Day: November 29, 2025

Three days of mourning begin after Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades

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Hong Kong officials mark beginning of official mourning period with moment of silence Hong Kong officials have held a moment of silence at the start of a three-day mourning period to remember those killed after the city’s deadliest fire in nearly 80 years. At least 128 people are now known to have died in the fire which engulfed several tower blocks on Wednesday. Hundreds remain unaccounted for. Eight people have been arrested on suspicion of corruption over the renovation works the blocks had been undergoing. Three others were detained earlier…

China gives disputed Scarborough Shoal a clean bill of health

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Coral reefs at the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea are healthy and resilient to climate change, but growing thermal stress poses a potential bleaching risk, according to a Chinese environmental assessment. The report rated the atoll’s maritime environment as excellent, with no signs of cyanide in seawater, sediment or fish samples. Scarborough Shoal, known as Huangyan Island in China and Panatag Shoal in the Philippines, is claimed by both countries, and Manila has accused Chinese crews of using cyanide to catch fish in the area. The report…

China’s first own passenger jet Comac ARJ21 debuts in 2015 – SCMP archive

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This article was first published on November 30, 2015. By Sijia Jiang After 13 years, China’s own passenger jet enters service China’s ambition of an indigenous plane took wings on Sunday (November 29, 2015) as its first home-grown passenger jet, the Comac ARJ21 (later rebranded as the C909), entered commercial service after 13 years in the making. Advertisement Configured with 90 economy-class seats, the jet was delivered to its launch customer, Chengdu Airlines, from Comac’s Shanghai factory and flown to Chengdu by the airline’s general manager Sui Mingguang and deputy…