Two fires, including a huge blaze at a crowded shopping centre, killed more than 90 people on Sunday, battering China’s already dire safety reputation. At least 54 people died in the inferno at the Zhongbai Commercial Plaza in Jilin, northeast China, which started during a busy Sunday lunchtime.

Iraq’s deposed dictator Saddam Hussein is unlikely to stand trial for at least another two years, The Guardian has learned. The Iraqi special tribunal for crimes against humanity is months away from hearing its first case, and when the trials begin in October or November the first defendants to appear will be high-ranking Ba’ath party officials.

An Italian man and a Thai woman locked lips for 31 hours and 18 minutes, setting a new world record in a Valentine’s Day kissing marathon in Vicenza, northern Italy. Andrea Sarti (37), a lorry driver, was so exhausted by the kiss that he had to be resuscitated with oxygen by a first aid team. Anna Chen (26) had to lie down.

Early next year a European space probe called Huygens will complete a seven year journey by crashing into the thick, freezing atmosphere of Saturn’s moon Titan at 5,92km a second. It will open a parachute and drop into a fug of nitrogen, methane, alcohol fumes, ammonia and ice.

My daughter has just started in grade nought. That has not stopped her from causing chaos all over the known world. All this week other parents (and grandparents, for that matter, because many of them are the ones who insist on taking the wee darlings to school) have been looking at me strangely. Here’s why.