The authorities in Hong Kong say more than 80 deaths have now been confirmed after the city's worst fire in decades. Officials think that number will grow, with more than 200 people still missing. It's unclear what caused the fire but the eight residential blocks were undergoing renovations. The contractor is reported to have breached safety requirements on multiple occasions during construction projects. We speak to a former firefighter who is an expert in tower fires.

Also on the programme: How Israel's offensive on Lebanon has continued, despite a ceasefire; and a scientific study casts new light on how cats came to be domesticated and part of the daily life of so many human beings.

(Photo: Smoke billows from an apartment fire in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong, China, 27 November 2025. Credit: Leung Man Hei/ EPA Shutterstock)

Emergency teams in Hong Kong are still working to extinguish fires at a giant housing complex a day after the blaze broke out. Sixty- five people have now been confirmed dead. Over two hundred are still missing.

Also in the programme: Hamas has urged mediators to pressure Israel to grant safe passage for dozens of its fighters holed up in tunnels in southern Gaza; the Australian fifteen year-olds taking their government to court over its social media ban for kids; and John Lennon's son on why his father's political activism still hits home today.

(Photo: One 51-year-old resident - with the surname Wan - tells Reuters she bought her apartment in Wang Fuk Court over 20 years ago. Credit: Reuters)

At least 36 people have been killed in a huge fire that has engulfed multiple high-rise buildings in Hong Kong's Tai Po district. Also on the programme, three people, including two soldiers from the US National Guard, have been shot in Washington, a few blocks from the White House; and, how noise in the ocean is affecting marine life.

(Photo:Fire burns bamboo scaffolding across multiple buildings at Wang Fuk Court housing estate, in Tai Po, Hong Kong, China, November 26, 2025. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu)

Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te has announced a plan to spend an extra $40 billion dollars on the military over the next eight years to resist Chinese aggression.

Also on the programme: at least 13 people have died in a fire in a tower block complex in Hong Kong; and the new "Russian cultural code” from fashion to music, aiming to define what it means to be Russian.

(Photo: Taiwan President Lai Ching-te gestures as he delivers a speech during National Day celebrations in Taipei on October 10, 2025. Credit: Reuters)

Ukraine's President Zelensky says he's ready to meet President Trump to discuss the most sensitive points of US- drafted peace agreement with Russia. But he said his country's European allies should also join the meeting. Mr Zelensky was addressing a gathering of the Coalition of the Willing - a group of nations which supports Kyiv. We will hear from an Ukrainian MP who is in London to meet with British lawmakers.

Also in the programme: Scientists in the UK have established that the brain ages through five distinct stages over its lifetime; and Los Angeles' most famous modernist-styled house goes on sale for the first time.

(Picture: Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of a Russian strike on a nine-storey residential building in Kyiv, Ukraine on 25 November, 2025. Credit: MAXYM MARUSENKO/EPA/Shutterstock)

As American officials brief that they're making progress in peace negotiations over the Russia-Ukraine war, we get a view from Moscow on what kind of deal might be acceptable to Russia.

Also in the programme: why is femicide – the killing of women – especially by intimate partners or close relatives, still so common around the world? We hear from the UN about what needs to happen to bring the numbers down; and ash from a volcano in Ethiopia which has erupted after many dormant years forces flights out of India to re-route.

(IMAGE: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks during a joint press conference with Belarusian Foreign Minister in Moscow, Russia, 25 November 2025 / CREDIT: Alexander Nemenov/AFP/POOL/EPA/Shutterstock)

President Zelensky has hailed what he called "important steps" in peace talks for Ukraine, but said making territorial concessions to Russia's leader would be rewarding him for theft.

Also in the programme: A judge has dismissed charges against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James; we meet the 3 year old with a deadly genetic disorder who's been treated with a pioneering new therapy; and Gaza food kitchens still missing essential products despite ceasefire.

(Photo credit: Getty Images)

Negotiations on a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine are continuing after the United States said progress had been made on Sunday. Moscow says it's not been informed of changes to a draft widely seen as favouring Russia.

Also on the programme: a three year old boy from California suffering from a rare, genetic disorder called Hunter syndrome, has become the first person in the world to be treated with a gene therapy developed in England; and Jimmy Cliff, the musician credited with introducing Jamaican reggae to the world, has died aged 81.

(Photo: Russian missile and drone assaults on Ukraine continue as its leaders hold talks with the US on a potential peace deal. Credit: Reuters)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says a “tremendous amount of progress” has been made in talks to finalise a Ukraine peace deal. Talks in Geneva between Ukrainian, US and European officials are focusing on a 28-point draft plan and will continue on Monday. Kyiv and its European allies have raised concerns about the proposals, saying they mirror Russia’s demands, and that more work is needed to reflect Ukraine and Europe’s needs.

Also in the programme: we speak to the UN’s climate chief on the deal passed at the COP30 summit; and the animated musical phenomenon KPop Demon Hunters hits Europe.

(Photo: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to the press following talks to finalise a Ukraine peace deal in Geneva, Switzerland. Credit: MARTIAL TREZZINI/EPA/Shutterstock)

The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has insisted that President Trump's 28 point plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war was drawn up by the US -- contradicting senators who said he told them it was a Russian "wish list". We look into that suggestion.

Also in the programme: What do the bandits kidnapping schoolchildren in Nigeria really want? How a celebrated Argentinian writer discovered that her nanny was a KGB agent; and the BBC's climate correspondent shares some reflections as the COP climate talks come to an end.

(Photo: Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of a Russian strike on a high-rise residential building in Ternopil, western Ukraine, 21 November 2025. Credit: Maxym Marusenko EPA/Shutterstock)