As Hong Kong reckons with worst fire in decades, many see echoes of 2019
Unresolved anger and mistrust from the 2019 protests have hung over the response to the deadly Tai Po fire.

Unresolved anger and mistrust from the 2019 protests have hung over the response to the deadly Tai Po fire.

![Mohammad Touhid Hossain, foreign affairs adviser of Bangladesh's interim government and Ishaq Dar, Pakistan's foreign minister, attend a bilateral meeting in Dhaka, Bangladesh [File: Bangladesh's Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Handout via Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2025-08-25T130517Z_833717084_RC2CEGAMDIVR_RTRMADP_3_BANGLADESH-PAKISTAN-POLITICS-1764892848.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)

![Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks to the media after a telephone call with United States President Donald Trump, at her official residence in Tokyo, Japan, on November 25, 2025 [Issei Kato/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2025-12-04T070103Z_371742907_RC2E3IAKZYVA_RTRMADP_3_JAPAN-ECONOMY-BOJ-1764915784.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80)

French leader Macron says he was ‘very touched’ by Xi’s gesture to accompany him to Chengdu – a departure from protocol.
The bill comes as the Trump gov’t mulls greenlighting sales of Nvidia’s H200 artificial intelligence chips to China.
Trump claims to be cracking down on drug gangs in Venezuela but pardoned a Honduran drug lord serving time in the US.
England get edge on first day of second Test at the Gabba in Brisbane as Joe Root hits his first century in Australia.















Australia’s world-first ban requires 10 major online platforms to block users aged 16.
Macron’s three-day visit aims at getting China to exert pressure on Russia for ceasefire deal with Ukraine.
The Philippines says it expected nine Filipino mariners held by the Houthis since July attack to be released in Yemen.
Lee Jae Myung says he felt he should apologise over drone flights allegedly ordered as a provocation by his predecessor.
New search to start on December 30 for Boeing 777 that went missing in 2014 with 227 passengers and 12 crew members.