2026-2030 period crucial for Hong Kong to seize development opportunities: chief executive

UN humanitarians say funding shortfalls and Israeli restrictions on the import of critical items are slowing down the response to a deadly Gaza building collapse. Civil defense teams had retrieved 21 bodies and rescued dozens of people with injuries.

The US Federal Reserve has raised interest rates for the first time in more than three years in a renewed fight against inflation. Officials voted to raise their benchmark lending rate by a quarter point to a range of 3.75-4 percent.

In her State of the Union address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, European Commission President von der Leyen said the EU and Canada will seek to upgrade ties to an "Alliance for the Future," covering manufacturing, technology, the Arctic, and artificial intelligence. She also suggested creating a European Security Council involving EU leaders and partners such as Canada, Norway, Ukraine and Britain.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has held talks with his Iranian counterpart, expressing China's support for restarting negotiations over the conflict in Iran. Wang also said China calls on all parties to take measures for the early opening of the Strait of Hormuz.

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee says the special administrative region's first five-year plan will help build a more open, inclusive, and prosperous Hong Kong. He said the blueprint for economic and social development signals Hong Kong's need for strategic planning to align with national development strategies, and to better serve and integrate into overall national development.

China opened a major new canal on Wednesday, giving its landlocked southwest a shortcut to the coast and overseas markets, particularly those in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. ASEAN is China's largest trading partner.

An investigative report says Japan's Chubu Electric Power has falsified earthquake data during the screening process for restarting reactors at a nuclear power plant. A third-party committee composed of external lawyers released the report on Monday.

By 2030, industrial firms in the sector with annual revenue of at least 20 million yuan, or about three million US dollars, should see their combined revenue surpass 30 trillion yuan. A set of competitive strengths in technology and products will emerge in fields such as integrated circuits, advanced computing, and energy electronics.

A US government watchdog report on the Iran war has detailed shortfalls in advanced weapons, and damage to US facilities in the Middle East. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Congress in late July that the war had cost 37.5 billion dollars up until that point.

Official data shows China's economy has remained generally stable in the first eight months of the year. The value-added industrial output increased by 5.3 percent year on year. In August alone, it grew 5.2 percent, 0.7 points faster than the previous month.