In the World

TALLINN, Estonia - A fire raced through an orphanage for disabled children in western Estonia Sunday afternoon, killing 10 of them, a rescue service spokesman said.

There were 37 children and nine adults inside the wooden building in the coastal town of Haapsalu when the fire started, said Viktor Saaremets, a spokesman for the Western Estonia Rescue Services Center. "By the time rescue workers and firefighters arrived at the scene three or four minutes later the building was completely in flames," he said.

Most of the victims were wheelchair-bound, he said. The cause of the fire was not immediately clear. "Fire safety inspectors went there in January and found that the building met all the necessary criteria," he said.

The newspaper Postimees showed pictures on its website of victims being carried out of a window as smoke billowed from the roof. - AP

ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia - Sappers in Russia's insurgency-plagued Caucasus region defused a car bomb placed near a hotel in a popular ski resort area, police said Sunday.

The car was found Saturday, a day after three Russian tourists headed for the ski area were killed by masked gunmen and a ski lift was damaged in an explosion.

Police said the car was parked near a hotel in Terskol, a village in Kabardino-Balkariya, one of the republics in the Caucasus that is gripped by violence linked by authorities to Islamic insurgents or criminal gangs.

Terskol is near Mount Elbrus, Europe's tallest mountain and a popular winter sports destination. - AP

BERLIN - Chancellor Angela Merkel's party on Sunday suffered a crushing defeat in Hamburg's state election after 10 years in power there, making an uneasy start for the conservative leader in a year with six more such regional polls due.

Preliminary results showed Merkel's Christian Democrats winning 21.9 percent of Sunday's vote, down from 42.1 percent in 2008. The Social Democrats got 48.3 percent, up from 34.1 percent.

Merkel's party fell in Hamburg mostly due to local woes, including the collapse of an experimental coalition with the Greens. Nevertheless, the election was also seen as a test for Merkel.

Germany's 16 states wield wide powers over national policy through their representation in parliament's upper house. - AP

In Abidjan, Ivory Coast, witnesses said security forces fired on protesters for the second consecutive day, following a call for an "Egypt-style" uprising to depose President Laurent Gbagbo, who has refused to step down despite losing reelection.