At least 17 pupils were killed and 13 others seriously injured after a fire broke out at a school in central Kenya, police said on Friday.

National Police Service spokesperson Resila Onyango said that 14 pupils were sent to the hospital with serious burns after their dormitories caught fire at Hillside Endarasha Primary Academy in Nyeri County late on Thursday. One died after being hospitalised.

"We are investigating the cause of the fire and taking necessary action," Onyango told news agency via phone. "So far we have 17 pupils dead."

Kenyan President William Ruto called the news “devastating” and said action would be taken against those responsible for this.

A senior officer of the Yemeni military and one of his bodyguards were killed in an armed attack on a routine military patrol in the country's northeastern province of Marib, said a security official.

The security source, requesting anonymity, said that the attack took place near the Safer oil field in Marib when a group of masked gunmen targeted the military patrol from the 107th Infantry Brigade, news agency reported.

Light weapons and shells were used in the attack, which led to the burning of a military vehicle, said the source, adding that the attackers were able to escape the scene, and their identity remains unknown.

August 2024 has tied with August 2023 as the hottest August on record globally, with the average surface air temperature hitting 16.82 degrees Celsius, 0.71 degrees Celsius above the average August temperature from 1991 to 2020, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).

The data also showed that August 2024 was 1.51 degrees Celsius warmer than pre-industrial (1850-1900) levels, marking the 13th time in the past 14 months that the global average surface air temperature has surpassed 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, a critical threshold set by the Paris Agreement, news agency reported.

Meanwhile, year-to-date data indicates 2024 is on course to become the hottest year on record, as the global average temperature for January to August was 0.7 degrees Celsius above the 1991-2020 average, the highest on record for this period.

Bangladesh's tax collection body, the National Board of Revenue, has reduced taxes on imports of onion and potato to rein in soaring prices of essential kitchen items.

The board has waived the 5 per cent regulatory duty on onion imports and reduced customs duty on potato imports from 25 per cent to 15 per cent, the tax authority said in a statement on Thursday, news agency reported.

Apart from this, the board has reduced tariffs on pesticide imports from 25 per cent to 5 per cent to increase the supply of crop protection chemicals.

The tax authority said the reduction will be active until November 30, 2024.

Representatives from member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for the 21st ASEAN Chiefs of Defence Forces Meeting met here to discuss key issues affecting regional security and defence cooperation.

Speaking at the meeting on Thursday, Lao Deputy Minister of National Defence and Chief of the General Staff of the Lao People's Army Khamlieng Outhakaysone expressed his gratitude to all the ASEAN member states and the ASEAN Secretariat for their support and contributions, praising their dedication to ensuring the success of this year's meeting, news agency reported quoting the local Pasaxon newspaper.

President Yoon Suk Yeol approved the appointment of Kim Yong-hyun, former head of the Presidential Security Service, as defence minister and presented a certificate of appointment on Friday, his office said.

Kim, a retired three-star Army general and close aide to Yoon, was nominated to the post last month to replace then-minister Shin Won-sik, who has since served as the national security adviser, reported news agency.

Following Yoon's election in May 2022, Kim led efforts to relocate the presidential office from Cheong Wa Dae to the defence ministry's compound in Yongsan, central Seoul. He has served as the chief of the Presidential Security Service for over two years.

Israeli forces killed six Palestinians in the West Bank city of Tubas, according to Palestinian medical and security sources.

The Palestinian Health Ministry reported on Thursday that five Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting their vehicle in Tubas, which is located in northwestern West Bank.

A sixth man was shot dead by Israeli forces in the Far'a camp south of Tubas, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said, adding that the army delayed access to the victim for several hours, news agency reported.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it conducted a drone strike in the Far'a camp and three more strikes in Tubas on early Thursday. The IDF added that these strikes targeted Palestinian gunmen who were shooting and hurling explosive devices at troops during a raid.

Malta has joined other European Union (EU) member states to help Africa reduce further spread of monkeypox, the Health Ministry said on Thursday in a statement.

Malta has joined the European Commission's "Team Europe" initiative to donate vaccines and mobilize resources to help address the public health emergency, the statement said, adding that together European countries will be donating half a million vaccines.

Malta's Health Ministry reported the first case of mpox on August 30, with the second case being registered on September 3. The first case was identified as a less severe strain of the virus known as Clade II,news agency reported.

According to a press release issued by the European Commission, the first shipment of approximately 100,000 mpox vaccine doses will arrive in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Thursday, with the second delivery of around 100,000 vaccines expected in the coming days. DRC is at the epicenter of the mpox outbreak.

The Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) declared on August 13 the ongoing mpox outbreak in Africa as a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security. The World Health Organization (WHO) has also declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern, activating its highest level of global alert for mpox for the second time in two years.

One person was killed and another injured on Thursday afternoon in a shooting incident in Vlissingen, a city in the southwestern Dutch province of Zeeland, police said.

"We are currently investigating a shooting incident on Visodeweg in Vlissingen," said Zeeland police on the social platform X.

The victims were discovered around 1:00 p.m. local time (1100 GMT) on a road in Vlissingen, according to local media,news agency reported.

The police have not yet released further details regarding the motive or the shooter. The area has been cordoned off with police tape

Laos has officially joined the School Meals Coalition, a global alliance focused on advancing child nutrition, education, and well-being through comprehensive school meal programs, reflecting its commitment to improving the health and educational outcomes of children across the Southeast Asian country.

The coalition aims to ensure that every child has access to a nutritious meal in school by 2030, supporting the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly of zero hunger and quality education,

Speaking at the event on Wednesday, Lao Minister of Education and Sports Phout Simmalavong said, "Joining the School Meals Coalition is a critical step forward in our national strategy to improve child health and education. We look forward to working with regional and global partners to build a brighter future for our children,"