20 h. ago After the Hong Kong fire, Beijing confronts a grief it can’t easily police

After the Hong Kong fire, Beijing confronts a grief it can’t easily police  The Irish Times

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32 h. ago Hong Kong police officer in critical condition after ‘Flying Tigers’ diving test

A Hong Kong police senior inspector is fighting for his life after falling ill following a diving test to join the elite “Flying Tigers” squad in waters off Lamma Island. The 31‑year‑old officer was taking part in the advanced selection test for the Special Duties Unit, known as the Flying Tigers, which involved diving, swimming and underwater tasks at noon on Thursday, a police spokesman said. Shortly after completing a dive, he became unwell and lost consciousness. He was rushed to Princess...

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43 h. ago HashKey’s IPO seeks US$300 million under shadow of Beijing’s regulatory scrutiny

The initial public offering (IPO) of HashKey Holdings, operator of Hong Kong’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, lays bare challenges faced by local platforms under Beijing’s watchful eye, even though the listing itself was recognition of the growing influence of digital assets in the city, according to analysts. HashKey, established in Hong Kong in 2018, on Monday cleared its Hong Kong listing hearing after a confidential filing earlier this year, paving the way for an IPO that could raise up to...

Economics

56 h. ago Hong Kong orders scaffold netting to be removed at 200 sites in wake of inferno

Authorities have ordered scaffold netting to be removed at about 200 locations across Hong Kong by Saturday after suspected false safety certificates were found at two building sites following the Tai Po blaze that claimed 159 lives. A week after Hong Kong’s worst inferno in decades, police on Wednesday arrested six men from the company responsible for the fire alarm system at the Wang Fuk Court housing complex, where the blaze ripped through seven towers covered in bamboo scaffolding and...

Politics

57 h. ago Digging through Hong Kong’s disaster site left them wanting to cry

Hazy air laced with a pungent odour, dark rooms filled with debris, bodies that had to be carefully extracted by hand. The discovery of a dead child. The head of the police team responsible for the search of the Hong Kong residential complex destroyed in an inferno gave an account on Wednesday of the harrowing conditions they faced inside the seven towers as work came to an end. The task of checking the more than 1,000 flats at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po was both physically and emotionally...

Events

61 h. ago Hong Kong insurers identify 8,700 policies owned by Tai Po fire victims

About 30 Hong Kong-based insurance companies, including AIA and Manulife, have issued 7,600 life insurance and 1,100 property policies to policyholders listed as residing at Wang Fuk Court, according to the Insurance Authority. Insurance Authority CEO Clement Cheung Wan-ching said the authority had set up a special task force, led by senior executives, to urge all insurers to identify policyholders affected by the blaze at Wang Fuk Court last week that killed 159 people, injured 79 and left an...

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64 h. ago High drama in Hong Kong as tilting gondola traps 2 workers on luxury tower

Firefighters rescued two workers who were trapped mid-air for over an hour after a gondola suspended from the top of a Hong Kong high-rise luxury tower malfunctioned and tilted sideways. Police said they received a report at 2.50pm from a security guard at The Belcher’s, a residential development near the University of Hong Kong, that two workers were stranded on a gondola attached to Tower 8 of the development. The Belcher’s is a large residential complex on Pok Fu Lam Road with six high-rise...

Events

3 d. ago Man hurt after truck with pig carcasses crashes into Hong Kong convenience store

A man has been injured after a truck carrying pig carcasses crashed into a convenience store in Hong Kong. Police said they received a report at 8.24am on Tuesday that a medium-sized truck had struck a convenience store on Gage Street in Central. The man, a customer at the convenience store, sustained injuries to his forehead and was sent to Queen Mary Hospital for treatment, according to the force. Video clips and photos circulating online show that the truck was carrying pig carcasses and the...

Events

3 d. ago Man hurt after truck carrying pig carcasses crashes into Hong Kong store

A man was injured when a truck carrying pig carcasses crashed into a convenience store in Hong Kong on Tuesday morning. Police said they received a report at 8.24am that a medium-sized truck had smashed into a shopfront on Gage Street in Central. The man, a customer at the store, sustained injuries to his forehead and was sent to Queen Mary Hospital in Pok Fu Lam for treatment, according to the force. Video clips and photos circulating online show that the truck was carrying pig carcasses, and...

Events

3 d. ago Man arrested for arson, murder after woman found injured in Hong Kong flat dies

A man has been arrested on suspicion of arson and murder after a woman was found injured inside a Hong Kong flat and later died. Police said they received a report at 6.59am on Tuesday after security guards at Ting Fuk House of On Ting Estate in Tuen Mun spotted a fire in the flat. First responders arrived at the scene to find papers burning, along with a man and a woman, both believed to be about 50 years old. The unconscious woman, who had cut wounds on her body, was sent to Tuen Mun Hospital,...

Events

3 d. ago Hong Kong man facing murder charge after wife found with knife wounds, burns

A man has been arrested after allegedly attacking and killing his wife with a knife and trying to set fire to their home in northwestern Hong Kong. Police said they received a report of a flat fire and a person injured at 6.59am on Tuesday from security guards at On Ting Estate in Tuen Mun. First responders arrived at the flat in Ting Fuk House and put out a fire that covered about 11 sq ft, said Chief Inspector Patty Chong Yuen‑na of Tuen Mun police. The woman, a convenience shop worker, had...

Events

4 d. ago Hong Kong politician Peggy Wong files police report amid Tai Po fire scrutiny

A district councillor under public scrutiny amid Hong Kong’s deadliest blaze in decades has said she will personally file reports with both police and the corruption watchdog to request an investigation. Peggy Wong Pik-kiu, a directly elected district councillor from the Tai Po South constituency, announced her decision via social media on Monday, highlighting the blaze at Wang Fuk Court was not a natural disaster but a man-made tragedy, and the result of years of disregard for safety. “The...

Events

6 d. ago Hong Kong fire disaster brings victim ID unit’s grim task back into focus

More than 600 officers from the Hong Kong Police Force’s Disaster Victim Identification Unit (DVIU) searched two fire-ravaged blocks of the Wang Fuk Court residential complex in Tai Po without finding any more bodies on Saturday. The death toll from the blaze remains at 128, but 150 people are still unaccounted for. Dressed in white full-body protective gear, the DVIU officers went through Wang Yan House and Wang Tao House and collected evidence to confirm the identities of victims. No bodies...

Events

6 d. ago Hong Kong’s national security police question man over fire response petition

Hong Kong’s national security police have questioned an individual who allegedly launched a petition calling on the government to address four demands following the deadly blaze in Tai Po, the Post has learned. The move on Saturday came as the central government’s national security authorities in Hong Kong warned against “anti-China and ill-intentioned individuals” exploiting the tragedy in an attempt to disrupt the city. A source said the man taken to a police station for questoning was...

Events

6 d. ago Man arrested for alleged sedition in Hong Kong amid warning over fire rumours

Hong Kong’s national security police have arrested a man on suspicion of trying to incite sedition in relation to the deadly blaze in Tai Po, the Post has learned. The move on Saturday came as the central government’s national security authorities in Hong Kong warned against “anti-China and ill-intentioned individuals” exploiting the tragedy in an attempt to disrupt the city. A source earlier said a man, identified as “Miles”, had been taken to a police station for questioning. It remains...

Events

6 d. ago National security police arrest man over petition as Hong Kong mourns fire dead

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Get faster notifications on the latest updates by downloading our app. What we know so far: 128 people, including a firefighter, confirmed dead 79 injured, including 12 firefighters Status of 150 people unclear The eight residential blocks in the estate had been undergoing renovations since July 2024, covered in bamboo scaffolding and green...

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6 d. ago National security police take in man over petition as Hong Kong mourns fire dead

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Get faster notifications on the latest updates by downloading our app. What we know so far: 128 people, including a firefighter, confirmed dead 79 injured, including 12 firefighters Status of 150 people unclear The eight residential blocks in the estate had been undergoing renovations since July 2024, covered in bamboo scaffolding and green...

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6 d. ago National security police arrest man as Hong Kong mourns 128 fire dead

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Get faster notifications on the latest updates by downloading our app. What we know so far: 128 people, including a firefighter, confirmed dead 79 injured, including 12 firefighters Status of 150 people unclear The eight residential blocks in the estate had been undergoing renovations since July 2024, covered in bamboo scaffolding and green...

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6 d. ago Filipino helper among Hong Kong fire dead as national security police arrest man

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Get faster notifications on the latest updates by downloading our app. What we know so far: 128 people, including a firefighter, confirmed dead 79 injured, including 12 firefighters Status of 150 people unclear The eight residential blocks in the estate had been undergoing renovations since July 2024, covered in bamboo scaffolding and green...

Events

9 d. ago FBI probes motive in ‘ambush’ shooting of soldiers near White House

Investigators led by the FBI’s joint terrorism task force sought clues on Thursday to what drove an Afghan immigrant to open fire on two National Guard soldiers mere blocks from the White House in what officials called an “ambush” attack on Thanksgiving eve. The two soldiers, part of a militarised law enforcement mission ordered by US President Donald Trump months ago and challenged in court by officials of the District of Columbia, were hospitalised in critical condition. The suspect, who was...

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