Xinhua news agency say 16 people have died after a fire engulfed a shopping centre and apartment building in Sichuan province. It is not immediately known what caused the fire or how many people were in the building when it broke out. Vanessa Cheng reports:

The government says a new arrangement with the cash-strapped West Kowloon arts hub should keep it afloat for another decade. Under a new funding proposal conditionally agreed to by the Executive Council, the arts hub will be allowed to sell some of its land parcels. Kelly Yu reports:

A member of a local think tank says the new funding plan for the arts hub is only about "buying time". Ryan Ip, vice-president and co-head of research at the Our Hong Kong Foundation says the arts hub is running at a loss, with its earnings insufficient to cover recurrent expenses. He told Raymond Yeung that he believed developers would have a keen interest in the area.

The government is urging power company, CLP, to speed up the installation of lightning rods to better cope with extreme weather conditions. As Damon Pang reports, 10 of nearly 30 serious power disruptions in the past three years were caused by external factors:

Lawmakers have passed a bill to allow nurses who have not been trained in Hong Kong to work here. The government hopes it could help resolve an acute shortage of nurses in the city. Damon Pang reports:

Political parties have been making recommendations to Chief Executive John Lee for the upcoming Policy Address, with the DAB urging the government to take advantage of two giant pandas arriving in Hong Kong to boost the economy. Anne Chan reports:

The justice minister says the SAR should make use of its common law jurisdiction, especially when taking advantage of the nation's Belt and Road Initiative. Paul Lam made the remarks while participating in the 16th antechamber meeting in Legco, which focused on the flagship infrastructure project. Anne Chan reports:

The Lands Department has announced the first successful tender of residential land in seven months. Sun Hung Kai Properties won the tender for a site in Siu Lek Yuen in Sha Tin for HK$619 million. Kelly Yu reports:

More than 49,000 candidates who sat the DSE university entrance exams have gotten their scores back. Officials say they are pleased to see improvements in students' performance across all core and elective topics. Georgina Lee reports:

The Hong Kong Book Fair has opened amid fanfare. It attracted visitors and book lovers, as well as those hunting for bargains. Natasha Ho reports:

President Biden says he could drop his re-election bid if doctors found he had a serious medical condition. This comes as a top democrat urged the 81-year-old to step aside. Vanessa Cheng reports:

Another wave of severe storms has pummelled a wide swathe of the United States and Canada, leading to flash floods and water rescues and stranding drivers in high water around Toronto. There were power outages in Canada's financial centre, forcing airlines to curtail services. Hailey Yip reports:

Thai police say the poison, cyanide, has been found on glasses and a teapot after six people were found dead in a room in a Bangkok hotel. The six were all of Vietnamese ethnicity; two were American nationals. The FBI has offered to help Thai police with their investigation. Thai authorities say the case might be linked to a bad investment. RTHK's Southeast Asia correspondent Luke Hunt spoke to Annemarie Evans about the six deaths:

With the start of the Olympic games just over a week away, the mayor of Paris has taken a dip in the murky waters of the Seine, to show the river is clean enough for outdoor swimming events. Wearing goggles and a wetsuit, Anne Hidalgo, who is 65, swam breaststroke, before immersing her face and swimming freestyle, covering about 100 metres up and downstream. She hailed the clean-up operation as a major achievement. But RTHK's UK correspondent Peter Anderson told Samantha Butler that the mayor's dip did not calm concerns:

Disneyland Paris has broken a world record by mobilising over 1,500 drones to create images of well-known characters and landmarks in the sky. The spectacular display was an extra treat for those who visited the theme park when France celebrated Bastille Day. Jacqueline Guico reports:

One of the most talked-about drummers from the London jazz scene is coming to town. Yussef Dayes has been described as a force to be reckoned with and will be performing material from his album - which mixes a whole range of musical genres. Ben Tse and Jacqueline Guico found out more in their weekly arts and culture-inspired podcast, Broad Strokes, where they also checked out exhibitions of an old Tai Mo Shan village and Beijing's Old Summer Palace: