LAHORE // At least 23 people have died and dozens of others fell ill in central Pakistan after eating sweets which police suspect were tainted with pesticides.
Umar Hayat, a resident of the Karor Lal Esan area in Punjab province, bought the confectionery from a bakery on April 17 to give to friends and family to celebrate the birth of his grandson. Ten people died on the same day.
“The death toll from consumption of the sweets has now risen to 23, and 52 people are still being treated at various hospitals,” police official Munir Ahmed said on Monday.
He said the dead included the baby’s father and seven of his uncles.
Rameez Bukhari, a senior police officer from the district, said three people — two brothers who run the bakery and a worker — had been arrested.
The worker may have inadvertently added pesticide to the sweet mix.
“There was a pesticide shop close by which was being renovated, and the owner had left his pesticides at the bakery for safe keeping,” said Mr Bukhari.
“A baker may have used a small packet in the sweet mixture,” he said, but added that police were awaiting for the results of laboratory testing.
* Agence France-Presse
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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AUSTRALIA SQUAD
Pat Cummins (capt), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner
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The essentials
What: Emirates Airline Festival of Literature
When: Friday until March 9
Where: All main sessions are held in the InterContinental Dubai Festival City
Price: Sessions range from free entry to Dh125 tickets, with the exception of special events.
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Information: www.emirateslitfest.com
FROM THE ASHES
Director: Khalid Fahad
Starring: Shaima Al Tayeb, Wafa Muhamad, Hamss Bandar
Rating: 3/5
Credit Score explained
What is a credit score?
In the UAE your credit score is a number generated by the Al Etihad Credit Bureau (AECB), which represents your credit worthiness – in other words, your risk of defaulting on any debt repayments. In this country, the number is between 300 and 900. A low score indicates a higher risk of default, while a high score indicates you are a lower risk.
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Financial institutions will use it to decide whether or not you are a credit risk. Those with better scores may also receive preferential interest rates or terms on products such as loans, credit cards and mortgages.
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The AECB collects information on your payment behaviour from banks as well as utilitiy and telecoms providers.
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DUBAI BLING: EPISODE 1
Creator: Netflix
Stars: Kris Fade, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Zeina Khoury
Rating: 2/5
The years Ramadan fell in May
West Asia Premiership
Dubai Hurricanes 58-10 Dubai Knights Eagles
Dubai Tigers 5-39 Bahrain
Jebel Ali Dragons 16-56 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Why are you, you?
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From this question, a new beginning.
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Ben Okri,
Hunger and Fury: The Crisis of Democracy in the Balkans
Jasmin Mujanović, Hurst Publishers