MANILA, May 20 -- A pipe bomb exploded in front of the headquarters of the Miss Universe Contest in Manila Thursday, but caused no injuries and very little damage, Philippine police said, adding they suspected a prank.
' Its a minor explosion,' the spokesman said of the attack carried out on the eve of the contest in which judges are due to chose Miss Universe 1994 from among 77 women from all over the world.
He said initial investigations showed a group of men placed a tube bomb in a concrete pot about 200 yards (200 m) from the main building of the PICC. The men apparently got away in a car.
The spokesman said no one was injured and that the explosion only damaged the pot.
No one claimed responbility of the attack, but police said it may have been carried out by pranksters.
Earlier, Filipino women rights activists protested the holding of the Miss Universe Pageant in the Philippines saying it was exploitation against women.
