- Wall Street, Europe rise as Chinese shares tumble
- Hunkering down for Hurricane Milton at Disney -- but first, a few rides
- Reddy, Rinku power India to 221-9 in second Bangladesh T20
- Overshooting 1.5C risks 'irreversible' climate impact: study
- Time running out in Florida to flee Hurricane Milton
- Demis Hassabis, from chess prodigy to Nobel-winning AI pioneer
- The long walk for water in the parched Colombian Amazon
- Biden-Netanyahu to talk as Hezbollah, Israeli forces clash
- France vows to step up drugs fight after police vehicles torched
- Air France says jet flew over Iraq during Iran attack on Israel
- Activists target Picasso work to protest Israel arms sales
- Let 'Emily in Paris' remain in Paris, Macron says
- Global stocks diverge as Chinese shares tumble
- Time runs out in Florida to flee Hurricane Milton
- Chad issues warning ahead of more devastating floods
- Record-breaking Root helps England dominate Pakistan in first Test
- German govt sees economy shrinking again in 2024
- Ex-UK soldier denies passing secrets to Iran intelligence
- Creator's death no bar to new 'Dragon Ball' products
- Three Kosovo Serbs on trial over 'secession plot' attack
- Van Gogh museum to launch Impressionism show
- French minister ups ante in Eiffel Tower Olympic rings row
- Japan PM calls snap election to 'create a new Japan'
- German police shut pro-Palestinian camp over Thunberg invite
- Chinese stocks tumble on lack of fresh stimulus
- Trio wins chemistry Nobel for protein design, prediction
- SE Asian summit urges end to Myanmar violence but struggles for solutions
- Wimbledon replaces line judges with electronic system
- Record-breaking Root hits hundred as England power to 351-3
- Record-breaking Root hits hundred as England's power to 351-3
- Sabalenka relishes 'much-needed' tennis rivalry with Swiatek
- Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson set for six weeks out
- Taylor Swift got police escort to London gigs after Austria terror plot
- Cook tips Root to break Tendulkar's all-time runs record
- British skull auction sparks Indian demand for return
- Joe Root: England's elegant Test record-breaker
- Braving war: Lebanon's 'badass' airline defies odds
- Klopp to return as head of Red Bull football operations
- Hezbollah strikes Israel, says it foiled Israeli incursions
- Jurgen Klopp to return as head of Red Bull football operations
- Sinner to face Medvedev in Shanghai Masters quarter-finals
- US weighs Google breakup in landmark trial
- Record-breaking Root guides England to 232-2 in reply to Pakistan's 556
- Japan PM dissolves parliament for 'honeymoon' snap election
- Chinese stocks tumble on stimulus upset, Asia tracks Wall St higher
- 7-Eleven owner confirms new takeover offer from Couche-Tard
- Goodbye Tito? Tomb at risk as Serbs argue over Yugoslav legacy
- Restoration experts piece together silent Sherlock Holmes mystery
- Sinner avoids Shanghai deja vu with assured Shelton win
- Pyongyang to 'permanently' shut border with South Korea
RIO | -0.54% | 66.305 | $ | |
BTI | 0.95% | 35.559 | $ | |
CMSC | 0.28% | 24.71 | $ | |
SCS | 2.7% | 13.135 | $ | |
BCC | 0.88% | 143.28 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.01% | 24.85 | $ | |
JRI | 0.36% | 13.208 | $ | |
BP | -0.2% | 31.965 | $ | |
RBGPF | -2.48% | 59.33 | $ | |
NGG | -0.12% | 65.82 | $ | |
RYCEF | -1.01% | 6.9 | $ | |
BCE | -0.13% | 33.465 | $ | |
GSK | 0.91% | 38.37 | $ | |
AZN | 0.31% | 77.11 | $ | |
RELX | 0.05% | 46.665 | $ | |
VOD | 0.77% | 9.735 | $ |
10 killed in fire at Brazil hotel turned homeless shelter
At least 10 people were killed Friday in a fire that broke out in a defunct hotel being used as a makeshift homeless shelter in the city of Porto Alegre in southern Brazil, officials said.
Health authorities said at least 13 others were injured in the fire and taken to local hospitals, several in critical condition.
The shelter did not have an operating permit or fire prevention plan, said the fire department for Rio Grande do Sul state, whose capital is Porto Alegre.
"It happened very fast. People yelled 'fire!' When I saw it, it was already two doors from mine. I ran out as fast as I could, because there was already a lot of smoke," an unidentified resident of the building told news site G1.
The fire broke out around 2:00 am (0500 GMT), officials said. It took firefighters around three hours to bring it under control.
"Forensic experts are at the scene to identify the victims and investigate the cause," the fire department said in a statement.
An AFP photographer on site early Friday saw firefighters still at work around the badly charred, partly destroyed three-story building.
Images in Brazilian media from overnight showed the building engulfed in flames as firefighters battled to extinguish them.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva sent his condolences to the victims' families, saying the tragedy left him "saddened," in a message on X, formerly Twitter.
- 'Tragedy foretold' -
Porto Alegre Mayor Sebastiao Melo declared three days of official mourning in the city.
State Governor Eduardo Leite said he was "deeply shocked" by the disaster.
"We will continue working on the aftermath of this tragedy and the investigation of the causes," he wrote on X, saying the fire department had dispatched five trucks and dozens of firefighters to the scene.
State lawmaker Matheus Gomes accused the city government of giving funds to the homeless shelter even though it had faced reports of non-compliance with regulations "for years."
"There needs to be an investigation not only into the fire, but the entire chronicle of this tragedy foretold," he wrote on X.
The building belongs to a network of budget youth hostel-style hotels in Porto Alegre.
The deadly fire comes 11 years after another in Rio Grande do Sul state.
In 2013, 242 people were killed at the Kiss nightclub in the town of Santa Maria when sparks from a flare lit by a band during a concert ignited the ceiling, trapping hundreds inside as the building burned.
Investigators found the club lacked working fire extinguishers and had insufficient exits. Four people were found responsible and sentenced to prison terms of 18 to 22 years.
J.Oliveira--AMWN