10 dead in China fire

SHANGHAI: At least 10 people were killed and 19 injured on Friday when a fire engulfed a three-storey building in Shanghai, Xinhua reported. A source at the Shanghai Information Office said the fire occurred early on Friday in an abandoned workshop that was rented to some migrants. More than 20 fire engines were sent to extinguish the blaze. Fire fighters battled for almost an hour to extinguish the flames. — HNS

Blast-accused held

GANDHINAGAR: The Gujarat Police on Friday claimed to have arrested one of the main accused in the 1993 Mumbai blasts. Ijju Ibrahim Sheikh, an aide of ‘underworld don’ Dawood Ibrahim, was caught at a guest house in Mumbai at about 5.00 a.m., police said. Sheikh had been absconding since the blasts and was believed to be hiding in the Middle East. The police have brought Sheikh to Valsad and will produce him before a local court for remand. Sheikh is alleged to have provided the logistics support to the Mumbal blasts by transporting RDX explosives from Porbandar to Mumbai. — HNS

Taiwan dy-minister quits

TAIPEI: The vice interior minister on Friday became the highest official so far to lose his job over violent demonstrations at Taipei’s international airport this week when Taiwan’s opposition leader departed on a controversial trip to China. Lin Yong-jien resigned to take political responsibility for police failure to prevent opponents and supporters of Nationalist Party leader Lien Chan from clashing at the airport. Lin was standing in as supervisor of police for Interior Minister Su Jia-chyuan, who was overseas at the time of the incident. — AP

21 swimmers hospitalised

BEIJING: A chlorine gas leak in the water-filtering system of a public swimming pool sickened scores and left 21 hospitalised in southwestern China, a report said on Friday. The leak occurred at Qujing Workers’ Palace in Qujing, when a used chlorine bottle was removed and shaken by waste collectors who thought it was empty, the China Daily said, adding emergency

workers submerged the bottle in water to contain the gas. A total of 200 people were evacuated and 76 treated at a hospital for breathing difficulties. It said all but 21 were released. — AP

29 trapped in mine blast

BEIJING: A gas explosion in a coal mine in western China trapped 29 miners, the government said on Friday. The explosion occurred on Thursday evening in Hancheng, Shaanxi province, a major coal-mining area, Xinhua reported, citing local mine safety officials. There was no immediate word on whether there were any signs the trapped miners might be alive. — AP

Four die in roof collapse

Jaipur:Four girls were killed and 13 injured on Friday when the roof of a madrasa they were living in collapsed during heavy storms in Rajasthan’s Barmer district in India. Police said the tragedy occurred in Gudisar village, about 550 km from here, around 1.30 am. The dead were in the age group of 7-10, police said. The thatched roof, which was supported by iron pillars, crashed on the sleeping students, a senior police official said. — HNS