HONG KONG – A huge fire ripped through several high-rise blocks in a Hong Kong residential estate on Wednesday, killing at least 13 people, with media reporting that more residents were trapped inside.

SONGKHLA: The tragic story of a woman forced to store her drowned mother’s body in a floating refrigerator as floodwaters poured through their home in Hat Yai has drawn an outpouring of sympathy on social media.

Thirty-three people had been killed by the severe flooding in the South as of Wednesday, with water levels continuing to rise in most of the inundated provinces.

A group of people who oppose an order to delete data collected from 1.2 million people via iris scanning in Thailand plan to challenge the decision by the Personal Data Protection Committee (PDPC) in court.

The cabinet on Tuesday declared all of Songkhla province a disaster zone, freeing up relief funds, as the province continued to suffer under the severe flooding that has claimed the lives of at least 13 people in the southern region. 

Thailand’s central bank plans to tighten reporting rules for gold transactions after rising bullion flows contributed to swings in the baht, prompting policymakers to seek better visibility into the market.