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Thai king Adulyadej dies after 7-decade long reign

[email protected] (Agencies)
October 13, 2016

Bangkok, Oct 13: Thailand's revered King Bhumbol Adulyadej passed away today, the palace announced, ending a remarkable seven-decade reign as the world's longest ruling monarch who was seen as a unifying force in the deeply divided country. He was 88.

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The king died at 3.52 pm (local time) at the Siriraj hospital, the palace said in a statement.
Crown Prince Maha Vajralongkorn, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, Princess Soamsawali and Princess Chulabhorn were at the hospital.

The 64-year-old Crown Prince will succeed the king, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said.
On Sunday, the palace had said that the king was in an unstable condition after receiving haemodialysis treatment.

Hundreds of well-wishers had gathered outside the hospital here for the past two days fervently praying for the good health of King Bhumibol.

The widely revered monarch is central to Thai society and was often treated as a virtual god.
The King was also known as Rama IX, as he was the ninth monarch of the Chakri Dynasty.
Having acceded to the throne 70 years ago, he has been a source of stability and unity for a much changed and still deeply divided nation.

King Bhumibol is the world's longest serving monarch, having acceded to the throne when his brother died in 1946.

During his seven decades on the throne, the king, who is seen as a unifying force, has intervened when events threatened to plunge Thailand into crisis.

Amid increasing concerns about his health in recent months, the Royal Household Bureau had issued more frequent bulletins.

Earlier, Prime Minister Prayuth cancelled an official trip to India to attend the BRICS Summit 2016, a Government House source said.

The prime minister was scheduled to attend the BIMSTEC Outreach at BRICS Summit 2016 on Sunday.

The source said Prayut assigned Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusriithak to attend the summit on his behalf.

A palace statement said late yesterday that the king's "blood pressure lowered and breath quickened".

On Sunday, his blood test indicated that there had been an infection and abnormal function of his liver.

The crowd of well-wishers praying for His Majesty the King continued to swell outside Siriraj Hospital as his loving subjects also gathered at government offices nationwide for prayers today.

People holding photographs of their loved King could be seen sobbing and some wailing even before an announcement was made this evening.

With most people unable to travel to Bangkok, interior permanent secretary Grisada Boonrach had ordered the proper arrangement of places at provincial halls, district offices and local administrative organisation offices nationwide for people to sign books.

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Agencies
July 28,2020

Sydney, Jul 28: Nearly 3 billion koalas, kangaroos and other native Australian animals were killed or displaced by bushfires in 2019 and 2020, a study by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) said on Tuesday, triple the group's earlier estimates.

Some 143 million mammals, 2.46 billion reptiles, 180 million birds and 51 million frogs were impacted by the country's worst bushfires in decades, the WWF said.

When the fires were still blazing, the WWF estimated the number of affected animals at 1.25 billion. The fires destroyed more than 11 million hectares (37 million acres) across the Australian southeast, equal to about half the area of the United Kingdom.

"This ranks as one of the worst wildlife disasters in modern history," said WWF-Australia Chief Executive Officer Dermot O'Gorman in a statement.

The project leader Lily Van Eeden, from the University of Sydney, said the research was the first continent-wide analysis of animals impacted by the bushfires, and "other nations can build upon this research to improve understanding of bushfire impacts everywhere".

The total number included animals which were displaced because of destroyed habitats and now faced lack of food and shelter or the prospect of moving to habitat that was already occupied.

The main reason for raising the number of animal casualties was that researchers had now assessed the total affected area, rather than focusing on the most affected states, they said.

After years of drought made the Australian bush unusually dry, the country battled one of its worst bushfire seasons ever from September 2019 to March 2020, resulting in 34 human deaths and nearly 3,000 homes lost.

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Agencies
February 26,2020

Islamabad, Feb 26: Islamabad on Tuesday declared former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif an absconder while simultaneously denying extending bail to him.

The federal cabinet presided over by Prime Minister Imran Khan, cited that Sharif failed to provide required medical reports and has violated the bail terms.

The government has also decided to freeze gas and electricity tariffs for the next four months, The Dawn reported.

"After Nawaz Sharif failed to submit his medical report of any hospital in London, the medical board rejected a medical certificate sent by him and [the government] declared him an absconder. From today, Nawaz Sharif is an absconder according to the law of land and if he does not return to the country he will be declared a proclaimed offender," said Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information, in a press conference.

She further asserted that the Punjab government, which was authorized by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to decide Sharif's case on medical grounds, had written several letters asking him to submit his medical report from any hospital in London. However, he failed to do so and only sent a certificate that was not accepted by the medical board.

"If he (Nawaz Sharif) is seriously ill then why a comprehensive medical report is not being submitted to the medical board," Firdous added.

Further, she said that the office of the opposition leader was also waiting for his younger brother and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif, who was also staying in London for 'no reason'.

"He is getting a monthly salary and enjoying luxurious offices and other perks and privileges but not performing his duties required by his office and the people. Shahbaz Sahib, return to the country and justify your salary and other benefits being given from taxpayers' money," Firdous added.

On October 29 last year, the IHC granted bail for eight weeks to Sharif, who was convicted and disqualified in corruption cases, on medical grounds.

Sharif left Pakistan for London along with Shahbaz on November 19, 2019, for his medical treatments there.

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News Network
February 6,2020

Beijing, Feb 6: The number of confirmed fatalities from China's coronavirus outbreak rose to at least 560, after authorities in hardest-hit Hubei province reported 70 new deaths on February 6.

In its daily update, the health commission in Hubei also confirmed the number of confirmed infections in the outbreak has reached 28,018 nationwide with 3,694 new cases reported.

The epidemic, which has spiralled into a global health emergency, is believed to have emerged in December from a market that sold wild game in Hubei's capital Wuhan.

Hu Lishan, an official in Wuhan, warned Wednesday that despite building a hospital from scratch and converting public buildings to accommodate thousands of extra patients, there was still a "severe" lack of beds in the region.

There was also a shortage of "equipment and materials," he told reporters, adding that officials were looking to convert other hotels and schools in the city into treatment centres.

Authorities in several other cities in China have placed restrictions on the number of people allowed to leave their homes.

Global concerns have also risen about the virus, with cases confirmed in more than 20 countries.

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