The US-Israeli attack on Tehran on Saturday marks a turning point for President Donald Trump, who is wagering that a war – the kind he once vowed not to start – will strengthen his second-term agenda. In a break from his campaign promises to keep the US out of foreign wars, Trump decided to attack – despite what Arab mediators described as significant progress in nuclear talks to Tehran, and in the face of polling showing most Americans oppose fresh military action. It came less than two months...

Flights across the Middle East were being cancelled on Saturday as several countries slammed their airspace shut after the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran. Iran, Iraq, Israel, Syria, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates all announced at least partial closures of their skies in the hours after smoke began rising over Tehran and Iran began retaliatory attacks in the region. Iranian missiles hit capital cities around the wealthy Gulf region, killing at least one, as witnesses...

Some anxious residents of fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court have urged Hong Kong authorities to help them climb stairs using makeshift aids when they return to their high-rise homes to collect personal belongings next month. Some lawmakers also proposed on Saturday that the government deploy wearable walking robots, stair-climbing trolleys or wheelchairs to assist elderly residents of the Tai Po estate devastated by the inferno that claimed 168 lives and displaced nearly 5,000 people in November. They...

The United States was out in force in Cape Town this month, throwing down a direct challenge to China at Africa’s biggest mining conference, the Investing in African Mining Indaba. While Chinese firms showed their technological leadership with automation and green energy solutions, officials from the State Department, the Department of Energy and several US development agencies were among the record number of American diplomats and financiers at the event in South Africa. Analysts said the US...

Conflicting claims have emerged over the fate of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as military strikes between Israel, the United States, and Iran continue, with Israeli officials and media reporting he was killed. At the same time, Iranian authorities insist he remains alive, and the government is functioning. Reuters reported, citing a “senior Israeli official”, that Khamenei was dead and that his body had been found following the attacks on Saturday, adding that it was seeking further...

Iran responded to Saturday’s attacks by the United States and Israel as it had been threatening to do for months - by first launching a wave of missiles and drones targeting Israel. It followed with strikes targeting US military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar. Shrapnel from an Iranian missile attack on the capital of the United Arab Emirates killed one person, state media said. The UAE and Iraq shut down their airspace. Iran’s Foreign Ministry issued a defiant statement, saying that...

Nearly 670 Hongkongers have been granted settlement in the United Kingdom under its bespoke BN(O) visa pathway, although the total number of applicants has fallen short of the British government’s lowest “core” estimate five years after its launch. While tens of thousands of Hongkongers are set to qualify for Indefinite Leave to Remain, or settled status, this year, experts suggested that uncertainties over the UK’s long-term settlement of migrants could deter future applications. The UK...