CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — Eight children at a church near Harvard University where a French youth choir was holding a concert suffered seizure-like symptoms and were taken to hospitals, possibly the result of fumes from cleaning supplies, officials said.
The symptoms were not life-threatening, the Cambridge Fire Department said in a news release. About 70 other people in attendance at the concert Tuesday evening at St. Paul's Parish in Harvard Square were not affected.
The children, described as preteens and early teens, were doing fine Wednesday and were all released from local hospitals, according to the department. The Cambridge Fire Department's hazardous materials team determined fumes in the building could have come from cleaning supplies used shortly before the first complaint, the department's release said.
Crews first received a call about a child suffering from a seizure. When firefighters arrived, the child was sitting outside of the church but was not actively having a seizure, Fire Chief Thomas Cahill said.
“That quickly escalated into seven other people having seizure-like symptoms,” Cahill told WCVB-TV.
The department's hazmat team “completed a thorough survey of the St. Paul buildings utilizing several air sampling meters to ensure that no hazardous conditions were present,” the press release said. “Results were negative, and the buildings were ventilated.”
St. Paul's Facebook Page said a French youth choir, the Chœur d’Enfants d’Île-de-France, was offering a free concert at the church on Tuesday night as part of its 2025 U.S. tour.
“Founded in 1970, the youth choir has traveled extensively and performed with some of the world’s top conductors and soloists,” St. Paul's said. “The concert will feature and exciting mix of sacred and secular repertoire, as well as popular French songs.”
Messages seeking comment were emailed to St. Paul's. The Harvard Catholic Center, the Catholic chaplaincy for Harvard University students and other academic institutions in the area, referred questions to the fire department.
In this still image taken from video, and ambulance with working lights is parked in a street in Cambridge, Mass., on Wednesday, July 23, 2025. (AP Photo)
BANGKOK (AP) — Cambodia reported that Thailand hit a site in the country's northwest with an airstrike on Saturday, even as the two countries held talks to try to put an end to renewed combat that erupted in early December just months after a ceasefire ended a previous round of border fighting.
Cambodia’s Defense Ministry said that Thailand deployed F-16 fighter jets to drop four bombs on Saturday morning on a target in Serei Saophoan in the northwestern province of Banteay Meanchey.
On Friday, Cambodia said that a similar airstrike dropped 40 bombs on a target in Chok Chey village in the same province. There were no reports of casualties from that raid, but the ministry said that houses and infrastructure in the Chok Chey target area were destroyed.
Thailand’s military confirmed the Friday attack, saying that a joint army-air force operation was conducted to protect Thailand’s Sa Kaeo province, which borders Banteay Meanchey and where the two nations have overlapping territorial claims.
Air Marshal Jackkrit Thammavichai, a spokesperson for Thailand’s air force, said at a press briefing on Friday that the operation took place after days of monitoring by the Thai military determined that civilians had been evacuated from the target area.
Long-standing competing claims of territory along the border are the root of tensions that broke into open combat in late July. Mediation by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, backed up by pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, led the two sides to agree to a shaky ceasefire after five days of fighting.
Each side describes its current military actions as being taken in self-defense, and blames the other for breaching the ceasefire.
“If Cambodia is not sincere about a ceasefire, peace will not be possible, and Thailand will have no choice but to proceed with full-scale military operations to defend its sovereignty,” said the air force's Jackkrit.
Meanwhile on Friday, military officials from both nations held a third day of working-level talks of their already established General Border Committee at a checkpoint between Cambodia’s Pailin province and Thailand’s Chanthaburi province.
The committee meeting is expected to conclude later Saturday, when Thai and Cambodian defense ministers are anticipated to join and formalize an agreement.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Friday that Thailand expected Cambodia to agree to a 72-hour ceasefire, and if it was successfully implemented, Thailand would consider repatriating Cambodian prisoners of war, a major demand.
Thailand has lost 26 soldiers and one civilian as a direct result of the combat since Dec. 7, according to officials. Thailand has also reported 44 civilian deaths from collateral effects of the situation. Cambodia hasn't issued an official figure on military casualties, but says that 30 civilians have been killed and 90 injured.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated from affected areas on both sides of the border.
Trump spoke by phone with the Thai and Cambodian prime ministers on Dec. 12 and claimed on social media that they had agreed to revive their ceasefire. Anutin denied such an agreement and fighting continued.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio affirmed in a call this week to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet that Washington is prepared “to facilitate discussions to ensure peace and stability” between Cambodia and Thailand, the U.S. State Department said.
Amid the fighting, Thai media this week have highlighted the rescue of five malnourished wild animals — a male lion, a lioness, a sun bear and two Asiatic black bears — from a casino allegedly serving as a Cambodian military stronghold that was captured on Sunday by Thai marines.
The animals were sedated and transported to wildlife breeding centers in Thailand, the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation told The Associated Press on Friday. Arriving at their new homes by Christmas, the lioness was named “Merry” and the lion “Christmas” to celebrate their rescue.
AP writer Sopheng Cheang contributed to this report from Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
This handout photo provided by Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation of Thailand shows a lioness found in Trat Province in eastern Thailand, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation of Thailand via AP)
This handout photo provided by Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation of Thailand shows a rescued lion in a wildlife breeding center in Ratchaburi, Thailand, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025. (Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation of Thailand via AP)
This handout photo provided by Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation of Thailand shows a sedated bear found in Trat Province in eastern Thailand, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2025.(Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation of Thailand via AP)
This handout photo provided by Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation of Thailand shows a rescued lioness in a wildlife breeding center in Ratchaburi, Thailand, Friday, Dec. 26, 2025. (Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation of Thailand via AP)
ASEAN Foreign Ministers' meeting convenes Monday, Dec. 22, 2025 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to resume ceasefire talks after deadly border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia. (Thai MFA via AP)
