Fire in China School Dorm Kills 13

A man pushes a tricycle beside a construction site in Beijing, China, 17 January 2024. EPA/WU HAO
A man pushes a tricycle beside a construction site in Beijing, China, 17 January 2024. EPA/WU HAO
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Fire in China School Dorm Kills 13

A man pushes a tricycle beside a construction site in Beijing, China, 17 January 2024. EPA/WU HAO
A man pushes a tricycle beside a construction site in Beijing, China, 17 January 2024. EPA/WU HAO

A fire at a boarding school in central Henan province killed 13 people and injured another, Chinese state media reported on Saturday.
The fire broke out on Friday night at Yingcai School in Yanshanpu Village, near Nanyang City, China Central Television Station and Xinhua News Agency said.
The fire was extinguished quickly by firefighters and the head of the school was taken into custody, the reports said.
Yingcai is a private boarding school with kindergarten and an elementary school, said The Paper, a Shanghai government-backed news outlet.
The school gives students a break every two weeks but this was not a break weekend, The Paper said, citing several local residents.
Many of Yingcai's students are from rural areas, it said.
All of the dead were third grade students, a teacher told Zonglan news, a state-backed media outlet from Hebei province. One person rescued from the scene was being treated in the hospital, CCTV, China's state broadcaster said.



Israel Says it Has Secured $8.7 Billion US Aid Package

A worker is raised on a forklift at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted an apartment on al-Qaem street in Beirut's southern suburbs on September 26, 2024. (Photo by Ibrahim AMRO / AFP)
A worker is raised on a forklift at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted an apartment on al-Qaem street in Beirut's southern suburbs on September 26, 2024. (Photo by Ibrahim AMRO / AFP)
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Israel Says it Has Secured $8.7 Billion US Aid Package

A worker is raised on a forklift at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted an apartment on al-Qaem street in Beirut's southern suburbs on September 26, 2024. (Photo by Ibrahim AMRO / AFP)
A worker is raised on a forklift at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted an apartment on al-Qaem street in Beirut's southern suburbs on September 26, 2024. (Photo by Ibrahim AMRO / AFP)

Israel said on Thursday it had secured an $8.7 billion aid package from the United States package to support its ongoing military efforts.

The package includes $3.5 billion for essential wartime procurement, which has already been received and earmarked for critical military purchases, and $5.2 billion designated for air defense systems including the Iron Dome anti-missile system and an advanced laser system.

Israel is currently fighting on two fronts, against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.