The death toll from the massive fire in Tai Po’s Wang Fuk Court has risen to 128, while around 200 residents are still unaccounted for, Hong Kong authorities have said In full: buff.ly/TWGR3io

In case you're wondering what one week of nonstop playing of a single song does, "Monster Mash" makes about $1 million per year. www.billboard.com/pro/monster-...

I'm at ASEAN this week, a region that's getting hit by two headwinds - US tariffs, but also a surge in Chinese exports. Some of these are due to China Plus One, but a significant (and likely growing) number are heading for Southeast Asian markets. www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10...

Pritzker: "People of Illinois, we need your help. Get our your cell phones, record and narrate what you see. Put it on social media. Peacefully ask for badge numbers and identification. Speak up for your neighbors. We need to let the world know that this is happening and that we won't stand for it."

Apparently Thursday nights on #Fox here in Australia will soon consist of #ChicagoFire followed by #ChicagoPD. I don’t know why we have as much US content on our screens down under, but I guess #ChicagoMartialLaw can’t be far from premiering for the trifecta.

Pritzker: “ICE is running around the Loop harassing people for not being white. Just a year ago, that was illegal in the United States. Now, ICE is making it commonplace.”

Legendary, veteran prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, known for targeting Osama bin Laden and bringing down the Illinois mob, is coming out of retirement to defend former FBI director James Comey.

From December 2023: With avowed ‘massive gamer’ Mohammed bin Salman at the helm, the kingdom’s insatiable appetite and bottomless riches are already remaking the global video game industry. Read more from @lewisgordon.bsky.social:

Redditors are reporting that Taiwan Threads - a very popular platform here – is getting flooded with Chinese and Russian bots. It's very timely as there is a lot of doubt in the government after the deadly flood last week in Hualien. www.reddit.com/r/taiwan/com...

The President cannot commandeer any local law enforcement. The President does not run the Smithsonian. The monthly BLS jobs report is required by law. Release the Epstein files. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

A little bit of an update

In 2023, I visited an Anne Frank-themed church in Japan, where Christians pray for the Jews and the restoration of Israel in a sanctuary built to resemble the "secret annex." My reporting and reflections w valuable input from Rev. Thomas Hastings and more: jordynhaime.substack.com/p/the-japane...

Following a horrific incident involving a head-on collision of a Filipino tourist by an 80-year old taxi driver, the Hong Kong Taxi and Public Light Bus Association has objected to stricter health checks among cab drivers, saying more drivers would quit the trade www.scmp.com/news/hong-ko...

What is chikugunya anyway? I had it once. I was covered in a rash that looked like the measles, just in time for Xi Jinping to visit Cambodia. Heat + fever is also a weird experience, as someone from a cold climate. www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/....

I’m watching a live stream

Such an important point: “Progressive policies…are very popular in this country…but you have a segment of the Democratic Party that keeps trying to convince progressives we’re losing elections because their policies need to be more moderate.” Matt Dowd I wish more understood this. A confession… 🧵

Medical relief agency has treated more than 1,300 patients for wounds sustained near notorious GHF aid sites in Gaza.

Trump's transshipment tariff is meant to target China, but it could spell disaster for Southeast Asia and the China Plus One supply chain. www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/...

This morning, ICE rolled into a Home Depot parking lot using a moving truck loaded w/agents, like a Trojan horse, to snatch up Latino workers. Whoever they could find. No idea if they were undocumented or not. That’s not enforcement. That’s racial profiling, and violates a standing court order.

Life-saving idea! Pass it on!

A history of Red and Black Rainstorm Warnings in Hong Kong, since they began in March 1998

Useful and comprehensive read about many of the questions that will go into the question of whoever comes next after Xi, though I suspect that won't be anytime soon www.foreignaffairs.com/china/after-...

1/ Taiwan's drone ambitions are too small. 🇹🇼 wants to make 15,000 drones/month by 2028 + acquire 700 military grade UAV + 3422 dual use + maybe 47,000 (not set in stone) + 1000 US UAV. 👉 Ukraine, by contrast, is aiming to make 200,000 drones/month in 2025 🇺🇦 www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/7/...

Today marks 50 years since the Khmer Rouge took Phnom Penh - April 17, 1975z The Cambodian People’s Party had used the KR, the war and their role in helping to topple Pol Pot’s genocidal regime to stay in power ever since. aje.io/uomv8z via @AJEnglish

POV: you have a clingy cat (work set up)

Happy Monday (sort of) ~ Today's track: 1983's WINDY SUMMER by ANRI (Japan) www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dri...

Pakistani forces have rescued 155 passengers from a train that was hijacked by separatist fighters in the southwest of the country, security sources said, while the government said an operation was underway to rescue dozens still held hostage reut.rs/3Fy28MJ

Looking to speak to an #economist who can break down the recent conspiracy theories about #Trump tanking the stock market on purpose?

A Palestinian student activist at Columbia University who led anti-Israel protests last spring was detained by immigration authorities at his home.

Sun in Taipei 🌞 Upside: I feel great 🤠 Downside: My brain is deactivating from work mode 😑

Sorry, MAGA - Google Trends is helpful for some things like tracking a sudden spike in interest, but it's not a scientific tool. www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/...

🚨 Conspiracy strikes again! 🚨 I spoke to @erin-hale.bsky.social sky.social for @aljazeera.com about how MAGA supporters see everything as part of a grand plot as #Trump “cleans house.” Their proof? Google searches. No, really. Read more: www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/...

Trump pauses law barring firms from bribing foreign officials, viewed as potential relief for #GautamiAdani. scroll.in/article/1075... However, can Indian laws hold the billionaire accountable for the $265 million bribery and fraud case? Vineet Bhalla explains

As Trump cut hundreds more jobs from the FAA this past weekend. As Trump said he's doing a "beautiful job with air travel." As the transportation secretary was was joy riding on Trump's plane to Daytona 500. The 8th air accident happened on Trump's watch. A Delta jet landed upside down.

Several Department of Education employees told ProPublica they were directed not to contact students and schools about their pending civil rights cases. “We’ve been essentially muzzled,” an attorney said. By @jsmithrichards.bsky.social and @jodiscohen.bsky.social

Really excited about the direction the US is moving

Indonesian police arrested 56 men at a ‘gay sex party’ in the capital Jakarta, three of whom could face up to 15 years in jail on charges of breaching pornography laws, a spokesperson said reut.rs/4hL1x8x

Shutting down USAID is not about efficiency—it’s about undermining America’s global leadership. USAID counters extremism, fights diseases, and creates more markets for U.S. exports. This is reckless and dangerous.

The country's ruling and opposition parties have generally agreed in discussions so far that female members should be allowed to remain in the imperial family after marriage.

Costco’s shareholders voted overwhelmingly to reject a proposal from a conservative think tank aimed at getting the company to roll back its diversity hiring practices.

Not my Chinese teacher making me say 這是美國憲法 第十四條修正案所保障得權利 On repeat today

Besides the 14th Amendment, Trump and Co. would have to overturn the United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898) to take away birthright citizenship. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_...

SHARE WIDELY. KNOW YOUR RIGHTS. With mass deportations starting today across the country, it is vitally important - for both citizens and non-citizens - to know your rights. You have the right to remain silent. Assert it. You have the right to a lawyer. Ask for one. (1/3)

The oligarchy as cringe, per The Guardian www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Remember when Biden's first order of business was to try and improve US infrastructure and broadband?

Ai Weiwei posted on Instagram aiww After 20 years of exile, my father, Ai Qing was rehabilitated in the 1970’s. When a selection of his poems was published, a drawing that I made in 1977 was used for its cover, now the cover of a new Chinese-Italian edition of his poems by Damocle Edizioni 👇

ACT UP, 1990

Today is really testing my dry January. Like A Lot.