71.   Two other airports and dozens of ferry routes also halted operations, stranding thousands of travelers and vacationers.

72.   Union pilots at British Airways called off a strike after reaching a new pay deal on Thursday, averting delays and cancellations that would have stranded thousands of travelers.

73.   Wildcat strikes by pilots earlier this month stranded thousands of passengers.

74.   Gulf Arab states, alarmed by the spread of plague, have cut off their air and shipping links with India, stranding thousands of travellers and hitting trade.

75.   Hundreds of illegal migrants have drowned on dangerous sea journeys to Australia and thousands are stranded after entrusting their fate to people-smuggling gangs.

76.   Indian Airlines pilots took mass sick leave on Friday in a union protest that stranded thousands of passengers, officials said here.

77.   A barricade set up along a national highway by the protesting groups forced bus companies to ground vehicles bound for nearby provinces, which stranded thousands of commuters.

78.   At least seven persons were reported missing when the mudflow destroyed a bridge linking three towns, stranding thousands of commuters since early Thursday, Gutierrez added.

79.   The strike affected Manila and Cebu airports, stranding thousands of angry passengers.

80.   Many Gulf countries cut off air links with India following a plague outbreak in the country, stranding thousands of people in India and in the Middle East.