"It was an incredible sight: the control tower was leaning perilously, " the port's nightwatchman told La Repubblica newspaper.

BBC: Italy deaths as Genoa ship hits control tower

With a Yahoo buyback in sight, and full control over the group, founder and CEO Jack Ma can focus on building an even better engine for online trade.

FORBES: As Sales Decelerate In China, Alibaba Sharpens Its Toolbox

"Control of this fire is not even in sight, " he said on Friday morning.

BBC: Fire destroys California mansions

Infra-red communication suffers the same problems, but has the additional limitation of requiring a direct line of sight between objects as anyone who has tried to operate a television remote control with someone else standing between him and the television will know.

ECONOMIST: The human body as a computer bus