Facebook warns users of hoax messages on privacy

Users of Facebook were inundated with messages on their news feeds reposted by friends that warn if they don't act fast, Facebook will be allowed to infringe on their privacy.

HOUSTON 29 Sep, 2015: Facebook is warning people not to fall prey to the recent hoax messages making rounds on the world's largest social network website which ask users to post a legal notice to retain copyright of their pictures and sign up for a paid monthly subscription.

Users of Facebook were inundated with messages on their news feeds reposted by friends that warn if they don't act fast, Facebook will be allowed to infringe on their privacy.

These hoaxes play on real concerns that consumers have about how their personal information geeting used by Internet giants such as Facebook, Google and Netflix, among others, who have in the past been accused of violating their users' privacy, CNET reported

One of the hoaxes, which resurfaces every couple of years, warns users to post what sounds like a legally binding statement to their feeds that prohibits Facebook from using their photos, content or personal information without users' permission, the report said.

The hoax promises to exempt those who repost the legal-sounding statement from Facebook's Data Use Policy, a document that governs how Facebook may use its members' data that they agree to when they sign up to use the service.

However, of course, once approved, the contract cannot be altered by users.

The statement goes on to state that violation of privacy can be punished under the Uniform Commercial Code, a set of laws that govern commercial transactions in the US.

However, the section cited in the message deals not with privacy but with contract terms that conflict with certain rights.

Another hoax says users can protect their privacy by purchasing a $5.99 month subscription to ensure that their posts stay private. Facebook's efforts still haven't stopped users from fearing the worst. 

The last big flareup was in January. There was another one in 2012. And Internet rumor site Snopes.com documents another variation dating back to 2009, the report said.

The Menlo Park, California-based Internet giant has warned users to be wary of these hoaxes in the past, and the recent round apparently warranted a new but humorous address. - PTI

Bill Gates and UN say malaria could be eradicated by 2040

LONDON: Malaria could be wiped out by 2040, despite the lack of an effective vaccine, previous failed attempts to eradicate the disease and drug resistance problems, the United Nations and Microsoft founder Bill Gates said in a report released on Monday. 

Gates and Ray Chambers, the U.N. secretary-general's special envoy for malaria, said getting rid of the parasitic disease could ultimately save 11 million lives and provide $2 trillion in economic benefits. . In a statement, Gates described eradication as "the only sustainable solution." His foundation has been one of the major donors to malaria control programs. 

The report calls for a doubling of the money spent on malaria by 2025 and new ways to control the mosquitoes that spread the disease. 

Past attempts to get rid of malaria have failed; the World Health Organization and partners had targeted the end of 2015 for cutting cases to "near zero." About 500,000 children are killed by malaria every year and it's unknown whether cases are going up or down in the worst-hit countries. 

Despite a regulatory approval recommendation for the world's first malaria vaccine, the shot only protects about one third of children. Resistance to many malaria drugs has been detected and more than a third of people at risk have no protective bed nets. 

Officials are also still struggling to wipe out guinea worm and polio - smallpox is the only disease to have been eradicated. 

"It's good to be ambitious in global health but this is another ambition that misses a crucial element of delivering on such goals: health systems," said Sophie Harman, a public health expert at Queen Mary University in London. "Grand and glitzy eradication campaigns overlook the real necessity of financing everyday health systems." 

Harman also doubted whether the 2040 goal was realistic, citing the previously missed polio targets. WHO had originally hoped to get rid of polio by 2000. 

"These dates seem increasingly arbitrary and gloss over all the previous dates we've heard before," she said. - AP

‘One person dies from heart disease every 10 seconds in China’

BEIJING: Heart ailments are affecting more younger people in China where one person dies from a cardiac disease every ten seconds, a new study reported today, calling for a strategy to improve the health of its citizens.

A report released by the China’s National Centre for Cardiovascular Diseases said that one in five Chinese are in “poor cardiovascular shape”, and one person dies from heart disease every ten seconds in China.

More and more young people are getting affected by heart aliments, the report said.

Statistics show that the number of Chinese aged between 35 and 44 with coronary heart diseases has increased 30 per cent over the last three years, and the death rate of the same age group has risen alarmingly by 111 per cent over the past 15 years, it said.

Cardiovascular disease is currently one of the leading causes of death in China, said Shi Xubo, cardiologist with Beijing Tongren Hospital.

China should adopt an intervention strategy to improve the health of its citizens, he was quoted as saying by the state-run Xinhua news agency. - PTI

Hajj stampede: Number of Indians killed in tragedy rises to 45, total death toll now 769

Saudi authorities have put the total death toll from the stampede during Haj to 769, while the number of injured stands at 934.

Mina (Saudi Arabia):  The number of Indians killed in a stampede at the Hajj rose to 45 today as authorities identified 10 more bodies among the victims of the worst tragedy in 25 years to hit the annual pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

"The death toll of Indians killed in Hajj stampede is now 45. We have 50 Indian pilgrims in various hospitals in Saudi Arabia," External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted.

Hajj Consulate in Jeddah today said the deceased included three pilgrims from West Bengal and two each from Kerala and Jharkhand and one each from Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.

Earlier, 13 more bodies were identified among the dead yesterday raising the death toll to 35.

"Saudi authorities have released photos of 1090 pilgrims who have died in Hajj stampede," Swaraj had tweeted. The number of injured in the tragedy stands at 934. At least 13 Indians were among those injured.

King Salman has ordered the formation of a committee to probe the deadly incident during the five-day pilgrimage in which around two million people from over 180 countries took part. From India, 1.5 lakh pilgrims performed Hajj.

                                                 Image courtesy: AP

Haj is one of the five pillars of Islam that should be performed at least once in a lifetime by every Muslim who is financially and physically capable. 

The stampede broke out after two massive lines of pilgrims converged on each other from different directions at an intersection close to the five-storey Jamarat Bridge in Mina for symbolic stoning of the devil.

It was the second major accident this year for pilgrims,after a construction crane collapsed on September 11 at Mecca's Grand Mosque, killing over 100 people, including 11 Indians. - PTI

Man starts petrol station fire trying to kill spider with a lighter

Blaze breaks out after man tries to kill spider on his gas tank with open flame

            Man sets petrol pump on fire at Metro Detroit gas station in USA Photo: Metro Detroit/Fox

A US man has had a Zoolander moment when he started a petrol station fire while trying to kill a spider on his car with the flame from a cigarette lighter.

The man, who has not been named, told authorities he spotted a large spider near his petrol cap while filling up.

            Man sets petrol pump on fire at Metro Detroit gas station in USA  Photo: Metro Detroit/Fox

He pulled out his lighter to burn the spider, because he was scared of it, he said.

But the flame ignited the petrol, sparking a huge blaze, which was captured on the petrol station's security cameras.

             Man sets petrol pump on fire at Metro Detroit gas station in USA  Photo: Metro Detroit/Fox

“He didn’t have a cigarette. He didn’t have anything on him. All of a sudden I look out and I see flames,” employee Susan Adams told Fox 2.

Calmly, Adams hit the gas automatic stop button and quickly called the Fire Department. Meanwhile, the man put out the fire with a nearby fire extinguisher.

             Man sets petrol pump on fire at Metro Detroit gas station in USA  Photo: Metro Detroit/Fox

The incident took place in Center Line, Michigan.

Amazingly the man escaped without injury. The petrol pump was destroyed by the blaze. - telegraph

France launches first air strikes against ISIL in Syria

President Francois Hollande confirms jets have targeted Islamic State extremists in Syria, joining US-led coalition

France has been carrying out air strikes against ISIL in Iraq since last year [Khaled Desouki/AFP]

Paris (AFP):  France has carried out its first air strikes against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) in Syria, the office of Francois Hollande announced on Sunday.

The announcement from President Francois Hollande's office on Sunday came after a year of hesitation.

Hollande had resisted the raids in Syria, saying he did not want to strengthen Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, who is the target of ISIL fighters.

Hollande announced a change in strategy earlier this month because of growing concern about the Syrian refugee crisis that is putting pressure on Europe - the preferred destination for the asylum seekers.

In Iraq, France has been carrying out the air raids since last year as part of the US-led coalition.

Hollande, heading to the UN General Assembly on Sunday where Syrian crisis was expected to be the key subject of debate, stressed the importance of seeking a political solution for Syria. 

"More than ever the urgency is putting in place a political transition", including elements of the opposition and Assad's regime, Hollande said.

In the lead-up to the UN gathering, John Kerry, US secretary of state, met his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, on Saturday to discuss Syria.

Iran and Russia have given strong backing to Assad, whom the US and European countries such as France see as the instigator of a civil war that has left 250,000 dead and large parts of his country in the hands of ISIL.

Mr Hollande joins other world leaders in New York this week, where they are to discuss plans to defeat Isil and secure a political solution in Syria at the UN General Assembly.

The United States has ruled out a peace process that would leave Assad in power, as has David Cameron. However, both have moved towards a position which would see Assad remain during a political transition of indeterminate length, prioritising the fight against Isil.

Laurent Fabius, the French foreign minister, said the brutal Syrian dictator could play no role in a political transition after the massacres of civilians by his regime, which is backed by Russia and Iran.

Russia has angered the West by strengthening its military presence in Syria in recent weeks. The US secretary of state, John Kerry, held talks with the Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, on Saturday.

A US-led coalition has been targeting Isil positions in Syria and Iraq with air strikes for more than a year.

At least a quarter of a million people have died in Syria’s civil war and Isil now controls large parts of the country.

France says it must target Isil in Syria to protect its national security. Mr Valls told parliament this month that more than 1,800 French nationals and residents are believed to have joined international jihadist networks. About 500 are in Syria and Iraq, and 133 have been killed in combat.

Federica Mogherini's comments followed reports that 500 Russian troops had been deployed to a forward operating base in the Syrian port city of Latakia.

"His fear is of a compete collapse of the state structures in Syria, this could be one of the reasons Russia is talking in this way but it could also be willingness to show that Russia is an important, substantial player," Mogherini said.

In all, nearly 30,000 foreign fighters have swelled extremist ranks in Syria, according to a confidential report by American intelligence analysts quoted in the New York Times. Many have joined Isil.

The cyber-mechanics who protect your car from hackers

A hacking incident led to the recall of 1.4 million Dodge, Jeep, Ram and Chrysler vehicles (Image: Joe Raedle/Getty)

A FEW weeks ago, a small team of security researchers gathered near a car outside one of their company’s buildings. Then they hacked it. The team did not need to physically connect to the vehicle or even enter it – they simply jacked in over Wi-Fi. When they did, they soon found an unexpected vulnerability.

“There was a route through to the vehicle network where the more sensitive, safety critical systems are,” explains Andy Davis of NCC Group, an information security specialist based in Manchester, UK. He says his team could have used this breach to fiddle with the car’s automatic braking.

It is the kind of penetration test that NCC Group and their partner SBD, an automotive security specialist based in Milton Keynes, UK, do for car companies all the time. 

Their work will no doubt increase with the news last month that security researchers remotely killed the engine of a Jeep while it was on the road. It resulted in the recall of 1.4 million vehicles by Fiat Chrysler, which owns Jeep.

Car companies are busy tackling the security issues associated with increasingly high-tech, connected cars. Those in the industry point out that corporations remain highly secretive about this work for fear of inspiring criminals or competitors.

“Most manufacturers know there is a problem and they’re working on solutions, but no one will go public with it,” explains Martin Hunt, who works in automotive penetration testing for BT. Hunt points out that hackers are often able to gain control of crucial functions in a car – such as braking, steering or switching the engine on and off – through surprising means. A common example is via the in-car “infotainment” system.

“Quite often these systems are interconnected via a central control unit. If you can get into one you can get into another,” says Hunt, pointing out that practically every function in a car is nowadays connected. This has led to a broadening of what is known as the car’s “attack surface” – the number of ways it could be hacked.

Although there are no reported cases of criminals using such techniques to maliciously send cars off the road, Davis thinks that exploits that could be quickly monetised – such as unlocking and stealing parked cars – may soon appear.

US-based security researcher Josh Corman has set up an initiative, I Am The Cavalry, to improve the public safety of various technologies. He and others have developed a framework to help vehicle manufacturers better adjust to the threats of hacking.

One suggestion is “black boxes” that can record the details of any successful vehicle hacks, allowing for diagnostics and patches to be developed more quickly afterwards. 

But the rapid pace of change in the car sector means that security solutions can lag way behind the vulnerabilities introduced by the latest innovations. “They’re adding attack surfaces at a rate of one a year but telling me it’ll take five years to secure them,” says Corman. “We have a lot of catching up to do.” - newscientist.com

Sea of black plastic balls helps California conserve water

                                           (Image: Gene Blevins/Rex)

What do you get when you tip 96 million black plastic balls into a reservoir? A money-saving system that maintains water quality, according to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

On Monday, the utility company released 20,000 of these balls – each about the size of a grapefruit – into a reservoir in Sylmar, California. It was the final release required to cover the surface of the 12-billion-litre reservoir.

The role of the spheres, nicknamed shade balls, is to block sunlight. Their addition should prevent the loss of about 1.1 billion litres of water that would normally evaporate from the reservoir.

                                               (Image: Gene Blevins/Rex)

The dry spell that has plagued California for the past 15 years is, according to one estimate, the worst drought the area has witnessed in 1200 years. In April, governor Jerry Brown announced that he was imposing a 25 per cent cut in water use across the state to tackle the problem.

The water saved by the ball canopy should provide a yearly supply of drinking water for 8100 people, LA city council member Mitchell Englander said in a statement.

The floating balls should also halt the production of dangerous chemicals that can form as a result of reactions triggered by sunlight in chlorinated water. In addition, they will provide a protective cover for the reservoir, shielding the water from dust and wildlife, while preventing the formation of algae. - newscientist.com

Ben Carson says no Muslim should ever become US president

"I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation,'' Carson said in an interview aired Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press.''

                                    Ben Carson: the US president should not be a Muslim

Washington:  Republican presidential hopeful Ben Carson said no Muslim should be president of the United States, adding a new twist to a controversy roiling the party’s White House nominating race.

In an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Carson, a retired brain surgeon who often refers to his own deep Christian faith, was asked whether a president’s religion should matter.

“I guess it depends on what that faith is. If it’s inconsistent with the values and principles of America, then of course it should matter. But if it fits within the realm of America and consistent with the constitution, no problem,” he said.

Asked whether he believes Islam is consistent with the U.S. constitution, he responded: “No, I don’t. I do not.”

“I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that,” he added.

The Council on Islamic-American Relations said Carson’s comments make him unfit to be president. “This disqualifies him from being a president,” CAIR director Nihad Awad said.

“My advice to GOP presidential candidates: Read the U.S. constitution if you haven’t yet! It keeps America great.”

A Carson campaign official later suggested Carson’s comments were being overstated and that Carson would likely reach out to the Muslim community, NBC reported.

“He did not say that a Muslim should be prevented from running, or barred from running in any way,” Carson campaign spokesman Doug Watts was quoted as saying by NBC.

“He (Carson) just doesn’t believe the American people are ready for that.” The issue abruptly surfaced in recent days when Republican frontrunner Donald Trump let pass unchallenged a questioner’s assertion that U.S. President Barack Obama was a Muslim.

Carson, who slipped to third among Republican presidential contenders in opinion polls Sunday after running second to Trump for weeks, said he believed Obama was born in the United States and is a Christian. - AFP

Now you see it, now you don't: invisibility cloak nears reality

Light reflects off the cloak (red arrows) as if it were reflecting off a flat mirror in this 3D illustration of a metasurface skin cloak made from an ultrathin layer of nanoantennas (gold blocks) covering an arbitrarily shaped object | Reuters

A cloak of invisibility may be common in science fiction but it is not so easy in the real world. New research suggests such a device may be moving closer to reality.

Scientists said on Thursday they have successfully tested an ultra-thin invisibility cloak made of microscopic rectangular gold blocks that, like skin, conform to the shape of an object and can render it undetectable with visible light.

The researchers said while their experiments involved cloaking a miniscule object they believe the technology could be made to conceal larger objects, with military and other possible applications.

The cloak, 80 nanometers in thickness, was wrapped around a three-dimensional object shaped with bumps and dents. The cloak's surface rerouted light waves scattered from the object to make it invisible to optical detection.

It may take five to 10 years to make the technology practical to use, according to Xiang Zhang, director of the Materials Sciences Division of the US Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a professor at the University of California, Berkeley.

"We do not see fundamental roadblocks. But much more work needs to be done," said Zhang, whose research was published in the journal Science.

The technology involves so-called metamaterials, which possess properties not present in nature. Their surfaces bear features much smaller than the size of a wavelength of light. They redirect incoming light waves, shifting them away from the object being cloaked.

The cloaking "skin" boasts microscopic light-scattering antennae that make light bouncing off an object look as if it were reflected by a flat mirror, rendering the object invisible.

"The fact that we can make a curved surface appear flat also means that we can make it look like anything else. We also can make a flat surface appear curved," said Penn State University electrical engineering professor Xingjie Ni, the study's lead author.

The researchers said they overcame two drawbacks of previous experimental microscopic cloaks that were bulkier and harder to "scale up," or become usable for larger objects.

Ni said the technology eventually could be used for military applications like making large objects like vehicles or aircraft or even individual soldiers "invisible."

Ni also mentioned some unconventional applications.

How about a cloaking mask for the face? "All the pimples and wrinkles will no longer be visible," Ni said. How about fashion design? Ni suggested a cloak that "can be made to hide one's belly." -REUTERS

Man who locked himself in train bathroom arrested by Dutch police

Dutch police have arrested a man who had locked himself inside a toilet aboard a Thalys train at Rotterdam central station, Dutch reports say.

                          Police initially negotiated with the man locked in a toilet aboard the train

Amsterdam (Reuters): The train, operated by Thalys, is the same line on which an armed man suspected of planning an Islamist militant attack was subdued by passengers in northern France in August.

In Rotterdam, live Dutch television footage showed the man, looking dishevelled, being removed from the train and escorted away.

Earlier police ordered everyone off the Paris-bound train and evacuated seven station platforms.

Police said via Twitter that the train and several platforms had been cleared as a precautionary measure. "There is no information that the man had any weapon," police tweeted.

Train operator Thalys said police had the situation "under control" and passengers were not at risk.

Rotterdam police could not immediately comment on the man's identity or whether he will face any criminal charge

It is not yet clear who the arrested man is nor why he acted as he did. Last month passengers overpowered a gunman aboard an Amsterdam-Paris Thalys train in northern France.

India is the world's antibiotic-popping capital

India is the world's antibiotic-popping capital, recording the highest number of such pills consumed annually -13 billion against 10 billion in China and 7 billion in the US.

LONDON: As a result of such reckless use, deadly strains of life-taking bacteria that are resistant to even the latest generation of antibiotics have been found to be rampant in India.

The first State of the World's Antibiotics report, to be released by the Washington-based Centre for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy (CDDEP), has found that bacteria strain Klebsiella pneumoniae's resistance to last-resort antibiotic class Carbapenems was a whopping 57% in India in 2014, up from 29% earlier.

This is a dangerous superbug whose resistance rate in Europe is below 5%.

Klebsiella's resistance to a variety of drugs is high -the bug is around 80% resistant to class III generation Cephalosporins, 73% to fluoroquinolones and 63% to aminoglycosides. For four of five drug classes tested, Klebsiella was over 60% resistant in India.

 The report confirms the findings of a Princeton University study in 2014 which said Indians consume the highest number of antibiotics in the world.

With antibiotic use in creasing by 43% in India from 2000 to 2010, resistance to the deadly E Coli, which causes serious food poisoning, abdominal cramps and severe diarrhoea, too has been growing. 

For three different drug classes, E Coli resistance in India was currently over 80%. It is one of the pathogens for which across the world, resistance is becoming a huge concern.

R Laxminarayan, CDDEP director and report co-author said, "Rampant rise in anti biotic use poses a major threat o public health, especially when there's no oversight on appropriate prescribing".

"Carbapenem antibiotics are for use in the most dire circumstances — when someone's life is in danger and no other drug will cure the infection," said Sumanth Gandra, an infectious diseases physician and CDDEP resident scholar. 

"We're seeing unprecedented resistance to these precious antibiotics globally, and especially in India. If these trends continue, infections that could once be treated in a week or two could become routinely life threatening and endanger millions of lives."

Delhi superbug now in over 70 nations

The superbug immune to almost all known antibiotics -first spotted in New Delhi's public water supply -has now spread to over 70 countries across all regions of the world. 

Since their introduction into medicine in the 1940s, antibiotics have been used from treating serious infections to preventing infections in surgical patients, protecting cancer patients and people with compromised immune systems.

Now, however, once-treatable infections are becoming difficult to cure, raising costs to healthcare facilities, and patient mortality is rising.

Antibiotic resistance is a direct result of antibiotic use. The greater the volume of antibiotics used, the greater the chances that antibiotic-resistant populations of bacteria will prevail.

The report says, "Rising incomes are increasing access to antibiotics. That is saving lives but also increasing use — both appropriate and inappropriate—which in turn is driving resistance".

Experts say the Indian Council of Medical Research had begun setting up the Anti-Microbial Resistance Surveillance Network in 2011. When complete, its seven nodes will focus on diarrhea, enteric fever, sepsis, gram-positive bacteria, fungal infections and respiratory pathogens. - TNN

Gurgaon rape case: Saudi Arabian diplomat leaves India

The Saudi Embassy termed the allegations as "false" and protested the police "intrusion" into the diplomat's house saying it was against "all diplomatic conventions".

FILE | Activists of All India Democratic Women’s Association shout slogans during a protest outside the Saudi Arabian embassy in New Delhi on Thursday. (Source: PTI photo)

New Delhi (PTI): The Saudi Arabian diplomat, who was charged with confinement and rape of two Nepalese women, left the country on Wednesday.

"We have learnt that the first secretary Majed Hassan Ashoor who was allegedly accused of raping two Nepalese women has left India," external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swaroop said.

"The first secretary being a diplomat is governed by the provision of the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations," Swaroop added.

It is learnt that the MEA had put pressure on the Saudi Embassy to allow the questioning of the diplomat given the gravity of the allegations in the case involving confinement and rape of the two women.

On September 7, Gurgaon Police had conducted a raid at the diplomat's residence after receiving a complaint that the two Nepalese women were kept there in confinement and raped by the diplomat and his "guests" repeatedly.

The Saudi Embassy termed the allegations as "false" and protested the police "intrusion" into the diplomat's house saying it was against "all diplomatic conventions".

The external affairs ministry had called in Saudi Arabian Ambassador Saud Mohammed Alsati last Thursday and told him that the accused diplomat should cooperate in the probe into the case.

But it did not get any response despite being in touch with the mission officials here for at least a week, sources said.

During the impasse, the diplomat along with his family has shifted to the Saudi Embassy. The two Nepalese women have already gone back to their country. 

There were also reports that NSA Ajit Dova l had a hand in resolving the issue without damaging the bilateral ties.

The Congress party had demanded that the government take up the issue with the Saudi Arabian government so that the diplomat is removed from his post and action taken as per law.

Saudi King Salman vows to find cause of Mecca crane collapse

Saudi Arabia's King Salman says the results of an an investigation into why a crane collapsed in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, killing at least 107 people, will be made public.

A collapsed crane and emergency services vehicles are seen near the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Friday, Sept. 11, 2015. The accident happened as pilgrims from around the world converged for the annual Hajj pilgrimage, which takes place this month, killing dozens. (AP Photo)

Mecca: Saudi Arabia's King Salman vowed on Saturday to find out the cause of a crane collapse that killed 107 people at Mecca's Grand Mosque ahead of the annual Hajj pilgrimage.  Officials say strong winds and heavy rains caused the crane to fall.

The Hajj, a pillar of the Muslim religion which last year drew about two million faithful, will take place despite Friday's tragedy, Saudi authorities said, as crowds returned to pray a day after the incident. Correspondents say there had previously been concerns about safety on Saudi construction sites.

Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims had already arrived in Mecca when the massive red and white crane toppled over during a Friday thunderstorm.

"We will investigate all the reasons [of the collapse] and afterwards declare the results to the citizens," the official Saudi news agency quoted him as saying.

Salman expressed his condolences to the families of the dead, and then visited a local hospital "to check on the health of the injured", the official Saudi Press Agency said.

"Suddenly, I heard thunder and then we heard a very loud noise. That was the sound of the crane falling," Mohammed, a Moroccan pilgrim, told AFP.  

Another visitor caught up in the tragedy, Ahmed from Egypt, said he and those around him were "very scared, hysterical even".

The Grand Mosque, known as the Masjid al-Haram, is the largest mosque in the world and surrounds Islam's holiest place, the Kaaba.

At least 230 people were injured in the incident on Friday. It is unclear how many people were hurt by the collapse or the stampede that followed it.

The head of Saudi Arabia's civil defence agency, Lt Sulayman Bin-Abdullah al-Amr, said an investigation was being carried out to assess the damage, and the "extent of the safety of these sites".

Saudi officials say the crane disaster will not prevent the Hajj going ahead.

Irfan Al-Alawi, from the Islamic Heritage Research Foundation,

said, that the Grand Mosque is currently surrounded by 15 large cranes amid major redevelopment work. "The entire area is like a salvage yard," Mr al-Alawi said.

"Saudi Arabia has to re-think its health and safety strategy," he said, "as there were 800,000 people in the mosque area at the time of the accident."

Condolences came in from around the Arab world, as well as from Britain, Canada, India and Nigeria. It was not the first tragedy to strike Mecca pilgrims, although the hajj has remained practically incident-free in recent years. In 2006, several hundred people died in a stampede during the Stoning of the Devil ritual in nearby Mina, following a similar incident two years earlier.

Saudi authorities began a major expansion of the site last year to increase the area of the mosque by 400,000 sq m (4.3m sq ft), to allow it to accommodate up to 2.2 million people at once.

Performing the pilgrimage during one's lifetime is a duty for all able-bodied adult Muslims. This year's pilgrimage is expected to start around Sept. 22, but Al Sudais told the wounded that, God willing, they would be spiritually rewarded for their intention to perform the hajj if they are physically unable to make the actual pilgrimage.

Nearly 910,000 pilgrims have already arrived in the country for this year's hajj season, according to official figures.  - AFP

2 Indian women Haj pilgrims among 107 killed in Mecca Mosque accident

Pilgrims walk near a construction crane which crashed in the Grand Mosque in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on September 12, 2015. — Reuters

Riyadh: Two Indian Haj pilgrims, one from Kerala and the other from West Bengal, were among the 107 people killed in the crane accident at the Grand Mosque in the Saudi Arabian holy city of Mecca, while 15 Indians are among the injured, officials said on Saturday.

“Regrettably we have been informed that two Indians have been killed in the unfortunate accident,” External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said in New Delhi.

The deceased pilgrims have been identified as Moniza Ahmed from West Bengal and Muameena Ismail from Kerala, the Indian Consulate in Jeddah said.

It said the injured included three each from Maharashtra, Telangana, UP and MP, two each from Delhi and West Bengal, and one each from Punjab, Bihar and Assam.

Swarup said the officials from the Indian Consulate in Jeddah have been on the ground and have set up a 24X7 helpline to provide information and assistance.

They have been monitoring the situation through the night, Swarup said.

The spokesperson had earlier said that 11 pilgrims from the Haj Committee of India and four from Private Tour Operators were injured.

Over 100 people died when a massive construction crane crashed into Mecca's Grand Mosque yesterday with scores more injured, days before the annual Haj pilgrimage.

A part of the massive crane collapsed as a result of strong winds and heavy rains, media reports said.

Thousands of pilgrims, including hundreds of Indians, have already arrived in Mecca for Haj. Saudi authorities have ordered a probe into the incident.   

The haj, one of the largest religious gatherings in the world, has been prone to disasters in the past, mainly from stampedes as pilgrims rush to complete rituals and return home. Hundreds of pilgrims died in such a crush in 2006.

Saudi authorities have since spent vast sums to expand the main haj sites and improve Mecca`s transport system, in an effort to prevent more disasters.

Security services often ring Islam`s sacred city with checkpoints and other measures to prevent people arriving for the pilgrimage without authorisation.

Those procedures, aimed at reducing crowd pressure which can lead to stampedes, fires and other hazards, have been intensified in recent years as security threats grow throughout the Middle East. — PTI

Mumbai train bombings: 12 face death penalty over 2006 terror attacks

Seven-year trial ends with suspects guilty of murder and criminal conspiracy over attacks in which 188 people died

 Indian commuters walk past the site of the explosion at Mahim railway station in Mumbai in July 2006. Photograph: Indranil Mukherjee/AFP/Getty Images

An Indian court has convicted 12 people over the bombings of seven Mumbai commuter trains that killed 188 people and wounded 800 others in July 2006.

The accused were found guilty of murder and criminal conspiracy charges and will be sentenced on Monday. They could face the death penalty.

The trial in Mumbai lasted more than seven years. Prosecutors say the conspiracy was hatched by Pakistan’s Directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and carried out by Lashkar-e-Tayyaba operatives with help from the Students’ Islamic Movement of India, a banned militant organisation.

The Lashkar-e-Tayyaba is a Pakistan-based Islamist militant group. Pakistan has denied the Indian claims.

The men will be sentenced on Monday, bringing to an end a trial that lasted nine years, involved more than 200 witnesses, and depositions that ran into thousands of pages.

Prosecution lawyer Raja Thakare said he wanted "the strictest possible punishment" for those convicted.

"Whatever sentence the judge hands out, it should be able to satisfy the public at large," he said.

Lawyer Shahid Nadeem, who represented all 13 defendants in the case, said the prosecution had failed to provide evidence that Abdul Wahid Shaikh, who was acquitted, had played any role in the blasts.

He said he would appeal against the convictions of the other 12.

"We are not satisfied with the judgement and will approach High Court against the convictions," he said.

In all, police charged 30 people over the bombings, including 13 Pakistani nationals, who along with four Indian suspects have yet to be arrested.

Blasts ripped through Mumbai commuter trains during the evening rush hour on July 11, 2006.

The bombs were packed into pressure cookers then placed in bags and hidden under newspapers and umbrellas in the trains.

Prosecutors said the devices were assembled in Mumbai and deliberately placed in first-class coaches to target the city's wealthy Gujarati community.

They said the bombings were intended as revenge for the riots in the western state of Gujarat in 2002, which left some 2,000 people dead, most of them Muslims.

Prosecutors accused Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba of being behind the 2006 attacks, although a little known outfit called the Lashkar-e-Qahhar claimed responsibility.

The accused were represented by Shahid Azmi, a Muslim rights activist and lawyer, who was mysteriously killed by unidentified gunmen in 2010.

The attacks prompted India to freeze peace talks with Pakistan for several months.

Dialogue between the nuclear-armed South Asian nations resumed later that year, but were interrupted again in 2008 after a militant attack on Mumbai that left 166 people dead. - Reuters/AFP

87 people killed as crane crashes in Mecca's Grand Mosque

Saudi Arabia’s civil defence authority says almost 200 injured in preparations for annual Haj pilgrimage

Ambulances arrive at the Grand Mosque where a crane collapsed killing at least 87 people Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

RIYADH: At least 87 people were killed and as many as 184 more were injured when a crane collapsed at the Grand Mosque in the Muslim holy city of Mecca on Friday, the Saudi Arabian government has said.

The country’s civil defence authority said on its Twitter account that rescue teams had been sent to the scene. The tweet said that the authority’s director general Suleiman Al-Amr attended.

Muslims make their annual hajj pilgrimage later this month and Saudi authorities go to great lengths to be prepared for the millions of people who converge on Mecca.

Pictures circulating on social media, which the Guardian could not independently verify and which were too graphic to reproduce, showed what appeared to be numerous bodies on the ground - as well as bloodied, injured people being helped the scene.

They showed a large group of people lying on marble-like flooring, most of them near to a wall and surrounded by rubble and other debris. One man appears to be being wheeled out of the building on a wheelchair.

Other images posted on the same account appeared to show parts of a crane that crashed through the roof of a building.

Al-Arabiya television earlier said the crane had fallen because of strong storms. Western Saudi Arabia has been hit by strong sand storms in the past few days.

Saudi authorities have taken a series of safety measures over the past decade aimed at preventing crowd crushes after tragedies such as the stampede in 2006, which resulted in 350 deaths, a building collapse in the same year which killed 76 and a stampede that killed more than 200 people in 2004.

Officials limited numbers attending the hajj after a peak in 2013, in which more than 3.1 million pilgrims arrived. Bottlenecks in which crushes occurred along the pilgrimage route were widened and religious authorities decreed that it was not mandatory for pilgrims to touch sacred spots.

The Grand Mosque, which houses the Kaaba, the cube-shaped structure towards which Muslims worldwide pray, has been surrounded by a number of cranes. Reconstruction work has been going on to enlarge the mosque by 400,000 sq m (4.3 m sq ft), allowing it to accommodate up to 2.2 million people.

The work has continued for the past two years and was expected to be largely completed before this year’s pilgrimage, which begins on 22 September.

Saudi authorities have lavished vast sums to improve Mecca’s transportation system in an effort to prevent more disasters. Security services often surround Islam’s sacred city with checkpoints and other measures to prevent people arriving for the pilgrimage without authorisation. Those procedures, aimed at reducing crowd pressure which can lead to stampedes, fires and other hazards, have been intensified in recent years as security threats grow throughout the Middle East.

According to a report on Al-Jazeera television, the crane fell on the east side of the mosque after a sandstorm and heavy rain. It said that the building’s doors were shut and people were locked inside. Its reporter said there was “slight pandemonium” and that one person was killed in the rush to get out.

The reporter said: “Dozens of ambulances are heading to the site. The authorities closed off the area shortly afterwards. This whole place is already a construction site. What made it worse is that around 5.30pm there was severe rain and it’s just gushing down the road. I am surrounded by people who are grieving. The mood here is of sadness.” - theguardian

British Airways passengers, crew escape blazing plane in Las Vegas

A British Airways plane bound for London has caught fire at Las Vegas airport, forcing the evacuation of 172 people on board on emergency slides.

A British Airways passenger jet is shown after a fire at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas September 8, 2015.  REUTERS/STEVE MARCUS

All 172 passengers and crew escaped a fire on a British Airways (BA) plane in Las Vegas on Tuesday when smoke and flames engulfed the aircraft as it was about to take off for London.

The fire in one of the plane's two engines sent black smoke into the cabin, forcing the passengers to rush to the front, sparking scenes of panic, one person on board tweeted.

Several passengers and crew suffered minor injuries and were taken to hospital after all on board the Boeing Co (BA.N) 777 escaped down emergency inflatable slides.

The Federal Aviation Administration's Pacific Division said the plane's left engine had burst into flames on take-off. BA (ICAG.L) said the engines were made by General Electric (GE) (GE.N). A GE spokesman in Europe declined to comment.

Passengers were evacuated from the twin-engine, wide-body jet to the runway using emergency slides, officials said.

He said the plane was carrying 159 passengers and a crew of 13.

McCarran airport said on its Twitter feed that the blaze was extinguished and all passengers had been removed from the plane by 4.18pm (2318 GMT), five minutes after the Clark County Fire Department and airport emergency crews received their first call of trouble.

A British Airways plane can be seen in flame at LAS airport Las Vegas  Photo: Twitter @banjo

McCarran said its flight operations would continue on its three other runways, though the FAA ordered all inbound air traffic from several other airports held at their points of origin, including San Francisco, Phoenix, Denver, Salt Lake City and Albuquerque, New Mexico.

It was not immediately clear whether the two people McCarran said were taken to local hospitals were passengers or crew members.

Jacob Steinberg, a sports journalist at the Guardian newspaper, wrote on Twitter that he had fallen asleep on the plane during takeoff and felt the jetliner come to “crashing halt.”

“Could smell and see smoke but was on other side of plane. One person said fire melted a couple of windows,” Mr Steinberg wrote.

“They opened the back door and slide went down and smoke started coming in plane, followed by mad dash to front. A lot of panic.”

"Our crew evacuated the aircraft safely and the fire was quickly extinguished by the emergency services at the airport," a BA spokeswoman said.

A photograph posted by the airport of the immediate aftermath showed the plane on the runway with charred fuselage. The incident temporarily delayed flights across the western United States.

Jacob Steinberg, a sports journalist for Britain's Guardian newspaper, tweeted that he had fallen asleep on the plane during take-off and felt the jetliner come to "crashing halt".

.A spokeswoman for British Airways, which is owned by IAG, said safety is always the airline’s priority and the airline is looking after customers and providing passengers with hotel accommodation and other needs.  - Reuters.