked in circles, they did not do so reliably in any particular direction. The subjects sometimes veered left and sometimes right, which would not happen were differential stride length or power a factor.

Dr Souman said that it was more likely that circular walking patterns tended to emerge from increasing uncertainty about direction. "Small random errors in the various sensory signals that provide information about walking direction add up over time, making what a person perceives to be straight ahead drift away from the true straight ahead direction," he said.

In the study the research team took six volunteers to the Bienwald forest, in southern Germany, and asked them to walk in as straight a line as they could while their progress was monitored using GPS devices. Four volunteers walked on a cloudy day when the Sun was hidden and two in bright sunshine.

The four who walked under clouds all moved in circles and three of them crossed their own paths repeatedly without noticing. The two volunteers who were able to see the Sun walked in straight lines, except for 15 minutes when it was obscured by cloud.

A similar pattern occurred when three other volunteers were tested in the Sahara, in southern Tunisia. Two volunteers who walked during the day and could see the Sun veered off course but did not walk in circles. The third, who walked at night, kept to a straight line when the Moon was visible but doubled back on himself when it disappeared behind clouds.

Marc Ernst, another member of the study team, said: "The results from these experiments show that even though people may be convinced that they are walking in a straight line, their perception is not always reliable. Additional, more cognitive strategies are necessary to really walk in a straight line."

The team is planning to investigate the phenomenon further in the laboratory by asking volunteers to walk through a virtual reality forest on a specially designed treadmill.