Fire trucks line the streets November 27, 2025. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu |
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At least 55 people are dead as the Hong Kong high rise blaze burns on after 24 hours. Senior Correspondent Farah Master tells the Reuters World News podcast that desperate families are searching for loved ones trapped on upper floors of the buildings.
- A train ran into a group of railway workers in the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming, killing 11 and injuring two, officials there said, the country's deadliest rail accident in more than a decade.
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Rescuers in Thailand readied drones to airdrop food parcels, as receding floodwaters in the south and neighbouring Malaysia brightened hopes for the evacuation of those stranded for days, while cyclone havoc in Indonesia killed 28.
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A drone view shows the Spanish Steps in Rome, Italy, December 10, 2024. REUTERS/Cristiano Corvino |
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Italy's ruling parties have dropped plans to scrap a tax break on short-term rentals as part of amendments to the 2026-2028 budget. Short-term rentals are common in tourist hotspots but are politically sensitive amid Europe-wide protests over tourism and soaring rents.
- Meanwhile, Italian ruling lawmakers intend to press ahead with a claim that the central bank's $300 billion in gold reserves belong to the state, a senator said despite widespread concern that the move could breach EU rules.
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A federal judge granted Amazon.com a preliminary injunction to block the New York State Public Employment Relations Board from enforcing a new state law that the online retailer considers an attempt to illegally regulate private-sector labor relations.
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Taiwan prosecutors said investigators had raided the homes of a former senior TSMC executive and seized computers after the company accused him of leaking trade secrets, something his current employer Intel has denied.
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This year, China’s peak electricity load, or demand, and peak daily gas consumption are both forecast to hit the highest level yet recorded in winter, an official from the National Development and Reform Commission said.
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Titans such as Google, Meta, Oracle and Amazon may spend $600 billion in 2026 on data centers. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists explain why juicy profits will not be enough to fund their rapid expansion. But raising debt will only extend contagion risk.
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As AI reshapes shopping, US retailers try to change how they're seen online |
People look at their smartphones in lower Manhattan in New York City. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo |
Big retailers traditionally spend millions on attracting eyeballs for the holiday season. Now, they're looking to get noticed by something else - AI agents. Most of this holiday season's projected $253 billion in US online sales will happen through website visits or standard online searches that favor companies that spend big on search engine ads.
But chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Google's Gemini have become part of the mix, with shopper-facing tools that can give product descriptions, compare prices, or allow purchases directly within large-language models as US consumers increasingly use AI for advice on the best holiday stocking stuffers. |
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Tour guide Kwame Ondo of AfroIberica Tours talks during a tour to address Spain’s colonial and slavery past in Madrid. REUTERS/Susana Vera |
In Madrid, specialized tour guides are leading visitors past the customary landmarks to focus on an African heritage that barely appears in Spanish textbooks and collective memory, joining a trend seen in other European cities where |
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