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An explosive fire at a popular pub in Thailand’s capital Bangkok has killed 27 people, with another 22 injured in critical condition, officials said on Monday, in one of the deadliest such incidents in the tourism hub in recent years. “We have recovered 27 bodies, others are being sent to hospital,” said Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who visited the site of the fire that broke out just befo...
A huge fire engulfed a pub in Bangkok early on Monday morning, killing at least 27 people before firefighters brought the blaze under control, officials said. Footage shared online by first responders shows a huge blaze raging at the pub in the northern part of the Thai capital. Local media identified the venue as Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao, described by Sky News as a popular local venue. People a...
Parts of the United Kingdom are at “exceptional” risk of wildfires as the heatwave continues, experts have warned. Areas in southern England and the Midlands are highlighted as being at the highest risk, according to Natural England. Its fire severity index shows the area of “exceptional” risk is set to increase and spread to the southeast and east of England by the middle of the week, while most ...
Parts of the United Kingdom are at “exceptional” risk of wildfires as the heatwave continues, experts have warned. Areas in southern England and the Midlands are highlighted as being at highest risk, according to Natural England. Its fire severity index shows the area of “exceptional” risk is set to increase and spread to the South East and east of England by the middle of the week while most of t...
Police in Canada were searching on Sunday for the suspect or suspects involved in a shooting at a Latino music festival in Toronto that left two people dead and four others seriously injured. “Police are continuing their investigation at the scene,” City Councillor Josh Matlow said on social media, alluding to the attack on Saturday night. The final day of the Salsa on St Clair festival, Sunday, w...
Police in Canada were searching on Sunday for the suspect or suspects involved in a shooting at a Latino music festival in Toronto that left two people dead and four others seriously injured. “Police are continuing their investigation at the scene,” City Councillor Josh Matlow said on social media, alluding to the attack on Saturday night. The final day of the Salsa on St Clair festival, Sunday, w...
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko stepped down on Sunday as President Volodymyr Zelensky announced fresh changes to Ukraine’s government, saying he had offered a new and important position to the former premier. Zelensky, who has remained in office under martial law because wartime elections are prohibited, has periodically reshuffled his government in an effort to bring fresh momentum to ...
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko stepped down on Sunday as President Volodymyr Zelensky announced fresh changes to Ukraine’s government, saying he had offered a new and important position to the former premier. Zelensky, who has remained in office under martial law because wartime elections are prohibited, has periodically reshuffled his government in an effort to bring fresh momentum to ...
Israel will hold national elections on October 27, the last date allowed by law, its parliament said on Sunday, with the vote widely seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership since the Gaza war erupted. The Knesset, as parliament is known, is set to end its current term on July 17, allowing the ruling coalition to complete a full four-year term for the first time in de...
Israel is set to hold parliamentary elections on October 27, several local outlets reported on Sunday, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeks another term following a volatile few years marked by the war in Gaza. The next election is to be held by October 27 under the law but earlier dates had also been under discussion. Opinion polls suggest it could prove difficult for both Netanyahu’s camp ...
Israeli attacks killed at least six people in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, including a 9-year-old girl, Palestinian health officials said, as mediators held more talks to safeguard the US-brokered ceasefire. Medics said Israeli gunfire directed at a tent encampment on the eastern side of the Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza killed 9-year-old Tala Abu Matar. The Israeli military said it was not...
A newly emerged image of a PLA J-16 multirole fighter jet in a rare, heavy air‑superiority “extreme loadout” configuration points to an extension of long-range tactical capabilities, according to a Chinese military magazine. In an analysis published this month, Ordnance Science and Technology said the photo of a J‑16 carrying multiple long‑range missiles circulating in May showed that China’s air ...
Syria’s transitional parliament began its first session on Sunday, tasked with drafting the country’s new constitution and laying the groundwork for democracy after decades of authoritarian rule. Syria’s new authorities dissolved the country’s rubber-stamp legislature after toppling long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, and adopted a temporary constitutional declaration to cover a five...
Hong Kong’s dog-friendly restaurant scheme has sparked a fierce online debate over public hygiene and acceptable pet behaviour, while a branch of a cafe has opted out of the initiative just three days after it took effect. While more than 940 restaurants opened their doors to owners and their dogs last Thursday, clips showing dogs licking plates and sitting on dining tables and chairs have gone vi...
Foreign ministers from Asean were told on Sunday by their Myanmar counterpart that detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi is in good health and would be looked after, ASEAN’s special envoy to Myanmar said. Maria Theresa Lazaro, the Philippine foreign minister, has been seeking access to Suu Kyi, 81, who has been detained since her elected government was ousted in a 2021 military coup. “My reco...
Europeans are reconsidering who their countries should partner with in an increasingly uncertain world. A June survey of 24 European Union countries by Public First on whether to have closer ties with the United States or China found opinion divided. Eight leaned towards China, nine favoured the US and seven were split. This is not just a question of economics or geopolitics. It is about reputatio...
Companies backed by the state and provincial governments in China have announced new funds to focus on the semiconductor industry, which requires a large amount of time and resources to grow, at a time when the country is in need of more “patient capital”. China Life Insurance, the country’s largest life insurer, backed by the State Council, said it would establish a partnership with total capital...
Companies backed by the state and provincial governments in China have announced new funds to focus on the semiconductor industry, which requires a large amount of time and resources to grow, at a time when the country is in need of more “patient capital”. China Life Insurance, the country’s largest life insurer, backed by the State Council, said it would establish a partnership with total capital...
Legendary inventor Nikola Tesla’s dream of transmitting electricity wirelessly never became a reality on Earth. But more than a century later, Chinese scientists believe the concept could find its first practical application on the moon. Their proposal focuses on the moon’s south pole, where crater rims receive near-continuous sunlight while permanently shadowed regions nearby – believed to contai...
American burger chain Five Guys will debut its first Beijing store next month, the company said last week, joining a group of US fast-food brands newly entering or accelerating their expansion in China. Chains including Wendy’s, Chili’s, Texas Chicken and Popeyes are hoping to grab a slice of the world’s second-largest consumer market as they face saturation at home, analysts said. Five Guys opene...
In the first of a five-part Health Matters wellness series on ageing in Hong Kong, Fiona Sun examines rising social isolation among the elderly, its serious health risks and how activities and community support are helping seniors stay socially engaged. Chow Kam-shim, 92, and her husband Lau Moon-wing, 100, still face off against opponents every day on the boccia court at their residential home fo...
In the first of a five-part Health Matters wellness series on ageing in Hong Kong, Fiona Sun examines rising social isolation among the elderly, its serious health risks and how activities and community support are helping seniors stay socially engaged. Chow Kam-shim, 92, and her husband Lau Moon-wing, 100, still face off against opponents every day on the boccia court at their residential home fo...
Hong Kong’s observatory has warned of heavy showers and squally thunderstorms over the city in the coming week, but said it remains uncertain whether the low-pressure trough driving the storms will develop into a tropical cyclone. A spokesman for the Hong Kong Observatory said on Sunday that convective clouds associated with a broad trough of low pressure have been affecting the central South Chin...
Hong Kong police have arrested 65 people in a crackdown on a criminal syndicate accused of running unlicensed nightclubs and gambling dens, where suspects allegedly served illicit drugs and hired illegal workers as hostesses. Superintendent Ching Chi-yan said on Sunday that the force’s intelligence indicated a criminal syndicate was running illegal nightclubs inside industrial buildings in Hung Ho...
China’s new law on ethnic unity signals a shift in Beijing’s focus from handling specific ethnic matters to assimilation, according to a party ethnologist. The Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress, which took effect this month, provides a framework that analysts say is designed to counter Western ideological influence and provide a statutory mandate for assimilating minority groups. However,...
South Korea issued its first-ever emergency heatwave alert on Sunday under a new warning system launched this year, advising people to halt outdoor activities and keep cool. The new warning system was introduced to better deal with a rising number of heatwaves in South Korea, which have become longer and more intense, officials said. An emergency alert is issued when areas experiencing a heatwave ...
Beijing has cast US-led military deployments as the “primary threat” to peace in the South China Sea, hitting back at a multinational declaration that marked the 10th anniversary of an arbitral ruling it does not recognise. In a strongly worded statement on Sunday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs asserted China’s “historic rights” while condemning “militarising and coercive behaviour” from the US ...
Beijing has denounced a “thoroughly illegal” international tribunal that ruled against its expansive claims in the South China Sea, with a senior diplomat describing it as a “thorn” in the side of its relationship with the Philippines on the 10th anniversary of the decision. In an article published in People’s Daily on Sunday, Jing Quan, the ambassador to the Philippines, said clearing its “linger...
Hongkonger Lam Chun and his family hopped onto a high-speed train for the first time last month for a five-day holiday in Zhangjiajie in Hunan province, finding the experience more suitable for travelling with the elderly. The 54-year-old medical sector professional said he accomplished a mission of travelling with his 90-year-old father and 85-year-old mother, along with a domestic helper, on a s...
