NEW DELHI -- At least six workers were killed and eight others injured Wednesday in an explosion that triggered a massive fire inside a firecracker factory in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, police said.

The incident took place in Rayavaram area of Konaseema district, about 214 km northeast of Amaravati, the capital city of Andhra Pradesh. (India-Factory-Explosion)

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BERLIN -- Germany's industrial output fell by 4.3 percent in August compared with the previous month, data from the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) showed Wednesday, as it was dragged down by a sharp drop in car production.

Most industrial sectors reported lower output. Production in the automotive sector, Germany's largest industrial branch, slumped by 18.5 percent month-on-month. The statistics office said the steep decline was partly due to factory shutdowns during the summer holidays and production changeovers. (Germany-Industrial output)

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CAIRO -- A plenary session attended by all delegations except Hamas was held on Wednesday in the Egyptian Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh to discuss U.S. President Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan, Egypt's Al-Qahera News TV reported.

The expanded session followed bilateral and multilateral meetings in which Hamas had participated through indirect negotiations, the report added. (Egypt-Gaza peace deal)

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BANGKOK -- Thailand's consumer confidence improved for the first time in eight months in September, driven by optimism about the government's economic stimulus measures, a survey showed on Wednesday.

According to a survey of 2,242 respondents conducted by the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, the consumer confidence index increased to 50.7 last month, up from a 32-month low of 50.1 in August. (Thailand-Consumer confidence) Enditem