3 killed, over 400 hurt in year-end and New Year's revelries
January 2, 2006Three people were killed and more than 400 injured during the Christmas and New Year holiday period in the Philippines, police said Monday. Police spokesman Leopoldo Bataoil said a 6-year-old girl hit on Christmas day by a stray bullet was among the casualties, while two people died of poisoning after ''eating'' dancing firecrackers called ''watusi.''
2005 traffic death toll below 7,000, nearly 50-year low
January 2, 2006The death toll from traffic accidents totaled 6,871 last year, dropping below 7,000 for the first time since 1956, the National Police Agency said Monday. The 2005 death toll is equivalent to 40 percent of the number of deaths in 1970, when traffic fatalities hit a postwar record of 16,765. The annual toll dipped below 8,000 in 2003 and reached about 7,000 in 2004.
Tanker, cargo ship collide in Inland Sea
January 2, 2006A tanker and a cargo vessel collided in the Inland Sea shortly after midnight Sunday, the Japan Coast Guard said Monday. No one was hurt in the 12:30 a.m. collision between the 699-ton tanker Kannon Maru No. 8 and the 698-ton cargo ship Taisei Maru.
Shrine-bound woman, grandson die in car accident in Aichi Pref.
January 2, 2006A 64-year-old woman and her 4-year-old grandson bound for a local shrine on New Year's Day died late Sunday after being hit by a car at a crossing in Handa, Aichi Prefecture, police said. The police identified the two as Haruko Watanabe and her grandson Yuta.