meerut

India began celebrations on Monday to mark the 150th anniversary of an armed revolt against British colonialists, a mutiny that sparked the first Indian war of independence before being crushed. Singing patriotic songs, thousands of Indians took part in a colourful procession, retracing a march 150 years ago by dozens of mutinous Indian soldiers.

Angry locals on Tuesday accused authorities of negligence over a fire which engulfed a trade fair Meerut in India, killing 100 people and leaving survivors battling for their lives. Police used batons to drive back hundreds of distraught and angry residents who massed outside the cordoned-off fairgrounds where the blaze swept through crowded tents on Monday night.