Day: November 28, 2025

Death toll in Hong Kong blaze rises to at least 128

Media Library

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. At least 128 people have died in a fire in a Hong Kong apartment complex, according to authorities in the Chinese territory who said emergency services appeared to have extinguished the deadliest residential fire in its modern history. As many as 79 people were injured. It is unclear how many people are still missing. Authorities warned that the death toll could continue to rise. The fire broke out on Wednesday…

China EV profit woes fuel market anxiety over challenging 2026

Media Library

Investors in Chinese electric vehicle (EV) stocks, who had been hoping for a strong earnings season to provide fresh tailwinds, instead face disappointing results that have stoked anxiety about what lies ahead. The sector was riding high – with Xpeng’s year-to-date gain exceeding 130 per cent earlier this month – buoyed by a surge in global risk appetite and an improved outlook for Chinese assets. But signs of pressure at even established firms like BYD have raised new questions over the industry’s profitability after its rapid expansion. Attention is now…

Deadly boat accident cover-up reveals corruption in China’s fishing industry

Media Library

A local government official in northeast China has been accused of covering up a fishing boat accident and preventing the vessel’s owner from calling the police for help, and investigations sparked by the incident have exposed a series of corruption cases related to fishing industry safety. The accident took place on November 10. A boat registered in Yingkou, Liaoning province, capsized while crew members were fishing, causing 11 to fall into the water. Two were rescued and nine have been reported missing, according to the Liaoning Daily on Wednesday. Official…

Japan launches homegrown ‘Doge’ to cut waste amid spending splurge

Media Library

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Japan has launched its own version of Donald Trump’s cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency, a move that could help ease financial market concerns about Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s spending plans. Creation of a “Doge Japan edition” was one of the demands from the reformist Japan Innovation party ahead of the coalition agreement with Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic party that sealed her election as the nation’s first female prime minister last month.…

Indonesia resists US trade deal ‘poison pill’

Media Library

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Indonesia is resisting attempts by Donald Trump to force it to accept so-called “poison pill” and other coercive clauses in its “reciprocal tariff” trade deal with the US, a move that challenges American efforts to counter China’s influence in south-east Asia. The rebuff to the US president’s bid to impose the clauses emerged during negotiations to finalise a preliminary trade deal agreed in July that slapped a 19 per cent…