In the Philippines, 12 people were killed in a huge fire that razed some 100 houses in a poor residential area in the capital Manila early today. Investigators said the fire at suburban Navotas city, north of Manila, began last night and raged for about five hours. City fire marshal Felis Medes said 11 people who were trapped in the burning structures were killed, while another person died in hospital while being treated. He told reporters that five of those killed were children. Arson investigators said they had yet to determine the cause of the blaze.