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An inquiry laid most of the responsibility for the disaster on companies involved in the maintenance and refit of the apartment tower. Photo: DANIEL LEAL/AFP A public inquiry into the devastating 2017 London Grenfell Tower blaze on Wednesday blamed the disaster on failings by government, the construction industry and most of all the firms involved in fitting the exterior with flammable cladding. Seventy-two people died when the fire ripped through the 23-storey social housing block in one of the richest areas of west London during the early hours of 14 June, 2017. It was Britain's deadliest blaze in a residential building since World War II. In its long-awaited final report, the inquiry laid most of the responsibility for the disaster on companies involved in the maintenance and refit o...

By Rich Mckay and Andrew Hay, Reuters Parents and students leave the scene after being reunited following a shooting took place at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on 4 September 2024. Photo: AFP Four people were killed in a shooting at a Georgia high school on Wednesday just weeks after classes began, and a suspect was taken into custody, law enforcement officials said. The shooting was the first of the new school year in the United States, and served as a stark reminder to students, teachers and parents of the threat of gun violence in schools and colleges across the nation. The shooting left four dead at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, and nine people were taken to hospitals with injuries, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation posted on X. One suspect was in custo...