标签： Asia

HONG KONG — A devastating inferno that consumed a residential complex in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district has claimed 128 lives, triggering massive urban safety reforms and corruption investigations. The Wang Fuk Court complex fire, which raged for 40 hours before being fully extinguished Friday, represents the city’s most lethal blaze in recent memory.

Mourners continued gathering Sunday at the blackened buildings, creating makeshift memorials with white roses, carnations, and handwritten notes. The emotional tributes reflected a city in collective grief as residents bowed in prayer toward the scorched towers where many elderly residents and migrant workers perished.

The catastrophe has exposed critical safety failures in building renovations. All eight 31-story towers were shrouded in bamboo scaffolding draped with nylon netting and polystyrene panels—highly combustible materials that accelerated the fire’s spread. Preliminary investigations indicate the blaze originated Wednesday afternoon on lower-level scaffolding before winds propelled flames upward and across buildings.

Hong Kong authorities have taken decisive action against Prestige Construction & Engineering Company, suspending all 28 of its ongoing projects. Government statements cited “serious deficiencies in site safety management,” particularly the extensive use of flammable foam boards that violated safety protocols.

The legal aftermath has expanded significantly, with anti-corruption authorities arresting eleven individuals including company directors, engineering consultants, and scaffolding subcontractors. Three initially arrested for suspected manslaughter were re-arrested by the Independent Commission Against Corruption amid allegations of gross negligence.

The human toll continues to emerge, with approximately 150 residents still unaccounted for and 44 bodies awaiting identification. Among confirmed fatalities are two Indonesian migrant workers and one Filipino domestic helper, whose government noted she had “made innumerable sacrifices to provide a better life for her family.

In response, China’s Ministry of Emergency Management announced immediate nationwide inspections of high-rise buildings, targeting bamboo scaffolding, non-flame-retardant materials, and firefighting equipment deficiencies. The tragedy has prompted wholesale reevaluation of urban safety protocols across China’s densely populated cities.

The UAE Lottery’s latest Lucky Day draw has produced another group of fortunate winners while leaving the massive Dh100 million grand prize unclaimed for yet another drawing cycle. In the recently concluded 26th edition, seven participants secured guaranteed prizes of Dh100,000 each, adding to the growing list of lottery beneficiaries across the Emirates.

The winning combination for the November 29th draw featured day numbers 16, 30, 25, 5, 26, and 20, complemented by the month number 3. The victorious Lucky Chance IDs that secured the substantial prizes have been officially identified as: BY4914265, AL1016451, BP4066235, DU9788071, CG5712673, DB7877266, and AH0600495.

This latest distribution of winnings marks a significant milestone for the UAE Lottery initiative, bringing the total count of Dh100,000 winners to 233 participants since the program’s inception. The lottery scheme has consistently rewarded players through multiple editions, demonstrating its ongoing commitment to creating financial opportunities for residents.

Despite the substantial payouts to these seven winners, the draw results published on the official lottery portal confirmed that no participants matched the required numbers for the top three tier prizes. The premier Dh100 million jackpot, along with the secondary and tertiary awards, will consequently roll over to subsequent draws, potentially creating even larger prize pools for future participants.

The UAE Lottery continues to operate as a prominent gaming platform within the country, offering residents regular opportunities to participate in draws with life-changing monetary rewards. The ongoing unclaimed jackpot situation adds an element of anticipation to future draws, potentially driving increased participation as the prize pool accumulates.

The UAE Lottery has unveiled a comprehensive transformation of its Lucky Day game format coinciding with its first anniversary celebrations. The dramatic overhaul, announced during a live broadcast on Saturday evening, transitions the lottery draws from a bi-weekly to weekly schedule while introducing a substantial Dh30 million top prize.

This landmark announcement preceded the final Dh100 million jackpot draw under the existing format, marking the conclusion of an era that has distributed Dh147 million to over 100,000 winners throughout its 26-draw history. The lottery’s inaugural year produced five millionaire winners who each claimed Dh1 million prizes.

Key modifications to the Lucky Day game include a significantly enhanced prize structure featuring a revised grand prize of Dh30 million and an elevated second prize that has jumped from Dh1 million to Dh5 million. The new weekly draws will occur every Saturday, substantially increasing winning opportunities for participants.

An innovative ‘Lucky Chance’ segment will be incorporated into each weekly event, awarding three fortunate players Dh100,000 each. The inaugural weekly draw under this revitalized format is scheduled for December 6, establishing a new chapter in the UAE’s gaming landscape.

The transition to weekly events reflects the lottery’s commitment to maintaining engagement and excitement among participants while expanding the prize distribution framework. This strategic recalibration aims to sustain the momentum generated during the game’s successful first year of operation.

A remarkable photographic collection has emerged as transformative evidence documenting the previously underrecognized leadership of women in India’s historic civil disobedience movement of 1930-31. The Alkazi Foundation’s acquisition of the Nursey album—a previously obscure photographic record discovered at a London auction two decades ago—has fundamentally reshaped historical understanding of this critical anti-colonial struggle.

The collection captures unprecedented visual testimony of women commanding political activities during Mahatma Gandhi’s civil disobedience campaign, often relegating male participants to supportive roles. These images document female volunteers manufacturing contraband salt, leading boycott processions through Bombay’s markets, confronting British police forces, and orchestrating mass demonstrations. Particularly striking are images of Congress leader Lilavati Munshi directing male volunteers at government salt pans and standing defiantly before boycotted British establishments.

Historical significance extends beyond recognized figures like Munshi to thousands of anonymous women who joined the movement. The photographs reveal mothers bringing young daughters to protests, intergenerational transmission of political consciousness, and remarkable inversions of traditional gender dynamics. Middle-class men—many previously unfamiliar with domestic spaces—are shown conducting impromptu salt production classes, while women dominated public demonstrations carrying spindles symbolizing Gandhi’s homespun khadi movement.

Scholars from Duke University note the collection’s unique value in capturing spontaneous action rather than staged imagery. The photographs reveal violent confrontations, monsoon-soaked marches, and wounded volunteers being loaded into ambulances—scenes absent from conventional historical accounts. This visual record demonstrates how women seized nationalist activities through direct action: challenging police authority, drumming support for boycotts, addressing crowds, and courting arrest.

The rediscovery has prompted major scholarly reappraisal. As historian Sumathi Ramaswamy notes, while history associates civil disobedience with Gandhi, these images demonstrate how Bombay’s citizens fundamentally shaped the movement that subsequently amplified Gandhi’s global fame. The photographs now circulate publicly through the publication ‘Photographing Civil Disobedience’ and museum exhibitions titled ‘Disobedient Subjects’ at Mumbai’s CSMVS Museum and Duke University’s Center for Documentary Studies, offering belated recognition to women whose resolve remains palpable nearly a century later.