Video showed firefighters with flashlights searching through the charred remains of the towers on Thursday night.

Item 1 of 5 A drone view shows flames and thick smoke rising from the Wang Fuk Court housing estate during a major fire, in Tai Po, Hong Kong, China, November 27, 2025. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

[1/5]A drone view shows flames and thick smoke rising from the Wang Fuk Court housing estate during a major fire, in Tai Po, Hong Kong, China, November 27, 2025. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

A huge fire still burning in a Hong Kong high-rise apartment complex that has killed at least 55 people with almost 300 missing poses the biggest test of Beijing's grip on the city it has transformed since the mass pro-democracy protests of 2019.

Hong Kong police arrested the bosses of a construction company on suspicion of manslaughter on Thursday over the city's worst fire in nearly 80 years, which killed at least 83 people with scores more listed as missing.

The FBI searched multiple properties in Washington state and San Diego on Thursday in what officials said was a terrorism probe into an Afghan national suspected of shooting two National Guard members, who remained in critical condition.

The Trump administration on Thursday blamed Biden-era vetting failures for the admission of an Afghan immigrant suspected of shooting two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., but the alleged gunman was granted asylum this year under President Donald Trump, according to a U.S. government file seen by Reuters.

From battlefields in Afghanistan to a scenic home in the Pacific Northwest, Rahmanullah Lakanwal had followed a promising path before Wednesday, when U.S. authorities say he shot two National Guard soldiers blocks from the White House.

Pope Leo lamented during his first trip outside Italy as Catholic leader on Thursday that the world was seeing an unusual number of bloody conflicts, and warned that a third world war was being "fought piecemeal" with humanity's future at risk.

Turkey has emerged as among the harshest critics of Israel's bombardment of Gaza.

Staff at Lebanon's De La Croix Psychiatric Hospital are delighted that Pope Leo's visit will give its carers and residents, often abandoned by their families, recognition at last.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that outline draft peace proposals discussed by the United States and Ukraine could become the basis of future agreements to end the conflict in Ukraine, but that if not Russia would fight on.

British finance minister Rachel Reeves fought back against criticism that she was raising the tax burden to a post-World War Two high to fund extra welfare spending and returning the Labour Party to its high-tax, high-spend past.

Flood rescue teams in Thailand readied drones to deliver aid and helicopters dropped supplies to people marooned on rooftops, as the death toll from its worst floods in years rose and the number killed by a cyclone in Indonesia climbed to 61.

Item 1 of 5 A woman hugs her father as they reunite, on a flooded street in Hat Yai district, affected by deadly heavy rainfall, which has impacted several provinces in southern Thailand. REUTERS/Karit Chaui-aksorn

[1/5]A woman hugs her father as they reunite, on a flooded street in Hat Yai district, affected by deadly heavy rainfall, which has impacted several provinces in southern Thailand. REUTERS/Karit Chaui-aksorn

Unusually heavy rain in Perlis, which borders southern Thailand, has caused severe flooding across many parts of the state since last week, displacing more than 7,000 people from their homes.

Beijing will build on its successful Made in China 2025 plan which turned the country into an industrial powerhouse. The new iteration prioritises high-tech exports to grow the economy by 40% to $28 trln in 10 years. This will inflame trading partners and domestic tensions.

Formula One champions McLaren are confident title contenders Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will be fully up to speed for the last two races of the season in Qatar and Abu Dhabi despite their disqualification in Las Vegas.