- 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 | $ |
Lightning strike near White House kills two people
Two people were killed and two more were in critical condition on Friday after a lightning strike near the White House the night before, police in the US capital said.
The lightning hit Lafayette Square, a small park across the street from the White House, shortly before 7:00 pm (2300 GMT) Thursday, leaving two men and two women with "critical life-threatening injuries," according to a statement from Washington's fire and emergencies department.
All the victims were taken to local hospitals, but on Friday morning the Metropolitan Police confirmed that two of them -- 75-year-old Donna Mueller and 76-year-old James Mueller, both from Janesville in Wisconsin -- had been pronounced dead.
The other two adults remain in critical condition, police said.
A White House spokeswoman said the Biden administration was "saddened by the tragic loss of life."
"We are praying for those still fighting for their lives," added Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in a statement.
US Secret Service and park police rushed to help the four after witnessing the strike, fire and emergency services department spokesman Vito Maggiolo said in a statement posted on social media.
Photos posted by the department on social media showed multiple ambulances and at least one fire truck with flashing lights working at the scene.
Witness David Root told NBC he heard a "horrific boom."
"I just couldn't believe it," he was quoted as saying. "Was surreal. I have never seen anything like this in my entire life."
He said he had been sheltering beneath a tree when he saw the lightning strike across the park.
The people "weren't moving," he said, so he and others ran over to give help.
The Washington Post said the four were found some 100 feet from the statue of former US president Andrew Jackson which marks the center of the square.
The strike was part of a severe thunderstorm that hit the American capital on Thursday evening.
"Trees are not safe places," Maggiolo told the Post.
"Anybody that goes to seek shelter under a tree, that's a very dangerous place to be."
M.Fischer--AMWN