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23
kids killed in orphanage fire
MANILA, Dec 3 (AP) — Atleast 28 persons, mostly
children, were killed in a pre-dawn fire today that raged
through an orphanage in a Manila squatter area, fire
officials said. About 70 persons were inside the
orphanage and children's home when the fire broke out at
about 2 a.m., officials said. The dead included at least
23 children. Rescuers gingerly lifted the bodies of small
infants wrapped in blankets from the remains of the
buildings, which included a two-storey main structure and
two cottages, all built between 1913 and 1927. Toys and
children's clothes were scattered among the debris.Train mishap
JALGAON, Dec 3 (PTI) — At least eight persons were
killed and 42 injured when 11 coaches of 8029 down
Kurla-Howrah Express derailed near Mhasawad railway
station early today. The injured, including two in a
serious condition, have been admitted to Jalgaon Civil
Hospital, the police said. A Central Railway spokesman in
Mumbai said. The cause of the accident was yet to be
ascertained adding that the Central Railway had set up
information booths at various stations to provide
information. Several trains had been cancelled or
rescheduled.
‘Fire’
screening
NEW DELHI, Dec 3 (PTI) — Over 10 Shiv Sainiks
stormed, Regal cinema in the heart of the Capital this
afternoon and stopped the screening of "Fire",
the controversial Deepa Mehta film on lesbian
relationship, protesting 'vulgar scenes' in the movie.
The sainiks, including three women, armed with sticks
smashed the panes of the ticket and food counters of the
cinema located in Connaught Place, tore off posters and
billboards of the Shabana Azmi-Nandita Das starrer and
shouted 'Har Har Mahadev' and other slogans against the
film.
Endeavour launch
CAPE CANAVERAL, Dec 3 (Reuters) — NASA today
postponed the scheduled pre-dawn launch of the space
shuttle Endeavour because of a mysterious alarm sounding
in the cockpit just minutes before lift-off. Officials
said the mission, to begin the construction of the
international space station in orbit, would be delayed by
atleast 24 hours. The alarm sounded four-and-a-half
minutes before the blast-off, scheduled for 3:58 a.m. EST
(0858 GMT), and caused technicians to scramble for an
explanation as the narrow launch window ticked away.
50 drowned
LAGOS, Dec 3 (AFP) — Fifty persons were drowned when
a boat carrying them capsized on Benue river in central
Nigeria the state-run Daily Times reported today. The
newspaper quoted witnesses as saying the incident
occurred at the Buruku crossing when the boat was hit by
the backwash of another boat. It did not indicate when
the disaster took place.
Protest day
NEW DELHI, Dec 3 (PTI) — Nearly 23 million
Christians across the country will observe a national
protest day tomorrow demanding that the Centre and state
governments check growing violence against members of the
community. A rally will be organised near Parliament and
a day-long prayer meeting will be held at Rajghat, United
Christian Forum for Human Rights, which is spearheading
the agitation, said in a release here today.
CPSTU stir
NEW DELHI, Dec 3 (PTI) — The Committee of Public
Sector Trade Unions (CPSTU) has decided to restrict its
country-wide strike in the public sector units to
December 11, instead of two days. The CPSTU has received
requests from other central trade and public sector
unions to go in for one day strike instead of two days to
enable them to join the strike, the committee said in a
release here today.
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