A dozen people have been arrested following a devastating fire at a nightclub in North Macedonia that claimed 59 lives, with investigations at the site still ongoing, local officials said on Monday.
The fire broke out at the nightclub in Kocani Municipality in the early hours of Sunday morning, killing 59 people and injuring 163, including 45 in critical condition.
North Macedonia's Interior Minister Panche Toshkovski said on Monday that those arrested include managers, security personnel and ticketing staff at the nightclub.
The Mayor of Kocani Municipality, Ljupco Papazov, announced his resignation following the tragedy and expressed his willingness to be investigated.
Preliminary investigations showed that the blaze was triggered by a pyrotechnics display used by a live band who were performing on stage at the club. The fireworks used onstage were brought by the band, and the person responsible for operating them had died in the accident.
Hundreds gathered in Kocani's town center on Sunday evening to silently pay their respects, lighting candles to honor those who perished in the fire.
The small town of 30,000 people is struggling to come to terms with the scale of the tragedy, while North Macedonia has declared seven days of national mourning.
Dozen arrested after nightclub fire kills 59 in North Macedonia
Israel has been ratcheting up the number of settlements and annexation of the occupied West Bank and transferring its own population into the territory which constitutes a breach of international law, according to the United Nations Human Rights Office.
Thameen Al-Kheetan, spokesman for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, presented a report by the UN Human Rights Office on Tuesday that outlined the ongoing transfer of powers over the Occupied Palestinian Territory from the Israeli military to the government.
According to the report, based on research between Nov 1, 2023 and Oct 31, 2024, there had been a "significant" expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
"The Government of Israel has been increasing the number of settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, transferring its own population into the territory and unlawfully demolishing Palestinian homes. At the same time settler violence has increased with continued impunity," said Al-Kheetan.
The report also refers to plans to construct over 20,000 housing units in new or existing Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem alone, according to Israeli non-governmental organizations.
In East Jerusalem, 214 Palestinian properties and structures have been demolished. Over 10,300 units within existing Israeli settlements in the rest of the West Bank are in the pipeline, and an unprecedented 49 new Israeli outposts have been established, according to the report.
"The Israeli government is facilitating the advancement of settlements in the West Bank, and the steady integration of this occupied territory into the State of Israel, the report finds. Israel's settlement policy, its acts of annexation, and related discriminatory legislation and measures are in breach of international law, and violate Palestinians' right to self-determination," said Al-Kheetan.
The spokesman added that the transfer by Israel of parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies amounts to a war crime.
Israel expands illegal settlements, annexation of West Bank: UN report
