More than 20 local authorities say the government’s proposed minimum target for accessible housing is not ambitious enough and a higher proportion of accessible housing is achievable. Councils who responded to an Ageing Better survey overwhelmingly agreed that the proposed 40% minimum target put forward as part of reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework…
The Hong Kong government has planned for legislation allowing terminally ill patients to refuse life-sustaining treatment to start on July 31. In a paper submitted to the Legislative Council, authorities said that the Advance Decision on Life-sustaining Treatment Ordinance, passed in November 2024, would provide legal status to patients’ advance care planning while offering protection…
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Get faster notifications on the latest updates by downloading our app. What we know so far: 156 people, including a firefighter, confirmed dead 79 injured, including 12 firefighters Status of about 30 people unclear…
A nightclub in eastern China has teamed up with local authorities to offer a marriage registration service, with electronic music festival tickets as a special gift. The Huangpu district civil affairs bureau in Shanghai has partnered with the nightclub INS Land to offer marriage registration and appointment services during two weekends starting on November 14….
An investigation by authorities in India led to the dismantling of a bird trafficking syndicate. What’s happening? Twelve rare birds — macaws, cockatoos, and African grey parrots among them — were stolen from a rescue facility in Karjat, India, and sold to a breeder in Chennai. This incident triggered an investigation by the Raigad police,…
A California man faces a murder charge after he was accused of conducting a targeted, vigilante-style slaying of a registered sex offender in the San Francisco Bay Area, authorities said. The Fremont Police Department responded to a call of a altercation between two men on Sept. 18 and found a 71-year-old man unresponsive and bleeding…
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A New Zealand man who evaded authorities with his three children in remote countryside for nearly four years was shot and killed by a police officer Monday, law enforcement said. The December 2021 disappearance of Tom Phillips and his children — now about 9, 10 and 11 — confounded investigators…