Eight students are suspected of arson after a deadly fire at a girls school in Kenya

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Police in Kenya have arrested eight female students on suspicion of arson, authorities said Friday, after a fire destroyed a dormitory at a boarding school, killing 16 children and injuring dozens of others. The motive is still unknown.

Police held 30 students overnight for questioning. Authorities said school administrators would face disciplinary action for safety violations after an exit door was found to be locked during the panicked rush to escape the building. At least 79 people were injured.

Education Minister Julius Ogamba said two teachers were aware that students were planning something but failed to take appropriate action, without elaborating.

A full day after the blaze, some parents said they had still not been told whether their children were under arrest or just being questioned.

“We have not even been told about the eight that police have arrested,” a parent, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of fear that her daughter could be victimized, told The Associated Press. “We are just here and no one is giving us any information.”

At a hospital morgue some 28 kilometers (18 miles) from the school, other parents awaited DNA tests to identify their children. A distraught father, John Muiruri, said they were being given conflicting information about the location of the bodies.

“They have just been doing some sideshows, trying to prevent us from knowing the truth, but the reality we have come to know is that we have lost our children," he said. “What we want to know is where are the remains of our daughters.”

The Utumishi Girls School, located about 120 kilometers (75 miles) from the capital, Nairobi, is managed and sponsored by the police, and many of the students are daughters of police officers.

“Investigators have conducted extensive interviews with students, teaching staff and other witnesses, while forensic teams carry out a detailed review of available CCTV footage,” John Marete, a spokesman for the investigative arm of the national police, said in a statement.

Education Minister Ogamba said the school's board of management had been dissolved and the principal would face disciplinary action for failing to comply with safety regulations.

“In particular, there was congestion in the dormitory and one exit door was locked, contrary to the prescribed safety requirements,” he said.

Fires at schools have long been a cause of concern for education officials in East Africa, where classrooms and dormitories are often crowded and firefighting equipment is rarely within reach.

Fires are sometimes attributed to electrical faults but there have also been cases of students burning down schools because of disciplinary issues.

Associated Press journalist Zelipha Kirobi in Gilgil, Kenya, contributed.

John Muiruri, father of Nicole Muiruri, who died in the fire at Utumishi Girls Academy, shows a photo of his daughter as he waits for body identification and DNA testing at Naivasha Funeral Home in Naivasha Town, Rift Valley region, Kenya, Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)

A parent of a victim of the fire at the Utumishi Girls Academy is consoled ahead of body identification and DNA testing at Naivasha Funeral Home in Naivasha Town, Rift Valley region, Kenya, Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)

A parent of a victim of the fire at the Utumishi Girls Academy is consoled ahead of body identification and DNA testing at Naivasha Funeral Home in Naivasha Town, Rift Valley region, Kenya, Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)

An injured student is evacuated following an early morning fire outbreak at Utumishi Girls School in the Gilgil area, central Kenya, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)

Red Cross members recover the bodies of students who died in the fire at the Utumishi Girls School in the Gilgil area, central Kenya, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rose in morning trading on Wall Street Friday, adding to the all-time highs they set a day earlier.

The S&P 500 rose 0.4% Friday. The index is coming off six gains in a row and is headed for a ninth straight winning week, which would be the longest such streak since 2023.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 182 points, or 0.4%, as of 9:57 a.m. Eastern. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.6%.

The gains were broad, with technology stocks leading the way. Dell surged 33% after after delivering profits that blew past expectations. The company also raised its outlook, citing powerful demand for AI computing.

Every major index is on track for records and to close out May with solid gains, despite worries about the U.S. war with Iran and its impact on inflation.

Markets in Europe and Asia mostly rose.

The U.S. and Iran are reportedly working toward a deal to extend a ceasefire. That eased pressure on oil prices. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 1.8% to $92.10 a barrel. It is still well above the $70 per barrel level in late February before the war began. Benchmark U.S. crude fell 1.5% to $87.55 per barrel.

Treasury yields held relatively steady as oil prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury remained at 4.45% from late Thursday.

High oil prices remain a key concern for Wall Street. The war has stifled the flow of oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. Roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas is shipped through the waterway.

That has pushed gasoline prices and prices for a wide range of goods higher, feeding inflation and squeezing consumers and businesses.

Several reports this week reflected inflation’s rise and impact on consumers. A measure of inflation preferred by the Federal Reserve accelerated in April to its highest level in three years. Consumer confidence is slipping amid the squeeze from rising inflation.

Trader James Lamb works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Trader Edward Curran, left, and specialist Meric Greenbaum, center, work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top left, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Asia markets index of Japan, South Korea and Australia is seen on a screen at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A currency trader watches monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top left, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Trader Robert Arciero works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)