Video showed firefighters with flashlights searching through the smoldering remains of the towers .

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 a major test of Beijing's grip on the city, which it has transformed since mass pro-democracy protests of 2019.

Hong Kong fire authorities said they expected to wrap up search and rescue operations on Friday after the city's worst fire in nearly 80 years tore through a massive apartment complex, killing at least 94 people and leaving dozens still missing.

A National Guard member died on Thursday after being shot near the White House in an ambush that investigators say was carried out by an Afghan national, an attack President Donald Trump blamed on Biden-era immigration vetting failures as he ordered a sweeping review of asylum cases.

Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national, entered the U.S. on September 8, 2021, under Operation Allies Welcome.

DHS said the Trump administration was expanding that to include a review of all asylum cases approved under the Biden administration.

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.

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.

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.

AS Roma ended Midtjylland's perfect record in the Europa League with a 2-1 home win on Thursday, while a Donyell Malen double earned Aston Villa a 2-1 win over Young Boys where the Swiss away fans disrupted proceedings at Villa Park.