To learn of US envoy Steve Witkoff and his Russian interactions is to understand the handbrake turn towards Moscow.
The Bloomberg report of Witkoff's recent involvement distills eye-watering detail of his contact with Yuri Ushakov, Vladimir Putin's senior adviser on foreign policy.
Among the revelations, it tells of the American advising the Russian on dealing with Trump.
In a phone call last month, Witkoff told Ushakov that Zelenskyy was coming to visit the White House, and suggested Putin speak to Trump beforehand.
Witkoff reportedly said: "The president will give me a lot of space and discretion to get to the deal."
He spoke of Trump's 20-point Gaza peace plan and suggested that "maybe we do the same thing with you".
Read more:
Who actually wrote Trump's peace plan?
Steve Witkoff: Real estate mogul turned envoy
A good impression of a useful idiot
Subsequently, Witkoff drafted the controversial peace proposal with his Russian counterparts, and the US pressured Ukraine to accept it.
The report paints an unflattering picture of Trump's envoy doing a good impression of a useful idiot.
There must be serious questions surrounding his engagement with the Russians and serious concerns around consequences that are potentially catastrophic.
Moscow's threat to Ukraine and to the security infrastructure of Western Europe is strengthened on his handshake.
He'll press the flesh in Russia once more - Donald Trump is sending Witkoff back to Moscow for further talks aimed at bridging the Ukraine-Russia impasse.
Scandal isn't what it used to be
Putin has given the Americans little to no encouragement around their reworked plan and Kyiv will shudder at what Trump's "Mr Fixit" might fix next.
They will despair of his continued involvement at any level and what it says about Trump's perspective and where his loyalties lie.
In any other job, Witkoff might have been sacked for being irredeemably compromised.
At any other time, this would have been viewed, universally, as a major scandal.
But under Donald Trump, scandal isn't what it used to be.
The president and his point man continue to consort with Vladimir Putin.
On the evidence of Steve Witkoff's interaction, the power dynamic leans less Trump than we might have thought.
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.
Read more from Sky News:
Trump's peace plan had Russian fingerprints all over it - now we know why
Defiant Maduro wields sword as he sends message to US
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."
Jakarta, in Indonesia, has taken the top spot and is predicted to keep it until 2050, when the rise of Dhaka is expected to see the Bangladeshi capital top the tables.
A new report from the United Nations shows the number of megacities - cities with a population of 10 million or more - quadrupled from eight in 1975 to 33 in 2025, and they're predominantly located in Asia.
The report, which uses UN estimates and is an update of the organisation's 2018 data, highlights the dramatic increase in city living, a relatively new phenomenon.
As recently as 1950, living in a city was highly unusual - with only 20% of the world's population living in one.
Tokyo, which has held the title of the world's most populous city for decades, has seen its population increase gradually over the last 25 years.
While 33.4 million people call the Japanese capital their home, it has been passed by Jakarta and Dhaka.
The two cities have seen their populations grow at more than five and seven times the rate of Tokyo's since 2000, respectively.
Today, Jakarta's population stands at nearly 42 million, followed by Dhaka with almost 37 million.
By 2050, Dhaka's population is predicted to reach 52.1 million, beating Jakarta to the top spot by just 300,000.
Tokyo will continue to fall down the rankings to seventh position by 2050, being overtaken by cities such as Shanghai and New Delhi.
London to remain one of Europe's only megacities
While the number of megacities is expected to increase from 33 to 37 by 2050, none of the new ones will be in Europe.
London, Istanbul and Moscow will remain the continent's only megacities.
According to the UN data, London will see its population grow by almost a million and a half by 2050 - meaning it will retain its title as the world's 33rd largest city.
Read more from Sky News:
Tourist tax to be introduced across England
Flights cancelled after Ethiopian volcano erupts
The English capital will remain the smallest of Europe's megacities, with Istanbul retaining its leading position and Moscow coming in a close second.
What about the UK's other cities?
While London receives the most attention in the report, it is an outlier, with most other UK cities - such as Cardiff and Inverness - being the norm.
The report emphasises how, despite the number of cities worldwide more than doubling between 1975 and 2025, 96% of cities have fewer than 1 million inhabitants.
Most cities are smaller still, with 81% having a population of 250,000 or fewer.
Globally, 45% of us now live in cities, with 36% of people living in towns and the remaining 19% living in rural communities.
Nine people were declared dead on the scene and four others were later confirmed dead at hospital, the authorities said.
About 700 people have been evacuated to temporary shelters.
The government and Fire Services Department said other individuals remain trapped after the blaze broke out at the Wang Fuk Court housing complex in the city's Tai Po district.
The dead included one firefighter, officials added.
Video from the scene showed at least five buildings close to each other were ablaze.
Fire officials said they do not currently have a figure for how many people may still be inside.
Three people are in a critical condition having suffered burns, the government said, while others have also been injured.
A number of 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 consisted of eight blocks housing almost 2,000 apartments.
The fire, which broke out at 2.51pm local time, had spread on bamboo scaffolding set up around the exterior of the complex, reports said.
Renovation work was being carried out at the site, according to local media.
Firefighters have been seen aiming water at the intense flames from high up on ladder appliances.
Pictures showed thick grey smoke billowing out from the buildings as emergency services battled to control the blaze.
Flames and smoke were still shooting out of many windows as night fell.
Tai Po is in the northern part of Hong Kong and close to the border with the mainland Chinese city of Shenzhen.
Bamboo scaffolding is a common sight in Hong Kong at building construction and renovation projects.
Read more from Sky News:
Tokyo overtaken as world's biggest city
Brazil's ex-president begins 27-year prison sentence
However, the government said earlier this year it would start phasing it out for public projects because of safety concerns.
Wang Fuk Court is a complex under the government's subsidised home ownership scheme.
It has been occupied since 1983, according to the property's website.
The 63-year-old brandished a sword as he addressed supporters during a march in Caracas, against a backdrop of growing tensions with Donald Trump's administration.
Dressed in camouflage fatigues, Mr Maduro said: "We must be ready to defend every inch of this blessed land from imperialist threat or aggression, no matter where it comes from."
Since September, US military forces have been conducting a series of strikes against vessels suspected of drug trafficking in international waters, killing at least 80 people.
Washington has claimed that several of these boats had departed from Venezuela, with Mr Maduro describing the deployment as an assault on the nation's sovereignty.
'Stop this madness'
Yesterday, Cuba also accused the US of seeking a violent overthrow of Mr Maduro's government - and called its military presence in the region "exaggerated and aggressive".
The country's foreign minister, Bruno Rodriguez, said ousting Venezuela's leader would be extremely dangerous and irresponsible, not to mention a violation of international law.
He added: "We appeal to the people of the United States to stop this madness. The US government could cause an incalculable number of deaths and create a scenario of violence and instability in the hemisphere that would be unimaginable."
Reports suggest the US is planning to launch a new phase of Venezuela-related operations in the coming days.
Critics have questioned the legality of America's campaign and argue it amounts to extrajudicial killings, with a recent poll suggesting just 29% of voters support this policy.
Officials within Maduro's government have claimed that Washington's actions are being driven by economic motives.
Venezuelan minister Delcy Rodriguez said: "They want Venezuela's oil and gas reserves. For nothing, without paying. They want Venezuela's gold.
"They want Venezuela's diamonds, iron, bauxite. They want Venezuela's natural resources."
Donald Trump, like his predecessor Joe Biden, does not recognise Mr Maduro as the country's leader.
He is currently on his third term after being declared the winner of last year's presidential election, despite evidence that the opposition defeated him by a two-to-one margin.
Mr Maduro and senior officials have been repeatedly accused of human rights violations against real and perceived government opponents.
Earlier this week, the US designated Venezuela's Cartel de los Soles - Cartel of the Suns in English - as a foreign terrorist organisation for importing illegal drugs to the States.
The Trump administration has claimed that Maduro is part of this group, but Venezuelan officials have described its mere existence as a "ridiculous fabrication".
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One as he travelled to Florida for Thanksgiving, the president suggested he might be planning to talk to Mr Maduro.
"If we can save lives, if we can do things the easy way, that's fine," the US president said. "And if we have to do it the hard way, then that's fine too."
Read more world news:
Russia 'making concessions', Trump says
Four more arrests over Louvre heist
Brazil's Bolsonaro begins 27-year jail term
Carlos Diaz Rosillo, a former US deputy assistant secretary of defence during the first Trump administration, does not believe America will go to war with Venezuela.
He told The World With Dominic Waghorn: "What I do see is a strategy of maximum pressure on the regime. I do think if there's any change, that change has to come from within the military."
Dr Rosillo said the official position of the US government is not regime change, but Mr Trump would like to see that happen in Venezuela.