عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Azerbaijan: 24 Killed in Fire at Drug Rehab Clinic

Police officers cordon off the site of a fire in a drug rehabilitation clinic in Baku on March 2, 2018. Twenty four people died as a result of a fire which tore through a drug rehabilitation clinic in the Azerbaijani capital Baku early on March 2, 2018, officials said. / AFP PHOTO / TOFIK BABAYEV
Police officers cordon off the site of a fire in a drug rehabilitation clinic in Baku on March 2, 2018. Twenty four people died as a result of a fire which tore through a drug rehabilitation clinic in the Azerbaijani capital Baku early on March 2, 2018, officials said. / AFP PHOTO / TOFIK BABAYEV
TT
TT

Azerbaijan: 24 Killed in Fire at Drug Rehab Clinic

Police officers cordon off the site of a fire in a drug rehabilitation clinic in Baku on March 2, 2018. Twenty four people died as a result of a fire which tore through a drug rehabilitation clinic in the Azerbaijani capital Baku early on March 2, 2018, officials said. / AFP PHOTO / TOFIK BABAYEV
Police officers cordon off the site of a fire in a drug rehabilitation clinic in Baku on March 2, 2018. Twenty four people died as a result of a fire which tore through a drug rehabilitation clinic in the Azerbaijani capital Baku early on March 2, 2018, officials said. / AFP PHOTO / TOFIK BABAYEV

A fire killed 24 people in a drug rehabilitation center in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, its General Prosecutor’s office said on Friday.

Eldar Sultanov, spokesman for the office, said 31 people had been rescued during the incident.

The fire had probably been caused by a problem in the power network of the building containing the center, Reuters reported.

"At 06:10 am a fire happened at the Republican Narcological Centre in Baku," the General Prosecutor's Office, the health, interior and emergencies ministries said in a joint statement.

"The bodies of 24 people have been found," the statement added.

The office of the Azerbaijani president said he had arrived at the scene to oversee the rescue effort.

In May 2015, 15 people – including five minors -- were killed by a fire in a multi-storey building in Baku, according to AFP. In October 1995, 289 people died in a metro fire in Baku, in the world's deadliest subway disaster that was caused by outdated Soviet equipment.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

US Sanctions Cuban State Oil Company

An old car drives past debris from a demolished house occupying part of the seaside promenade in the Centro Habana neighborhood, in Havana on June 9, 2026. (Photo by Pablo PORCIUNCULA / AFP)
An old car drives past debris from a demolished house occupying part of the seaside promenade in the Centro Habana neighborhood, in Havana on June 9, 2026. (Photo by Pablo PORCIUNCULA / AFP)
TT
TT

US Sanctions Cuban State Oil Company

An old car drives past debris from a demolished house occupying part of the seaside promenade in the Centro Habana neighborhood, in Havana on June 9, 2026. (Photo by Pablo PORCIUNCULA / AFP)
An old car drives past debris from a demolished house occupying part of the seaside promenade in the Centro Habana neighborhood, in Havana on June 9, 2026. (Photo by Pablo PORCIUNCULA / AFP)

The United States issued sanctions against Cuban state oil company Unión Cuba-Petróleo (CUPET), the Treasury Department website showed on Thursday.

The action freezes any US assets of the ⁠company and generally bars ⁠Americans from dealing with it.

"Today, I am designating Cuba's state-owned oil and gas company Union Cuba-Petroleo (CUPET), key assets of which were unlawfully expropriated from American owners years ago," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.

Washington has imposed sanctions on an array of ⁠Cuban entities and people, including the island nation's president, as it seeks to intensify pressure on Cuba's communist leaders.

The sanctions follow the United States' declaration of a national emergency this ⁠year ⁠that would impose tariffs on any country that supplies oil to the island, a move that has resulted in frequent power outages.

World

Hazardous Materials Incident Prompts Pentagon Lockdown

FILE PHOTO: The Pentagon is seen from the air in Washington, US, March 3, 2022. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The Pentagon is seen from the air in Washington, US, March 3, 2022. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo
TT
TT

Hazardous Materials Incident Prompts Pentagon Lockdown

FILE PHOTO: The Pentagon is seen from the air in Washington, US, March 3, 2022. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The Pentagon is seen from the air in Washington, US, March 3, 2022. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo

A hazardous materials incident put the Pentagon on lockdown on Thursday as fire officials investigated the air quality issue, defense and fire officials said.

"The Pentagon has sophisticated systems to ensure the safety of the building and its occupants. Those systems have detected an air quality issue ⁠necessitating precautionary measures ⁠until we determine its significance," Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in an email.

"The Department is executing standard protection protocols, including a shelter-in-place order for the affected area. Response teams are ⁠in place and ready to support building occupants."

The building was under lockdown, with people evacuated from several floors, CNN reported, citing unidentified sources. Floors two through five in corridors four through seven have been locked down, CNN said, citing two sources.

Another source reported seeing emergency responders were wearing full gas ⁠masks ⁠and chemical protection suits, CNN said.

A message sent by the Pentagon’s security team said additional testing was needed to determine the source of the problem, according to CNN.

The five-sided Pentagon building, hit during the Sept. 11, 2001 al Qaeda attacks is one of the world's largest office buildings.

World

China Sanctions Philippine Defense Chief for 'Irresponsible Remarks'

Philippines' Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr speaks at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore, May 31, 2026. REUTERS/Caroline Chia
Philippines' Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr speaks at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore, May 31, 2026. REUTERS/Caroline Chia
TT
TT

China Sanctions Philippine Defense Chief for 'Irresponsible Remarks'

Philippines' Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr speaks at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore, May 31, 2026. REUTERS/Caroline Chia
Philippines' Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr speaks at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore, May 31, 2026. REUTERS/Caroline Chia

China announced on Thursday sanctions against the Philippines' defence minister over "irresponsible remarks", escalating tensions between Beijing and Manila as they grapple with maritime disputes.

Gilberto Teodoro and his spouse and child will be banned from entering China's mainland, Hong Kong and Macau, an unnamed foreign ministry spokesperson said in an online statement.

It added that "organizations and individuals in China" will not be allowed to "engage in any transaction, cooperation or other activities with him and his spouse and child".

Teodoro's rhetoric "undermines China's legitimate interests and sabotages China-Philippines relations", the statement said, without specifying which remarks it was referring to.

The two countries have in recent years often dealt with flare-ups in ongoing confrontations in the disputed South China Sea.

Beijing claims the strategic waterway nearly in its entirety, despite an international ruling that said its assertions are baseless.

China regularly deploys navy and coast guard vessels to bar the Philippines from important reefs and islands in the area.

At a summit in Singapore last month, Teodoro criticised Beijing's activities in the disputed waters, saying Manila "will not sacrifice our territorial integrity and sovereignty".

Asked last week about Teodoro's remarks at the summit, Beijing's foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said that he "is known to vilify China".

"All he cares is selfish personal gains to the point that he would perform political theatrics even when people's well-being is at stake," Mao said.