Month: November 2025

Hong Kong fire death toll rises to 146 as China authorities warn over unrest

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Hong Kong police said more bodies had been recovered from the city’s deadliest fire in decades as Chinese authorities warned they would use strict national security laws to respond to any “disruption” after the disaster. The blaze in the Tai Po district had claimed 146 lives as of Sunday afternoon, police said, with 54 bodies yet to be identified and more than 40 people unaccounted for. Search operations continued in…

Trump’s world view offers Beijing a window of opportunity on Taiwan

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Since Donald Trump’s return to the White House, a growing chorus of Chinese officials and analysts have talked of an unprecedented window of opportunity for Beijing to recalibrate its domestic and international strategies. At its heart lies the Taiwan question, a perennial flashpoint in relations between Washington and Beijing. As the Trump administration ramps up its “America first” policies abroad, the US – the self-appointed world’s policeman for seven decades – has embarked on an unprecedented retreat from global commitments and treaties. More critically, Trump’s signature transactional diplomacy has ignited…

China’s new secret weapon in biotech race: Tibet animal poop with stranger germ

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Hidden in the frozen highlands of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau – often called the “Third Pole” – lies an unexpected trove of biological innovation: animal poop. Chinese scientists have discovered that the faeces of yaks, Tibetan sheep, antelope and other native herbivores harbour thousands of previously unknown microbial species, some of which could be game changers for biotechnology. They include novel strains that have the potential to degrade cellulose – used for paper, cardboard and clothing – and other strains that could help reduce methane emissions from livestock production. Advertisement “Our…

Flood death toll rises rapidly across south-east Asia to more than 900

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Flooding across much of south-east Asia fuelled by a rare cluster of three tropical storms has claimed the lives of more than 900 people in five countries, with Indonesia the worst hit so far. Meteorologists say the region’s most recent extreme weather appears to be driven by the interactions between Cyclone Senyar over the Malacca Strait and Typhoon Koto over the South China Sea. Cyclone Ditwah also formed over the…

South-east Asia reels as rare cluster of storms claims more than 900 lives

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Flooding across much of south-east Asia fuelled by a rare cluster of three tropical storms has claimed the lives of more than 900 people in five countries, with Indonesia the worst hit so far. Meteorologists say the region’s most recent extreme weather appears to be driven by the interactions between Cyclone Senyar over the Malacca Strait and Typhoon Koto over the South China Sea. Cyclone Ditwah also formed over the…

South-east Asia reels as rare cluster of storms claims more than 800 lives

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Flooding across much of south-east Asia fuelled by a rare cluster of three tropical storms has claimed the lives of more than 800 people in five countries, with Indonesia the worst hit so far. Meteorologists say the region’s most recent extreme weather appears to be driven by the interactions between Cyclone Senyar over the Malacca Strait and Typhoon Koto over the South China Sea. Cyclone Ditwah also formed over the…

Hong Kong mourns as apartment fire death toll rises to 146

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The death toll in Hong Kong’s apartment complex fire has risen to 146 after investigators discovered more bodies in the burnt-out buildings. A steady stream of people placed bouquets of flowers at an ever-growing makeshift memorial at the scene of the disaster, among the worst in the city’s history. The Hong Kong police’s disaster victim identification unit has been going through the buildings of the Wang Fuk Court complex meticulously and has found bodies both in apartment units and on the roofs, the officer in charge, Cheng Ka-chun, said on…

Blast-scarred Tianjin takes ‘profound lessons’ from deadly Hong Kong blaze

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The drive by the Binhai New Area district comes days after a catastrophic high-rise blaze in Hong Kong claimed more than 120 lives. District officials attending a fire safety meeting on Saturday were shown footage and a preliminary report from the blaze in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district, which took firefighters more than 40 hours to bring under control. Over 1,000 queue to pay respects to Tai Po fire victims Over 1,000 queue to pay respects to Tai Po fire victims What was to become Hong Kong’s deadliest blaze in…

Japan ‘One Piece’ singer stopped mid-performance as Japan-China relations sour

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Japanese “One Piece” singer Maki Otsuki was forced to halt her performance on stage in Shanghai, her management said, one of the latest events hit by a diplomatic spat between Tokyo and Beijing. Otsuki, known for the theme song of the popular anime, had been slated to perform for two days from Friday at the Bandai Namco Festival 2025 in the Chinese city. However, she “had to abruptly halt her performance due to unavoidable circumstances” on Friday “even though she was in the middle of performing”, her management posted on…

Why do Chinese no longer feel the need to boycott Japanese products?

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During past flare-ups in diplomatic tensions between China and Japan, Chinese consumers spontaneously boycotted Japanese goods. Part of the reason for the turnaround is a seismic shift in China’s consumer market, with the Japanese home appliances, digital gadgets and cars once seen as must-have items having largely lost their lustre to the benefit of domestic brands. Advertisement For many Chinese people, there are simply not that many Japanese products left that feel worth boycotting. Competition from local rivals has increasingly become a formidable challenge for all international brands in China,…