FRANCE: France’s top court today upheld former president Nicolas Sarkozy’s conviction for illegal campaign funding of his re-election bid in 2012.

The decision by the Court of Cassation makes definitive Mr Sarkozy’s conviction to a year in prison, half of it suspended, for fraudulently overspending on the failed campaign.

HONG KONG: A fire spread across seven high-rise blocks of flats in a Hong Kong housing complex, killing 13 people and leaving others still trapped, the city’s fire services said today.

Nine people were declared dead at the scene and four others who were sent to hospital were later confirmed dead, authorities told reporters. At least 15 others were injured.

INDONESIA: Rescuers recovered more bodies in the search for dozens of people buried under landslides or swept away after torrential rains unleashed flash floods and triggered landslides on Indonesia’s Sumatra island, increasing the death toll to 17 and leaving six people missing, officials said today.

Rescue workers had recovered at least five bodies and three injured people in the worst-hit city of Sibolga today, and were searching for four villagers who were reported missing, the statement said.

TAIWAN: President Lai Ching-te announced a special $40 billion (£31 billion) budget for arms purchases today, including to build a Taiwan Dome, an air defence system with high-level detection and interception capabilities, as the United States pressures the breakaway Chinese province to increase military spending.

The budget will be allocated over eight years, from 2026 to 2033, and comes after President Lai already pledged to raise defence spending to 5 per cent of the island’s GDP.