LONDON: British firefighters said they had extinguished a small fire on an underground train at Oxford Circus station in the center of London’s main shopping district on Friday, saying it had been caused by an electrical fault under the train.
“Firefighters dealt with a small fire on a train on the Bakerloo line at Oxford Circus,” London Fire Brigade said in a statement. “Four people were treated for smoke inhalation with two taken to hospital as a precaution.”
The station reopened following a brief closure, the city’s transport authority said.
“The cause of the smoke was an electrical fault under one of the carriages, which resulted in a small fire that was quickly extinguished,” said Nigel Holness, London Underground’s director of network operations.
“Understandably this was a distressing incident for our customers, for which I give my sincere apologies.”
London Fire Brigade posted a picture on Twitter of smoke billowing out of the doors of the train while one commuter shared a photograph of passengers covering their mouths with jumpers and clothing in the train carriage.
Firefighters extinguish small fire on London Underground train
Firefighters extinguish small fire on London Underground train
UN chief Guterres warns ‘powerful forces’ undermining global ties
- Guterres paid tribute to Britain for its decisive role in the creation of the United Nations
- He said 2025 had been a “profoundly challenging year for international cooperation and the values of the UN“
LONDON: UN chief Antonio Guterres Saturday deplored a host of “powerful forces lining up to undermine global cooperation” in a London speech marking the 80th anniversary of the first UN General Assembly.
Guterres, whose term as secretary-general ends on December 31 this year, delivered the warning at the Methodist Central Hall in London, where representatives from 51 countries met on January 10, 1946, for the General Assembly’s first session.
They met in London because the UN headquarters in New York had not yet been built.
Guterres paid tribute to Britain for its decisive role in the creation of the United Nations and for continuing to champion it.
But he said 2025 had been a “profoundly challenging year for international cooperation and the values of the UN.”
“We see powerful forces lining up to undermine global cooperation,” he said, adding: “Despite these rough seas, we sail ahead.”
Guterres cited a new treaty on marine biological diversity as an example of continued progress.
The treaty establishes the first legal framework for the conservation and sustainable use of marine diversity in the two-thirds of oceans beyond national limits.
“These quiet victories of international cooperation — the wars prevented, the famine averted, the vital treaties secured — do not always make the headlines,” he said.
“Yet they are real. And they matter.”
