Sixteen of the dead were young women who had been preparing for exams at the tuition centre illegally set up on

the top of a commercial building in the western city of Surat, the officials said.

Horrifying images of students leaping from upper floors of the building on Friday afternoon have spread on social

media.

A youth died in hospital on Saturday, increasing the toll, as an inquiry revealed that the victims were studying in a

plastic dome that was quickly engulfed by flames.

The victims were aged between 15 and 22, police said. More than 50 students were in classes when the fire erupted.

Government officials said five of the dead had been due to receive exam results determining their university

entrance on Saturday. All had passed with flying colours, one official told AFP.

Police have charged three owners of the tuition centre at the Takshashila Arcade with culpable homicide not

amounting to murder, and attempted culpable homicide.

– Shock and grief –

Surat police commissioner Satish Sharma told reporters that one of the accused, Bhargav Bhutani, had been

detained. Media reports said the other two were on-the-run.

Sharma appealed for calm after some groups called for public protests while there were angry skirmishes on Friday

night at the hospital where the injured were taken.

But 22-year-old Ketan Chodvadiya has been hailed as a hero of the tragedy after he was shown in videos climbing

the side of the flaming building to try to save some of the teenagers.

“I climbed to the spot where I was seen in the video with the help of a ladder,” he told the Indian Express

newspaper.

“One student fell down and I couldn’t catch her. I could see her lying dead and I can’t forget the sight and I will

always regret that I couldn’t save her, but I am happy I could help around eight to ten students escape,” he added.

Widespread safety breaches were found at the centre, officials said.

“The fire was caused by a short-circuit in one of the air-conditioning ducts on the ground floor … and spread to the

third floor,” said Surat’s fire and emergency services commissioner U. Upadhyay.

The Takshashila Arcade had permission for just one floor but two additional storeys were illegally constructed,

according to a chief fire official Basant Parekh.

“The coaching class owners had illegally occupied the terrace and had put up a makeshift dome,” he added.

Surat city has set up a team to identify other illegal structures being used for tuition classes in exam season.

Images showing flames and black smoke billowing out of the building and students jumping from the upper floors

have been widely share.

Widespread public grief and anger has been expressed at the disaster.

Bollywood superstar actor Amitabh Bachchan said on Twitter that he felt “grief beyond expression”.

R. Madhavan another leading actor and producer, said on Twitter: “Those breaking the norms should be

EXECUTED.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who comes from Gujarat state, also expressed condolences.

Air Force One touched down in Japan just before 5pm local time (0800 GMT) on a sunny Tokyo afternoon and a

smiling Trump descended with his wife Melania for a red-carpet greeting led by Japanese Foreign Minister Taro

Kono.

Trump went directly to a meeting of Japanese business executives and lost little time in arguing for a trade

relationship between the world’s top and number-three economy that would skew more in Washington’s favour.

“Japan has had a substantial advantage for many, many years. But that’s OK, maybe that’s why you like us so

much,” Trump told the executives.

After a bilateral trade deal currently under negotiation has been signed, it will be “a little bit more fair,” vowed the

president.

Japanese and US officials hail as “unprecedented” the relationship between Trump and his “golf buddy”, Prime

Minister Shinzo Abe, and the pair will again find time for a round to cement their diplomatic bromance.

Just over an hour before Trump arrived, a 5.1-magnitude earthquake rattled buildings in Tokyo, with the epicentre

very close to where the leaders are due to tee off.

The official centrepiece of the trip is Trump’s meeting on Monday with Japan’s new Emperor Naruhito, who only

ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne at the beginning of the month following his father’s historic abdication for

health reasons.

“With all the countries of the world, I’m the guest of honour at the biggest event that they’ve had in over 200 years,”

said Trump before his departure.

But the visual highlight is more likely to be Trump’s visit on Sunday to the final day of the summer “basho” or sumo

tournament where he is expected to present the cup to the winner.

Japanese wrestler Asanoyama will receive the “president’s cup” — weighing 60-70 pounds (27-32 kilos) and

measuring 54 inches (1.4 metres) — after his win as Trump was arriving on Saturday gave him a 12-2 record and put

him out of reach on the final day.

Trump’s appearance at the hallowed sumo hall has presented a logistical, security and protocol nightmare, ranging

from where he sits to how he should be protected if the crowd start throwing chair pillows — as tradition dictates

when a Grand Champion (yokozuna) falls.

The leaders will play golf before going to the sumo and then repair with their wives to a restaurant in Tokyo’s

Roppongi entertainment district, where the menu features skewers of prime sirloin beef at 5,184 yen ($47) for two.

– ‘Never been closer’ –

Abe has just recently returned from Washington and Trump himself will be coming back to Japan in just over a

month for the Group of 20 leaders’ summit in the western city of Osaka.

The relationship between the former war-time foes “has never been stronger, has never been more powerful, has

never been closer,” Trump said.

“This is an exciting time for commerce between the two countries that we both love.”

The formal diplomatic part of the trip is limited to a short bilateral meeting and a working lunch on Monday, after

which the two leaders will brief the media.

They are also poised to meet families of people abducted by North Korea during the Cold War era to train

Pyongyang’s spies, an emotive issue in Japan that Abe has pressed Trump to raise in talks with the North’s leader

Kim Jong Un.

Trump will also address troops at a US base in Japan, highlighting the military alliance between the two allies at a

time when tensions are running higher with North Korea after the failure of the Hanoi summit in February.

Hours before Trump landed, hawkish National Security Advisory John Bolton told local media there was “no doubt”

Pyongyang’s recent missile tests had violated UN Security Council resolutions but insisted Washington is still ready to

resume talks.

But analysts expect little progress on the main issue that divides Japan and the US: trade.

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is expected to hold talks with his Japanese counterpart on the sidelines

of the visit but with Abe facing upper house elections in the coming months and Trump battling China, both are

likely to avoid concessions.

Some observers suspect Abe is rolling out the red carpet to present Japan as the most favourable of the countries

currently engaged in trade disputes with Washington.

“Japan’s strategy is to proceed with negotiations in a cool-headed manner,” in contrast to the aggressive tit-for-tat

tariff retaliations between the US and China, Shujiro Urata, a trade expert and professor at Tokyo’s Waseda

University, told AFP.

But what some thought to be a close encounter of the third kind turned out to be a string of some 60 satellites

launched by US-based SpaceX hours earlier as part of its “Starlink” constellation.

The row of satellites which are part of a plan by billionaire Elon Musk’s firm to provide internet from space, glided

across Dutch skies around 1:00 am (2300 GMT).

Shortly afterwards, Dutch website http://www.ufomeldpunt.nl was inundated with more than 150 sighting reports, with

astonished spotters describing a “bizarre train of stars or lights moving across the skies at constant speed”.

“There’s a long line of lights. Faster than a plane. Huh?” one spotter reported, while another called it a “star

caravan” and one saying “I have it on film”.

One spotter simply texted: “WTF?”

“I didn’t know what to make of it,” an unnamed witness later told the NOS public broadcaster.

“Is it Russia attacking the US? Are they UFOs? Seriously, I didn’t know,” the witness said.

One of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets blasted off without incident from Cape Canaveral in Florida at around 0230 GMT on

Friday.

An hour after liftoff, the rocket began to release the satellites at an altitude of 280 miles (450 kilometres).

The satellites then had to separate and use their thrusters to take up their positions in a relatively low orbit of 340

miles (550 kilometres).

Each of the satellites weighs 227 kilograms (500 pounds) and was built in-house in Redmond, near Seattle.

Starlink will become operational once 800 satellites have been activated, which will require a dozen more launches.

One Dutchman who remained unfazed was satellite spotter Marco Langbroek, who knew what the mysterious lights

were — and had his camera on hand.

“I cheered them on, the moment they appeared,” he told the NOS.

Larkin Fire and Rescue department operations officer Mohd Kamil Zulkifle said they received a call at 4.38pm.

“The girl climbed into the machine on her own before one of her friends shut the door of the machine.

“The incident was later noticed by a member of the public who wanted to use the machine,” he said in a statement.

He added that rescue personnel took about three minutes to get the girl out of the machine by cutting the lock.

“She was not injured but was traumatised by the incident and ran home after being rescued,” he said.

As many as seven journalists were victims of violence during the post-election riots. The journalists are identified as Budi Tanjung (CNN Indonesia TV), Ryan (MNC Media), Ryan Hadi (CNNIndonesia.com), Fajar (Sindo Trijaya Radio), Fadli Mubarok (Alinea.id) and Intan Bedisa and Rahajeng Mutiara (RTV).

The police and protesters allegedly forcefully held back the journalists, confiscated their devices and forced them to delete pictures and videos.

The head of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) in Jakarta, Asnil Bambani, lambasted the police and protesters.

“We condemn the violent acts against journalists and the hampering of the journalists’ work,” Asnil said through a written statement received by The Jakarta Post on Friday.

According to Asnil, their acts violated Article 18 of Law No. 40/1999 on the press, which states that those who intentionally interfere with journalists’ work are subject to two years’ imprisonment and Rp 500 million (US$34,800) in fines.

Asnil urged media owners to take responsibility by providing their journalists with safety training.

“We urge the public and the police to respect and support press freedom without intimidating and interfering with their work,” he added.

The head of the airport’s Communication and Legal Section, Arie Ahsanurrohim, told The Jakarta Post on Saturday morning that at least 15 flights had been affected by the eruption, including 10 departures and four arrivals that were cancelled, while another had to be diverted.

The cancelled flights included two Qantas Airways planes going from Denpasar to Sydney and Melbourne, four Virgin Airlines planes to Brisbane and Sydney and four Jetstar planes to Melbourne, Cairns, Darwin and Sydney.

Four Jetstar flights that were scheduled to fly to Bali from Melbourne, Cairns, Darwin and Adelaide had also been cancelled. A Jetstar flight from Adelaide to Denpasar was diverted to Darwin following the eruption.

“The airport operations remain normal. It was those Australian airlines that cancelled their flights based on their safety assessments,” Arie said.

The Transportation Ministry’s airport authority for Bali, Elfi Amir, said in a statement that a thin volcanic ash was detected 4,000 to 5,000 meters above the airport area so the air traffic control officer guided pilots to avoid the area exposed to it.

Elfi also urged all passengers to not panic, saying the airport had conducted safety assessments to guarantee flight safety.

Mt. Agung erupted on Friday night, ejected lava and causing fires in areas 3 kilometers from the peak. No fatalities were reported. The local disaster mitigation agency had immediately distributed face masks in villages that were affected by the ash.

The Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG) maintained the volcano’s alert level at the third level of the system’s four tiers. The PVMBG warned everyone, both locals and tourists alike, to steer clear of the danger zone where activities are prohibited in a 4-km radius from the crater.

A ban on hiking on Mt. Agung has been in effect ever since its volcanic activity increased in 2017. Locals living along the rivers at the foot of the volcano have also been warned to watch for possible lava flow that could come on rainy days.

Fifty years later, the hotel is celebrating their fabled experiment in pacifism with a series of special events including guided tours of the couple’s room.

“We’re still talking about it 50 years later, but at the time we had no idea the impact that it would have,” Joanne Papineau, spokeswoman for the hotel, told AFP.

“After the couple left, for years we didn’t talk about the bed-in, but then John was murdered, other wars continued and people started showing up wanting to see where it all happened,” she said. “Many years later, they suddenly found meaning in what the couple had done.”

From May 26 to June 2, 1969, Lennon and Ono received journalists from around the world who interviewed the couple in bed, as well as fans and fellow artists who helped to create a chirpy ambience and send a simple message: Stop the Vietnam war.

The idea derived from sit-ins, in which protestors sit in front of or inside an establishment until their demands are met or they are arrested.

Amid this merry chaos and with limited technical means, Lennon composed and recorded his famous hymn to peace, “Give Peace a Chance.”

His entourage, which included psychedelic drug advocate Timothy Leary and writer Allen Ginsberg, not always singing in tune, provided the chorus. The song would later be remixed in a professional sound studio.

“This is certainly one of the most remarkable and influential songs of contemporary music,” Genevieve Bornesaid, host of the upcoming festivities, told a news conference on Thursday.

“This bed-in for peace was also one of the first acts of activism by artists.”

‘Lennon changed my life’

The special events at the Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal will kick off on Saturday and continue through Lennon’s birthday on June 9.

They will include the unveiling of an exhibit of photographs taken during the bed-in, guided tours of the famous Room 1742, a “hippie” night and a concert for peace.

The Phi Foundation will also host an exhibit of the works of the widow of Lennon, the Beatles singer who was tragically gunned down outside their New York apartment in 1980.

The couple had actually rented four adjacent rooms in the hotel (1738, 1740, 1742 and 1744) for their stay in 1969.

The rooms have since been combined into a single 1,400-square-foot suite and renovated, but in keeping with the original design. Mockups of two original hand-painted “Hair Peace” and “Bed Peace” signs adorn the windows.

Carmel Masse, a 57-year-old Canadian fan of John Lennon and the Beatles booked the suite for the night from Sunday to Monday.

“Lennon changed my life,” he told AFP. “When I saw John Lennon bearded in Montreal, with his guru side, looking like Jesus Christ, his journey intrigued me.”

Lennon’s pacifist message would further seduce and inspire him.

“To rent this suite is like saying 50 years later, ‘Thank you for making me a better person.'”