Thick smoke poured from the roof of a 44-story luxury apartment building in Manhattan’s Hudson Yards development Thursday, prompting a massive emergency response before firefighters contained the blaze with no reported injuries.
The fire broke out around 11:30 a.m. on the roof of The Set, an upscale residential tower on 10th Avenue between 35th and 36th Streets where studio apartments command monthly rents exceeding $5,000. About 80 firefighters responded to the scene, the New York City Fire Department reported.
Emergency personnel temporarily closed 10th Avenue from West 34th Street to West 36th Street as they battled the blaze. Social media videos showed dense smoke billowing from the top of the building, visible across Manhattan’s West Side.
Hudson Yards management confirmed the incident’s resolution in a statement shared by City Council member Erik Bottcher: “Earlier today a smoke condition occurred at 455 10th Avenue. The situation has been fully contained and there are no injuries. The FDNY has called an ‘all clear’ and is departing the scene.”
“Our teams remain in close coordination with the FDNY and NYPD and we thank them for their swift response,” the statement continued.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Emergency crews cleared the scene approximately two hours after the initial reports.
Residents of central Port-au-Prince, Haiti, fled their homes Thursday as gang violence spread to one of the capital’s few remaining areas not already under criminal control, marking a significant expansion of gang territory amid deepening political chaos.
Reuters witnesses observed crowds rushing through streets of the Solino and Nazon neighborhoods, carrying suitcases, backpacks, and small children while heavily loaded vehicles sped past. The exodus followed reports of a police officer’s death in the area, according to local media.
The territorial expansion by the Viv Ansanm gang coalition comes as Haiti’s political leadership faces fresh turmoil. The transitional presidential council this week removed Prime Minister Garry Conille after just months in office, while internal council disputes have hampered security initiatives.
The International Organization for Migration reports that more than 700,000 Haitians have been forced from their homes during the extended conflict. The violence has claimed thousands of lives amid widespread reports of sexual assault, ransom kidnappings, and extortion. Approximately 6,000 people now face famine-level hunger conditions.
The deteriorating security situation prompted the United States to impose a month-long ban on U.S. commercial flights to Haiti after aircraft were struck by gunfire.
While the immediate number of people fleeing Solino and Nazon remains unclear, the neighborhoods rapidly emptied as gang presence increased. The expansion represents a significant shift in Port-au-Prince’s power dynamics, with criminal groups now controlling most of the capital while a long-delayed international security mission has made little progress.
The crisis continues to deepen as gang coalitions cement their hold over the Caribbean nation, exploiting political instability and weak governance to expand their territorial control and influence.
A fire swept through a mental health care facility in northern Spain early Friday, killing at least 10 elderly residents and critically injuring two others, authorities said.
The blaze began around 5 a.m. (0400 GMT) in one of the rooms at the Jardines de Villafranca residence, a care home specializing in mental health services, according to Fernando Beltran, the national government’s top official in Aragon region. Firefighters battled the flames for approximately two hours before extinguishing them.
“The doors were closed, they prevented the fire from spreading. The tragedy could have been worse,” said Aragon regional president Jorge Azcon after inspecting the damaged building. All victims were elderly residents of the facility.
Firefighter chief Eduardo Sanchez reported that while the fire remained contained to a single room, the fatalities resulted from smoke inhalation. One survivor remains in critical condition and another in serious condition, Azcon confirmed.
Local mayor Volga Ramirez said several other residents received treatment primarily for smoke inhalation. Officials are now prioritizing the transfer of uninjured residents to another care facility in nearby Huesca while authorities investigate the fire’s cause.
The incident represents one of Spain’s deadliest care home fires in recent years. Authorities have launched an investigation to determine the cause of the blaze.
A Russian military court sentenced a 43-year-old theatre director and mother of two to eight years in a penal colony Thursday for posting anti-war comments online, including calls for President Vladimir Putin’s assassination, marking another harsh punishment in the Kremlin’s ongoing crackdown on war critics.
Anastasia Berezhinskaya was found guilty of two wartime censorship laws.Credit: X/@tvrain
Anastasia Berezhinskaya was convicted under multiple wartime censorship laws, including discrediting the Russian army, spreading false information, and justifying terrorism. Her case joins more than 1,000 criminal prosecutions for anti-war speech in Russia, according to rights group OVD-Info, with over 20,000 protesters detained since the invasion began.
The Moscow-based director posted dozens of messages on social media platform VKontakte in the months following Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. She accused Putin, the Russian army, and the Interior Ministry of conducting “genocide” against Ukrainians.
Court documents show that on May 14, 2022, Berezhinskaya posted more than three dozen times, condemning Putin for civilian deaths in Ukraine and explicitly calling for his death. “Shoot that stupid bastard Putin, how many more murders of civilians do we have to bear?” she wrote. “Wipe him off the face of the earth.”
Moscow denies targeting civilians in what it calls its “special military operation,” despite thousands of documented civilian casualties in Russian attacks.
The sentence highlights escalating penalties for war criticism in Russia. Earlier this week, a Moscow court handed down a five-and-a-half-year prison term to a 68-year-old pediatrician after a patient’s mother reported her comments about Russian soldiers in Ukraine.
According to independent news outlet Mediazona, Berezhinskaya admitted guilt to charges of spreading “fakes” and discrediting the army but only partially acknowledged the terrorism justification charge. The court documents noted she suffers from a mixed personality disorder and has two children, ages eight and ten, and a husband with epilepsy.
“Your Honour, I have nothing to say, nothing to add. I will accept any decision you make,” Berezhinskaya said in her final statement to the court, as reported by Mediazona.
The case represents another significant punishment for criticizing Putin, who at 72 is poised to become Russia’s longest-serving leader since Catherine the Great in the 18th century. Reuters could not immediately reach Berezhinskaya’s lawyer to confirm whether an appeal would be filed.
A California man convicted of killing a gay University of Pennsylvania student in what prosecutors proved was a hate-motivated attack faces mandatory life imprisonment without parole at his sentencing Friday, nearly seven years after the brutal slaying.
Samuel Woodward, 27, will receive the automatic life term for his first-degree murder conviction with a hate crime enhancement in the killing of Blaze Bernstein, according to Orange County District Attorney’s spokesperson Kimberly Edds. Defense attorney Ken Morrison has indicated he will appeal the verdict.
Bernstein, a 19-year-old gay, Jewish sophomore, vanished in January 2018 after meeting Woodward at a park in Lake Forest, 45 miles southeast of Los Angeles. His disappearance sparked an extensive search after his parents found his glasses, wallet, and credit cards in his bedroom and couldn’t reach him. Days later, authorities discovered Bernstein’s body in a shallow grave, repeatedly stabbed in the face and neck.
The trial focused not on whether Woodward killed Bernstein—which was undisputed—but on the killer’s motives. Prosecutors presented evidence of Woodward’s affiliation with Atomwaffen Division, a violent neo-Nazi extremist group known for its anti-gay ideology. They revealed his pattern of targeting gay men online through dating apps before abruptly cutting contact, documented in a hateful, profanity-filled journal.
A search of Woodward’s Newport Beach home uncovered damning evidence: a bloodstained Atomwaffen mask, a folding knife with blood on the blade, and numerous materials promoting anti-gay, antisemitic, and hate group ideologies.
The defense argued that Woodward, who gave halting testimony from behind partially concealing long hair, suffered from an undiagnosed autism spectrum disorder and struggled with his sexuality after growing up in a conservative Catholic family where his father openly condemned homosexuality.
Bernstein and Woodward had attended Orange County School of the Arts together and reconnected through a dating app months before the killing. Woodward claimed he stabbed Bernstein after the victim tried to photograph him, triggering fears about the image’s potential use.
The case, which saw multiple delays before trial, galvanized Southern California communities in 2018 as residents joined searches for the missing student. Morrison’s promised appeal will likely extend the legal proceedings in a case that has already spanned nearly seven years.
The conviction represents a significant prosecution of anti-LGBTQ violence in California, establishing crucial precedent in the treatment of hate-motivated killings targeting sexual orientation.
A senior Iranian official met with Lebanese leaders Friday to discuss the ongoing Israel-Hezbollah conflict, as U.S. diplomatic efforts intensified to broker a cease-fire deal amid renewed Israeli airstrikes on Beirut’s outskirts.
Ali Larijani, adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, arrived in Beirut as Israel launched a fresh aerial attack on the capital’s southeastern edge. An Associated Press photographer captured the moment an apparent Israeli bomb struck an 11-story residential building in the Tayouneh area, several kilometers from central Beirut. The Israeli military had warned of the strike, claiming the target was a Hezbollah facility.
U.S. diplomatic efforts to end the fighting have accelerated, with Ambassador Lisa Johnson reportedly presenting a draft cease-fire proposal to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who represents Hezbollah in the talks. A Lebanese official confirmed Johnson’s meeting with Berri but declined to comment on the alleged draft, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the negotiations.
Larijani’s visit, following talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad Thursday, underscores Iran’s deep involvement in the regional conflict. Iran’s embassy in Beirut stated that during meetings with Lebanese leaders, Larijani affirmed Tehran’s support for Lebanon’s “government, army and resistance,” referring to Hezbollah, which Iran has long armed and funded.
The escalating diplomatic activity comes as the United Nations Security Council’s elected members circulated a draft resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and the release of remaining hostages held by Hamas. The U.S. position, as Israel’s closest ally, will be crucial to the resolution’s adoption.
The conflict has extracted a heavy toll since Hezbollah began firing into Israel on October 8, 2023, in solidarity with Hamas following its attack on Israel. Lebanon’s Health Ministry reports more than 3,200 deaths and 14,000 injuries in Lebanon, while the World Bank estimates $8.5 billion in physical damage and economic losses to the country.
The broader regional conflict erupted after Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel killed approximately 1,200 people and saw 250 taken hostage. Israel’s subsequent military response in Gaza has resulted in more than 43,000 deaths, according to Palestinian health officials, who note that more than half of the casualties are women and children but don’t distinguish between civilians and combatants.
The UN Security Council’s draft resolution expresses “deep alarm over the ongoing catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza,” citing inadequate healthcare services and risk of famine, particularly in northern areas. It calls for immediate humanitarian access and condemns attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure.
Iran’s involvement in the negotiations highlights the complex web of regional alliances, with Tehran supporting both Hezbollah and Hamas in their confrontations with Israel. The ongoing diplomatic efforts reflect growing international concern about the conflict’s potential to further destabilize the region.
Three former Harrods employees have come forward with allegations that Salah Fayed, brother of the late Mohamed Al Fayed, sexually abused them during their employment at the luxury department store, expanding the scope of abuse allegations against the powerful family.
The women told the BBC they were victimized in London, the south of France, and Monaco between 1989 and 1997, with incidents including sexual assault, drugging, and what they now recognize as trafficking. All three women say they were also sexually assaulted or raped by Mohamed Al Fayed, then chairman of Harrods.
One victim, identified as Helen who waived her anonymity, describes being raped by Mohamed Al Fayed in a Dubai hotel room when she was 23, before being later targeted by his brother Salah. “He [Mohamed Al Fayed] shared me with his brother,” she said, breaking her silence after 35 years.
Helen recounts being drugged at Salah’s Park Lane home after accepting what she thought was a harmless glass of champagne. She believes she was raped while unconscious, discovering evidence of sexual assault upon waking. “They’ve stolen a part of me,” she said. “It’s changed the course of my entire life.”
Two additional women independently detailed similar patterns of abuse, describing being trafficked abroad and coerced into smoking crack cocaine. “He was trying to get me hooked on crack so he could do whatever he wanted to me,” one woman told the BBC.
A victim identified as Rachael described being recruited at age 23 through Harrods’ human resources department for what was presented as a personal assistant position with Salah. Instead, she says she became a “companion” and was sexually propositioned by older men to whom Salah introduced her. “Was I there to be passed around?” she now questions.
Harrods, under new ownership since 2010, acknowledged the allegations in a statement, saying they point to the “breadth of abuse” by Mohamed Al Fayed and “raise serious allegations” against his brother. Salah Fayed, who died of pancreatic cancer in 2010, was one of three Fayed brothers who purchased Harrods in 1985.
The women say they were silenced for decades by non-disclosure agreements and fear of reprisal. The BBC has viewed Helen’s NDA, which she says she was pressured to sign two months after her assault in Dubai.
The allegations describe a systematic pattern of abuse, with victims often initially spotted by Mohamed Al Fayed during his routine walks of the Harrods shop floor. The women report being manipulated through job offers and positions of trust before being subjected to assault and exploitation.
These new revelations expand understanding of the scope of alleged abuse at Harrods during the Fayed era, suggesting a broader pattern of exploitation involving multiple members of the family and spanning several countries.
An estimated 4,000 illegal gold miners remain trapped underground in South Africa as authorities cut off food and water supplies in an aggressive strategy to “smoke them out,” sparking a humanitarian crisis and debate over the government’s hardline approach.
The miners, known locally as “zama zamas” (Zulu for “take a chance”), have been hiding in a mineshaft in Stilfontein, North West province, for approximately a month. Many are undocumented migrants from neighboring Lesotho and Mozambique who fear deportation if they surface.
“We are going to smoke them out. They will come out. We are not sending help to criminals. Criminals are not to be helped – they are to be persecuted,” Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni declared Wednesday, drawing both praise and criticism from South Africans.
The situation turned grim Thursday when community leader Thembile Botman reported volunteers retrieved a decomposing body from the mine using ropes and seat belts. “The stench of decomposing bodies has left the volunteers traumatized,” he told the BBC.
Busi Thabane from the Benchmarks Foundation, a corporate watchdog organization, characterized the situation as beyond illegal mining. “It is no longer about illegal miners – this is a humanitarian crisis,” she said, noting that many miners are linked to criminal syndicates or recruited into them.
While authorities maintain their blockade, they have temporarily allowed local residents to lower some supplies by rope. Communities have established basic communication with the miners through written notes, as police and military forces guard exits as part of the “Vala Umgodi” (Close the Hole) operation.
The standoff has yielded some results, with 1,000 miners surrendering in the past week. Five more emerged Wednesday, requiring immediate medical attention before being taken into custody.
Local resident Emily Photsoa highlighted the human cost of the crisis: “Those people must come out because we have brothers there, we have sons there, the fathers of our kids are there, our children are struggling,” she told AFP.
The South African Human Rights Commission announced an investigation into the police’s denial of food and water to the miners, citing concerns about the right to life. The crisis exemplifies South Africa’s broader struggle with illegal mining, which costs the government hundreds of millions in lost revenue annually.
Since December, authorities have seized nearly 400 high-caliber firearms, thousands of rounds of ammunition, uncut diamonds, and cash in operations targeting illegal mining operations. The practice has flourished as formal mining operations have closed and unemployment has risen, pushing desperate workers and migrants underground.
Many miners spend months below surface in makeshift underground economies, complete with vendors selling food, cigarettes, and cooked meals. The practice, while illegal, has become a vital economic lifeline for many families in the region’s impoverished communities.
The government’s aggressive stance has divided public opinion. While some praise the decisive action against illegal mining, others condemn it as inhumane. “They are criminals but they have rights too,” one social media user noted, reflecting the moral complexity of the crisis.
Six Israeli soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, marking the deadliest day for Israeli forces in their ongoing campaign against Hezbollah since ground operations began in September.
The soldiers, members of the elite Golani Brigade, “fell during combat in southern Lebanon,” the military said, bringing the total Israeli military casualties in Lebanon to 47 since September 30. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged the loss by sharing the brigade’s olive tree symbol on social media platform X with a broken heart emoji.
The deaths came as Israel’s new Defense Minister Israel Katz pledged an unrelenting offensive against Hezbollah. “We will make no cease-fires, we will not take our foot off the pedal, and we will not allow any arrangement that does not include the achievement of our war objectives,” Katz declared during his first visit to the border region since his appointment.
Earlier Wednesday, an Israeli strike hit Aramoun, south of Beirut, killing six people in an area outside Hezbollah’s traditional strongholds, according to the health ministry. Lebanese state media reported a third wave of Israeli raids on Hezbollah’s south Beirut stronghold within 24 hours.
Hezbollah claimed it responded by firing ballistic missiles at the Israeli army’s headquarters in Tel Aviv, though Israeli military spokespersons declined to comment on the allegation.
The escalating violence has taken a mounting toll on both sides. Lebanese authorities report more than 3,360 deaths since October 8, 2023, when cross-border clashes intensified following Hamas’s attack on Israel. In northern Israel, rocket fire from Lebanon Tuesday killed two residents of Nahariya, bringing civilian casualties there to 45.
The conflict has expanded beyond direct military engagement. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad released video Wednesday of Israeli hostage Sasha Trupanov, held in Gaza. His mother, Lena, urged immediate release through the Hostage and Missing Families Forum.
The broader regional conflict continues to exact a devastating toll. Of approximately 250 hostages taken during Hamas’s October 7 attack, about 100 remain captive, with a third confirmed dead. Hamas’s initial assault killed about 1,200 people in Israel.
In Gaza, where the conflict has raged for over 13 months, the Hamas-run health ministry reports nearly 44,000 deaths, with more than half being women and children. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant casualties.
Israel’s military objectives include disarming Hezbollah and pushing its forces beyond Lebanon’s Litani River, goals that have led to intensified operations in traditionally civilian areas. The army reported intercepting “five projectiles” from Lebanon on Wednesday, highlighting the ongoing nature of cross-border exchanges.
A Russian man already imprisoned for burning a Quran faced new charges of high treason Thursday for allegedly sending video footage of military equipment to Ukrainian intelligence, highlighting Russia’s expanding crackdown on suspected espionage since the Ukraine invasion began.
Nikita Zhuravel, currently serving a 3½-year sentence for the Quran burning incident, appeared before the Volgograd District Court on charges stemming from his alleged 2023 recording of a trainload of military equipment and warplanes. Prosecutors claim he transmitted the footage to Ukraine’s security services, an offense that could result in life imprisonment.
The case has drawn additional scrutiny due to Zhuravel’s previous treatment in custody. While in pretrial detention for his first offense, he was beaten by the 15-year-old son of Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-appointed leader of Chechnya. Kadyrov publicly celebrated the assault on social media and later awarded his son the “Hero of the Republic of Chechnya” medal, actions that sparked public outrage but drew no criticism from federal authorities.
In a separate case Thursday, a military court sentenced Sergei Andreev to 24 years in prison for treason and terrorism. Prosecutors said he set fire to a Moscow military recruitment office in November 2023 following instructions received via messaging app from Ukrainian special services.
These cases reflect a surge in treason and espionage prosecutions following President Vladimir Putin’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Human rights activists say Zhuravel qualifies as a political prisoner.
The prosecutions have targeted a diverse array of individuals, from journalists and Kremlin critics to scientists, raising concerns among human rights organizations. Recent legal changes have broadened the definition of treason to include providing loosely defined “assistance” to foreign countries or organizations, potentially criminalizing virtually any contact with foreigners.
Rights groups warn that the expanded definition and increased prosecution of treason cases represent a significant escalation in Russia’s domestic crackdown on dissent and international engagement since the start of the Ukraine conflict.
