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Derailment kills 1, sparks explosions

QUEBEC

LAC-MEGANTIC — Fires continued burning late Saturday nearly 24 hours after a train carrying crude oil derailed in eastern Quebec, sparking explosions and a blaze that destroyed the center of a town and killed one person. Police said they expected the death toll to increase. Between 1,500 and 2,000 people were forced from their homes in the town about 10 miles from the Maine border. The cause of the accident was believed to be a runaway train, the railway’s operator said. The president and CEO of Rail World Inc., the parent company of Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway, said the train had been parked uphill of Lac-Megantic. (AP)

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IRELAND

Abortion foes march in Dublin

DUBLIN — More than 35,000 antiabortion activists marched through Dublin to oppose
government plans to enact a bill legalizing terminations for women in life-threatening pregnancies. Saturday’s demonstration was by far the biggest in a series of protests against the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill, which is expected to be passed into law next week. Demonstrators called on Prime Minister Enda Kenny to withdraw the bill. Ireland’s government says the bill must be passed to end two decades of legal confusion over women’s right to receive abortions in medical emergencies. A parliamentary vote is expected Wednesday. (AP)

TURKEY

Police disperse project’s protesters

ISTANBUL — Turkish police fired volleys of tear gas at protesters who tried to enter a cordoned-off park near Istanbul’s landmark Taksim Square on Saturday, hours after the city’s governor warned the demonstration was illegal and participants would be dispersed. A few thousand people converged on the square, with the aim of entering Gezi Park, whose proposed redevelopment sparked anger and
morphed into antigovernment protests in June. (AP)