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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Sarah Gilbert and Emine Saner

The photographs that defined 2025 – and the stories behind them

A whirling dervish protestor in Istanbul
A whirling dervish protestor in Istanbul Photograph: Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Tai Po, Hong Kong, China, 26 November

A man cries out in distress as a fire spreads across multiple buildings on a housing estate in Hong Kong
Tyrone Siu/Reuters
A massive fire broke out around 3pm at Wang Fuk Court, a densely packed housing estate in Tai Po, and I arrived about an hour later. By then, the flames were raging across multiple blocks, with thick black smoke. Unsafe bamboo scaffolding and foam may have led to what became Hong Kong’s worst fire in decades. Residents were streaming out in panic, while emergency crews fought a losing battle against the inferno spreading from one tower to the next.

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