Hong Kong’s director of immigration will have his service extended beyond the retirement age until June next year, authorities have announced. The announcement to extend the term of Benson Kwok Joon-fung was made on Wednesday, a day before he reached the retirement age of 57. “The purpose of granting director Kwok’s service extension is to…
BEIRUT, April 9 (Reuters) – Lebanon has spent the last 24 hours advocating for a temporary ceasefire to allow for broader talks with Israel, a senior Lebanese official told Reuters, saying it would be a “separate track but the same model” as a fragile truce brokered by Pakistan between the U.S. and Iran. The official…
By Angelo Amante and Giuseppe Fonte ROME, April 9 (Reuters) – Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Thursday that restoring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz was of vital interest for her country and the European Union, as she pledged to work with partners to achieve that aim. Following U.S.- Israeli attacks,…
BEIJING, April 9 (Reuters) – China’s foreign ministry said it hoped the “relevant parties can grasp this chance at peace and bring the region back to stability as soon as possible” after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a ceasefire in the weeks-long Middle East war. China said it has maintained communication with all parties…
Oil rebounded after its biggest one-day drop since April 2020, as the Strait of Hormuz remained largely blocked and Israeli attacks on Lebanon threatened to derail the fragile ceasefire in the Middle East. Crude oil prices have been on the rise of late and the Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has further fuelled concerns of supply…
Hong Kong is expected to introduce short-term relief measures for the transport sector that has been heavily affected by oil price fluctuations under a task force set to be established to monitor and respond to the Middle East conflict and the global energy crisis, the South China Morning Post has learned. The news followed a…
A two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran is unlikely to significantly ease fuel prices in the near term without a complete end to the conflict, Hong Kong economists have warned, citing uncertainties in the volatile situation. Economist Simon Lee Siu-po of the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s Shenzhen Finance Institute said that uncertainties…
Hong Kong’s identity as a world-leading international hub has never been static. It has been built over time through openness, adaptability and, crucially, diversity. Recent discussions about the city’s talent strategy, including concerns that the overwhelming majority of applicants under key admission schemes come from mainland China, raise a deeper structural question: can Hong Kong…
WASHINGTON, April 8 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump is dispatching his Iran negotiating team, led by Vice President JD Vance, to Pakistan, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday, adding that the first round of talks would take place on Saturday. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner were…
BUDAPEST, April 8 (Reuters) – Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday said Tehran’s negotiators thought the U.S.-Iran ceasefire agreed to on Tuesday included Lebanon, but the U.S. had in fact not agreed to that. “I think this comes from a legitimate misunderstanding. I think the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon, and it just…