- Kaur leads India to victory over Pakistan in Women's T20 World Cup
- Juventus held by Cagliari after late penalty drama
- In France's Marseille, teen 'stabbed 50 times' then burned alive
- Ruthless Gauff beats Muchova in straight sets to win China Open
- India restrict Pakistan to 105-8 in Women's T20 World Cup
- England target repeat of Pakistan Test whitewash
- Penrith Panthers win fourth straight NRL title after downing Storm
- Weary Sinner happy for day off after battling into Shanghai last 16
- Pakistan's Masood warns England still a force without Stokes
- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Israel pounds Lebanon ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Toddler among 4 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says 'very violent' Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Guardians maul Tigers, miracle Mets rally in MLB series openers
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Madrid beat Villarreal but Carvajal suffers knee injury
- Madrid beat Villarreal to move level with Liga leaders Barcelona
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- French rugby player on rape charge whistled but 'serene' on return
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Toddler among 3 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Kovacic stars as Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
Kenya school dorm fire kills at least 17 children
At least 17 young children were killed in a fire that ripped through their primary school dormitory in central Kenya overnight, with initial reports Friday indicating it was overcrowded in breach of safety standards.
The blaze in Hillside Endarasha Academy in Nyeri county broke out at around midnight, police said, engulfing rooms where more than 150 children were sleeping.
Police said the average age of the victims was around nine years old.
"There are 17 fatalities from this incident and there are also others who were taken to hospital with serious injuries," national police spokesperson Resila Onyango told AFP.
"The bodies recovered at the scene were burnt beyond recognition," she said.
"More bodies are likely to be recovered once (the) scene is fully processed," she added.
Kenya's Citizen TV showed images of what appeared to be the aftermath of the blaze, with blackened corrugated iron roofing that had collapsed in on itself.
The cause of the fire was not yet known.
But Kenya's National Gender and Equality Commission said initial reports indicated the dormitory was "overcrowded, in violation of safety standards" and called for an immediate inquiry.
President William Ruto, currently in Bejing for a China-Africa summit, expressed his condolences in a post on X.
"Our thoughts are with the families of the children who have lost their lives in the fire tragedy," he said.
"This is devastating news."
Ruto instructed officials to "thoroughly investigate this horrific incident", and promised that those responsible will be "held to account".
The school, which caters for about 800 pupils, is located in a semi-rural area around 170 kilometres (100 miles) north of the capital Nairobi.
Around 100 parents were gathered outside the gates of the school, an AFP journalist at the scene reported, anxiously waiting for updates on their children.
The dormitory was sealed off by yellow police tape, with officers stationed at all access points.
- 'Heartbreaking' -
The Kenyan Red Cross said it was on the ground assisting a multi-agency response team.
In a post on X, it said it was "providing psychosocial support services to the pupils, teachers and affected families".
"Heartbreaking news from Kenya as a school fire has caused devastation. Our thoughts are with all affected," said Jagan Chapagain, secretary general of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
There have been numerous school fires in Kenya and across East Africa.
In 2016, nine students were killed by a fire at a girls' high school in the sprawling slum neighbourhood of Kibera in Nairobi.
In 2001, 67 pupils were killed in an arson attack on their dormitory at the Kyanguli Mixed Secondary School David Mutiso in Kenya's southern Machakos district.
Two pupils were charged with the murder, and the headmaster and deputy of the school were convicted of negligence.
In 1994, 40 school children were burned alive and 47 injured in a fire that ravaged the Shauritanga Secondary School for Girls in the northern region of Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.
P.Stevenson--AMWN