Chemical plant catches fire in China
Firefighters are struggling to contain a blaze that erupted at a chemical plant in the southwest outskirts of the capital. About 40 fire engines are battling the flames, Xinhua news agency reported. Fire department officials said they had stopped the fire from spreading, but the extreme heat had hindered their access to the plant.
The fire was said to break out at about 7 am in Fangshan district. Dense smoke rose about 1,000 metres into the air, said witnesses. No casualties have yet been reported.
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Soyuz capsule redocks at space station
Moscow, June 29: Russian mission control says a Soyuz space capsule has successfully flown from one module of the International Space Station to another after a delay.
The capsule was piloted by Russian astronaut Fyodor Yurchikhin. It was moved from the docking port at the space station’s Zvezda module to make way for an unmanned Russian progress capsule bringing supplies to the station on Friday. The transfer to the Raasvet module took 24 minutes. —AP
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Passenger jet with 45 aborts flight in Japan
Tokyo, June 29: A Continental Micronesia flight carrying about 45 passengers and crew made an emergency landing at Tokyo’s Narita airport today after a strong smell of oil was detected onboard.
The Boeing 737-700 from Fukuoka in south-western Japan bound for the US territory of Guam made an emergency landing at 0441 GMT at Narita, airport official Yoshiki Kitagawa said, adding that no one was injured. The plane was flying at 12,500 metres off Kagoshima prefecture in Japan’s Kyushu island when an “abnormal smell of oil was detected.” —AFP
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Rare white jumbo caught in BurmaRangoon, June 29: A rare white elephant, historically considered an omen of political change, has been captured in the west of military-ruled Burma. The female pachyderm was captured by officials on Saturday in the coastal town of Maungtaw in Rakhine state, a newspaper said. She is aged about 38 and seven feet four inches tall, the English-language paper said, although it did not mention where she would be kept. Kings and leaders in Burma, a predominantly Buddhist country, have traditionally treasured white elephants. —AFP
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