Davao, Philippines | AFP | At least 37 people, including call centre staff from an American firm, are believed to have perished in a fire that tore through a shopping mall in the southern Philippine city of Davao, local authorities said on Sunday. President Rodrigo Duterte, himself a Davao native, …
Read More »Grenfell Tower fire probe ‘unprecedented’: UK police
London, United Kingdom | AFP | The criminal investigation into the Grenfell Tower fire in London in which 71 people were killed is “unprecedented”, a police spokesman said on Monday at the opening of a public inquiry into the blaze. “Outside certain counter-terrorism inquiries, the investigation is unprecedented in terms …
Read More »California fire toll rises to 33, winds cause concern
San Francisco, United States | AFP | The death toll from California’s wildfires rose to 33 on Friday as firefighters made some progress in containing the infernos but said intensifying winds were a concern. “We’re not out of this emergency, not even close,” said Mark Ghilarducci, director of the California …
Read More »California fires kill 31, deadliest in state’s history
Santa Rosa, United States | AFP | The death toll from raging California wildfires rose to 31 Thursday as body recovery teams used cadaver dogs to locate victims, making it the deadliest series of blazes in the state’s history. The fires, which began on Sunday, have swept through California’s wine country, …
Read More »Anger in Ghana after seven die in fuel station fire, blasts
Accra, Ghana | AFP | Ghana’s government on Sunday promised to tighten safety at fuel stations across the country after seven people were killed and scores more injured when a tanker truck carrying natural gas caught fire in the capital and triggered explosions. The fire and blasts in the Legon area …
Read More »Malaysia school fire kills 24 children and teachers
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | AFP | Twenty-four people, mostly children, were killed Thursday when a blaze tore through a Malaysian religious school, trapped in their dormitory by metal grilles on the windows. Pupils and teachers inside the Islamic study centre in downtown Kuala Lumpur screamed for help as helpless neighbours looked …
Read More »Kenya girl, 14, charged over fire that killed 9 pupils
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | A 14-year-old Kenyan girl was charged Wednesday with multiple counts of murder for allegedly starting a fire at a Nairobi school dormitory that left nine other schoolgirls dead. According to a source inside the court, where proceedings were held in camera due to the age …
Read More »‘Arson’ behind fire that killed 9 Kenyan schoogirls
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | A weekend fire at a Kenyan high school dormitory that killed nine teenaged girls was started deliberately, Kenya’s education minister said Monday. Fred Matiangi said arson was to blame while announcing the death toll had risen to nine. “Most of the investigations are done and …
Read More »Seven Kenyan schoolgirls killed in dorm fire
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Seven teenage girls died in a fire at a Nairobi school dormitory on Saturday, and 10 others were injured, according to Kenya’s education minister. “We have lost seven students in this unfortunate incident,” said Fred Matiangi on visiting Moi Girls High School, a prestigious government …
Read More »Shell shuts down Europe’s largest refinery after fir
The Hague, Netherlands | AFP | The British-Dutch oil giant Shell said it was temporarily shutting down Europe’s biggest refinery after a pre-dawn fire broke out at a power station on the vast site on Sunday. Flames billowed into the sky over the port of Rotterdam after the blaze …
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