South Korean President Lee Jae-myung announced Wednesday that communication channels with North Korea, including crucial emergency hotlines, have been entirely severed, signifying an unprecedented complete halt to formal inter-Korean dialogue. Speaking to foreign media in Seoul one year after a failed martial law attempt, President Lee described relations on the Korean Peninsula as frozen, emphasizing…
Russia maintains that significant territorial concessions from Ukraine are a prerequisite for any peace settlement, a stance highlighted amid increased diplomatic activity in both Brussels and Washington focusing on the ongoing war. According to Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov, discussions with representatives of former U.S. President Donald Trump have emphasized border adjustments, while simultaneously…
The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKHA) announced a significant step forward in bolstering the city’s public housing inventory, securing a vital parcel of land—Wang Fuk Court in Kowloon—on December 3, 2025. This strategic acquisition is pivotal to the government’s long-term initiative to alleviate the severe housing deficit and improve living conditions for thousands of low-income…
HONG KONG— Following an urgent, city-wide safety review, Development Secretary Bernadette Linn has issued a directive requiring the removal of safety netting from all large-scale building maintenance sites across Hong Kong within three days, effective immediately. This sweeping mandate affects over 200 private residential and commercial properties, alongside more than a dozen public housing and…
Hong Kong’s Secretary for Development, Bernadette Linn, has issued an immediate directive requiring the swift removal of all safety netting shrouding large-scale building maintenance sites across the territory. This urgent measure, announced on December 3, is a crucial component of a comprehensive safety review targeting construction envelopes and exterior coverings on repair and renovation projects…
TAI PO, HONG KONG — Following a devastating fire that swept through a residential complex, Hong Kong authorities have initiated a controlled, temporary reopening of one undamaged building, Wang Chi House in Wang Fuk Court, to allow displaced residents to recover critical personal items. The supervised access, confirmed Tuesday, addresses urgent pleas from those affected…
HONG KONG – Forensic specialists are grappling with unprecedented challenges identifying victims following the catastrophic No. 5 alarm fire at Wang Fuk Court on December 3, 2025. The intense and prolonged inferno tragically claimed 159 lives, leaving 19 remains yet to be formally confirmed and 31 individuals officially listed as unaccounted for, raising grim concerns…
Hong Kong authorities have arrested six individuals connected to fire safety contracting following a devastating five-alarm residential blaze in Tai Po that resulted in significant casualties. The arrests, announced Tuesday, are tied to allegations that the contractors provided false assurances to the Fire Services Department (FSD) regarding the operational status of the fire alarm system…
Two maintenance workers were safely rescued on Tuesday afternoon after their exterior cleaning platform reportedly tipped and malfunctioned high above Kennedy Town, Hong Kong. The incident occurred at The Belcher’s residential complex, leaving the individuals suspended precariously over 30 stories above the ground before a specialized fire department team stabilized the situation. The Hong Kong…
Hong Kong authorities reported on December 3, 2025, that the official death toll from the catastrophic blaze at Wang Fuk Court has escalated to 159, marking one of the city’s deadliest residential fires. Following the completion of internal searches across the estate’s seven residential blocks, police are transitioning to complicated recovery efforts around the complex’s…
Following a devastating blaze in late November, the Hong Kong Housing Department (HD) swiftly provided temporary housing for residents displaced from Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, but their relief efforts have recently been overshadowed by competing narratives concerning the quality of the temporary accommodations. On Tuesday, December 3, the Housing Department officially rejected widespread…
A fast-acting response from local emergency services contained an apartment fire in Tsing Yi, Hong Kong, this afternoon, preventing injuries and widespread damage. The incident occurred at approximately 12:51 p.m. today, December 3, at On Kong House, Block 3 of the Cheung On Estate. Multiple calls alerted authorities to the fire, which involved a residential…
Indonesia and the Netherlands have finalized a diplomatic arrangement allowing the transfer of two elderly Dutch citizens, both convicted of substantial drug trafficking offenses, back to Europe. The repatriation, secured on humanitarian grounds, sees one man released from a death sentence and the other from a life term in Indonesian prisons, marking a significant outcome…
Residents impacted by the devastating five-alarm blaze at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, which resulted in significant casualties and displacement eight days ago, face mounting challenges securing stable, suitable housing. Limited capacity in local temporary accommodations is forcing authorities and advocacy groups to seek urgent solutions across neighboring districts, according to local officials. On…
HONG KONG — The Labour Department levied an administrative penalty against Ying Garden, a restaurant under the management of Cheer Power Holdings Limited, following a substantiated complaint regarding the misuse of the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme (ESLS). Effective December 1, 2025, the department revoked all previous in-principle grants for importing labor and imposed a two-year…
Following a devastating high-rise blaze in Tai Po, Hong Kong, residents from a neighboring, unaffected building were finally granted temporary access to their homes this week, eight days after the incident. Beginning on Wednesday, December 3, authorities permitted occupants of Wang Chi Court—the tower adjacent to the fire-damaged Wang Fuk Court—to return briefly and collect…
Following a recent residential blaze, Hong Kong’s Housing Department moved quickly this week to counter misleading social media reports concerning the immediate accommodation provided to those displaced. The Department issued a formal statement on Tuesday, December 3, clarifying that online claims suggesting affected residents of the Wang Fuk Court fire in Tai Po were relocated…
A fatal motorcycle accident tragically occurred in the early hours of Wednesday in Hong Kong’s Yau Ma Tei district, where a rider succumbed to injuries following a crash on a Lin Cheung Road exit ramp. Around 1:38 a.m., the rider, identified as a non-ethnic Chinese male, was traveling inbound on Jordan Road toward the Western…
Hong Kong’s Travel Industry Authority (TIA) has initiated enforcement proceedings against the licensed travel agency Lucky Holiday following its sudden closure, which left approximately 1,500 customers uncertain about their prepaid travel plans totaling an estimated HK$1.7 million. The regulatory action began after the travel provider submitted written notification on Monday, Dec. 1, stating its intent…
Early Wednesday morning, a tragedy unfolded in Cheung Sha Wan, Hong Kong, after a 32-year-old woman identified as Ms. Lui was pronounced dead following an alleged suicide attempt at So Uk Estate. Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident at Cedar House on Orchid Street, which saw the woman sustain a critical, self-inflicted injury…