- Morocco's tribeswomen see facial tattoo tradition fade
- Centre-left set to win as pro-Ukraine Lithuania votes
- Colombia guerilla group urges delegations not to attend COP16 in Cali
- Pakistan frets over security ahead of SCO summit
- Ronaldo scores 133rd Portugal goal in Nations League win over Poland
- 40 nations contributing to UN Lebanon peacekeeping force condemn 'attacks'
- Eight dead as heavy rain thrashes Brazil after long drought
- Jewish school in Canada hit by gunfire for second time
- Morocco crush Central African Republic, Guirassy scores hat-trick
- Dupont scores quickfire hat-trick on Toulouse Top 14 return
- Ronaldo scores in Portugal's Nations League win as Spain sink Denmark
- Interim boss Carsley has not applied for England job
- Mets hurler Senga ready to take on Dodgers in game one of NL Championship Series
- Ronaldo on target again as Portugal defeat Poland in Nations League
- Guardians rip Tigers 7-3 to advance in MLB playoffs
- AFP, BBC win top French war reporting awards
- Carsley goes back to basics as humbled England face Finland
- Alex Salmond: the man who took Scotland to the brink of independence
- Scotland's former leader Alex Salmond dies aged 69: party
- UN warns of catastrophe as Israel fights a two-front war
- Croatia extend Scotland's losing streak
- South Africa, New Zealand boost T20 World Cup semi-final hopes
- 'Very challenging': Israel faces Hezbollah in tricky terrain
- Farrell begins to feel at home as Racing 92 beat Toulon
- South Africa boost T20 World Cup semi-final hopes with Bangladesh win
- Samson ton powers India to T20 series sweep after record total
- Djokovic to face Sinner in Shanghai final with 100th title in sight
- UN peacekeepers to remain in Lebanon: spokesman
- Pro-Conquest film fuels debate in Mexico over colonial legacy
- Samson ton powers India to record 297-6 in Bangladesh T20
- New Zealand enjoy perfect start to America's Cup defence over Britain
- Pogacar emulates icon Coppi with fourth straight Il Lombardia triumph
- UN warns against 'catastrophic' regional conflict
- New Zealand crush Ineos Britannia in America's Cup opener
- Djokovic to face Sinner in blockbuster Shanghai Masters final
- With medical report Harris seeks to play health card against Trump
- Sri Lanka seeks to match success in W.Indies T20s
- Sinner reaches Shanghai final, will end year number one
- China-EU EV tariff talks in Brussels end with 'major differences': Beijing
- Sabalenka downs Gauff in three sets to reach Wuhan final
- Israel warns south Lebanon residents to 'not return'
- Sinner tames Machac to reach Shanghai Masters final
- Buried Nazi past haunts Athens on liberation anniversary
- Harris to release medical report confirming fitness for presidency: campaign
- Nobel prize a timely reminder, Hiroshima locals say
- Hezbollah fires at Israel as wars rage on Yom Kippur
- Analysts warn more detail needed on new China economic measures
- China tees up fresh spending to boost ailing economy
- China says will issue special bonds to boost ailing economy
- China offers $325 bn in fiscal stimulus for ailing economy
'Whole family gone': families identify victims of Hanoi fire
Hundreds gathered outside a morgue in western Hanoi Wednesday, waiting to hear if their families and friends were victims of a devastating apartment fire that killed more than 50 people.
The fire in the 10-storey building, which had only one exit and wire-barred balconies, started as residents fell asleep on Tuesday night.
Neighbours and residents of the building in the capital's southwest said they heard screaming as people struggled to escape the flames and thick smoke.
Police said 56 people were killed and 37 injured, while state media reported that three children were among the dead.
At the morgue in a military-owned hospital, officials appeared at the entrance every half hour to announce through a loudspeaker that there was another victim for families to identify.
Holding out a photo on a mobile phone or simply describing the dead, medical workers asked desperate relatives if they recognised their loved ones.
Cries broke out each time a match was found.
Authorities tried to prevent families talking to journalists, but one man, who did not give his name, said his daughter had died and feared his wife had also perished.
"I lost my daughter, who was staying with her mother," he said through tears.
Unsure where his wife was, he told AFP: "I guess she did not make it either."
One group of five women, sitting on the floor outside the morgue, said their "whole family had gone".
"They were our children and grandchildren," they said.
- 'So much suffering' -
Elsewhere in the morgue, families who knew their loved ones had died sat waiting for hours to collect the bodies.
One man, who gave his name as Dung, said his two young cousins, a man and a woman, were among the dead. They had come from their home in nearby coastal Thai Binh province to study.
"They were at university here. Our family bought them this small apartment.
"We are waiting here to bring back them back to our home province for burial, but we don't know when they are going to release the body."
State media reported that Hanoi would provide around $1,500 to families for each adult who had died. Compensation would also be given for those who had lost a child.
The apartment block, which is down a narrow alley in a residential area of the capital, was home to several young families. Many had come from other provinces to work or to study.
Around 150 people lived in the building, which had no emergency ladder on the outside.
Survivor Tran Thi Lien, 65, who bought her second-floor apartment in the block eight years ago, told AFP that residents had requested better fire safety equipment many times.
"They still did not do it," she said.
"When people die like this... it causes so much suffering."
L.Mason--AMWN