An assailant with knives attacked a police officer from an elite unit guarding the Israeli embassy in Belgrade just after midnight on Wednesday, police said. The officer responded by fatally shooting the attacker. Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said that police were treating the incident as a “terrorist attack” and had raised the terror threat to the highest level and stepped up police presence at key locations. He said the attacker was a minor and had two knives. He attacked the member of the...

Huawei Technologies is already integrating elements of the Tau Scaling Law – a new chip design principle that helps the company overcome US export controls – into its wireless communications network, as it pushes for broader adoption across its products. The Chinese tech giant is using the “time compression” concept based on its Tau Scaling Law in its next-generation wireless base stations, according to a company statement released on Wednesday, and the new design is already delivering tangible...

Hong Kong authorities are searching for an elderly man who went missing in a remote rural area of Tai Po three days ago. Tung Chung-yin, 80, was last seen at Wu Kau Tang in Plover Cove Country Park on Sunday. His family reported him missing to police on Tuesday. A search was launched on Tuesday night and continued on Wednesday. Police have appealed to the public for information on his whereabouts. Tung, who has short grey hair, is about 1.7 metres tall, weighs about 75kg and is of medium...

About 70 per cent of subdivided flats in Hong Kong have been registered for a grace period under a new law aimed at eradicating substandard homes, with most submissions coming from landlords in Kowloon’s Yau Tsim Mong district, according to the Housing Bureau. The bureau told the Legislative Council on Wednesday that 75,070 subdivided homes across about 21,000 whole flats had been registered for the three-year grace period since applications opened in March under the new Basic Housing Units...

Hong Kong’s decades-old bookstore Luck Win has announced the shutdown of its Mong Kok branch by the end of the year, becoming the city’s latest independent bookstore to close. Luck Win Bookstore’s Mong Kok branch. Photo: Luck Win. Luck Win announced on Tuesday that its Mong Kok bookshop would close by December 31 at the latest. It did not cite any reasons. “Operating for 48 years has not been easy, and we are reluctant to say goodbye. We thank all our friends, new and old, for their support. We have to bid farewell. Until we meet again,” the Chinese-language post read. See also: How an escalating crackdown on Hong Kong’s independent bookstores put Taiwan publishers in the spotlight Some of Luck Win’s customers commented on the post, saying that many titles on their bookshelves were bought at Luck Win over the years and that it was sad to say goodbye. Luck Win Bookstore’s Mong Kok branch. Photo: Luck Win. Photos posted by the bookshop showed that it is offering a discount of 55 per cent off for all books ahead of its closure. One of Hong Kong’s oldest independent bookshop, Luck Win runs two branches in Mong Kok and Causeway Bay. A staff member at the Causeway Bay branch told HKFP on the phone that the branch is still operating and that no decision has been made to close it. Earlier in July, Luck Win and Elmbook, another independent bookshop that opened in 1997, was banned from participating in the city’s official annual book fair. Soon after the ban, Elmbook said on Facebook that it was shuttering its physical store in Mong Kok. It is yet to announce the exact closure date, although it said the store’s lease would end in April next year. Wave of closures Independent bookshops in Hong Kong have been facing increasing pressure from authorities in recent years, with frequent checks from government departments and tax inspections. The crackdown escalated earlier this year with the arrests of staff by national security police at four bookstores. A woman is escorted away from ‘Have a Nice Stay’ independent bookstore by Hong Kong police on July 15, 2026. Her t-shirt reads: “I am staff of a bookstore.” Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. In March, staff from Book Punch were arrested, and in June, staff from Hunter Bookstore were apprehended. In July, staff from Have a Nice Stay and Greenfield were arrested on the same day. A day before the arrests, Have a Nice Stay announced to close down after four years in operation. Following the arrests, Greenfield also announced that it will shutter after its lease expires.

Hong Kong’s environmental authorities have addressed “false rumours” that a fire that broke out at a waste incineration plant was caused by design defects and a collapsed incineration module. Black smoke rises from I·PARK1, a waste incineration plant on an artificial island off Shek Kwu Chau in Hong Kong on October 26, 2026. Photo: edward.chung_, via Threads. The fire that broke out at the I·PARK1 waste management facility in Shek Kwu Chau, south of Lantau Island, on Monday is suspected to have originated from construction materials, the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) said in a Wednesday statement. “It is preliminarily suspected that the fire originated from construction materials, rather than from the operation of the incinerator or the waste stored,” the department said, two days after the fire broke out at the plant. “Preliminary information indicates that the fire originated at the roof of the incinerator building’s third incineration module area where finishing work was still in progress,” it said. The I·PARK1 waste incinerator is Hong Kong’s first waste-to-energy plant. Its first module began trial operations in December 2025 and has a daily processing capacity of 1,000 tonnes. An air-cooled condenser in I·PARK1. Photo: GovHK. The project is part of the city’s broader effort to reduce its reliance on landfills. A social media post said that the incineration module had collapsed in the fire, although no proof was provided. Rumours about design flaws could not immediately be found online by HKFP. ‘Groundless and entirely fictitious’ The government has ordered the works contractor for the waste management plant to submit an incident report on the fire within seven days from the day of the accident. Black smoke rises from I·PARK1, a waste incineration plant on an artificial island off Shek Kwu Chau in Hong Kong on October 26, 2026. Photo: edward.chung_, via Threads. “Meanwhile, the EPD is evaluating the damage and the impact on the facility and its processing capacity, and will urge the contractor to conduct repairs as soon as possible,” the statement said. Waste reception at the facility was suspended when the fire broke out. The department will resume reception as soon as possible, the statement said, “following a comprehensive examination of the facility’s structure and all critical systems, and upon confirming that it is suitable to restart the facility’s safe operation.” “The EPD must state in the strongest terms that allegations circulated online about the ‘design defects of the incinerator’ and ‘collapse of incineration module under construction’ are groundless and entirely fictitious,” it said. “The EPD urges the public not to be misled by these false messages and to stop sharing them.”

The Villa Vie Odyssey suspended its voyage and is working with passengers on "temporary living arrangements".

The latest figures mark a major milestone as Beijing grapples with an ageing population.

Vice president Takeshi Okada said responses to several World Cup controversies did not align with his personal values.

At least 39 people have been killed after two high-speed trains collided near Urda, Spain.