1. A massive fire at a high-rise residential complex in Hong Kong has so far left 55 people dead. The blaze erupted on Wednesday in seven residential buildings over 30 stories high in the northern district of Tai Po. The fires have been brought under control in four of the buildings, but firefighters are still battling the flames in the other three.
2. The Wall Street Journal says US President Donald Trump advised Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae during their recent phone talks not to provoke China over the issue of Taiwan’s sovereignty. The report said Trump suggested that Takaichi “temper the tone of her comments about Taiwan.”
3. An international conference on trade in endangered species held a vote Thursday on the protection of all types of eel. The European Union proposal that all kinds of eel, including Japanese eel, should be regulated, was rejected.