4 d. ago Veteran TV star Johnny Ball, 87, says online systems for train tickets and GPs are too complex for older people

The former BBC presenter said many older people struggle with 'digital admin' and booking a GP appointment or online banking is too complicated.

Politics

2 w. ago Hong Kong warns ‘external forces’ working to exploit apartment fire, as death toll rises to 159

Police say number of dead may still be revised as ‘suspected human bones’ found during search require forensic testingHong Kong and Beijing officials have warned against what they claim are “external forces” threatening to exploit last week’s deadly apartment complex fire for political disruption, as rescuers say at least 159 people have been confirmed dead.The fire at the Wang Fuk Court in northern Hong Kong is the city’s worst disaster in 75 years, and the world’s most fatal residential building fire since 1980. The eight-tower complex – home to nearly 5,000 people – was under extensive renovations that have since been found to contain substandard, flammable materials. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Hong Kong responds to disaster differently from Beijing – but the gulf is narrowing

Independent inquiry into fire and media questions to leader would not happen in mainland China, but crackdown on dissent has begunAs Hong Kong mourns the victims of its worst fire in decades, the response to the disaster reveals the ways in which the semi-autonomous city retains differences from mainland China – and how some of those differences are being eroded.Hong Kong’s leader, John Lee, announced on Tuesday the creation of an “independent committee” to investigate the blaze, which killed 151 people at the Wang Fuk Court apartment complex in Hong Kong’s New Territories. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Hong Kong mourns as deadly fire claims 128 lives and sparks safety crackdown

A devastating fire in a Hong Kong apartment complex has killed at least 128 people

Events

2 w. ago Authorities probe corruption and negligence in Hong Kong's deadliest fire in decades

Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades is raising questions about corruption and negligence in the renovations of the apartment complex where at least 128 people died

Events

2 w. ago Hong Kong firefighters make final search for survivors after apartment tower blaze kills 94

Hong Kong firefighters have been searching a high-rise apartment complex after a massive fire killed at least 94 people

Events

3 w. ago ‘There should have been an alarm’: in air thick with acrid smoke, people in Hong Kong are reeling and angry

As apartment complex still blazes more than 24 hours after fire began, police suspect cause is owing to ‘grossly negligent’ action How the Hong Kong fire unfolded – visual guideHong Kong fire – latest updatesMore than 24 hours after the first tower caught fire, the Hong Kong residential complex was still burning. Fire crews blasted water from cherrypickers at the mid-level floors, but above that, the fires were roaring out of reach.Wang Fuk Court, in the northern Hong Kong district of Tai Po, was home to about 4,800 people. The eight-tower complex had been under renovation for years, clad in bamboo scaffolding and mesh. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago In air thick with acrid smoke, people in Hong Kong are reeling and angry

As apartment complex still blazes more than 24 hours after fire began, police suspect cause is owing to ‘grossly negligent’ actionHow the Hong Kong fire unfolded – visual guideMore than 24 hours after the first tower caught fire, the Hong Kong residential complex was still burning. Fire crews blasted water from cherrypickers at the mid-level floors, but above that, the fires were roaring out of reach.Wang Fuk Court, in the northern Hong Kong district of Tai Po, was home to about 4,800 people. The eight-tower complex had been under renovation for years, clad in bamboo scaffolding and mesh. Continue reading...

Events