January 2, 2002	Wednesday	Shawwal 17, 1422

BANGKOK, Jan 1: Nearly 400 people have died on Thai roads since the New Year holiday began on Thursday, with more than half the deaths attributed to drink-driving, Public Health Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan said.

She said the total death toll during the Thai festival period was 541, with road accidents accounting for 391.

A total of 46,375 injuries were reported between last and Tuesday, out of which 23,623 were the result of road accidents, Sudarat said in a statement.

“On average, 219 people have been injured and four have died in road accidents every hour during this New Year festival,” Sudarat said.

“More than 50 percent of casualties stemmed from drink-driving,” she added.

The figures showed seven times more men than women were killed and three times more men were injured, according to the statement.

The number of casualties from road accidents this New Year was higher than previous years, during which less than 300 people died, Sudarat said.

FRANCE: A bomb injured nine people near the northeastern city of Strasbourg early on Tuesday, as vandals torched more than 200 cars around the country in what has become an annual New Year ritual.

As in previous years, the worst of the violence was in the Strasbourg area.

The explosion, in the nearby town of Barr, left nine people injured, firefighters said.

It was apparently caused by a bomb placed outside a village hall where some 150 New Year revellers, including several children, were celebrating.—AFP