Asia

Hong Kong: All 24 patients remaining in hospitals for injuries from the deadly fire at the residential complex Wang Fuk Court are in stable condition, said a spokesperson for Hong Kong's Hospital Authority (HA) on Tuesday. The last person considered seriously injured came out of critical condition on Tuesday, said the spokesperson. Among the 79 fire victims admitted to public hospitals for treatment, 19 had once been in critical condition. Healthcare staff will continue to provide patients with appropriate treatment and care to support their recovery, and follow up on their rehabilitation arrangements after they are discharged from hospitals, said the spokesperson. Psychological support is also extended to patients and their families. The HA will provide full medical fee waivers for all Wang Fuk Court residents until Dec. 31, 2026, according to the spokesperson. Social workers in Hong Kong have been reaching out to affected residents to provide assistance, and authorities are advancing a city-wide fire safety overhaul of building maintenance projects.

Americas

Mexico City: Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Tuesday she was confident of reaching an agreement with US President Donald Trump in a water-sharing dispute, after he threatened new sanctions. "I am convinced that, as has happened other times, we are going to reach an agreement that benefits the United States and Mexico," Sheinbaum told a news conference a day after Trump's threat. Trump on Monday accused Mexico of violating a 1944 treaty under which the United States shares water from the Colorado River in exchange for flows from the Rio Grande, which forms part of the border between the two countries. Trump said Mexico owed 800,000 acre-feet of water to the United States and demanded it release a quarter of this amount by December 31 or be hit with a new five percent tariff. Sheinbaum said Mexican officials would meet Tuesday with US counterparts to discuss the dispute. Mexico has acknowledged it is behind in its water deliveries to the US over the past five years, citing drought conditions in 2022 and 2023. Sheinbaum said it would be physically impossible to deliver the amount of water Trump wants so quickly because the pumping equipment could not handle it. "We have the best will to deliver the amount of water that is owed from previous years," she said Tuesday. The move to boost water supplies for Texas farmers came as the 79-year-old president announced a $12 billion aid package for the US agriculture industry, rocked by fallout from his trade and tariff policies. Trump in April had previously threatened Mexico with economic repercussions over the water dispute, prompting Mexico at the time to immediately send water. Mexican goods currently face a 25% tariff unless they fall under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), a free trade deal struck during Trump's first term and which Washington is aiming to renegotiate in 2026.

Asia

New Delhi: From Argentine cuarteto dancing to Yemeni musical poetry, Italian cooking and India's Hindu festival of lights Diwali, UNESCO is weighing 68 nominations to add to its intangible cultural heritage list. The United Nations cultural agency, meeting in the Indian capital New Delhi from Tuesday to Thursday, is examining the dozens of nominations from 78 countries. Musical entries span from Bulgarian bagpipes to Cuban son dance, Swiss yodelling -- the singing tradition of the Alpine nation's herders and shepherds -- and Ghana's highlife music, with its irresistibly toe-tapping grooves. Those approved will join UNESCO's list of cultural heritage, whose purpose is to "raise awareness of the diversity of these traditions" and to protect them for the future. "Each recognition of intangible heritage has ripples well beyond the immediate decision," Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said in a speech to delegates. "Your work not only evokes cultural pride and strengthens tradition, but impacts lives and livelihoods as well." The eclectic list includes Afghanistan's miniature art, Chile's circus traditions, Bangladesh's sari weaving and Iceland's swimming-pool culture. As well as Italian cuisine, Eypt's koshary -- a beloved street food staple of noodles, rice, lentils and fried onions, doused in a blazing hot sauce -- is also up for possible UN approval. And one of the oldest wines is up for nomination -- Commandaria from Cyprus, where production dates back 8,000 years. The meeting is being held inside Delhi's imposing walls of the Red Fort, a UN World Heritage Site. It is the first major event at the fort since a nearby car blast killed at least 12 people last month. One of India's most well-known landmarks, the Red Fort was completed in the 17th century and is considered to "represent the zenith" of creativity by India's Mughal rulers, according to its UNESCO listing. It is also the site of the annual prime minister's Independence Day speech. But a study found in September that the city's noxious air is turning the Red Fort black, with its sandstone wall steadily disfigured by a black crust, according to a study published in the Heritage journal by a joint team of Indian and Italian researchers.