TEHRAN: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday (Jan 3) acknowledged the economic demands of protesters in Iran, where demonstrations have spread to more than two dozen cities, even as he warned there would be no quarter for "rioters".

The protests began on Sunday as an expression of discontent over high prices and economic stagnation, but have since expanded to include political demands.

"The president and high-ranking officials are working to resolve" the economic difficulties in the sanctions-battered country, Khamenei said in a speech marking a Shiite holiday.

"The shopkeepers have protested against this situation and that is completely fair," he added.

But Khamenei nonetheless warned that while "authorities must have dialogue with protesters, it is useless to have dialogue with rioters. Those must be put in their place".

At least eight people have been killed in the protests so far, including members of the security services, according to official figures.

The first deaths were reported on Thursday as demonstrators clashed with authorities.

On Saturday, the Mehr news agency reported that a member of an Iranian paramilitary force was killed during a demonstration in the country's west.

"Ali Azizi, a member of the Basij, was martyred after being stabbed and shot in the city of Harsin during a gathering of armed rioters," Mehr said, citing a statement from the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological arm of the military that oversees the volunteer Basij force.

The Tasnim news agency, citing a local official, also reported a man killed on Friday in the holy city of Qom, south of Tehran, when a grenade he was trying to use exploded "in his hands".

The protests have mostly been concentrated in mid-sized cities in Iran's west and southwest, where clashes and vandalism have been reported.

At least 25 cities have seen protest gatherings of varying sizes, according to an AFP tally based on local media.

However, local media do not necessarily report on every incident, and state media have downplayed coverage of protests, while videos flooding social media are often impossible to verify.

POLITICAL DEMANDS

The Fars news agency reported gatherings on Friday in several working-class neighbourhoods of Tehran, which is home to around 10 million people.

But on Saturday, a public holiday, the atmosphere in the capital appeared quiet, with streets mostly empty as the skies spat rain and snow, according to AFP journalists.

In Darehshahr, in the country's west, around 300 people blocked streets, threw molotov cocktails and "brandished Kalashnikovs" on Friday, according to Fars.

The movement kicked off on Sunday when shopkeepers went on strike in Tehran to protest economic conditions, and spread after university students elsewhere in the country took up the cause.

In recent days, the protests have taken on a more overtly political bent.

In Karaj, on the outskirts of the capital, "a few people burned the Iranian flag, shouting 'Death to the dictator!' and 'This isn't the last battle, Pahlavi is coming back!'" Fars reported, adding that others in the crowd objected to the slogans.

The pro-Western Pahlavi dynasty ruled Iran from 1925 to 1979, when it was toppled by the Islamic revolution.

Since the protests began, authorities have adopted a conciliatory tone when it comes to economic demands, while warning that destabilisation and chaos will not be tolerated.

Though widespread, the demonstrations are smaller than the ones that broke out in 2022, triggered by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for allegedly violating Iran's strict dress code for women.

Her death sparked a nationwide wave of anger that left several hundred people dead, including dozens of members of the security forces.

Iran was also gripped by nationwide protests that began in late 2019 over a rise in fuel prices, eventually leading to calls to topple the country's clerical rulers.

BEIJING: Ireland Prime Minister Micheal Martin will visit China on the invitation of his counterpart Li Qiang from Sunday (Jan 4) to Thursday, Beijing's foreign ministry said.

Martin will go to Beijing and the economic powerhouse of Shanghai, meeting with Li as well as President Xi Jinping, China's foreign ministry said in a statement Saturday. 

Martin's visit to China would be the first by an Irish taoiseach since 2012.

"In recent years, the China-Ireland strategic partnership for mutually beneficial cooperation has enjoyed robust development," the statement said. 

"Our two sides have always treated each other with mutual respect and equality... Through the upcoming visit, China stands ready to work with Ireland to enhance political mutual trust, expand mutually beneficial cooperation."

The foreign ministry also said it hoped the upcoming visit would promote "sound and steady advancement of China-EU relations".

Martin's visit will overlap with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's trip to China. Lee will also be in the country from Sunday to meet his counterpart Xi. 

TOKYO: President Donald Trump invited Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to the United States during a phone call late on Friday (Jan 2) and they agreed to work towards a meeting early this year, officials said.

Trump has already said he will visit China in April, with Tokyo and Beijing in dispute over Takaichi's suggestion in November that Japan could intervene militarily in case of any attack on self-ruled Taiwan.

China claims the democratic island as part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring it under its control.

Takaichi's comments triggered a sharp diplomatic backlash from China, which has urged its citizens to avoid travelling to Japan and suspended Japanese seafood imports.

She and Trump spoke for 25 minutes, agreeing to further strengthen economic and security cooperation, the foreign ministry in Tokyo said in a statement.

Trump invited Takaichi to visit the United States and "the two leaders concurred to coordinate in detail to realise the visit to the United States this spring", it said.

The statement did not make clear whether they talked about China, but Trump and Takaichi also "exchanged views mainly on the Indo-Pacific region and confirmed the close cooperation between Japan and the United States", it said.

China launched missiles and deployed dozens of fighter jets, navy ships and coastguard vessels around Taiwan in live-fire drills last week.

The drills drew a chorus of international criticism, including from Japan, Australia and European countries.

Trump advised Takaichi not to provoke China over Taiwan in their previous phone call on Nov 25, the Wall Street Journal reported, but Tokyo denied the report.

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland: Sparklers held under a foam-clad ceiling likely ignited a deadly blaze that killed 40 New Year's revellers in a Swiss ski bar, authorities said on Friday (Jan 2), but the bar owner insisted that all safety standards were followed.

Investigators working to get to the cause of the tragedy, which happened in the early hours of Thursday in the Swiss Alps resort town of Crans-Montana, have homed in on the sparklers after viewing mobile phone footage and speaking to survivors.

The images, some posted online, were recorded by partygoers in Le Constellation bar and show sparklers stuck in the top of champagne bottles held close to the basement bar's low ceiling, which was covered with soundproofing foam material.

Videos showed the material catching fire but the patrons - many of them in their late teens and 20s - kept dancing, unaware of the death trap they were in.

"Everything suggests that the fire started from sparklers or Bengal candles" waved high near the ceiling, the chief prosecutor of the Wallis region, Beatrice Pilloud, told a press conference.

When the party-goers realised the danger they were in, chaos broke out, with videos showing them scrambling and screaming.

Witnesses described a scene of terror as people tried to break windows to escape, while others, badly burned, poured into the street.

Most of the 119 survivors were in a critical condition, overloading Swiss hospitals so much that dozens were being taken to neighbouring European countries for specialised burns treatment.

SAFETY RULES IN FOCUS

Jacques Moretti, the French owner who had run the bar since 2015 with his wife Jessica, insisted to Swiss daily the Tribune de Geneve that safety norms had been followed.

"Everything was done according to the regulations," he said.

But Pilloud said the application of those standards was among the focuses of the investigation.

The Morettis - who escaped the fire unharmed - have been questioned as "witnesses", with no liability established at this stage, she said.

The exact number of people who were at the bar when it went up in flames remains unclear. The Crans-Montana website said the venue had a capacity of 300 people plus 40 on its terrace.

Authorities warned it could take days to identify everyone who perished, leaving an agonising wait for family and friends.

Given Crans-Montana's international popularity as a ski destination, foreigners were expected to be among the dead.

Among those bracing for the worst was Laetitia Brodard, who said that the last text she received from her 16-year-old son, Arthur, was "Mom, Happy New Year, I love you".

"It's been 40 hours. Forty hours since our children have disappeared. So we should know by now," she told journalists Friday near a makeshift memorial set up near the burnt-out shell of Le Constellation.

Swiss authorities have also been working to identify the badly burned survivors.

Wallis canton regional police commander Frederic Gisler told reporters that 113 of the 119 who managed to get out had been identified and officials were working "relentlessly" to complete the task.

Of the injured, 71 were Swiss, 14 were French, 11 were Italian, and there were four Serbs, as well as individual Bosnian, Belgian, Polish, Portuguese and Luxembourg nationals.

In 14 cases, the nationality was still unknown, Gisler said.

Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and Romania were among the countries helping to take in burnt survivors, with EU crisis management commissioner Hadja Lahbib saying 24 were already being transferred.

Wallis canton chief Mathias Reynard said a total of around 50 would end up being transferred for treatment outside Switzerland.

INHALATION BURNS

The managing director for the hospitals in the Wallis canton, Eric Bonvin, told AFP the patients brought in suffered not only burns but also fractures and symptoms of suffocation, likely caused in the panicked rush for the exit.

The burns, in several cases, were not only external, but also respiratory - inhalation burns that are "extremely complex and difficult" to treat, he said.

"They have to remain intubated until they recover and until their airway is stable and open enough again for them to breathe."

Most of those cases were sent to other hospitals with specialised units, he said.

As authorities on Friday began moving bodies from the burned-out bar, locals described Crans-Montana as stunned.

"The atmosphere is heavy," Dejan Bajic, a 56-year-old tourist from Geneva who has been coming to the resort since 1974, told AFP.

"It's like a small village; everyone knows someone who knows someone who's been affected," he said.

Locals and tourists who witnessed the aftermath of the tragedy told AFP what they saw in the minutes and hours following the start of the blaze.

Edmond Cocquyt, a Belgian tourist, said he saw bodies "covered with a white sheet" and "young people, totally burned, who were still alive ... screaming in pain".

"We thought it was just a small fire -- but when we got there, it was war," Mathys, from the neighbouring village of Chermignon-d'en-Bas, said, declining to give his last name.

"That's the only word I can use to describe it - the apocalypse."

NEW YORK: The global economy faced many hurdles in 2025. The US government upended longstanding economic wisdom in a manner many economists feared would harm both the American economy and those of other countries. International institutions were sidelined, tariffs levied, the independence of the Federal Reserve questioned – all while debt continued to rise.

Add that to geopolitical crises throughout the world and the nonchalant manner with which capital markets financed artificial intelligence, and there were many opportunities for market failures and recession. Yet the American and global economies recorded strong growth, and stock markets soared.

It’s far from assured that we will be as lucky in 2026. To continue our run of economic and financial successes, there must be adjustments involving both the public and private sectors. Both must make smarter choices, focusing on structural reforms, rather than simply throwing money at problems and imposing tariffs on trading partners.

RESPECTABLE GDP GROWTH

Even though the Trump administration boycotted the Group of 20 summit, blanketed the globe in tariffs and dismantled the Washington consensus on liberalisation and free markets that US governments had repeatedly advocated to others, the American economy managed to accelerate real GDP growth to 4.3 per cent in the third quarter and avoid major trade retaliation from most countries.

The global economy grew at a respectable 3 per cent; the Chinese economy demonstrated remarkable agility against America’s protectionist measures, making up its roughly 30 per cent drop in exports to the United States by shipping more to Europe and Southeast Asia. China’s trade surplus, for the first time, exceeded US$1 trillion – a staggering feat.

Then there were AI leaders and the capital markets that enabled them. Valuations soared, driving a 21 per cent gain in the Nasdaq and 17 per cent in the S&P 500 stock market indexes. Nvidia became the world’s first US$5 trillion company. OpenAI announced a US$1 billion deal with Disney.

It often seemed that financing had no limits for AI companies – even those with less-than-robust revenue and business models and, even worse, those that simply plastered an AI label on existing activities. We also saw the resurgence of self-financing, including when Nvidia essentially gave OpenAI money to buy Nvidia’s products.

The same capital markets continued to fund enormous debts and deficits in the advanced world. Yet the much-anticipated general increase in borrowing costs did not materialise. In fact, interest rates ended the year lower.

And while there were jitters over some fiscally weaker countries like France and Britain, these were limited and ultimately did little harm as both governments acted to calm markets, at least in the short term.

RISKS TO ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL WELL-BEING

These achievements were all impressive. But they are essentially first-round wins. The new year will most likely bring risks to economic and financial well-being. There is no coasting on past successes, especially as the warning signs for stability are already mounting.

Lower-income consumer resilience can’t be counted on. Trade retaliation might increase. Fiscal and monetary policies are loosening. The labour market is cooling, widening the decoupling of employment from economic growth. China’s redirection of trade could cause reprisals from other countries.

Add to that a growing divergence in performance among economies, and a picture emerges of a fragile global order. Meanwhile, some of the very narrowly focused AI companies will probably struggle to significantly raise revenues, failing to keep pace with the huge investments made in them.

To come through 2026 in a strong position, governments need to enact sustainable productivity improvements, rather than stimulate the economy via spending and lower interest rates. We need coherent AI adoption policies – ones that attempt to maximise output gains while limiting labour market shocks – designed and carried out in collaboration with leading companies.

And investors must make fewer reckless choices if we want to avoid market instability. Pouring money indiscriminately into AI should give way to backing a smaller group of winners in a more disciplined manner.

THE NEXT ROUND IS JUST BEGINNING

American foreign trade and investment policies must become more strategic. The United States needs to work with partners to avoid a fragmentation of the global order that threatens the dollar and risks a spiral in which zero-sum thinking causes countries to act against each other, ultimately making everyone worse off.

China, on its side, needs to accelerate its economic restructuring that unleashes domestic consumption rather than redirect exports around the world; otherwise, it risks becoming a catalyst for protectionism not just from America, but also European and other Asian countries.

Political and social pressures around affordability are likely to mount in a US election year. Policymakers must address the so-called K-shaped economy, in which the wealthy see their incomes and assets grow while the less fortunate are hit hard by high prices, heavy debt burdens and decreasing buying power.

History is littered with those who celebrated too early – in sports, in war, and in economics and finance. In 2025, the American and global economy, led by AI and capital markets, skated through a series of obstacles. But the next round is just beginning. No number of successes in the last round will guarantee success in the next.

Mohamed A El-Erian, chairman of Gramercy Funds Management, is former president of Queens’ College at Cambridge University and former chief executive of PIMCO, an investment management firm. This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

KYIV: Russia's battlefield gains in Ukraine last year were the highest since 2022, an AFP analysis showed, as Kyiv was set to host security advisers from allied states on Saturday despite Moscow's unrelenting strikes.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said around 15 countries would attend the talks, along with representatives from the European Union and NATO, with a US delegation joining the meeting via video link.

The talks - and a subsequent summit of leaders from the so-called coalition of the willing planned for next week in France - are the latest in a flurry of efforts to end the nearly four-year war.

Zelenskyy said in a New Year's Eve address that a US-brokered peace deal was "90 per cent" ready, though the important issue of territory remains unresolved.

The diplomatic push comes as Russia presses its advantage against outmanned and outgunned Ukrainian troops on the battlefield.

The Russian army captured more than 5,600 square kilometres, or nearly one per cent, of Ukrainian territory in 2025, according to an analysis of data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), which works with the Critical Threats Project.

This includes areas that Kyiv and military analysts say are controlled by Russia, as well as those claimed by Moscow's army.

The land captured is more than in the previous two years combined, though far short of the more than 60,000 square kilometres Russia took in 2022, the first year of its all-out invasion.

"HEINOUS"

Moscow has kept up its aerial barrage of Ukraine, with the latest strike on a residential area of the major city of Kharkiv, reducing parts of multi-storey buildings to smouldering piles of rubble.

AFP images from the site showed firefighters tackling the blaze and rescuers scrambling to evacuate people to safety.

The local authorities said a three-year-old child was killed and at least 19 people were wounded in the attack, which Zelensky slammed as "heinous".

"Unfortunately, this is how the Russians treat life and people - they continue killing, despite all efforts by the world, and especially by the United States, in the diplomatic process," he said on social media.

Russia's defence ministry rejected Ukraine's claim, saying in a statement its forces "did not plan or carry out strikes using missiles or air strikes within the city limits of Kharkiv".

Underlining the deadly risks for civilians, Ukrainian officials on Friday (Jan 2) ordered the evacuation of more than 3,000 children and their parents from 44 front-line settlements in the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions, where Russian troops have been advancing.

More than 150,000 people have been evacuated from front-line areas since June 1, said Ukrainian Restoration Minister Oleksiy Kuleba.

On Thursday, Russia accused Kyiv of a strike on a hotel and a cafe in Ukraine's occupied south that killed 28 people, and warned of "consequences" - but Ukraine said the attack targeted a military gathering that was closed to civilians.

AFP was not able to verify either account.

ZELENSKYY NAMES TOP AIDE

On Friday, Zelenskyy named military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov as his new top aide, after the president's previous chief of staff resigned in November over a corruption scandal.

Budanov has built up a legendary reputation in Ukraine, credited with a series of daring operations against Russia.

When formally appointed, he will succeed Andriy Yermak, who resigned in November after investigators raided his house as part of a sweeping corruption probe.

Zelensky also said he wanted to replace Defence Minister Denys Shymgal, who was only appointed six months ago, with 34-year-old political novice Mykhailo Fedorov, who is currently minister of digital transformation.

"Mykhailo is deeply involved in issues related to drones and is very effective in the digitalisation of state services and processes," the president added.

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, describing it as a "special military operation" to prevent the expansion of the NATO alliance - a war aim that Kyiv has called a lie.

Moscow has since captured large swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine, while firing on Ukrainian towns and cities in daily drone and missile attacks.

MUKALLA: Yemen's UAE-backed separatists announced a two-year transition to independence on Friday (Jan 2) despite reporting 20 deaths in airstrikes from a Saudi-led coalition trying to roll back their weeks-long offensive across the country's south.

A separatist military official and medical sources reported 20 fighters dead in air raids on two military bases, as the coalition also targeted an airport and other sites.

The bombardment and surprise independence bid followed weeks of tensions between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates over the separatist Southern Transitional Council's (STC) land-grab.

Yemen, which was divided into North and South from 1967 to 1990, could again be split in two years if the STC's independence plan comes to fruition. It would call the new country "South Arabia".

STC president Aidaros Alzubidi said the transitional phase would include dialogue with Yemen's north, controlled by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, and a referendum on independence.

But he warned the group would declare independence "immediately" if there was no dialogue or if southern Yemen was attacked again.

"The Council calls on the international community to sponsor dialogue between the concerned parties in the South and the North," Alzubidi said in a televised address.

"This constitutional declaration shall be considered immediately and directly effective before that date (January 2, 2028) if the call is not heeded or if the people of the South, their land, or their forces are subjected to any military attacks," he added.

STC forces took much of resource-rich Hadramawt, bordering Saudi Arabia, and neighbouring Mahra province on the Omani frontier, in a largely unopposed advance last month.

The Saudis and Emiratis have for years supported rival factions in Yemen's fractured government territories. But the STC's offensive angered Riyadh and left the oil-rich Gulf powers at loggerheads.

"EXISTENTIAL" WAR

Following repeated warnings and airstrikes on an alleged UAE weapons shipment this week, the Saudi-led coalition launched a wave of attacks on Friday.

Mohammed Abdulmalik, head of the STC in Wadi Hadramaut and Hadramaut Desert, said seven air strikes hit the Al-Khasha military camp.

Further strikes targeted other sites in the region and the airport and military base in Seiyun, STC military sources and eyewitnesses told AFP.

Reyad Khames, a resident of a village near Al-Khasha, said: "Saudi planes are chasing STC fighters. We don't know what type of aircraft they are - we just see flashes and explosions hitting checkpoints, clearing the way for the (Saudi-backed) forces to advance."

Friday's deaths are the first from coalition fire since the STC's campaign began.

The separatists' military spokesman said it was in an "existential" war with Saudi-supported forces, characterising it as a fight against radical Islamism - a longtime preoccupation of the UAE.

The air raids came shortly after pro-Saudi forces launched a campaign to "peacefully" take control of military sites in Hadramawt.

"This operation is not a declaration of war, nor an attempt to escalate tensions," Hadramawt governor Salem Al-Khanbashi, also leader of the province's Saudi-backed forces, was quoted as saying by the Saba Net news agency.

Saudi sources confirmed the strikes were carried out by the Saudi-led coalition, which nominally includes the UAE and was formed in 2015 in a vain attempt to dislodge the Houthis in Yemen's north.

A source close to the Saudi military warned the strikes "will not stop until the Southern Transitional Council withdraws from the two governorates".

RIVAL FACTIONS

KYIV: Russian missiles struck a multi-storey apartment building in Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine on Friday (Jan 2), leaving the building in ruins and injuring at least 25 people, officials said.

Photographs and videos posted online showed smoke ‌rising from an area of vast ‌destruction, with emergency crews making their way through rubble and large chunks of building materials.

"Missile strikes in central Kharkiv have nearly destroyed a five-storey dwelling," Regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov told Ukrainian ‍television, saying that according to preliminary information, two ballistic missiles had struck the area.

"Rescue teams are on site. They are primarily clearing rubble and searching ​for people underneath."

Syniehubov ‌said 25 people were injured, with 16 in hospital, including a woman in serious ​condition.

Mayor Ihor Terekhov put the casualty toll at 30 ⁠injured.

Located 30km ‌from the border, Kharkiv withstood Russian advances ​in the early weeks of Russia's February 2022 invasion of its smaller neighbour.

With ‍Russia's forces focused since on capturing eastern regions of ⁠the country, the city has been a constant ​target of aerial attacks.

RAFAH: Hollywood star Angelina Jolie on Friday (Jan 2) visited the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing into Gaza, where she spoke with members of the Red Crescent and truck drivers ferrying humanitarian aid, AFP journalists said.

Accompanied by an American delegation and greeted by former and current officials, Jolie said she was "honoured" to meet aid volunteers at the crossing.

A Red Crescent volunteer told the Oscar winner that "there are thousands of aid trucks just waiting" at the border crossing.

According to local media, the actor and former special envoy for the UN Refugee Agency made the visit to see the condition of injured Palestinians transferred to Egypt and to look into aid deliveries into the devastated territory.

Jolie and the Egyptian authorities have yet to officially comment on the visit.

The Rafah border crossing was set to be reopened under the ceasefire in effect in Gaza since October, but has so far remained closed.

In a joint statement on Friday, Egypt and six other countries including Saudi Arabia, "urged the international community to pressure Israel, as the occupying power, to immediately lift the constraints on the entry and distribution of essential supplies" to Gaza.

In early December, Israel announced that the Rafah crossing would be opened only for those wishing to leave Gaza, prompting Cairo to deny that it had approved such a move so swiftly.

Jolie, one of Hollywood's most iconic figures, stepped down from her role as special envoy for the United Nations Refugee Agency at the end of 2022 after more than 20 years of service, saying she wanted to work on broader humanitarian issues.

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland: Swiss authorities on Friday (Jan ‌2) said dozens of people badly burned in a fire in a bar in a ski resort during New Year's Eve celebrations - in which 40 people died - were being taken to nearby countries for specialised treatment.

Investigators were also closing in on the circumstances of the blaze, which occurred early Thursday in the Alpine town of Crans-Montana.

"Everything suggests that the fire started from sparklers or Bengal candles" placed in Champagne bottles and waved high, near the low ceiling of the bar, the chief prosecutor of the Wallis region, Beatrice Pilloud, told a press conference.

The French managers of the bar, Le Constellation, have been questioned, along with multiple survivors, she said.

The details emerged as Switzerland reeled from the tragedy, and as families of the hundreds of people, most of them young, who had been packed into the bar braced for news of their loved ones.

The exact number of people who were at the bar when it went up in flames remains unclear. The Crans-Montana website said the venue had a capacity of 300 people plus 40 on its terrace.

The fire's destruction was so intense that Swiss authorities were not able, in the immediate aftermath, to give a precise number of dead, nor identify the badly burned survivors.

But in Friday's press conference, Wallis canton regional police commander Frederic Gisler said "at this stage" the death toll was 40, with most of the bodies found inside the bar.

MANY FOREIGN NATIONALS

Swiss authorities warned it could take days to identify everyone who perished, leaving an agonising wait for family and friends. Online, desperate appeals to find the missing proliferated.

Of the 119 people injured - most in a critical condition -  113 were now identified, Gisler said, with officials working "relentlessly" to complete the task.

Twenty-four of the injured were being medically evacuated to other countries to help Switzerland's overloaded burn facilities, the EU's commissioner for crisis management, Hadja Lahbib, said on X.

Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and Romania were among the countries taking in the survivors, she said.

The head of the Swiss canton where Crans-Montana is located, Mathias Reynard, told reporters a total of around 50 people would end up being transferred to other European countries "for treatment in special burn units". 

Numerous foreign nationals were among the injured -- and were also expected to figure among the dead.

Gisler said that, of the injured, 71 were Swiss, 14 were French, 11 were Italian, and there were four Serbs, as well as individual Bosnian, Belgian, Polish, Portuguese and Luxembourg nationals.

In 14 cases, the nationality was still unknown, he said.

SCENES AND CHAOS

Videos posted online, and viewed by investigators, have pointed to sparklers stuck in Champagne bottles igniting the ceiling being the likely cause.

One video showed the low wooden ceiling - covered with soundproofing fabric - catching alight and the flames spreading quickly, but revellers continuing to dance, unaware of the death trap they were in.

Once they realised, panic set in.

Bystanders described scenes of chaos as people tried to break the windows to escape, while others, covered in burns, poured into the street.

"Some of our hypotheses have now been confirmed. Indeed, everything suggests that the fire started from the sparklers or Bengal candles that had been placed on the Champagne bottles, which were held too close to the ceiling," the prosecutor, Pilloud, told reporters.

The bar's French managers - said by multiple sources to be a couple from Corsica - escaped unharmed and were questioned as "witnesses", with no liability established at this stage, she said.

Their information explained the layout of the bar, details about recent renovations, and the bar's capacity, as well as indications to help with filling out a list of people present at the time of the fire, Pilloud said.

As authorities began moving bodies from the burned-out premises in central Crans-Montana, the resort appeared to be enveloped in a stunned silence on Friday.

"The atmosphere is heavy," Dejan Bajic, a 56-year-old tourist from Geneva who has been coming to the resort since 1974, told AFP. 

"It's like a small village; everyone knows someone who knows someone who's been affected," he said.

"APOCALYPSE"

Locals and tourists who witnessed the aftermath of the tragedy told AFP what they saw.

"We thought it was just a small fire - but when we got there, it was war," Mathys, from the neighbouring village of Chermignon-d'en-Bas, said, declining to give his last name. "That's the only word I can use to describe it: the apocalypse."

Edmond Cocquyt, a Belgian tourist, said he saw bodies "covered with a white sheet" and "young people, totally burned, who were still alive ... screaming in pain".

As he laid flowers in memory of the victims in Crans-Montana, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told reporters the "absolute priority" was to save the lives of the critically hurt survivors.

The objective was also, he said, "to identify those responsible", pointing out that "the use of fireworks, even small ones, in a place like this seems irresponsible".