MARSEILLE: A man armed with a knife killed two people at the main train station in the Mediterranean port city of Marseille, France on Sunday before being shot by soldiers patrolling there, local officials said.

“Two victims have been stabbed to death,” regional police chief Olivier de Mazieres said, referring to the attack which occurred at 1:45pm.

Local prosecutor Xavier Tarabeux said the knifeman had been shot by soldiers, while the Marseille police urged people in the city to avoid the area around Saint-Charles station.

The deaths came with France still on high alert following a string of terror attacks which began in January 2015 when jihadist gunmen stormed the offices of the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, killing 12.

The government has since launched Operation Sentinelle, deploying about 7,000 troops across the country to guard high-risk areas such as transport hubs, tourist sites and religious buildings.

The attacks since 2015 have left 239 people dead, according to an AFP count before Sunday’s incident.

French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb posted on Twitter that he would travel to Marseille immediately.

The post Two dead in Marseille train station knife attack appeared first on The Express Tribune.

Source: Tribune News
Original Post: Two dead in Marseille train station knife attack

Pakistan’s leprosy messiah Dr Ruth Pfau, who served the humanity and the lepers, in particular, passed away in August this year. Today, many continue to suffer and live in isolation as the disease continues to haunt them. The Express Tribune has brought to you a special report to bring to spotlight the patients’ condition and highlight their plight.

Hidden away: Isolation colours the lives of the lepers of Manghopir

Pale scarred faces, press noses and untold stories of living in painful isolation; these are all residents of the leper’s colony, located on the outskirts of Karachi. The colony consists of single storey houses; small structures built hap-hazardly with cement blocks, within the bushy and thorny premises of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) Leprosy Hospital.

Read the full story here: https://goo.gl/kKnG6R

A moment that changed history

Dr Ruth Pfau, a soft-spoken German Christian missionary, convinced the judges, the lawyers and her critics, to set up a treatment centre for ‘untouchable’ leprosy patients in Saddar, by taking blood from a leprosy patients and injecting into her own body.

Read the full story here: https://goo.gl/Fvpgp4

Meet Noorul Islam; who refuses to be overtaken by his leprosy

Noorul Islam is one such patients who have refused to be overtaken by the disease, and has set up a big nursery in an open space at KMC Leprosy Hospital in Manghopir.

Read the full story here: https://goo.gl/138rXe

Same story: KMC hospital on a downward spiral

Conditions and standards at the Leprosy Hospital in Manghopir have been deteriorating with every passing day after the KMC took over the lone specialised treatment facility for skin diseases. The facility was excellent when it was looked after by Marie Adelaide Leprosy Centre (MALC), under the supervision of Dr Ruth Pfau.

Read the full story here: https://goo.gl/wiDxQU

The leprosy patients continue to live with their disease, some in hope and others in despair. One can only hope that both the medical and human treatment to the patients in the metropolis and the country improves in the days to come.

The post Special Report: A Leper’s Tale appeared first on The Express Tribune.

Source: Tribune News
Original Post: Special Report: A Leper’s Tale