More Than 40 Dogs Killed in Fire at US Rescue Group's Kennels

This picture made available by Canton Fire Department FaceBook, shows a building on fire in Canton, N.Y., Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (Canton Fire Department via AP)
This picture made available by Canton Fire Department FaceBook, shows a building on fire in Canton, N.Y., Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (Canton Fire Department via AP)
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More Than 40 Dogs Killed in Fire at US Rescue Group's Kennels

This picture made available by Canton Fire Department FaceBook, shows a building on fire in Canton, N.Y., Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (Canton Fire Department via AP)
This picture made available by Canton Fire Department FaceBook, shows a building on fire in Canton, N.Y., Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. (Canton Fire Department via AP)

More than 40 dogs were killed Thursday when a fire swept through a rescue organization's kennels in northern New York, authorities said.
The fire at the No Dogs Left Behind building at the Maple Ridge Kennels in Canton was reported at about 1 a.m. by a person who saw the flames while passing by the property, fire officials said. Flames overran the structure and killed the animals before firefighters could save them, the Canton Fire Department said in a Facebook post.
According to The Associated Press, No Dogs Left Behind said its members were heartbroken.
“Each dog was a member of our family,” the group said in a social media post. “Tragically, they are victims once again. We have no words to express our grief.”
The cause of the fire was not immediately clear and was under investigation by St. Lawrence County officials. No firefighters or other people were injured, authorities said.
The house-like building included kennels inside with a play area outside. No Dogs Left Behind has video on its website showing dogs also running around grassy fields with paths on the large property.



Songs of Silence: Young Actors Perform Indonesia’s First Deaf Musical

 Members of theater troupe Fantasi Tuli (Deaf Fantasy) perform a show titled "Senandung Senyap" (Songs of Silence), during Indonesia's first musical with mostly deaf artists, in Jakarta, Indonesia, October 26, 2024. (Reuters)
Members of theater troupe Fantasi Tuli (Deaf Fantasy) perform a show titled "Senandung Senyap" (Songs of Silence), during Indonesia's first musical with mostly deaf artists, in Jakarta, Indonesia, October 26, 2024. (Reuters)
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Songs of Silence: Young Actors Perform Indonesia’s First Deaf Musical

 Members of theater troupe Fantasi Tuli (Deaf Fantasy) perform a show titled "Senandung Senyap" (Songs of Silence), during Indonesia's first musical with mostly deaf artists, in Jakarta, Indonesia, October 26, 2024. (Reuters)
Members of theater troupe Fantasi Tuli (Deaf Fantasy) perform a show titled "Senandung Senyap" (Songs of Silence), during Indonesia's first musical with mostly deaf artists, in Jakarta, Indonesia, October 26, 2024. (Reuters)

In a Jakarta theatre, the music pulsed from speakers as a group of young artists danced in a musical, bathed in multicolor stage lights. But no one was singing.

Theatre troupe Fantasi Tuli (Deaf Fantasy) was performing Indonesia's first musical with mainly deaf artists and crew on Saturday, using screens around the stage showing dialogue and lyrics as actors performed with their facial expressions and hand signs.

The musical "Senandung Senyap" (Songs of Silence) depicts the plight of students in a middle school for children with disabilities. Directors Hasna Mufidah and Helga Theresia created it to raise awareness and promote the use of sign language.

"My hope is, going forward, inclusivity can be strengthened, that between deaf and hearing people, hearing is not superior - we're equal," Mufidah, who is deaf, said through Indonesian sign language.

Involving more than 60 deaf actors and crew, aged 16 to 40, the musical took three months to prepare. It is inspired by Deaf West Theater in the United States, Helga said.

The performance examines special-needs education in Indonesian schools, where deaf students are often taught with an emphasis on speech training and lip-reading, more than on sign language, amid a wider debate about the best education methods for children with hearing disability.

Some in the deaf community argue oral education can lead to a sense of alienation, and that sign language is a more natural way to communicate for them. Proponents of such a method say it could better integrate people with hearing disability with the more dominant hearing community.

For deaf actor Hanna Aretha Oktavia, the musical was her introduction to sign language and the wider deaf community.

"Throughout dialogue rehearsals we had to use as much expressions as possible and to follow the storyline," Hanna said.

"What's interesting is in rehearsals we have to feel the tempo and vibrations and match them with the choreography. I think that's the most intriguing part because I love to dance. And we paid close attention to the beats with the help of hearing aids. We use big speakers to help guide us," she said.

More than 2 million of Indonesia's 280 million people have a hearing disability, including 27,983 students in special-needs schools.