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Over 70 die in Johannesburg fire incident

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Emergency crews expected to find more victims as they worked their way through the building, a process slowed by the conditions inside. Source: AAP / Kim Ludbrook/EPA
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The five-storey building in the city centre has been described as “hijacked”, meaning it is used by squatters
The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained at the time of filing this report.

Emergency services told the BBC that the fire gutted the building at about 01:30 (00:30 BST) on Thursday.
Authorities say firefighters evacuated the building’s occupants on arrival, and the search and recovery of bodies is continuing
Reports suggest the occupants were mostly African migrants

Among those killed were seven children, including a one-year-old baby, South Africa’s Times Live news site quotes Johannesburg’s Emergency Management Services (EMS) spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi as saying.

He added 52 people were being treated for injuries.

“Firefighter crews are damping down. EMS will conduct preliminary investigations to determine what caused the fire after firefighting operations are done,” Mulaudzi said.

Meanwhile, the survivors of the fire who are now rendered homeless will be housed in another building that is also owned by the city of Johannesburg, a government official has said.

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“About 300 people (141 households) are displaced, including the 49 in hospital and will be housed in another building owned by the City of Johannesburg,” Lebogang Maile said on X (formerly known as Twitter).

Maile also said an intergovernmental team would provide survivors and victims’ families with psychological and social services, support in arranging funerals for victims, and help with other necessities.

It has been described as one of the worst fire incidents in Johannesburg in recent history – and there are fears the number of fatalities will continue to rise as rescue workers make their way into the remaining floors of the five-storey building.

It’s an old building that was declared unsafe for use – but had been taken over by property gangs operating in the city centre who rent out rooms to scores of people per room.

Such buildings are often without running water and pose a fire hazard because of the numerous illegal electricity connections needed to provide power to tenants.

Describing the incident, Johannesburg Emergency Services spokesman Robert Mulaudzi told local media: “I’ve never seen anything like this in my 22 years or service in this city.”

Officials said each floor resembled an informal settlement… rescue workers are combing through partitions resembling shacks, searching for survivors – and more fatalities.

Some of those who escaped have camped outside the building waiting for news of their relatives, others are waiting to see what of their belongings can be salvaged.

International

Iran threatens retaliation, says US strikes violated ceasefire

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US President Donald Trump
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Iran’s foreign ministry on Tuesday accused the United States of violating a fragile ceasefire during the past 48 hours in the southern coastal province of Hormozgan, without specifying the incident.

The accusation comes after US Central Command said its forces had on Monday attacked missile sites and boats in southern Iran that were trying to lay mines in the Gulf, while Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said it fired at US aircraft trying to enter its airspace.

“The US terrorist army, continuing its illegal and unjustified actions since the ceasefire… has, in the past 48 hours, committed a gross violation of the ceasefire in the Hormozgan region,” the Iranian foreign ministry said in a statement.

It added that Tehran “will not leave any evil unanswered and will not hesitate to defend the Iranian nation,” without elaborating.

Tuesday’s statement came as a top Iranian delegation was in Qatar for talks as part of a “diplomatic process” aimed at ending the war with the United States, which broke out on February 28

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Dozens of lranian fighters killed, as US resumes strike in Strait of Hormuz, targets IRGC Naval Boats in the Gulf

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U.S. fighter jets have reportedly struck IRGC naval boats in the Gulf after Iranian forces allegedly targeted a vessel near Bandar Abbas.

U.S. Central Command confirms “self-defense strikes” were carried out against Iranian boats and missile sites near the Strait of Hormuz amid rising tensions in the region.

It was stated that the numbers of dead has increased from 9 to 15, with dozens still missing while others remain injured.

According to emerging reports, the strikes targeted IRGC maritime assets and defensive positions during what rapidly escalated into a major military confrontation in the region. Rescue and emergency operations are said to be ongoing as authorities continue searching for missing personnel.

Iranian and regional media report heavy explosions and gunfire near Bandar Abbas, while negotiations between Washington and Tehran continue in Qatar.

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The situation is still developing, and some battlefield claims remain independently unverified.

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Suspect killed after firing shots near White House security checkpoint in US, Secret Service says

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Secret Service agents are seen after a lockdown was lifted at the White House
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A man who opened fire Saturday near a White House security checkpoint is dead after being shot by officers who returned fire, the U.S. Secret Service said. It was the third incidence of gunfire in the vicinity of President Donald Trump in the past month.

The law enforcement agency said in a statement posted on X that the man was in the area of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue when he “pulled a weapon from his bag” shortly after 6 p.m. EDT and began firing. Secret Service officers returned fire and hit the suspect, who died at a hospital, the agency said.

The suspect was identified as 21-year-old Nasire Best, said a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation.

According to District of Columbia court records, Best was arrested in July 2025 after he attempted to enter a different White House checkpoint without authorization, didn’t heed officers’ commands to stop, “claimed he was Jesus Christ” and said he wanted to be arrested.

An initial hearing was held and a “Pretrial Stay Away Order” was issued, typically a measure ordering a defendant not to go near a person or area before a trial. A bench warrant was issued in August after a notice of “noncompliance” against Best, who did appear for a subsequent hearing.

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Latest gunfire incident around Trump

It was the third time in the past month that shots were fired near the president after incidents at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in April and near the Washington Monument earlier in May.

A bystander was also struck on Saturday, but a law enforcement official said it wasn’t clear whether that person was hit by the suspect’s initial bullets or those fired subsequently by officers.

Secret Service said none of its officers were injured, and that Trump — who was at the White House at the time — was not “impacted.” Trump originally was scheduled to spend the weekend at his New Jersey golf club but changed his plans on Friday to stay at the White House instead.

FBI Director Kash Patel said on social media that agency personnel were on the scene and “we will update the public as we’re able.”

Evidence of the shooting was visible on a sidewalk just outside the White House complex, where yellow crime scene tape snaked across the pavement and Secret Service officers placed dozens of orange evidence markers on the ground. Medical material, including what appeared to be purple surgical gloves and kits typically used by emergency medical personnel, were also seen.

Gunshots heard by journalists at the White House

Journalists working at the White House on Saturday evening reported hearing a series of gunshots and were told to seek shelter inside the press briefing room.

In a post shared on X, ABC News senior White House correspondent Selina Wang shared dramatic video of the moment she said she heard what “sounded like dozens of gunshots” and ducked for cover. Writing that she had been performing a routine task that White House reporters do daily — filming themselves on a cellphone for a social media post — Wang’s video shows her speaking for a few seconds about Trump’s statements earlier Saturday about a potential Iran deal.

As the sounds of gunfire are heard in the background, Wang’s eyes grow wider, and she ducks down in the media tent, which is among those situated in a line along the White House driveway where broadcasters film their reports. On X, Wang’s video had been shared thousands of times as of Saturday evening, and viewed at least 3 million times.

Shooting scene not far from a deadly incident last year

The shooting scene is within walking distance of where a gunman ambushed two members of the West Virginia National Guard last November.

U.S. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died from the wounds she suffered in that shooting. Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, then 24, was critically wounded. Rahmanullah Lakanwal has been charged in that incident.

The gunfire Saturday came nearly a month after what law enforcement authorities said was an attempted assassination of the president as he attended the annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner at a Washington hotel on April 25. Cole Tomas Allen, of Torrance, California, recently pleaded not guilty to charges that he attempted to kill Trump. Allen is accused of running through a security checkpoint inside the hotel and firing a shotgun at a Secret Service officer.

Following that scare, Secret Service officers shot a suspect they said had fired at officers near the Washington Monument, several blocks from the White House. Michael Marx, 45, of Midland, Texas, was charged in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in connection with the May 4 shooting. A teenage bystander was wounded in that incident. AP

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