Compiled by MANJIT KAUR, C. ARUNO and R. ARAVINTHAN

       MORE than 3,000 women factory workers in Tamil Nadu staged a demonstration over poor conditions, blocking the Chennai-Bangalore highway, Makkal Osai reported.

       The protest was sparked after more than a hundred workers at the Kanchipuram industrial area fell ill after eating food provided at the labour quarters canteen.

       Thousands of women and men work in factories in the area. All but eight who fell ill were discharged after two days at the hospital.

       The management was evasive about the condition of the eight women during a meeting with the workers union.

       > The Malaysian Indian Football Association’s (MIFA) newly elected management vowed to continue developing local Indian talent, Makkal Osai reported.

       Its new chairman Anbananthan Karuppiah said MIFA will employ modern scouting and training techniques to identify and develop young talent.

       Former chairman T. Mohan said he was confident the new management team will continue and even surpass the work done under him.

       The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.