SKOPJE: The death toll from a North Macedonia nightclub fire rose to 63 on Tuesday, when a musician died of his injuries almost seven months after the blaze, the country’s prosecutor said.
Vladimir Blazev-Panco, a 46-year-old singer with the band DNK, died in Skopje early in the day after being hospitalized due to serious injuries, the prosecutor confirmed.
On March 16, a fire at a hip-hop concert in the eastern town of Kocani triggered a stampede in the overcrowded nightclub, leaving dozens dead and injuring nearly 200.
Eight musicians from the band were among the victims of the club fire that caused shock in the small Balkan country.
The blaze was sparked by fireworks in the venue.
Prosecutors alleged the club met almost no safety standards.
Earlier this month, a court approved an indictment against 34 people, a key step toward a trial of those charged for one of Europe’s deadliest nightclub fires.
After the approved indictments, a judge is expected to set a date for the trial.
Those charged include one government minister, two former ministers, the club’s owner, building inspectors and three former Kocani mayors.
In a separate anti-corruption and organized crime probe, dozens of police officers and officials have also been linked to the fatal blaze.
The parents of those killed and injured, most aged between 16 and 26, continue to gather every weekend in a peaceful call for justice.
North Macedonia nightclub fire toll rises to 63
https://arab.news/z9kh4
North Macedonia nightclub fire toll rises to 63
- Vladimir Blazev-Panco, a 46-year-old singer with the band DNK, died in Skopje early in the day
- Eight musicians from the band were among the victims of the club fire
Attacks on Sudan health care facilities killed 69 this year: WHO
- “Five attacks on health care have already been recorded in Sudan, killing 69 people and injuring 49,” WHO chief wrote on X
- The WHO has confirmed at least 206 attacks on health care facilities since the start of the war
CAIRO: Five attacks on health care facilities have killed dozens of people in Sudan since the beginning of the year, the WHO said Saturday, as the war nears the start of its fourth year.
The fighting between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has dismantled an already fragile medical system, with more than a third of facilities currently out of service.
“During the first 50 days of 2026, five attacks on health care have already been recorded in Sudan, killing 69 people and injuring 49,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X.
On Sunday a hospital was targeted in the southeastern state of Sennar, leaving three patients dead and seven people wounded, including an employee, Tedros said.
In three other attacks early this month, more than 30 people were killed when medical centers were targeted in South Kordofan, a vast region south of the capital Khartoum that is currently a focus of the fighting.
The WHO has confirmed at least 206 attacks on health care facilities since the start of the war in April 2023, resulting in the deaths of around 2,000 people and injuries to several hundred.
Last year alone, 65 attacks killed more than 1,620 people, accounting for 80 percent of all deaths worldwide linked to attacks on the medical sector, according to the WHO.
Since it broke out, Sudan’s civil war has killed tens of thousands of people and forced 11 million to flee their homes, triggering what the UN says is one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
According to the WHO, the country is facing multiple disease outbreaks, notably cholera, malaria, dengue and measles, in addition to malnutrition.
Some 4.2 million cases of acute malnutrition are expected to arise in Sudan this year, including more than 800,000 cases of severe acute malnutrition, the WHO chief said earlier this month.
Around 33 million people will be left without humanitarian aid in 2026, with the United Nations warning in January that its aid stocks could run out by the end of March.
