Car blast near New Delhi's historic Red Fort kills at least 8 people, India's police say

NEW DELHI (AP) — A car explosion near the historic Red Fort in India’s capital on Monday killed eight people and injured at least 19 others, police in New Delhi said.

The blast, which triggered a fire that damaged several vehicles parked nearby, took place near one of the gates of the Red Fort metro station, the fire services said. The cause is being investigated.

New Delhi's international airport, metro stations and government buildings were placed on a high security alert after the explosion, the government said.

Om Prakash Gupta, a witness who lives close to the scene, said he was at home when he heard a loud explosion. “I rushed out with my children and saw several vehicles on fire, body parts all over,” he told The Associated Press. He said he saw one body on the windscreen of a car.

A cab driver, who gave his name as just Shahrukh, said he heard a loud explosion. “I came out of the car and started running along with others on the road,” he said.

A former imperial palace, the Red Fort is a major tourist attraction in the Old Delhi section of the city. Local media footage showed damaged vehicles and a police cordon at the site.

Sanjay Tyagi, a spokesman for the city’s police force, told the AP that at least 8 people were killed, and several others injured. “We are investigating the cause of the blast,” he said.

The fire service said the blast injured 19 people, who were being treated at a government hospital.

Images from the scene showed some shattered windowpanes and mangled pieces of vehicles while plumes of fire billowing from the burning cars.

Home Minister Amit Shah told local media that a Hyundai i20 car exploded near a traffic signal close to the Red Fort. He said CCTV footage from cameras in the area will form part of the investigation.

“We are exploring all possibilities and will conduct a thorough investigation, taking all possibilities into account,” Shah said. “All options will be investigated immediately, and we will present the results to the public.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a post on social media site X: “Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones in the blast in Delhi earlier this evening. May the injured recover at the earliest.”

The 17th-century Red Fort monument is one of India’s most high-profile tourist attractions. Located six kilometers (3.7 miles) from the Parliament, it is where Indian prime ministers deliver their annual Independence Day speeches on Aug. 15.

The investigation is being conducted by the National Investigation Agency, India’s federal terror investigating agency, and other agencies.

Security officials inspect the scene of a car explosion near the historic Red Fort in New Delhi, India, Monday, Nov. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Security officers inspect the site of a car explosion near the historic Red Fort in New Delhi, India, Monday, Nov. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Security officers inspect the scene of a car explosion near the historic Red Fort in New Delhi, India, Monday, Nov. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Officials inspect damaged vehicles at the site after a car explosion near the historic Red Fort in New Delhi, India, Monday, Nov. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Security officials inspect damaged vehicles at the site after a car explosion near the historic Red Fort in New Delhi, India, Monday, Nov. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Security officials inspect damaged vehicles at the site after a car explosion near the historic Red Fort in New Delhi, India, Monday, Nov. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Policemen secure the site after a car explosion near the historic Red Fort in New Delhi, India, Monday, Nov. 10, 2025. (AP Photo)

Ambulances are lined up at the scene after a car explosion near the historic Red Fort in New Delhi, India, Monday, Nov. 10, 2025. (AP Photo)

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australia’s recorded music industry will bar tracks wholly generated by artificial intelligence from official charts as burgeoning generative technologies threaten artists’ livelihoods, a representative said on Tuesday.

The crackdown comes as a variation of Madonna’s pop hit “Like a Prayer” created by an Australian producer using AI-generated vocals and drums has spent 16 weeks in the Australian top 20, stoking debate about generative AI’s place in music. It peaked at number two on the Australian Record Industry Association’s top 20 Australian singles chart in May and remained in fourth place on Tuesday.

Wholly AI-generated tracks will be banned from the ARIA charts from Monday next week, but some AI-assisted music will remain eligible, an ARIA statement said.

Tracks can be eligible only if “humans wrote the song and performed the lead vocal and the primary instruments,” among other requirements, the statement said.

AI-generated music would also be ineligible for the Australian industry’s prestigious ARIA awards.

ARIA chief executive Annabelle Herd said: “These changes reflect our intent to remain dynamic and promote the human nature of artistry in what is — to say the least — a rapidly developing space.”

“The ARIA Charts will always remain a transparent measurement of the music Australia consumes, but a chart that rewards unlicensed AI output would undercut the very basis of the recorded music we exist to represent,” Herd added.

Eligible music must also be produced using legal AI services. Music was appearing on streaming services that had apparently been developed with AI tools trained on artists’ music without authorization.

The Australian rules are in step with new principles released in July by the London-based International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. The federation represents the recording industry worldwide.

The international guidelines state that to qualify for official music charts, a track must be “substantially human made.”

Sydney Conservatorium of Music composer and lecturer Alexis Weaver told Australian Broadcasting Corp. the debate around AI in music was “exceptionally fraught and very emotional for a lot of musicians and so everyone will have a different opinion.”

Weaver applauded ARIA’s move as a “wonderful step forward” that sent a message ARIA wanted to “prioritize and value human creativity.”

“It can be quite hard to avoid AI tools in the current landscape,” Weaver said. “There is a way to use it while you’re still steering the ship and making the main creative choices.”

FILE - Madonna poses before the Saint Laurent Spring/Summer 2026 collection presented in Paris, on Sept. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard, File)