NAGPUR: The untimely rains that brought relief to several parts of Vidarbha on Wednesday proved to be a bane for seven people of a family in Katol. All seven of them were burnt alive in the thatched house after lightning, which accompanied the rains, caused a short circuit, triggering sparks and the subsequent fire reducing the house to ashes. Sources say Ramesh Raut (40) lived in Godi Mohagaon village in Katol with his wife Kalawati (35) and three children Praful (15), Prashant (13) and Pradeep (11). On Wednesday night, Ramesh’s brother Haridas (32) and his daughter Durga (8) had come to visit. The fire is believed to have started at 2 am on early Thursday and by the time Rauts’ neighbours could realise, the house was engulfed in flames. Even the rains could not stop the fire and it burnt the entire house to mere cinders killing all seven. By then, the neighbours became active and while some were busy trying to douse the fire or contain it so that it does not spreads to other nearby thatched houses, others called in the local police. The cops arrived to the sight of charred remains in the area. Sources say that Raut and Kalawati were daily wagers and lived in the area for quite some time. Haridas, a resident of Zilpa village, had come to his brother’s house on Monday with his daughter probably to attend an invitation. Haridas’ wife and other daughter, who stayed back in Zilpa, were in a state of shock after hearing the news, sources say. The police are investigating and chances of foul play have been primarily ruled out. Incidentally, all four goats that the Rauts owned also perished in the fire.
BEIRUT: Thousands of people converged Saturday on central Beirut to mark the fourth anniversary of the assassination of Lebanese former premier Rafiq Hariri.Waving Lebanese flags and carrying pictures of the slain leader, men, women and children gathered under sunny skies in Martyr's Square where members of the parliamentary majority were to address the crowd. The rally comes as final preparations are underway in The Hague for the launch of the international tribunal set up to bring Hariri's killers to justice. It also comes as the country prepares for legislative elections in June that will pit Western-backed political parties against a Hezbollah-led alliance backed by Syria and Iran.Hariri died in a massive car bombing on February 14, 2005 that also killed 22 others. The assassination was widely blamed on then Lebanese power-broker Syria, which has denied any involvement. The attack on the Beirut seafront was one of the worst acts of political violence to rock Lebanon since t...
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