In the US, a man sets himself on fire outside the courthouse where the Trump trial is taking place

A young man doused himself with liquid and set himself on fire in a small park in front of the courthouse in Manhattan, where the trial of former US President Donald Trump was taking place, UNN reports with reference to the BBC.

The information that a man set himself on fire near the courthouse where Trump's trial is underway was confirmed by police sources to CNN.

The man entered a park across the street from the courthouse, throwing flyers in the air, a senior law enforcement official told CNN. He then pulled something out of his backpack - it was not immediately clear what it was - and set himself on fire, the official said.

Investigators are now collecting flyers that were thrown into the air by an unknown person, another senior law enforcement official said. A CNN team on the ground spotted one of the flyers. It read "NYU is a mob front" and contained various accusations of wrongdoing against the school.

According to CNN correspondent Laura Coates, who described the scene unfolding in front of her outside the courthouse, at least one person used a fire extinguisher to try to put out the flames, and an ambulance ran up to the man and tried to help him.