AP

HONG KONG (AP) — The death toll of Hong Kong’s high-rise apartment blaze rose to 159 on Wednesday, as authorities arrested six people on suspicion of deactivating some fire alarms during maintenance work at the housing complex. The youngest person who died in the fire was a 1-year-old infant, police said. The oldest was 97.

BANGKOK (AP) — An election candidate in the strife-torn nation of Myanmar has been detained by a resistance group opposed to army rule, state media reported Wednesday, the first known such action before the polls scheduled for later this month. The detention of Wai Lin Htet, 37, a candidate of the Shan and Nationalities Democratic

By LORNE COOK and ILLIA NOVIKOV Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine and its European allies accused Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday of feigning interest in peace efforts after five hours of talks with U.S. envoys at the Kremlin produced no breakthrough. The Russian leader “should end the bluster and the bloodshed and

By LORNE COOK and SAM MCNEIL Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union on Wednesday revealed details of its plan to use billions of euros in frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine’s needs over the next two years, but Belgium rejected the scheme and insisted that it poses major financial and legal risks. European

By BINSAR BAKKARA and NINIEK KARMINI Associated Press BATANG TORU, Indonesia (AP) — Rescue teams raced Wednesday to reach communities isolated by last week’s catastrophic floods and landslides in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand as over 800 people remained missing and economic damage became more clear. Over 1,400 were killed: at least 770 in Indonesia,

By ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL and ANTON L. DELGADO Associated Press HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Southeast Asia is being pummeled by unusually severe floods this year, as late-arriving storms and relentless rains wreak havoc that has caught many places off guard. Deaths have topped 1,400 across Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, with more than 1,000 still missing

By SAMY MAGDY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — An international rights group on Wednesday accused the paramilitary group fighting against Sudan’s military of committing war crimes during its attack earlier this year on the country’s largest displacement camp in the Darfur region. The Rapid Support Forces, which is at war with the Sudanese military, rampaged

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Britain’s royals welcomed German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to the U.K. on Wednesday for a state visit that will celebrate the close ties between the countries while also remembering the scars of the past. Britain rolled out the red carpet of pageantry led by two of its most