fire

At least 100 killed in blaze at wedding party in Nineveh

The bride and the groom are reported to be among the victims, according to local media.

The fire happened in the district of Al-Hamdaniya in Iraq's northern Nineveh province late on Tuesday evening.

It is not yet clear what caused the blaze, but early reports say it broke out after fireworks were lit.

A photo posted by Iraqi news agency Nina showed firefighters battling the blaze, and pictures from local journalists on social media show the charred-out remains of the event hall.

Vanuatu cargo ship fire: safety authority investigating

The authority's commissioner, Less Napuati, said other relevant government institutions such as the environment department were due to fly to Malekula to assess the ship, and how it would affect the people and marine resources of the area.

Eight crew members fled the vessel on Wednesday and by early Thursday local time fire-fighters had extinguished the blaze.

One crew member was injured and flown to Luganville hospital.

Fires burn through Shanghai chemical plant

They broke out around 04:00 on Saturday (20:00 GMT Friday) at one of the country's largest refining and petrochemical plants.

Flames could be seen engulfing parts of the sprawling complex and spewing thick columns of black smoke into the sky.

Shanghai is China's economic hub and only recently emerged from a strict pandemic lockdown lasting two months.

The cause of the fires, which affected an ethylene glycol facility, is still unclear.

Seven dead after explosion and fire on France's south-west coast

Several buildings were set ablaze on both sides of a street in the seaside town of St Laurent-de-la-Salanque after a blast was heard at 01:30 local time (00:30 GMT) on Monday.

Firefighters are still searching for victims in two small blocks of flats damaged by the fire.

The cause of the original explosion is not yet known.

France's Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, who visited the scene of the accident on Monday afternoon, said the current death toll of seven was only provisional while emergency services continued to search for survivors.

Fire rips through South Africa's parliament building

Video footage showed a plume of black smoke filling the sky, with huge flames coming out from the roof of the building.

President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the scene and called it a "terrible and devastating event".

A 51-year-old man was being held and questioned by the authorities, police said.

The blaze, which began shortly after 6am local time came the day after Archbishop Desmond Tutu's state funeral at St George's Cathedral, near Parliament.

Fire at Taiwan tower block kills at least 46

A residential and commercial building in the city of Kaohsiung caught fire in the early hours of Thursday morning, the local fire department said.

It took firefighters more than four hours to extinguish the blaze.

The fire department told the BBC that 79 people had been taken to hospital, including 14 in a serious condition.

The cause of the fire is unclear and investigators are at the scene.

Officials earlier warned that people may have been trapped in the residential part of the building, between the seventh and 11th floors.

Blast rocks Dubai port causing a large fire

There were no reported deaths or injuries and the fire is under control, authorities said. "A fire has been reported to have broken out in a container within a ship anchored in Jebel Ali Port. A Dubai Civil Defense team is working to put out the blaze," Dubai Media Office said in a tweet on their official account.

The Dubai Media Office posted a video of firefighters putting out the blaze at the port.

Fire at detention centre kills six teenagers

The blaze broke out on Thursday at the facility in the Al-Marg district of the capital, Cairo.

The head of the facility was detained as prosecutors investigated the fire.

It was not immediately clear what caused the blaze, but an initial investigation blamed an electric short-circuit, according to local media.

The fire followed a fight between two children inside the facility, officials told the Associated Press news agency.

Masrawy, an Arabic-Egyptian news portal, said the blaze was confined to one wing of the facility.

Fire at world's largest vaccine producer kills five

The blaze started at a building which was still under construction at the Serum Institute of India's facilities in Pune on Thursday afternoon.

Footage showed thick plumes of smoke billowing from a building on the company's sprawling site.

The company said vaccine production would not be affected. The cause of the fire has not been identified.

The fire was later brought under control, but the city's mayor confirmed that five people had died.

Major fire breaks out in SkyCity convention centre in central Auckland

SkyCity has decided to evacuate its entire Auckland precinct, because of smoke from the fire.

That means people will need to leave the Sky Tower, casino, all SkyCity hotels and restaurants and corporate offices.

The company said police were onsite to help with evacuations.

People who were intending to visit SkyCity venues this evening - including restaurants on Federal Street - should make alternative arrangements.