At least 36 people have been killed after a fire engulfed several buildings at a high-rise residential complex in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong leader John Lee said another 279 people were reported missing. He said 29 people remained in hospital.

About 900 people have been evacuated to temporary shelters after the blaze – Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in years – broke out at the Wang Fuk Court housing complex in the city’s Tai Po district.

Three men have since been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, broadcaster RTHK reported.

Meanwhile, fire chiefs said the high temperatures were making it challenging for crews to mount rescue operations.

Mr Lee said the fire was “coming under control” shortly after midnight.

The blaze was upgraded to a level 5 alarm, the highest level of severity, as night fell.

The dead included one firefighter, officials said earlier.

A number of other firefighters were said to have been hurt while trying to tackle the flames as they ripped through the 31-storey towers.

Records show the Wang Fuk Court site consists of eight blocks, with almost 2,000 apartments housing around 4,800 residents, including many elderly people. It was built in the 1980s and has recently been undergoing a major renovation.

The fire, which broke out at 2.51pm local time, had spread on bamboo scaffolding and construction netting set up around the exterior of the complex.

It was not known how the fire started, but officials said it began on the external scaffolding of one of the buildings before spreading inside and to nearby buildings, likely aided by windy conditions.

Flames and smoke were still pouring out of many windows as night fell.

Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed condolences to the firefighter who died, and extended his sympathies to the families of the victims, according to state broadcaster CCTV. He also urged an “all-out” effort to minimise casualties and losses.

The UK’s foreign secretary described the fire as “truly devastating and deeply depressing”. Yvette Cooper said: “The UK sends heartfelt condolences to all the families affected and to the people of Hong Kong.”

Tai Po is in the northern part of Hong Kong, and close to the border with the mainland Chinese city of Shenzhen.

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Bamboo scaffolding is a common sight in Hong Kong at building construction and renovation projects.

However, the government said earlier this year it would start phasing it out for public projects because of safety concerns.

The blaze is the deadliest fire in Hong Kong since the deaths of 41 people in a commercial building in Kowloon in November 1996.

That fire was later found to have been caused by welding during internal renovations, with a public inquiry yielding sweeping updates to building standards and fire safety regulations in the city’s high-rise offices, shops and homes.

Two military personnel who were shot near the White House in Washington DC have died.

A suspect has been taken into custody and the area secured, police said.

The White House was placed into lockdown, while US President Donald Trump is away in Florida.

Washington DC shooting latest updates

Mr Trump initially posted on his Truth Social platform to say the two National Guardsmen had been “critically wounded”, adding that the “animal” that shot them “is also severely wounded, but regardless, will pay a very steep price”.

But West Virginia’s governor said both victims were members of his state’s National Guard and had died from their injuries.

Patrick Morrisey added: “These brave West Virginians lost their lives in the service of their country. … Our entire state grieves with their families, their loved ones, and the Guard community. West Virginia will never forget their service or their sacrifice, and we will demand full accountability for this horrific act.”

Police tape cordoned off the scene, while agents from the US Secret Service and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were on the scene, as National Guard troops stood sentry nearby.

The Joint DC Task Force confirmed it was responding to an incident in the vicinity of the White House.

The DC Police Department posted on X: “Critical Incident: MPD is on the scene of a shooting at 17th and I Street, NW. Please avoid the area.”

In an update, the force said: “The scene is secured. One suspect is in custody.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “The White House is aware and actively monitoring this tragic situation.

“The president has been briefed.”

Mr Trump was at his resort in Palm Beach ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, while US vice president JD Vance was in Kentucky.

Flights arriving at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport were temporarily halted due to its proximity to the scene of the shooting, the US Federal Aviation Administration said.

Hundreds of National Guard members have been patrolling the nation’s capital after Mr Trump issued an emergency order in August, which federalised the local police force and sent in the guard from eight states and the District of Columbia.

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A woman has been jailed for life in New Zealand for murdering her two children, whose bodies were found in suitcases in an abandoned storage unit more than three years ago.

Hakyung Lee, born in South Korea, was convicted in September after admitting using anti-depressant medication to kill her children, aged six and eight, in 2018.

Their bodies were discovered in the storage unit when its new owners were sorting through its contents after buying it in an online auction in August 2022.

Lee – a New Zealand citizen – had money troubles and stopped paying rent on the Auckland storage unit.

The 45-year-old was extradited to New Zealand in late 2022, after fleeing to South Korea shortly after the murders and changing her name.

Her lawyers claimed the killings happened after she “descended into madness” following the death of her husband in 2017, and on Wednesday, argued that a life sentence would be unjust given her mental health issues.

But prosecutors said there was no evidence Lee was suicidal at the time of the killings, according to the New Zealand Herald.

Judge Geoffrey Venning rejected calls for a lesser penalty, but he did approve compulsory treatment at a secure psychiatric facility on the condition that Lee would return to prison once deemed mentally fit, the newspaper reported.

The judge told Lee: “You knew your actions were morally wrong… perhaps you could not bear to have your children around you as a constant reminder of your previous happy life.”

Lee was sentenced to life imprisonment and must serve a minimum non-parole period of 17 years.

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Detective Inspector Tofilau Faamanuia Va’aelua said: “Yuna and Minu would have been 16 and 13 today.

“Our thoughts are with the wider family today for the tragic loss of these two young children.”

Jimmy Sei Wook Jo, the children’s uncle, was in court, where a lawyer read a statement on his behalf.

“I never imagined such a profound tragedy would ever befall our family,” the statement said, according to local news outlets.

“I feel like I failed to look after my niece and nephew.”