Berlin, Oct 15: As many as three Indian nationals have been killed in a fire incident in Bochum in Germany North Rhine-Westphalia, the Indian Embassy in Germany said on Thursday.

The Indian Embassy said that all three Indian nationals were studying in Germany.

The Embassy said it is in contact with local authorities and the victims’ families and is providing all necessary assistance.

German authorities have launched a probe into the incident.

“Three Indian nationals (two women and one man) have tragically lost their lives in a fire incident in Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. All 3 were studying in Germany. Embassy of India in Berlin and Consulate General of India in Frankfurt are in contact with local authorities and the bereaved families, and are extending all necessary assistance,” the Indian Embassy in Germany posted on X.

“The incident is under investigation by German authorities. We extend our deepest condolences to the bereaved families in this hour of grief,” it added.

According to local media reports, police have identified the deceased as three Indian nationals — two women aged 25 years and 27 years and a 26-year-old man.

The fire erupted in the house in Bochum on Tuesday morning (local time). Emergency responders found the three bodies on the second floor of the building, Germany-based WDR reported.

The operation was difficult as the flames had spread upwards through the stairwell, preventing firefighters from using the stairs to reach the upper floors.

A 41-year-old resident of the house in Bochum is under initial suspicion of murder, WDR reported, citing a Bochum police spokesperson.

The man has been arrested and has already been questioned by officers from the homicide squad.

Fire investigators have examined the house and ruled out the possibility of a technical defect as the cause of the fire and are probing the possibility of arson, as per the report.

The police are investigating whether it was a deliberate act or an accidental fire.

Islamabad, Oct 15: At least 17 children and one female teacher were killed and more than 30 others injured after the roof of a private school collapsed in Pakistan’s Peshawar on Thursday, local media reported.

Lady Reading Hospital spokesperson Muhammad Asim confirmed the casualties and said that an emergency has been declared at the hospital, leading Pakistani daily The Express Tribune reported.

He said that the injured were undergoing medical treatment, with some in critical condition.

Asim further mentioned that all the children were aged 13 years and below.

Upon receiving the information, ambulances and disaster response vehicles reached the site of the incident and launched a rescue operation.

Rescue 1122 ambulances provided first aid to over eight injured children before taking them to hospital. The rescue operation was being conducted at the site to find more people trapped under the rubble, with fears that the death toll could increase, The Express Tribune reported.

Reports suggest that roof and building collapses are a recurring problem in Pakistan, where weak safety enforcement and substandard construction materials have repeatedly contributed to such tragedies.

In August, a couple was killed, and their daughters were injured after the roof of their house collapsed in Islamabad after three days of heavy rainfall, another Pakistani daily Dawn reported.

Earlier in June, as many as 14 children were killed after the roof of a private tuition centre in the Kahna area of Pakistan’s Lahore.

The incident took place less than two months after four children were killed and 20 people were injured after the roof of a classroom at a private school collapsed in Dera Ghazi Khan city of Pakistan’s Punjab, Dawn reported.

In a separate incident in June, a labourer was killed, and three others were injured after the roof of an under-construction building collapsed in Khawaspur locality of Gujrat in Pakistan’s Punjab province.

Washington, Oct 15: Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi stepped up attacks on President Donald Trump’s deal to buy Russian diesel, even as Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev defended it, days before a sanctions law deadline that could bring steep tariffs on major buyers of Russian oil such as India and China.

“Trump started an illegal war with Iran that sent fuel prices soaring. Now he’s rewarding Putin with a Russian diesel deal while pressuring Ukraine to stop striking Russian oil facilities,” Krishnamoorthi wrote on X on Wednesday (local time).

“Putin gets billions. Ukraine gets more Russian attacks. Americans get stuck with the bill,” the Illinois Democrat added.

In a later post, he said the deal “would help bankroll Putin’s war machine without meaningfully lowering fuel prices for Americans”.

“It’s illegal, ineffective, and no substitute for ending Trump’s Iran war,” he wrote.

Dmitriev, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy for investment and economic cooperation, pushed back on X.

“All pragmatic world leaders who care about their people want affordable diesel, gas and oil, including from Russia,” he wrote.

In another post, he attacked The Economist, saying it failed to mention “the 5 per cent decline in diesel prices from the deal, showcasing its benefits to US farmers, consumers and energy markets”.

Dmitriev did not say how he arrived at the figure or over what period prices had fallen.

Opposition on Capitol Hill has grown. Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, said he was “leading 12 of my colleagues demanding that Trump rescind the disastrous Russian diesel deal”.

“It betrays American security interests & brave Ukrainians fighting Putin’s bloody slaughter,” he wrote.

Representative James Clyburn of South Carolina called it “a mistake”. “Trump’s decision to ease sanctions on Russian diesel will do little to lower US fuel prices but a lot to fund Russia’s war against our ally Ukraine,” he wrote.

Representative Greg Stanton of Arizona said the plan was “likely illegal and unlikely to lower prices”, adding that it would “funnel billions of dollars into Putin’s Russia”.

Representative Mike Levin of California called it “a lifeline for Russia’s war machine”, citing a New York Times estimate that around $4 billion of American money could flow into Russia’s economy.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued General License 135 on Friday, authorising transactions involving Russian-origin diesel until April 2027.

The dispute comes as the deadline under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 approaches on October 18.

Section 113 of the law requires the President to raise duties to “up to 100 per cent” on goods from countries that were among the five largest importers of Russian crude oil or natural gas and that knowingly make new purchases after the deadline. The President can waive the duties by certifying to Congress that a waiver is in the US national interest.

The administration has not said publicly how it will apply the law.

New Delhi has long argued that it is held to a different standard from Western countries that continue to trade with Russia.