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At least 44 people have been killed in the fire, which took local authorities 18 hours to bring under control.

A boom in places offering petting sessions is linked to a rise in the illegal movement of exotic and endangered species, say experts
The second floor of an unassuming office building in central Bangkok is a strange place to encounter the world’s largest rodent. Yet here, inside a small enclosure with a shallow pool, three capybaras are at the disposal of dozens of paying customers – all clamouring for a selfie. As people eagerly thrust leafy snacks toward the nonchalant-looking animals, few seem to consider the underlying peculiarity: how, exactly, did this South American rodent end up more than 10,000 miles from home, in a bustling Asian metropolis?
Capybara cafes have been cropping up across the continent in recent years, driven by the animal’s growing internet fame. The semi-aquatic animals feature in TikTok posts. In Bangkok, cafe customers pay 400 baht (£9.40) for a 30-minute petting session with them, along with a few meerkats and Chinese bamboo rats. Doors are open 12 hours a day, seven days a week.

China and Japan are in a diplomatic feud over Taiwan, with President Trump in the middle.

The report comes after the Wall Street Journal claimed the US president told Sanae Takaichi to ‘dial down the volume’ in dispute over Taiwan
Donald Trump asked the Japanese prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, to avoid further escalation in a dispute with China during a call this week, according to two Japanese government sources who spoke to the Reuters news agency.
Takaichi sparked the biggest diplomatic bust-up with Beijing in years when she told parliament earlier this month that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan .

China and Japan are in a diplomatic feud over Taiwan, with President Trump in the middle.

Hong Kong is one of the last places in the world where bamboo is widely used by construction workers




A deadly fire in an apartment complex in Hong Kong appears to have spread in part because the buildings were sheathed in bamboo scaffolding, a traditional building material that the authorities have been phasing out for safety reasons.
in Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades. The blaze tore through the Wang Fuk Court residential complex in Tai Po, in the northern New Territories. The complex is made up of eight 31-storey towers containing about 2,000 flats that house about 4,800 people.

Exclusive: Former US secretary of state calls for more demanding steps from Australia as it takes over presidency of next year’s UN climate summit

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Australia’s government, which will , should gather the world’s 25 biggest greenhouse gas emitting countries and push them to draw up a , former US secretary of state John Kerry has said.
Only by “hard-nosed” confrontation with fossil fuel producers, and reducing their consumption in major economies, would the world be able to tackle the climate crisis, he said.

A fire has engulfed a large residential complex in Hong Kong. The blaze broke out at Wang Fuk Court, made up of eight blocks housing about 2,000 homes, in the northern Tai Po district on Wednesday. Several people were trapped inside, according to the public broadcaster RTHK, which cited the police, and at least four people died, according to the Hong Kong government. The fire department first responded to reports of a fire at 2.51pm local time (0651 GMT). The fire was upgraded to a number 4 alarm, the second highest level, at 3.34pm

President Lai Ching-te says the spending, which must be approved by the island’s legislature, would fund purchases of arms from the United States.

Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, is not backing off from comments about Taiwan that enraged China. Many of Japan’s voters like her stance.

Roast duck has become a stand-in for turkey in many Asian American households, and pancit or kimchi often fills the space usually held by mashed potatoes. It is not just a matter of preference but of ...

President Donald Trump’s proposal to allow 600,000 students from China to attend American universities continues to meet resistance from voters.