Indonesia’s communications minister has urged calm after a former Singaporean nominated member of parliament (NMP) suggested the city state could disrupt its neighbour’s internet access, arguing that any outage would cripple connectivity on both sides. Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid said the government and public “need not be irritated” by comments from ex-NMP Calvin Cheng. In Singapore, NPMs are appointed to bring non-partisan perspectives to the legislature; they do...

Tokyo has struck a deal to build an assembly line for advanced American air-to-air missiles, while simultaneously exploring missile testing in India and Australia, moves which further mark Japan’s shift away from its post-war pacifist defence posture. Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi announced late Wednesday that the two allies would construct a final assembly facility in Japan for the AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM). The facility’s location has not been...

A police officer has denied failing to properly label DNA samples taken from slain Hong Kong socialite Abby Choi Tin-fung’s ex-husband after his arrest more than three years ago. Testifying in the High Court on Thursday, Sergeant Lam Chun also denied using excessive force to subdue Alex Kwong Kong-chi as he was about to flee Hong Kong from Tung Chung Development Ferry Pier on February 25, 2023. Lam, who was a detective constable at the time, said Kwong sustained a 2cm-by-2cm abrasion on his...

This live article is freely available to our registered users. Please log in or create an account. The Hong Kong government is set to release what is expected to be a deeply scathing report by an independent committee probing the city’s deadliest blaze in decades, with Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu holding a press conference alongside top officials to outline the administration’s consequent actions and systemic reforms. Sources said that at least one senior official would take the rap for the...

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee and other top officials bowed in apology at a Thursday press conference where Lee announced that housing chief Winnie Ho would step down over the Wang Fuk Court fire, almost a year after the tragedy killed 168 people. Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee and other top officials bow in apology over the Wang Fuk Court blaze on October 29, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong, who currently leads the government’s task force on long-term resettlement for survivors of the blaze, will be appointed as acting housing minister following Ho’s departure. Lee said an independent committee that investigated the cause of the blaze at the Tai Po housing estate had made 120 recommendations, noting, among them, the need to combat collusive tendering practices in the building maintenance industry. Lee also said that the government would activate a mechanism to investigate potential accountability issues within the civil service, after the committee’s report highlighted oversights by the Housing Bureau’s Independent Checking Unit (ICU), the Buildings Department, the Fire Services Department, and the Labour Department. The “Tier II investigation” is a mechanism under the Heads of Department Accountability System, established in the Chief Executive’s 2025 Policy Address. Lee said the Public Service Commission would complete its investigation within three months and submit recommendations on whether disciplinary action or administrative penalties would be in order. Long-awaited announcement The much-anticipated press conference was announced just two hours before it was scheduled to take place. Public hearings into the cause of the Wang Fuk Court blaze have suggested that various government departments, including the Housing Bureau’s Independent Checking Unit, the Fire Services Department, the Buildings Department, and the Labour Department, bore a share of the responsibility for the fire. Senior Counsel Victor Dawes, representing the independent committee, said in July that the government “had an unshirkable responsibility to perform its regulatory role and protect the lives of residents.” Copies of the independent committee’s report on the Wang Fuk Court fire, on October 29, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. The Tai Po fire broke out on November 26 last year, engulfing seven buildings in the government-subsidised Wang Fuk Court housing estate during large-scale renovation works. The blaze killed 168 people and displaced over 4,600 residents. Following the inferno, survivors have called for government officials to be held accountable, recalling their earlier attempts to sound the alarm over the construction company and a consultancy overseeing the renovation project. ‘Pursue accountability’ The government said in a statement last week that the independent committee investigating the deadly housing estate fire had submitted its final report to Chief Executive John Lee. Lee said earlier this month that authorities would “pursue accountability” over the deadly blaze, but did not comment on whether government officials would be investigated for misconduct or lose their jobs. Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, pictured on November 28, 2025, in the aftermath of the fatal blaze. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. The independent committee’s report reads: “The relevant civil servants had ignored the real and legitimate safety concerns of the residents leaving them in a helpless and desperate situation. Most unfortunately, what happened afterwards show that the residents were right about their complaints.” Wang Fuk Court’s residents and the general public, the report said, “have a legitimate and reasonable expectation that the regulators could have done more to protect their safety…and the evidence in the present case clearly shows that the regulators’ performance fell below that standard.” “The failings were systemic and pervasive. They cannot be ignored[,]” it read. ‘Main culprits’ Two companies were behind renovation works at Wang Fuk Court when the fire broke out: works contractor Prestige Construction & Engineering and project consultant Will Power Architects. Prestige Construction & Engineering is listed as the “top choice” for the Wang Fuk Court maintenance works. Photo: James Lee/HKFP. “PC&E and Will Power had overall responsibility for the works. The evidence in the Inquiry clearly demonstrates that they cut corners in numerous aspects,” the report says. The sentence is cut short, followed by several lines of redacted text. “There is no doubt that they are the main culprits responsible for the occurrence of the inferno and the high fatalities in the tragic accident.” The public hearings earlier this year found that substandard scaffolding nets were used at the site, which caused the rapid spread of the fire, and pointed to potential bid-rigging, links to competing contractors, and “rubber-stamp inspections.” This is a developing story – refresh for updates.

Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles said Thursday that China’s military build-up was creating a “condition of pressure” in Southeast Asia, and urged allies and partners to deepen cooperation. Philippines Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro delivers his opening remarks during the 13th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) in Cebu on October 29, 2026. Photo: Eloisa Lopez/AFP. Beijing deploys hundreds of coast guard, navy and other vessels to patrol disputed areas of the South China Sea, which it claims almost entirely despite an international ruling that its position has no legal basis. In July, Australia protested China’s test of a nuclear-capable missile in the South Pacific, calling the launch “destabilising”. “We’re obviously seeing the biggest conventional military build-up that the world has seen since the end of the Second World War from China,” Marles told reporters Thursday on the sidelines of a meeting of Southeast Asian defence ministers in the Philippines. “There’s not an explanation from China as to why it’s doing this, and all of that is creating the condition of pressure.” Beijing’s growing assertiveness was “providing challenges” for Canberra, he added, saying Australia relied on maintaining the existing rules-based order. “We need to be ensuring that how we understand the rules of the road continue to apply, because for a middle power like Australia, it is actually the rules which give us agency,” he said. Australia’s Defence Minister Richard Marles arrives before the 13th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) in Cebu on October 29, 2026. Photo: Ezra Acayan/AFP. China’s growing assertiveness and militarisation of artificial islands in the South China Sea have spurred Canberra, as well as Washington, to deepen defence cooperation with some Southeast Asian countries. The ‘Squad’ Marles said Thursday that he met with the “Squad”, an informal defence and security group composed of Australia, Japan, the United States and the Philippines, where they committed to greater defence policy coordination. “I think the challenges that are being faced in this part of the world and the pressures that are being experienced are well understood by all four countries,” he said. “Now is a time to double down on friends and to double down on neighbours and to be working more closely together to provide for our collective security,” he added. See also: China ‘loves peace’ but could ‘easily win’ confrontation with Philippines – ambassador The Philippines, a close security partner of Australia, has been engaged in years of confrontations with China in the South China Sea. China’s military and coast guard presence in contested areas of the critical waterway nearly doubled in September, Manila said earlier this month.

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