Israelis voted on Tuesday in their highest turnout for decades, with exit polls showing the camp of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and that of his rival are neck and neck. Exit polls from the three mainstream Israeli television networks gave the two blocs around 51 seats each in the 120-member Knesset - well below the 61 needed to govern - after initially giving an edge to the opposition led by ex-army chief Gadi Eisenkot. Israeli Arab lists made strong gains, with exit polls showing them...

A Singaporean behavioural therapist who was repeatedly hit in the face by a four-year-old boy with special needs grabbed his hand and dragged him off his chair and onto the floor. Tricia Lee Hsien, 29, was fined S$5,000 (US$3,900) by a court on Wednesday. She pleaded guilty to one charge of voluntarily causing hurt to a minor. The prosecution sought only a fine, saying this was an “exceptional case” as the harm caused was low and the woman’s culpability was low in this isolated act of...

With the “exceptionally cheap” sale of a vacant Hong Kong shopping mall, developer CK Asset Holdings is freeing up capital for other projects, while the buyer will have to be patient because the location will struggle to attract tenants in the short term, according to analysts. The developer completed the mall in its residential project Seaside Sonata on Hai Tan Street in Sham Shui Po five years ago but never leased it out. It recently changed hands along with a batch of parking spaces for...

ICBC share prices diverge after first parallel listing By Carol Chan This article was first published on October 28, 2006 Shares of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China jumped a relatively modest 14.7 per cent on their Hong Kong debut and a lacklustre 5.1 per cent in Shanghai as the world’s largest-ever initial public offering finally came to market. The debut immediately catapulted China’s largest lender into the top ranks of global banks as measured by market capitalisation. It seized the...

A proposed twin-tower project to be built along the Hung Hom harbourfront will not block the view of the city’s Lion Rock ridgeline, a senior official has said. An architectural rendering of the proposed development along the Hung Hom harbourfront. Photo: GovHK. Permanent Secretary for Development (Planning and Lands) said on an RTHK radio programme on Wednesday morning that the iconic ridgeline will not be blocked by the proposed buildings as the mountain can be viewed from multiple angles. Ho said the development project that the high rises are part of, which will also include new facilities for yachts, will boost urban renewal and bring vitality to the community. According to a Legislative Council (LegCo) paper submitted to the Panel on Development on Tuesday, the two towers will be 236 metres high and 184 metres high respectively. They will be designated for residential and commercial uses. A viewing platform will connect the two towers and serve “as an uncovered leisure/event space providing a spectacular, breath-taking view of the Victoria Harbour with the skyline as the backdrop,” according to the document. An architectural rendering of a viewing platform connecting two proposed twin high-rises along the Hung Hom harbourfront. Photo: GovHK. The towers will also house a yacht club, while a proposed marina will provide a total of around 200 berthing spaces. On Tuesday, Fredo Cheung, an arts lecturer at The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong, said on TVB that the proposed twin towers might affect the Lion Rock ridgeline as the buildings may be over 50 floors. “Everyone knows that the Lion Rock is very closely tied to Hong Kong culture. If there is a development in front of it tall enough to block the view, causing us to be unable to see the Lion Rock, that indirectly diminishes the cultural landscape,” he said in Cantonese. Lawmakers’ concerns Several legislators, including tourism lawmaker Perry Yiu, expressed concerns during the LegCo’s Panel on Development meeting on Tuesday that the new development will cause the harbourfront too crowded to host the Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Festival. Ho said in response that the government believes the dragon boat event can “co-exist” with the new development and will review if there are any problems. Yiu also asked if the proposed viewing platform will be freely open to the public or run “commercially.” The official said that this was under consideration. An architectural rendering of the proposed development along the Hung Hom harbourfront. Photo: GovHK. Lawmaker Andrew Lam, chair of the Panel on Development, said that the construction of the viewing platform will be a significant cost for developers. Lam asked if the viewing platform is just a conceptual idea or if it will be incorporated into the tender terms. Ho said that authorities will decide later how to incorporate specific requests into tender terms. The government’s latest proposal is a revision of its previous planned project, with a higher percentage of land earmarked for residential purposes and public space rather than commercial use. Around 33 per cent of land is now slated for commercial purposes, down from the initially proposed 57 per cent. Meanwhile, a previous plan to build four waterfront residential towers was scrapped in favour of building a public open space, reducing the overall number of buildings in the development from 10 to six.

Hong Kong lawmakers have been given a pay rise retroactive to October 1 after a one-year pay freeze, bringing their monthly basic salary to more than HK$110,000. Outgoing and newly elected Hong Kong lawmakers meet the press on December 9, 2025. Photo: HKFP. Sing Tao Daily reported on Tuesday morning that legislators had received an unannounced 1.6 per cent pay rise, although the Legislative Council updated figures on its website. Following the pay rise, lawmakers will receive a basic monthly salary of HK$110,053, an increase of HK$1,740. The maximum medical allowance will also be increased by 1.6 per cent to HK$38,500 per year. The basic salary of Legislative Council President Starry Lee is double that of other lawmakers, bringing her basic monthly salary to HK$221,060. Chan Chun-ying, chairman of LegCo’s House Committee, receives 1.5 times the basic monthly salary of other lawmakers, earning HK$165,800 per month after the pay rise. Lawmakers who currently serve as members of the Executive Council, including Kenneth Lau, Stanley Ng and Gary Chan, earn less compared to other legislators. Their monthly basic salary will rise from HK$72,530 to HK$73,690. ‘Justify their pay’ Hong Kong’s legislature was expanded from 60 to 70 seats in 2012. In 2021, Beijing overhauled the electoral system for the legislature, expanding it to 90 seats. Most traditional opposition figures remain in prison, have left politics, or have fled into self-imposed exile. Hong Kong legislator Starry Lee shakes hands with other lawmakers after being elected as Legislative Council president on January 8, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Earlier in October, Rita Fan, the first president of Hong Kong’s legislature after the 1997 Handover, said on RTHK that it was costing too much to sustain 90 lawmakers in the Legislative Council, citing the opinions of “a friend.” Sing Tao Daily reported on Tuesday that Fan’s remarks were widely discussed in political circles, and the public expected lawmakers’ performance to better “justify their pay.” Earlier this year, Hong Kong approved a 2 per cent pay rise for civil servants, judges and judicial officers, and a 1.3 per cent pay rise for top ministers and other political appointees.

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Small business owners in Britain may get some tax relief in Wednesday's budget, but they say it will not be enough.