Category: Uncategorized

AdvertisementHong Kong’s Tai Po fire tragedyHong KongLaw and CrimeBreaking | John Lee orders judge-led independent inquiry to uncover truth behind Hong Kong fireThe committee will be chaired by a judge and will investigate the cause of the deadly fire in Tai Po which claimed 151 lives
Reading Time:1 minuteWhy you can trust SCMPMatthew ChengPublished: 10:09am, 2 Dec 2025Updated: 10:11am, 2 Dec 2025Hong Kong’s leader has ordered the establishment of an independent inquiry committee, chaired by a judge, to investigate the cause of the deadly fire in Tai Po which claimed 151 lives.
Chief Executive John Lee Ke-chiu said on Tuesday ahead of his weekly meeting with the city’s key decision-making Executive Council that authorities will set up the committee to find out the truth and enable a “systematic change”.
He will be in touch with the judiciary to have a judge to chair the committee, which will conduct its work in “high efficiency”.
AdvertisementThe fire at Tai Po’s Wang Fuk Court last We..

AdvertisementHong Kong’s Tai Po fire tragedyHong KongSociety‘Grieving and exhausted’: Hong Kong fire victims call for centralised relief platform‘Now all the information is here and there and we have to spend a lot of time searching and filling it in one by one,’ a survivor says
Reading Time:3 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPJiang ChuqinPublished: 9:42am, 2 Dec 2025Victims of Hong Kong’s worst fire in decades have called for a unified platform to access funds and resources, as some elderly people say they feel “exhausted” having to travel around and repeatedly provide their personal information to different parties for support.
Several people who lost their homes in the Tai Po fire, which had claimed 151 lives as of Monday, told the Post that while retrieving new identity cards and other documents from the Immigration Department was a smooth process, they faced difficulties navigating funds and other forms of support dispersed across various locations.
The Immigration Department said on M..

A nuclear bomb test in Mururoa atoll, French Polynesia, in 1971 (Image credit: Alamy Stock Photo) If World War III ever breaks out, where on Earth would actually be safe? It’s the kind of uncomfortable question that emerges quietly during news alerts, diplomatic escalations, and late-night doomscrolling. Most people don’t really believe civilisation will collapse, but many are aware it could. And that’s why researchers, analysts and risk observers continue to examine which regions might offer the greatest insulation from global conflict, especially in a nuclear era.The current geopolitical climate, and why people fear a major war International tensions are at their highest levels in decades. Conflict in Ukraine continues to destabilise European security and fuel fears of escalation involving NATO and Russia. In the Middle East, hostilities between Israel and surrounding states fluctuate between diplomatic friction and open threat. China’s ongoing rhetoric around a future “reunification..

AP photo US president Donald Trump on Sunday said he is ready to release the results of the MRI scan he took in October. Speaking to reporters while flying back to Washington from Florida, Trump said, “If you want to have it released, I’ll release it.” He described the results as “perfect.”Trump further told reporters he has “no idea” which part of his body the MRI covered. “It was just an MRI,” he said. “What part of the body? It wasn’t the brain because I took a cognitive test and I aced it.”The MRI was done during Trump’s visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in October.The debate over releasing the report began after Minnesota governor Tim Walz replied to Trump’s post saying, “Release the MRI results.” Trump had earlier used an offensive term for Walz while claiming that Somali immigrants were “taking over” Minnesota and criticising the governor for not acting.The White House has not explained why the MRI was done or which part of Trump’s body was scanned. Press sec..

AdvertisementHong Kong propertyBusinessHong Kong’s home sales recovery looks more solid as transactions, prices edge upMortgage and resale data both show a sustained rise in sentiment amid improving rates, prices and rental yields, agents say
Reading Time:3 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPYulu AoPublished: 9:30am, 1 Dec 2025Hong Kong’s property market is expected to extend its gradual recovery into the end of the year, supported by improving sentiment, rising rental yields and firmer demand in the mass-market segment, according to property analysts.
The latest mortgage and resale data suggest that buyers are returning following rate cuts and stamp-duty adjustments earlier this year, although the pace of improvement remains uneven across districts and price brackets.
Mortgage registrations continued to climb in October, reflecting a sustained rebound in transactions, climbing 7.1 per cent from September to 6,463, excluding off-plan units, according to a Centaline Property report on Thursda..

AdvertisementJapanThis Week in AsiaLifestyle & CultureIs decline in Japanese studies risking US relations with key Indo-Pacific ally?Academics bemoan the myopic approach after a recent report calls dropping Japan-focused subjects a ‘looming crisis in US-Japan relations’
Reading Time:3 minutesWhy you can trust SCMP3Julian RyallPublished: 9:30am, 1 Dec 2025Academics are bemoaning the decline in programmes focused on Japanese language, culture, history, art and other social science subjects at universities in the United States, warning that a “short-sighted approach” could threaten future trade and business opportunities as well as the critical diplomatic relationship.Funding for liberal arts courses at US universities has been under pressure for some years, they point out, but that appears to be accelerating as greater emphasis is placed on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programmes.The situation has become so serious that a recent report has described universitie..

33 Thomas Street/ Image:X In a city obsessed with views, one of Manhattan’s tallest towers has none. At 33 Thomas Street in Lower Manhattan, a 550-foot concrete block rises above the Civic Center with no windows, no visible life, and no obvious explanation. When a recent video of the building resurfaced on Reddit, the old question came back with force: what exactly is going on inside this thing? Even celebrities have joined in the curiosity. Back in 2017, Tom Hanks posted a photo of the structure on X and wrote: “This is the scariest building I've ever seen! WTF goes on inside?” Years later, the tower still offers no clues from the pavement – just blank granite walls and a handful of ventilation openings.What 33 Thomas Street was actually built for
The building is not an abandoned relic or an art project. It was built in the 1970s for a very specific purpose: to carry phone calls. Known as the AT&T Long Lines Building, 33 Thomas Street was designed to house massive switching equi..

Jason Hudson, a 48-year-old man from Deatsville, Alabama, was sentenced to 965 years in prison on November 19, 2025, after an Autauga County jury convicted him in October of 84 counts related to child sex crimes. The charges included first-degree rape, sodomy, incest, sexual abuse of a child under 12, and producing and possessing child pornography.
Investigation and evidenceAuthorities launched the probe after Hudson downloaded tagged child sex abuse material on information-sharing platforms, triggering alerts to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC). The Autauga County Sheriff's Office uncovered thousands of images and videos depicting male and female children, some under age 2, enduring sexual abuse and torture with whips, fire, and rope. Further searches revealed home videos Hudson made of himself raping, sodomizing, and sexually abusing a child under 12.Sentences were imposed consecutively by 19th Judicial Circuit Presiding Judge Amanda Baxley: 90 years ..

AdvertisementUkraine warWorldEuropeRussian drone attack kills 1 near Kyiv as Ukraine’s Zelensky seeks peace talksA child was among the 11 wounded during the attack on Vyshgorod, regional governor said
Reading Time:2 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPAgence France-PressePublished: 9:49am, 30 Nov 2025A Russian drone attack has killed one person and wounded 11 on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital, the regional governor said on Sunday.Mykola Kalashnyk, the Kyiv regional governor, reported “another enemy drone attack” and said rescuers were evacuating residents of a high-rise building and firefighting was ongoing.
“Unfortunately, as a result of the enemy attack on Vyshgorod, one person was killed and 11 were wounded. Among them is one child,” Kalashnyk wrote on social media.
AdvertisementThe latest attack follows a Russian drone and missile attack on Friday night that killed three people and left hundreds of thousands across Ukraine without power.A team of Ukrainian negotiators flew to the ..

AdvertisementSingaporeThis Week in AsiaLifestyle & Culture‘Zero-drama’ Singapore is just the ticket for Chinese tourists snubbing JapanBeijing’s call to boycott Japan after Sanae Takaichi’s remarks is benefiting Southeast Asian countries, travel agents say
Reading Time:4 minutesWhy you can trust SCMPJean IauPublished: 9:30am, 30 Nov 2025Amid the diplomatic fallout between Tokyo and Beijing, Hunanese accountant Echo He feels relieved she has chosen Southeast Asia for her year-end trip with her husband and colleagues, instead of the popular choice, Japan.The latest spat between both nations arose on November 7 when Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested her country could deploy its military forces in the event of a conflict in the Taiwan Strait.This infuriated Beijing, which sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. Most countries, including the United States and Japan, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any at..