Investigators focus on control-centre order after Spain train crash US warns allies of renewed Iran strikes as Vance letter awaits reply Russian drone kills 14 at Dnipro station as Ukraine mounts record drone raid Congo Ebola outbreak passes 10,000 cases as neighbours and Europe weigh risk Israel deadlocked as Likud claims Arab parties stole the vote Lagarde to leave ECB early as bank holds rates at 2.5%Alphabet shares tumble after results, reviving worries over AI spending Oleshky truce holds as Europe splits over Putin call Iran reports tankers hitting mines in Hormuz as US says main routes are clear Bolsonaro calls himself Brazil's leader from Miami as Trump derides the vote Greek container ship sinks after naval drone attack off Bulgaria Saudi-led coalition downs Houthi missile as UN warns of access crisis in Taiz Hong Kong leader apologises over Tai Po fire as housing secretary resigns Europe to release 42 million barrels as oil majors post record profits North Korea fires about ten ballistic missiles as border dispute deepens US growth beats forecasts as inflation climbs, raising pressure on Fed Study links Indonesian haze to over 5,200 deaths as Singapore sends envoy China expels 33 officials and promotes General Zhang Shengmin to the Politburo EUFOR helicopter crashes in Bosnia, at least three dead Samsung posts biggest profit in tech history as AI memory boom lifts Korea and Japan Serbia's RTS chief resigns and news editors replaced after student-led election win Haiti postpones presidential election to 2027 as El Salvador pledges troops US bans imports from three Chinese genomics firms and Chinese testing labs, Beijing protests Death toll rises to six after Cyclone Arnab hits eastern India Anthropic's IPO filing sparks debate over $80bn loss and risk warnings China threatens countermeasures over EU trade curbs as Steinmeier visits Beijing Hebron lockdown enters second week as settlers accused of assaulting activists in West Bank UN mission says Al Obeid civilians are trapped between drones and incarceration as UAE jails eight over Sudan arms US imposes new sanctions on Rwanda over conflict in eastern Congo Volkswagen reports third-quarter loss of 5.8 billion euros Pentagon treats base freezer failures as suspected cyberattack after French supermarket sabotage Russia-Africa summit ends as Ethiopia receives Russian fighter jets Chinese tech stocks fall despite surge in chip sales French protests weigh on retailers and Macron as new rallies loom Israeli strikes hit Gaza as Health Ministry urges Rafah opening Courts and prosecutors collide with election fights days before US midterms Venezuela to offer state assets to private sector as Maduro trial judge dies Afghan opium cultivation surges despite Taliban ban, UN says Pound steady after Healey's 'continuity budget'DoorDash to buy Instacart for $17bn Taiwan suspects China behind brief Pakistani airspace ban on its airlines Albanian opposition disrupts parliament with flares after 17 days of protests Investigators focus on control-centre order after Spain train crash US warns allies of renewed Iran strikes as Vance letter awaits reply Russian drone kills 14 at Dnipro station as Ukraine mounts record drone raid Congo Ebola outbreak passes 10,000 cases as neighbours and Europe weigh risk Israel deadlocked as Likud claims Arab parties stole the vote Lagarde to leave ECB early as bank holds rates at 2.5%Alphabet shares tumble after results, reviving worries over AI spending Oleshky truce holds as Europe splits over Putin call Iran reports tankers hitting mines in Hormuz as US says main routes are clear Bolsonaro calls himself Brazil's leader from Miami as Trump derides the vote Greek container ship sinks after naval drone attack off Bulgaria Saudi-led coalition downs Houthi missile as UN warns of access crisis in Taiz Hong Kong leader apologises over Tai Po fire as housing secretary resigns Europe to release 42 million barrels as oil majors post record profits North Korea fires about ten ballistic missiles as border dispute deepens US growth beats forecasts as inflation climbs, raising pressure on Fed Study links Indonesian haze to over 5,200 deaths as Singapore sends envoy China expels 33 officials and promotes General Zhang Shengmin to the Politburo EUFOR helicopter crashes in Bosnia, at least three dead Samsung posts biggest profit in tech history as AI memory boom lifts Korea and Japan Serbia's RTS chief resigns and news editors replaced after student-led election win Haiti postpones presidential election to 2027 as El Salvador pledges troops US bans imports from three Chinese genomics firms and Chinese testing labs, Beijing protests Death toll rises to six after Cyclone Arnab hits eastern India Anthropic's IPO filing sparks debate over $80bn loss and risk warnings China threatens countermeasures over EU trade curbs as Steinmeier visits Beijing Hebron lockdown enters second week as settlers accused of assaulting activists in West Bank UN mission says Al Obeid civilians are trapped between drones and incarceration as UAE jails eight over Sudan arms US imposes new sanctions on Rwanda over conflict in eastern Congo Volkswagen reports third-quarter loss of 5.8 billion euros Pentagon treats base freezer failures as suspected cyberattack after French supermarket sabotage Russia-Africa summit ends as Ethiopia receives Russian fighter jets Chinese tech stocks fall despite surge in chip sales French protests weigh on retailers and Macron as new rallies loom Israeli strikes hit Gaza as Health Ministry urges Rafah opening Courts and prosecutors collide with election fights days before US midterms Venezuela to offer state assets to private sector as Maduro trial judge dies Afghan opium cultivation surges despite Taliban ban, UN says Pound steady after Healey's 'continuity budget'DoorDash to buy Instacart for $17bn Taiwan suspects China behind brief Pakistani airspace ban on its airlines Albanian opposition disrupts parliament with flares after 17 days of protests

Symbolic image: Hong Kong leader apologises over Tai Po fire as housing secretary resigns

Symbolic image

Hong Kong leader apologises over Tai Po fire as housing secretary resigns

10 sources

Hong Kong's chief executive John Lee apologised on Thursday for the Wang Fuk Court fire that killed 168 people. Housing Secretary Winnie Ho resigned after a judge-led report faulted four government departments.

Lee and seven other officials bowed in apology on Thursday, 29 October, as the report was released. It cited "decades of failure" by government bodies. It called private contractors the "main culprits" but said the Fire Services, Buildings and Labour departments and the Independent Checking Unit (ICU) should bear part of the responsibility. The ICU, which sits under the housing bureau, carried the most, the report said, because of its "lax" approach to enforcement. Lee said Ho was not personally responsible but that her department should shoulder political responsibility. He said he would stay on himself to lead the reforms.

Reforms and further inquiry

The ICU will be disbanded and replaced next month by a Public Housing Building Control Section. A task force will target bid-rigging in renovation tenders, which Lee said the government will criminalise. A three-month investigation into the government's role is to begin, and the South China Morning Post reports that a three-member team will examine up to 50 civil servants.

Families want more

Yip Ka-kui, who lost his wife in the fire, said all secretaries of the named departments should step down. Beijing's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, by contrast, praised the government's "serious accountability".