One in coma after French clinical trial

Six people are in a critical condition – including one in a coma – after clinical trial of new drug in France, the country’s health minister says.

Health Minister Marisol Touraine is travelling to Rennes. Photo: AFP/BBC

Marisol Touraine said there had been a “very serious accident” during a trial by a private laboratory in Rennes.

The minister said she would be making an emergency visit to the city, in the north-west of France, on Friday.

The trial has been suspended and the firm is recalling the volunteers. It is unclear how many people are involved.

Participants had taken “a drug taken orally being developed by a European laboratory” that was licensed to operate, the ministry said in a statement (in French).

Unconfirmed French media reports said it was a cannabis-based painkiller.

The first people to fall ill were taken into hospital earlier this week, French media said. An investigation is under way.

Touraine expressed her “deep determination to get to the bottom… of this tragic accident” and find who was responsible.

Next raid on Sisodia, Satyendra Jain; Modi can't do anything as God is with us: Kejriwal

In yet another scathing attack against the Centre, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday made sensational allegations against the BJP disposition and alleged that his deputy Manish Sisodia or Delhi cabinet minister Satyendra Jain could be the next ‘target’ of Narendra Modi regime.

Kejriwal said that the PMO officials were being pressurised to dig out something ‘wrong’ signed by Sisodia and Jain to trap them.

Kejriwal also tweeted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi can’t harm him and Delhi ministers as ‘God is with them’.

The Delhi CM has been at loggerheads with Centre since coming to power in February last year.

Last month, Kejriwal had accused Union Minister Arun Jaitley and the central government of raiding his office to get control of certain files pertaining to the DDCA scam, where the union Finance Minister’s role is being questioned.

Suicide bomb attack, gunbattle near Indian Consulate in Afghanistan kills seven security personnel

A suicide bomb attack and subsequent gunfire outside the Pakistani Consulate in Jalalabad killed at least seven Afghan security personnel on Wednesday.

The attack took place not far away from the Indian Consulate located in an area which houses foreign missions.

The suicide bomber blew himself up outside the Pakistani consulate and the bombing was followed by gunfire from unidentified terrorists.

Afghan security forces swiftly responded to the attack and engaged with the gunmen barricaded in a house near the Pakistan Consulate.

The gunbattle continued for nearly four hours.

“Seven of our security forces were killed and seven others wounded as a result of the terrorist attack,” Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said on Twitter.

It was not clear how many terrorists had been killed.

Witnesses earlier said heavy gunfire and a series of explosions could be heard and residents and children from a nearby school had been evacuated.

Attaullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the provincial governor, had earlier said a suicide bomber tried to join a queue of people seeking visas to Pakistan and blew himself up after being prevented from entering the building.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.

Indian interests have been targeted twice this month – an attack on the Indian consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif (Afghanistan), and a raid by Islamist insurgents on an Air Force base in Punjab.

A small bomb also exploded near the Indian consulate in Jalalabad last Tuesday, but no casualties were reported.

(With agency inputs)

Pakistan shuts down seminaries run by Jaish-e-Mohammad

Lahore: Pakistani authorities have shut down several religious schools run by the Jaish-e-Mohammad militant group accused of masterminding an attack this month on an air base in India, the provincial law minister said on Friday.

The crackdown in Punjab province, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif`s power base and the headquarters of Jaish-e-Mohammad, follows the arrest this week of several members of the militant group, including its leader, Maulana Masood Azhar, an Islamist hardliner and long-time foe of India.

Pakistan has said it is clamping down on Azhar`s group, which India has long accused Pakistani authorities of tolerating, while it investigates Indian assertions that the January 2 attack on the Pathankot air base was the work of the Pakistan-based militants.

“Officials of the Counter-Terrorism Department raided the Jamiatul Nur seminary in the Daska area on Thursday and arrested more than a dozen people,” Rana Sanaullah, the law minister of the Punjab province where Jaish-e-Mohammad is headquartered, told Reuters.

“The seminary has been sealed off and documents and literature have been confiscated from the premises.”

1971 war hero Jacob laid to eternal rest

Lt Gen J F R Jacob (retd), who negotiated the surrender of Pakistani troops in Dhaka following the 1971 war, was laid to rest in Delhi on Thursday.

Jacob died at the age of 92 due to “old age complications”. Jacob, who was also Governor of Punjab and Goa, breathed his last at the Army Hospital yesterday at around 8am.He was admitted to the Army’s Research and Referral Hospital since January 1 after suffering from pneumonia.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled his demise and said India will always remain grateful to Jacob for his impeccable service to the nation. He also recalled his association with him, reports UNB.

Jacob had negotiated the surrender of Pakistani troops in Dhaka after the 1971 Bangladesh liberation war when, as Major General, he served as the Chief of Staff of Indian Army’s Eastern Command.

Born in 1923 in Bengal Presidency under British India, Jacob joined the army at the age of 19 in 1942 and also fought in World War II and the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965 before he retired in 1978.

Post retirement, he joined BJP and headed its ex-servicemen wing. He was appointed Governor of Goa during Vajpayee government and then Governor of Punjab.

He was also the Administrator of Union Territory of Chandigarh.During his stint as Punjab Governor and UT Administrator, he would often conduct check in government offices unannounced.

He authored two books – ‘Surrender at Dacca: Birth of a Nation’ and ‘An Odyssey in War and Peace: An Autobiography Lt Gen J F R Jacob’.

Multiple explosions, gunfire rock Indonesia’s Jakarta; at least 7 dead including 4 attackers

Suspected Islamic militants launched a massive gun and bomb attack in Indonesia capital Jakarta, leaving at least 7 people dead. Media reports claimed that at least 10-14 gunmen – most of whom are still at large – where involved in the deadly strike, which has been now described by Indonesian President Joko Widodo as a terror attacks. 529-indonesia-1

The deadly attacks were focused on a Starbucks in an area filled with offices and Western brands.

Jakarta police say the 7 dead include 4 attackers too.

Starbucks has confirmed that a customer has sustained injuries from explosion in Jakarta and was treated, latest reports said.

Indonesian police has said that the attack in downtown Jakarta has ended and security forces are in control.

Eyewitnesses said that the multiple terror strike started at 10:30 am local time in the heart of Jakarta when a militant shot dead a traffic cop from close range and then blew himself up.

Moments later one more explosion was heard from across the street at a Starbucks cafe. Reports later said that the gunman who attacked the cafe shoot at bystanders, as a series of explosions rocked the area.

The area is very near to a number of embassies and the regional office of the United Nations. A popular shopping centre called the Sarinah mall along the busy Jalan Thamrin is also in the vicinity.

indonesia-3 Police snipers were deployed among hundreds of other security officers even as latest reports now suggest that the terrorists are holed up in a theatre.

Indonesia has been on edge in recent weeks over the threat posed by Islamist militants and counter-terrorism police have launched a crackdown on people with suspected links to Islamic State.

“We have previously received a threat from Islamic State that Indonesia will be the spotlight,” police spokesman Anton Charliyan told reporters. But he said police did not know who was resposible.

An explosion was heard in the western suburb of Palmerah, according to a domestic indonesia-5 media tweet, but police said they could not confirm a blast there.

Indonesia has the world`s largest Muslim population, the vast majority of whom practise a moderate form of the religion.

The country saw a spate of militant attacks in the 2000s, the deadliest of which was a nightclub bombing on the holiday island of Bali that killed 202 people, most of them tourists.

Police have been largely successful in destroying domestic militant cells since then, but officials have more recently been worrying about a resurgence inspired by groups such as Islamic State and Indonesians who return after fighting with the group.

The last major militant attacks in Jakarta were in July 2009, with bombs at the JW Marriott and Ritz Carlton hotels.

Six killed by bomb at Turkey police HQ

A car bomb blast has hit a police headquarters in south-eastern Turkey, killing six people and wounding at least 39, officials say.

A woman and a baby were among the dead. Rescuers were searching through rubble at the scene in Cinar district, Diyarbakir province.

Officials blamed the blast on Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) militants, who are active in the mainly Kurdish province.

No group has so far said it carried out the attack.

The bomb was detonated at the entrance of the Cinar district police complex, officials say. The blast also damaged nearby residential buildings, where the mother and baby were killed.

The attackers then reportedly fired rockets at the headquarters.

Another police station, in Midyat town, in neighbouring Mardin province, was also attacked by militants, according to Turkish media, but there are no reports of casualties.

Diyarbakir province has seen violent clashes between PKK separatists and the Turkish army in recent months.

Last year, the city of Diyarbakir and a number of other areas in the south-east were put under curfew as part of a security crackdown.

This followed a bomb blast that left 16 soldiers dead and a rebel ambush that killed 14 police officers – both incidents in the east.

A ceasefire between the army and the PKK collapsed in July, and Turkish jets have since bombed PKK bases in northern Iraq and the army launched a ground operation there.

Turkey is also part of a US-led coalition that has been carrying out air strikes against Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq and Syria.

However, Ankara has been accused of hitting mostly PKK targets, angering Kurds who are themselves fighting IS in the two countries.

Pathankot attack: Pakistan says `not aware` of JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar's arrest

In a volte-face, Pakistan’s Foreign Office on Thursday said it has no idea if Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar has been detained in connection with terror attack at Pathankot airbase in India.

Talking to press, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qazi Khalilullah also said that dates of Foreign Secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan, which were scheduled to be held tomorrow, are being rescheduled.

The development raises question mark on Pakistan’s commitment to act against terrorism.

On Wednesday, Pakistani media had reported that the JeM chief, known for his close ties with Pakistani intelligence agencies, was taken to an undisclosed destination and was questioned as part of a crackdown.

Reports had also claimed the detention of his brother Mufti Abdul Rauf and brother-in-law Ashfaq Ahmad as well as some 10 others.

Pakistani media quoted unidentified sources as saying that “concerned authorities” interrogated Masood Azhar and the others about the Pathankot attack that left seven security personnel dead.

India says all six terrorists who raided the IAF base and got killed were Pakistanis and were allied to the JeM. India later said it had delivered “actionable intelligence” for Pakistan to act against the attack plotters.

The Pathankot attack took place just a week after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi flew to Lahore and met his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif in a bid to push forward the dialogue between the two countries.

Blast close to foreign consulates in Jalalabad in Afghanistan

An explosion was heard in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad on Wednesday close to foreign consulates including those of India, Pakistan and Iran, witnesses told Reuters.

There was no immediate confirmation of the cause of the blast or of any casualties or damage.

There have been several bomb blasts in Afghanistan over recent weeks at a time when efforts are underway to restart a peace process with the Taliban and ease diplomatic tension between Pakistan and India.

Obama puts 'focus on the future' in State of the Union address

US President Barack Obama vigorously defended his legacy while striking an optimistic tone for the future in his final State of the Union address.

He pushed back against the negative tone of the current presidential race, arguing the US has the “strongest, most durable economy in the world”.

“Anyone claiming that America’s economy is in decline is peddling fiction,” Mr Obama told lawmakers.

The speech to Congress highlighted his accomplishments such as health reform.

However, his focus was on cementing his legacy rather than unveiling new policies.

“For my final address to this chamber, I don’t want to talk just about the next year,” he said. “I want to focus on our future.”

Both houses of Congress attended Mr Obama’s annual address

Mr Obama focused on tackling income inequity, using technology to combat climate change and how to maintain national security while not becoming mired in far-flung conflicts.

Finally, he talked at length about improving the state of politics and debate.

“Democracy does require basic bonds of trust between its citizens,” he said.

He called on voters and members of Congress to change the divisive tone of politics and to “change the system to reflect our better selves”.

Mr Obama said a major regret of his presidency is that Republicans and Democrats have become more divided.

Mr Obama took indirect aim to Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump who has been criticised for his comments about Muslims and immigrants.

“When politicians insult Muslims, when a mosque is vandalized, or a kid bullied, that doesn’t make us safer,” Mr Obama said.

“That’s not telling it like it is. It’s just wrong. … And it betrays who we are as a country.”

In the year ahead, Mr Obama said he wants to:

close the Guantanamo Bay prison
achieve meaningful criminal justice reform
address rising tide of prescription drug abuse
authorise the use of military force against IS
lift the embargo on Cuba

He also announced a new national cancer research initiative that Vice President Joe Biden will be leading.

He only mentioned guns briefly, despite a recent policy push for executive actions on gun control, though a chair was left empty in the chamber to symbolise victims of gun violence.

South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, delivering the Republican response to the address, said Mr Obama “spoke eloquently about grand things,” but that his “record has fallen short of his soaring words”.

“During anxious times, it can be tempting to follow the siren call of the angriest voices. We must resist that temptation,” she said, likely referring to Mr Trump but not mentioning him by name.

She said Republicans must recognise their role in the declining trust in government in the US.

“We have big decisions to make. Our country is being tested,” she said. “But we’ve been tested in the past, and our people have always risen to the challenge.”

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