Fire at nightclub kills more than 200 in Brazil


PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil (Reuters) - At least 200 people were killed in a nightclub fire in southern Brazil on Sunday after a band's pyrotechnics show set the building ablaze, and fleeing patrons were unable to find the emergency exits, local officials said.


Bodies were still being removed from the Kiss nightclub in the southern city of Santa Maria, Major Gerson da Rosa Ferreira, who was leading rescue efforts at the scene for the military police, told Reuters.


Local officials said 180 people were confirmed dead, and Ferreira said the death toll would rise above 200. He said the victims died of asphyxiation or from being trampled, and that there were possibly as many as 500 people inside the club when the fire broke out at about 2:30 a.m.


Television footage showed people sobbing outside the club, while shirtless firefighters used sledge hammers and axes to knock down an exterior wall to open up an exit.


"It was really fast. There was a lot of smoke, really dark smoke," survivor Aline Santos Silva, 29, told Globonews TV. "We were only able to get out quickly because we were in a VIP area close to the door."


President Dilma Rousseff cut short a visit to Chile and was returning to Brazil following the blaze, her spokesperson said.


Luiza Sousa, a civil police official in Santa Maria, told Reuters the blaze started when a member of the band or its production team ignited a flare, which then set fire to the ceiling. The fire spread "in seconds," Sousa said.


The disaster recalls other incidents including a 2003 fire at a nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island, that killed 100, and a Buenos Aires nightclub blaze in 2004 that killed nearly 200. In both incidents, a band or members of the audience ignited fires that set the establishment ablaze.


Brazil's safety standards and emergency response capabilities are under particular scrutiny as the country prepares to host the 2014 World Cup soccer tournament and the 2016 Summer Olympics.


Rio Grande do Sul state Health Secretary Ciro Simoni said emergency medical supplies from all over the state were being sent to the scene.


Santa Maria is some 186 miles west of the state capital of Porto Alegre. "A sad Sunday!" tweeted Rio Grande do Sul Governor Tarso Genro. He said "all possible measures" were being taken in response and that he was on his way to the scene.


(Additional reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal, Todd Benson and Brian Winter; Editing by Eric Beech)



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New neighbourhood police centre opens in Punggol






SINGAPORE: Punggol constituency saw the opening of a new neighbourhood police centre (NPC).

Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean opened the Punggol NPC, making it the 35th across the island.

The opening of the NPC is to ensure the safety and security of a fast-growing neighbourhood.

The new NPC also introduced the Community Policing System (COPS).

Under COPS, more officers will be deployed on foot and bicycle patrols around the constituency, increasing police presence.

Residents also had a chance to try out some police vehicles which they have often seen on the roads.

- CNA/xq



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Not against talks with Centre, says hardline Hurriyat

SRINAGAR: Hardline faction of Hurriyat Conference today said they are not against talks with the Centre to resolve the Kashmir issue given that the government approaches them with good intentions.

However, the hardline faction, headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, said the talks should not be aimed at "coercing" people of Kashmir.

Reacting to state Rural Development Minister Ali Mohammad Sagar's Republic Day speech, in which he asked separatists to enter the dialogue process, the Hurriyat spokesman said the outfit believes that complicated issues can only be resolved through talks and it was not scared of the dialogue process.

"However, talks are held when all the parties come to the table with good intentions ... not like Beg-Parthasarthy talks which are aimed at coercing Kashmiris into surrender," the spokesman said.

He said the Hurriyat had put forth few suggestions to the Centre for creating a conducive atmosphere for holding talks for resolution of Kashmir issue.

The suggestions include dropping of charges against protesters involved in 2008 unrest.

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CDC: Flu seems to level off except in the West


New government figures show that flu cases seem to be leveling off nationwide. Flu activity is declining in most regions although still rising in the West.


The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says hospitalizations and deaths spiked again last week, especially among the elderly. The CDC says quick treatment with antiviral medicines is important, in particular for the very young or old. The season's first flu case resistant to treatment with Tamiflu was reported Friday.


Eight more children have died from the flu, bringing this season's total pediatric deaths to 37. About 100 children die in an average flu season.


There is still vaccine available although it may be hard to find. The CDC has a website that can help.


___


CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/


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Authorities: 245 Dead in Brazil Nightclub Fire












A fire swept through a crowded nightclub in southern Brazil early Sunday, killing at least 180 people and leaving hundreds injured, police and firefighters said.



Sandro Meinerz, a spokesman for the police in the city of Santa Maria, told local media that the fire broke out at the Kiss club while a band was performing. He said at least 200 people were injured.



The cause of the fire is not yet known, officials said. The total number of victims is still unclear and there may be hundreds injured, Civil Police and regional government spokesman Marcelo Arigoni told Radio Gaucha.





Arigoni told the radio station a truck carrying 70 bodies had arrived at the Municipal Sports Center, which was being used as an improvised morgue.



Diario de Santa Maria reported that the fire started at around 2 a.m.



Rodrigo Moura, whom the paper identified as a security guard at the club, said it was at its maximum capacity of between 1,000 and 2,000, and partygoers were pushing and shoving to escape.



Ezekiel Corte Real, 23, was quoted by the paper as saying that he helped people to escape. "I just got out because I'm very strong," he said.



"Sad Sunday", tweeted Tarso Genro, the governor of the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. He said all possible action was being taken and that he would be in the city later in the day.



Santa Maria, at the southern tip of Brazil near the borders with Argentina and Uruguay, is a major university city with a population of around a quarter of a million.



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At least 22 die in Egyptian clashes over death sentences


PORT SAID, Egypt/CAIRO (Reuters) - At least 22 people died on Saturday when Egyptians rampaged in protest at the sentencing of 21 people to death over a soccer stadium disaster, adding to bloody street turmoil confronting Islamist President Mohamed Mursi.


Armored vehicles and military police fanned through the streets of Port Said after the violence. The state news agency quoted a general as saying the military aimed to "establish calm and stability in Port Said and to protect public institutions".


The unrest began with nationwide rallies on Friday to mark the second anniversary of the overthrow of autocrat Hosni Mubarak, a democratic uprising that protesters now accuse Mursi of betraying by ramming through an Islamist-hued constitution.


While anniversary-related violence subsided, a new flare-up hit Port Said after a court sentenced 21 men to die for involvement in the deaths of 74 people after a local soccer match on February 1, 2012, many of them fans of the visiting team.


Residents ran wildly through the streets of Port Said in rage that men from their city had been blamed for the stadium disaster, and gunshots were reported near the prison where most of the defendants were being held.


State television, citing the Health Ministry, said 22 people were killed and more than 200 wounded. Security sources said at least two of the dead were policemen.


A witness said some men stormed a police station in Port Said, where protesters lit tires in the street, sending black smoke funneling into the air.


At least nine people were killed in clashes with police on Friday, mainly in the port of Suez where the army has also deployed. Hundreds were injured as police rained down tear gas on protesters armed with stones and some with petrol bombs.


The schism between Islamists and secular Egyptians is hurting efforts by Mursi, freely elected in June, to revive an economy in crisis and reverse a slide in Egypt's currency.


The political strife and lack of security that has blighted the Arab world's most populous country over much of the post-Mubarak era is casting a chilling shadow over a parliamentary election expected to start in April.


Highlighting tensions, the opposition National Salvation Front coalition called for a government of national unity and an early presidential vote among other demands. It said it would call for more protests next Friday and could boycott the parliamentary election if its demands are not met.


Mursi's opponents say he has failed to deliver on economic pledges or be a president representing the full political and communal diversity of Egyptians, as he pledged.


His supporters say his critics do not respect the democracy that has given Egypt its first freely elected leader.


VICTIMS' RELATIVES CHEER


At the Port Said soccer stadium a year ago, many spectators were crushed and witnesses saw some thrown off balconies after the match between Cairo's Al Ahly and local team al-Masri.


Families of victims in court cheered and wept for joy when Judge Sobhy Abdel Maguid read a list of 21 names "referred to the Mufti", a phrase used to denote execution, as all death sentences must be reviewed by Egypt's top religious authority.


A total of 73 people have been standing trial. Other rulings will be issued on March 9, the judge said.


One relative in the court shouted: "God is greatest." Outside the Al Ahly club in Cairo, fans also cheered. They had threatened more violence unless the death penalty was meted out.


Thousands took to the streets of Cairo, Alexandria and other cities on Friday to protest against what they call the authoritarianism of Mursi's rule. Protesters in Cairo were again hurling stones at police lines in Cairo on Saturday.


"We want to change the president and the government. We are tired of this regime. Nothing has changed," said Mahmoud Suleiman, 22, in Cairo's Tahrir Square, the cauldron of the 2011 anti-Mubarak revolt and near where youths stoned police.


"PURSUING CRIMINALS"


Ahmed Salama, 28, a protester camped out with dozens of others in Tahrir, said: "The protests will continue until we realize all the demands of the revolution - bread, freedom and social justice."


In a statement in response to Friday's violence, Mursi said the state would not hesitate in "pursuing the criminals and delivering them to justice". He urged Egyptians to respect the principles of the revolution by expressing views peacefully.


The president met on Saturday with the National Defence Council, which includes senior ministers and security officials, to discuss the spate of violence.


In a televised statement, the National Salvation Front said it was holding Mursi responsible.


The Front was formed from disparate groups last year when Mursi awarded himself extra powers and fast-tracked an Islamist-flavored constitution to a referendum, opposed by the Front although the document was passed in the popular vote.


"Egypt will not regain its balance except by a political solution that is transparent and credible, by a government of national salvation to restore order and heal the economy and with a constitution for all Egyptians," prominent opposition politician Mohamed ElBaradei wrote on his Twitter account.


Until the Front was formed, the opposition had struggled to unite and their vote had been split at presidential and parliamentary polls, helping Islamists. The last parliament was dissolved based on court order, demanding a new vote this year.


Mustapha Kamal Al-Sayyid, a professor of political science at Cairo University, said the latest violence reflected the frustration of many liberal-minded Egyptians and others.


"The state of polarization between Islamists and others is most likely to continue and will have a very negative impact on the state's politics, security and economy," he said.


Inspired by the popular uprising in Tunisia, Egypt's revolution spurred further revolts across the Arab world. But the sense of common purpose among Egyptians two years ago has unraveled, triggering bloody street battles last month.


(Additional reporting by Omar Fahmy; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Mark Heinrich)



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French-led troops in Mali seize airport at Islamist bastion






BAMAKO: French-led troops Saturday seized the airport and a key bridge serving the Islamist stronghold of Gao in a major boost to a 16-day-old offensive to rout Al Qaeda-linked rebels from Mali's sprawling desert north.

The stunning advance came as the extremist Muslim group controlling Gao since June said it was ready for talks to free a 61-year-old French hostage kidnapped in November.

In a parallel movement, Chadian troops deployed in Mali's eastern neighbour Niger started rolling towards the border to join a contingent of Niger soldiers as part of African efforts to boost the French-led offensive.

"They are a very big contingent and they have tanks and four-wheel drives with machineguns," a Niger security source said.

It was not clear whether they were set to cross the border, which lies only 100 kilometres (60 miles) from Gao.

France on Saturday confirmed the capture of the airport and the Wanbary bridge at Gao but said fighting was continuing in Gao itself.

The airport is located about six kilometres east of Gao, while the bridge lies at the southern entrance to the town, held by the Al Qaeda-linked Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO).

Sources said earlier that the Islamists had left Gao in the wake of the French-led military offensive on January 11 to stop a triad of Al Qaeda-linked groups from pushing southward from their northern bastions towards Bamako.

An alliance of Tuareg rebels who wanted to declare an independent homeland in the north and hardline Islamist groups seized the northern towns of Gao, Timbuktu and Kidal in April last year.

The Islamist groups include MUJAO, Ansar Dine, a homegrown Islamist group, and Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb, of which MUJAO is an offshoot.

The Islamists then sidelined the Tuaregs to implement their own Islamic agenda. Their harsh interpretation of sharia law has seen transgressors flogged, stoned and executed, and they have forbidden music and television and forced women to wear veils.

The MUJAO said it was ready for negotiations to release Gilberto Rodriguez Leal, a French national of Portuguese origin who was kidnapped in western Mali.

"The MUJAO is ready to negotiate the release of Gilberto," said spokesman Walid Abu Sarhaoui. "We Muslims can come to an understanding on the issue of war," he added, without elaborating.

West African defence chiefs meanwhile met to review the slow deployment of regional forces to bolster the French-led offensive against Islamists at an emergency meeting in Ivory Coast's main city Abidjan.

Although the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) regional bloc has pledged more than 4,500 soldiers, their deployment has been delayed by financing and logistical problems.

Chad, which neighbours Mali and is not an ECOWAS member, has promised a total of 2,000 additional troops. They were sent to Niger to join 500 local troops to open a new front against the Islamists.

The Abidjan talks will determine exactly how many troops each country in the 15-nation bloc is willing to pledge but "particularly commit to deploying troops as quickly as possible," said Ivory Coast Defence Minister Paul Koffi Koffi.

The African Union said it would urge members to bolster the African force and seek support from the United Nations for the operation in the form of transport, medicine and field hospitals.

While a fraction of the African forces have arrived in Bamako and are slowly deploying elsewhere, the French and Malian forces have done all the fighting so far.

France has already deployed 2,300 troops to Mali and defence officials acknowledge the force will exceed the initially set upper limit of 2,500.

On Friday, the French and Malian forces captured Hombori, another northern town, in their advance on Gao.

To the centre, French-led forces who on Monday had recaptured the town of Diabaly were pushing northeast towards the town of Lere with the aim of taking control of Timbuktu, still further north.

Aid agencies have expressed increasing concern about the growing food crisis for civilians in the vast semi-arid north of Mali and the drought-stricken Sahel as a whole.

France has asked several Western countries and others to provide logistical support such as planes to allow aerial refuelling, sources close to Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said.

- AFP/al



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BJP govt in majority: Karnataka governor

BANGALORE: In a relief to ruling BJP that faced threats of instability, Karnataka governor HR Bhardwaj on Saturday said the Jagadish Shettar government still enjoyed majority after 13 party MLAs anounced their resignation, but he would order a floor test if he felt it has been reduced to minority.

"On the day on which the government comes into minority even with one MLA less, I will issue notice. Now, 13 MLAs have resigned but the government is still in majority," he told reporters as Shettar stood next to him after the Republic Day function here.

Bhardwaj said he would act according to the advice of Shettar as long as he was the Chief Minister, but wouldn't do so after his government had lost majority. "I will not do any unconstitutional work. I am watching," he said.

Question marks over the Shettar government's survival were raised after 13 MLAs loyal to Karnataka Janata Party chief and former BJP strongman BS Yeddyurappa announced their decision to quit assembly membership.

The MLA's bid to push the government into a corner, however, had been in vain as assembly speaker KG Bopaiah was not in station, an issue over which they cried foul and petitioned the Governor to whom they submitted copies of their resignation letters.

The governor's remarks come as a relief to the over six-month old Shettar Government as it has belied hopes, at least for the present, of Yeddyurappa to force the exit of the BJP Ministry ahead of assembly elections due in May.

Bhardwaj said today that Shettar was the Leader of the BJP legislature Party and it was left to him to take action on the issue of resignation by 13 MLAs.

Noting that the Assembly has been convened to meet from February 4 for the Budget session, Bhardwaj said he was studying the situation. "I hope Karnataka continues to function as per the Constitution and we (I and chief minister) will not rush through," he said.

Asked if he would direct Bopaiah to accept the resignation of 13 BJP legislators, he said said Speaker's was an independent and very high office and he cannot dictate terms.

To a query on Yeddyurappa's remarks that the state was facing a constitutional crisis following the resignation of the 13 MLAs, Bhardwaj said the government still enjoyed majority and it was left to Shettar to act in this regard.

"However, each day of the budget session is a test for the government. We should not say there is a constitutional crisis. We are living in a democracy which has been interpreted by the highest court of the land (Supreme Court in the SR Bommai case). I will not go against the Constitution."

Bhardwaj said he would be addressing the joint session of legislature as it is his obligation and a privilege to do so.

"But I am watching the situation minute-by-minute, hour-by-hour and day-by-day. I will protect the Constitution and he (Shettar) has assured me in this regard," he said.

Shettar said his government enjoyed majority and would present the budget. "There is no threat to my government. The governor has agreed to address the joint session."

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CDC: Flu seems to level off except in the West


New government figures show that flu cases seem to be leveling off nationwide. Flu activity is declining in most regions although still rising in the West.


The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says hospitalizations and deaths spiked again last week, especially among the elderly. The CDC says quick treatment with antiviral medicines is important, in particular for the very young or old. The season's first flu case resistant to treatment with Tamiflu was reported Friday.


Eight more children have died from the flu, bringing this season's total pediatric deaths to 37. About 100 children die in an average flu season.


There is still vaccine available although it may be hard to find. The CDC has a website that can help.


___


CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/


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Cops Using More Private Cameras to Nab Suspects













Philadelphia detectives were able to quickly make an arrest in the murder and burning of a female pediatrician by viewing surveillance video of nearby stores and a hospital that captured the suspect entering the doctor's home and later getting into his truck.


In the hours after Dr. Melissa Ketunuti's body was found strangled and burning in her basement, city's Homicide Task Force collected surveillance footage from a coffee shop, drug store and hospital overlooking Ketunuti's block. It was footage taken from Ori Feibush's coffee shop that allowed cops to identify Smith.


The suspect, an exterminator named Jason Smith, soon confessed to detectives, police said.


Lately a range of crimes have been solved by the seemingly ubiquitous security videos maintained by private companies or citizens, and investigators have been able to quickly apprehend suspects by obtaining the video, deftly turning private cameras into effective police resources.








Philadelphia Police Arrest Suspect in Doctor's Killing Watch Video









Pa. Doctor Killing: Person of Interest in Custody Watch Video







Private surveillance cameras have become so pervasive that the face of a suspect who allegedly shot a Bronx, N.Y., cab driver in a botched robbery on Jan. 14 was splashed throughout the media within days because the cabbie had rigged his vehicle with a camera.


The New York Police Department arrested Salvatore Perrone after he was caught on surveillance video recorded near two of three shopkeeper slayings in Brooklyn, N.Y., in November. He has since been charged with murder.


And in Mesa, Ariz., surveillance footage taken in November by resident Mitch Drum showed a man rolling on the ground trying to extinguish flames that had engulfed his shirt, which had caught fire while he was allegedly siphoning gas from a car by Drum's house. The man was arrested.


Though surveillance cameras have been a staple of security since a network of government operated cameras dubbed the "ring of steel" was introduced in London in the early 1990s, police have recently launched programs to partner with more businesses.


In Philadelphia, police have launched a program for businesses to register private cameras with the department. According to the SafeCam website, businesses will only be contacted when there is a criminal incident in the vicinity of the security camera. At that point, police will request a copy of the footage for their investigation.


"Businesses are saying, 'I have a camera at this location, and it may or may not be of use to you. It's a registration to say, 'feel free to call me,'" Sgt. Joseph Green told ABCNews.com






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