Hong Kong is facing its toughest fiscal test in three decades following a painful run of mammoth deficits, with experts urging the government to make careful cuts as the economy wobbles.The Chinese finance hub last saw a string of deficits after the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s — but their scale was a …
A huge turnout was expected for the funeral Sunday of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, as the Lebanese militant group looks to put on a show of strength after a bruising war with Israel.Tens of thousands of mourners from Lebanon and beyond were expected to watch the ceremony, delayed for security reasons after Nasrallah’s death in a massive Israeli strike on Hezbollah’s south Beirut bastion in September. The killing of the charismatic leader, who had guided Hezbollah for more than three decades, dealt a heavy blow to the group’s morale and its reputation as a fighting force.In the run-up to the funeral, giant portraits of Nasrallah and of his heir apparent Hashem Safieddine — killed in another Israeli air strike a week later — have been plastered on walls and bridges across south Beirut.One was also hung above a stage erected on the pitch of the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium on the outskirts of the capital where the funeral for both leaders is to be held.The stadium has a capacity of around 50,000 but Hezbollah organisers have installed thousands of extra seats on the pitch and many more outside, where mourners will be able to follow the ceremony on a giant screen.Since Saturday, roads into Beirut have been clogged with carloads of Hezbollah supporters travelling in from the movement’s strongholds in south Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley.- Security concerns -Nicholas Blanford, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, said it was important for Hezbollah “to be able to demonstrate that they haven’t been cowed — that they are still a popular force”.The funeral is due to start at 1:00 pm (1100 GMT) and will include a speech by current leader Naim Qassem.A procession will then follow to the site near the airport highway where Nasrallah will be buried. Safieddine will be interred in his southern hometown of Deir Qanun al-Nahr on Monday.Hezbollah’s Al-Manar television said the movement was deploying 25,000 stewards for crowd control and 4,000 more to supervise the event.A security source said 4,000 troops and security personnel would also be deployed to the area.Hezbollah has invited top Lebanese officials including President Joseph Aoun to attend.Its longtime backer Iran is to be represented by the speaker of parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iranian media reported.Representatives of Iraq’s main pro-Iran factions are also expected to attend and additional flights were laid on between Baghdad and Beirut.Civil aviation authorities said Beirut airport will close exceptionally from midday until 4:00 pm.The US embassy has urged Americans to avoid the area.Regular services from Iran have been suspended but airport chief Fadi al-Hassan said a flight from Tehran had been given permission to land before dawn on Sunday.”It is only one flight, carrying official delegations from Tehran to participate in the funeral,” Hassan told AFP.- ‘Difficult day’ -Hezbollah has asked mourners to refrain from firing in the air, a common practice at funerals in parts of Lebanon.The defence ministry said it would freeze gun licences from February 22 to 25.The Lebanese army has banned drones from taking pictures in and around Beirut from Saturday evening until Sunday night.A founding member of Hezbollah in 1982, Nasrallah won renown around the Arab world in May 2000 when Israel ended its 22-year occupation of south Lebanon under relentless attack by the group under his leadership.In the decades since, views about Hezbollah in Lebanon have become increasingly polarised.Many criticise the movement for its readiness to take the country to war with Israel in support of Palestinian militant group Hamas. But in Shiite majority areas of the south and east, the movement retains a devoted following.In Hezbollah’s south Beirut bastion, Mariam Shorba, 80, told AFP she would attend Nasrallah’s funeral “no matter the circumstances”.”This is a difficult day, because (Nasrallah) is very dear to us,” she said. “No matter what we do, we cannot do him justice.”
Israeli authorities delayed the release of Palestinian prisoners due Saturday in exchange for six hostages freed from Gaza, prompting Hamas to accuse Israel of a “blatant violation” of the truce deal.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was due to convene a consultation on Saturday evening, two Israeli officials said.”Once the security consultation concludes, a decision will be made regarding the next steps” of the ceasefire agreement with Hamas, said one official, speaking on condition of anonymity.After the six captives were released, Netanyahu in a statement vowed to “continue acting decisively in order to bring all of our hostages back home”.From Washington, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that Hamas would be “destroyed” if it did not release all the remaining hostages.”Hamas’ treatment of hostages, including its brutal murder of the Bibas family, further illustrates their savagery and is yet another reason why we are saying these terrorists must release all of the hostages immediately or be destroyed,” he wrote on X.In the Israeli-occupied West Bank and in the Gaza Strip, families waited for hours for their loved ones to be released from Israeli custody in exchange for the six Israelis taken back home.”Waiting is very difficult,” said Shireen al-Hamamreh, whose brother was due for release.”We are patient and we will remain stronger than the occupier, God willing,” she told AFP in the West Bank city of Ramallah.- A ‘blatant violation’ -The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club advocacy group said Israel would free 620 inmates on Saturday, most of them Gazans taken into custody during the war, but their release has stalled into the night.Hamas spokesman Abdel Latif al-Qanou said in a statement that Israel’s “failure to comply with the release… at the agreed-upon time constitutes a blatant violation of the agreement”.Qanou called on the truce mediators to pressure Israel to “implement its provisions without delay or obstruction”.Israeli sources did not provide a clear reason for the delay, which comes after an emotional two days in Israel, where the remains of hostage Shiri Bibas have been identified after the initial handover of a different body.Netanyahu has said Hamas will pay “the full price” for what he termed a violation of the truce deal over Bibas’s return.Bibas and her two young sons, among dozens taken captive during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war, had become symbols of the ordeal suffered by the Israeli hostages.Forensics expert Chen Kugel said an autopsy conducted on their remains had found “no evidence of injuries caused by a bombing”.Hamas militants had claimed that all three were killed in the early days of Gaza war in an Israeli air strike.- ‘Coming back home’ -Six Israelis, some of them dual nationals, were released earlier on Saturday, the last group of living hostages under the truce’s first phase.The first phase of the truce has so far enabled the release of 30 captives and is due to expire in early March.Negotiations for a second phase, which is meant to lead to a permanent end to the war, have yet to begin.At a ceremony in Nuseirat, central Gaza, Eliya Cohen, 27, Omer Shem Tov, 22, and Israeli-Argentine Omer Wenkert, 23, waved from a stage, flanked by masked Hamas militants, before their handover to the Red Cross.”I saw the look on his face, he’s calm, he knows he’s coming back home… He’s a real hero,” said Wenkert’s friend Rory Grosz.Under the cold winter rain in Rafah, southern Gaza, militants handed over Tal Shoham, 40, and Avera Mengistu, 38, who both appeared dazed.A sixth hostage, Hisham al-Sayed, 37, was later released in private and taken back to Israeli territory, the military said.Sayed, a Bedouin Muslim, and Mengistu, an Ethiopian Jew, had been held in Gaza for about a decade after they entered the territory individually.Sayed’s family called it “a long-awaited moment”.Relatives of Shoham wept and embraced as they watched his handover, video released by the Israeli government showed.”Tal seems well considering the circumstances. An enormous weight is lifted from us,” the family of the Austrian-Israeli dual national said.Hamas later published a video showing two Israelis still captive in Gaza watching one of Saturday’s ceremonies from a vehicle, pleading for Netanyahu to secure their release. AFP could not confirm the authenticity of the video.- ‘Mix-up’ -On Thursday, the first transfer of dead hostages under the truce sparked anger in Israel after analysis concluded that Shiri Bibas’s remains were not among the four bodies returned.Hamas admitted a possible “mix-up of bodies”, and late Friday handed over more human remains which the Bibas family said had been identified as Shiri’s.The family said in a statement she “was murdered in captivity and has now returned home… to rest.”Israel’s military said that, after an analysis of the remains, Palestinian militants had killed the Bibas boys, Ariel and Kfir, “with their bare hands” in November 2023.Hamas on Saturday dismissed this account as “baseless lies”.Out of 251 people taken hostage during the October 2023 attack, 62 are still in Gaza including 35 the Israeli military says are dead.The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,215 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 48,319 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers reliable.burs-jj/bgs
Inspired by LeBron James and Roger Federer, Russian 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva wrapped up a fairytale week in Dubai by becoming the youngest ever WTA 1000 champion with victory over Clara Tauson on Saturday.After ousting three Grand Slam winners, including second-seeded Iga Swiatek, en route to the final, Andreeva ended Tauson’s own dream run at the tournament with a 7-6 (7/1), 6-1 victory against the Dane.It was a performance that didn’t just earn Andreeva a maiden WTA 1000 trophy, but also secured her top-10 debut with the Russian expected to rise to number nine when the new rankings are released on Monday.Andreeva admitted she did not feel her best on court during the final, but drew inspiration from interviews she watched of NBA legend James talking about how champions can find ways to win even without their A-game.”I just told myself, ‘You can either let that negativity come into your head and kill you, or you can choose to be 100 per cent mentally and fight for every point and if something doesn’t go your way, well okay fine, you forget about it and you play one point at a time’,” said Andreeva.”I’ve been listening to a lot of LeBron James interviews, and he said that, ‘It’s easy to be confident and to play good when everything goes your way, but what makes you a champion is when you’re giving your best when you don’t feel great’. So that’s what I tried to do today.”Andreeva also revealed she has been watching highlights from Roger Federer’s 2017 Australian Open final victory over Rafael Nadal before her matches this week, taking cues from the Swiss great.”I was watching some highlights. I was like, ‘Damn, how can he play like this? This is something extraordinary’,” she said.Tauson had been a giant-slayer herself in Dubai, knocking out world number one Aryna Sabalenka on her way to the biggest final of her career.The 22-year-old entered the clash with Andreeva leading the tour with 15 match-wins so far this season.She was looking to add a second title to her tally in 2025, and fourth overall, but Andreeva had other ideas, as she overcame her big-hitting opponent in one hour and 46 minutes of all-court prowess. In the youngest WTA 1000 final since the category was introduced in 2009, Andreeva played a near-perfect opening-set tiebreak to take the lead after 60 minutes of play.- ‘I’d like to thank me!’ -She upped the ante in the second set, breaking twice for a 5-1 advantage and served out the win at the first time of asking.On Monday, Andreeva will become the first 17-year-old to be ranked in the top 10 since Nicole Vaidisova in 2007.During the trophy ceremony, Andreeva congratulated Tauson and thanked her coach Conchita Martinez and her family for their support. The affable teenager then surprised the crowd by paying credit to herself.”Last but not least, I would like to thank me. I know what I have been dealing with so I want to thank me for always believing in me, I want to thank me for never quitting and always dealing with the pressure,” said Andreeva. “Today it was not easy but I chose to be there 100 percent, so I thank myself for that.”Besides the 1,000 ranking points she received for winning the Dubai crown, Andreeva pocketed $597,000 in prize money, which she says she will hand over to her father, given she is still 17 and doesn’t manage her own finances.The Russian had set a goal for herself before the start of the season to finish the year ranked in the top 10 – a target she has now checked off her list in just the second month of her campaign.Tauson confessed she ran out of steam at the end of a taxing week, and revealed she had been spending almost three hours each day with the tournament physios to deal with various physical issues.”I can’t tell you where it doesn’t hurt right now,” said the Dane.
Japan’s Forever Young hunted down Hong Kong racing royalty Romantic Warrior to land the world’s richest race, the $20 million Saudi Cup in Riyadh on Saturday.Romantic Warrior is the highest-earning racehorse of all time, turning up at the Saudi capital with almost $23 million (22m euros) in the bank.The seven-year-old gelding looked destined to add significantly to his prize pot when he went well clear round the home turn in this his first ever outing on dirt.Under his regular New Zealand jockey James McDonald, Romantic Warrior set sail for home, dollar signs flashing.But Ryusei Sakai on board Forever Young went in hot pursuit.The pair relentlessly closed the three length-gap, passing Romantic Warrior 50 metres from the post.”Unbelievable,” beamed winning trainer Yoshito Yahagi.”Romantic Warrior is such a strong horse, we respected him but our horse was better today.”When Romantic Warrior passed us, I thought we could still come back,” he added.
Family and friends of released Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov clapped, burst into tears and popped bottles of champagne as they watched him walk free on Saturday after being handed over by Hamas in Gaza.Shem Tov was among six Israeli captives freed by Palestinian militants as part of the seventh hostage-prisoner swap to take place under the first phase of a fragile truce which took effect last month.Militants released four hostages seized in Hamas’s unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack on Israel and two men who had been held captive for a decade.Images published by the military showed an elated Shem Tov reuniting with his parents at a reception centre inside Israel.”You have no idea how much I’ve dreamt of you!” he told them mid-embrace. “So have we,” his parents replied. “You are your mother’s life,” Shelly Shem Tov told her son.Earlier in the day, Hamas militants had paraded Shem Tov along with Eliya Cohen and Omer Wenkert on stage in central Gaza’s Nuseirat area, where they waved and held release certificates before being handed over to the Red Cross.In the central Israeli town of Gadera, dozens of Wenkert’s friends waited on tenterhooks for his release, before celebrating with cheers and dancing.”I saw the look on his face, he’s calm, he knows he’s coming back home. He knows his friends and family wait for him,” said Wenkert’s friend Rory Grosz.”He’s a real hero. He’s my hero.”The first hostages released on Saturday were Tal Shoham, abducted in the 2023 attack, and Avera Mengistu, who had spent more than 10 years in captivity in Gaza.The pair appeared pale and dazed as they were brought onto a rainy stage in the south Gaza city of Rafah.Dozens of relatives, friends and supporters of Mengistu cheered and clapped as they watched footage of his release in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon.”We feel like we’re on cloud nine, overwhelmed with happiness — it’s a day of celebration,” said relative Gili Elias, describing the moment as “closure”.Mengistu’s family said in a statement that they had endured more than a decade of “unimaginable suffering” during his captivity.Images published by the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu showed Mengistu embracing his family as he arrived at an Israeli reception centre.- ‘Long-awaited moment’ -Emotions ran high in the Israeli commercial hub of Tel Aviv, where hundreds gathered in intermittent rain to watch the captives’ releases in the plaza dubbed Hostages Square.As the men walked to freedom, the crowd clapped and wept. One spectator held up a placard reading “rain of tears and hope”.Cohen’s family said they were “overwhelmed with emotion and gratitude for Eliya’s return home after 505 long and torturous days in captivity.””Seeing him today strengthens us and gives us great hope for the long rehabilitation process ahead,” the family added. A sixth captive, Hisham al-Sayed, also arrived back in Israel on Saturday after being handed over to the Red Cross following nearly 10 years in captivity.”The Sayed family is moved by Hisham’s return home,” they said in a statement. “After nearly a decade of fighting for Hisham’s return, the long-awaited moment has arrived.”In exchange for the hostages, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club advocacy group said Israel would free around 600 inmates on Saturday, most of them Gazans arrested during the war.Hamas and its allies took 251 people captive during the attack that sparked the war. There are 62 hostages still in Gaza, including 35 the Israeli military says are dead.
Palestinian militants freed six Israeli hostages on Saturday, with hundreds of Palestinian prisoners expected to be released in exchange under a fragile Gaza truce that is nearing the end of its first phase.The release of the last group of living hostages under the truce’s first phase caps an emotional two days in Israel, where the remains of another hostage, Shiri Bibas, have been identified after the initial handover of a different body.Bibas and her two young sons, among dozens taken captive during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered more than 15 months of war in the Gaza Strip, had become symbols of the ordeal suffered by the Israeli hostages.At a ceremony in Nuseirat, central Gaza, masked Hamas militants brought onto a stage Eliya Cohen, 27, Omer Shem Tov, 22, and Israeli-Argentine Omer Wenkert, 23.An AFP correspondent said they waved while holding release certificates before their handover to the Red Cross and return to Israeli soil.At a similar ceremony in Rafah, southern Gaza, militants handed over Tal Shoham, 40, and Avera Mengistu, 38, who both appeared dazed.Shoham was made to address the gathering, flanked by masked gunmen dressed all in black.In the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, hundreds who gathered at a site known as “Hostages Square” applauded and weeped as they watched a live broadcast of the releases.A sixth hostage, Hisham al-Sayed, 37, was later released and taken back to Israeli territory, the military said.Sayed, a Bedouin Muslim, and Mengistu, an Ethiopian Jew, had been held in Gaza for about a decade after they entered the territory individually.”Our family has endured 10 years and five months of unimaginable suffering”, Mengistu’s family said in a statement.Sayed’s family called it “a long-awaited moment” and said they were “moved”.Relatives of Shoham wept and embraced as they watched his handover, video released by Israel’s government showed.”We saw that Tal seems well considering the circumstances. An enormous weight is lifted from us,” the family of the Austrian-Israeli dual national said in a statement.The releases came under the first phase of a ceasefire deal which began on January 19 and is due to expire in early March. – Well-practised ceremony -Under a cold winter rain in Rafah, and in Nuseirat, Hamas staged a show of force after months of bombardment and strikes that killed the group’s top leaders.In what has become a well-practised ceremony since the truce began, stages were set up in front of large posters promoting the militants’ cause or praising fallen fighters.Some fighters held rifles, others rocket launchers, as nationalistic Palestinian music blared.The International Committee of the Red Cross, which has facilitated the hostage-prisoner exchanges, has repeatedly appealed for handovers to take place in a dignified manner.The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club advocacy group said Israel would free on Saturday 602 inmates, most of them Gazans taken into custody during the war, as part of the latest exchange.The ceasefire has so far seen 24 living Israeli hostages freed from Gaza in exchange for more than 1,100 Palestinians released from Israeli jails.On Thursday the first transfer of hostages’ bodies took place under the truce.But there was anger in Israel after analysis had concluded that Shiri Bibas’s remains were not among the four bodies returned.Hamas then admitted a possible “mix-up of bodies”, which it attributed to Israeli bombing of the area.Late Friday the Red Cross confirmed the transfer of more human remains to Israel “at the request of both parties”.Early Saturday, the Bibas family said in a statement that after an identification process, “we received the news we feared the most. Our Shiri was murdered in captivity and has now returned home to her sons, husband, sister, and all her family to rest.”- Domestic pressure -Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — under domestic pressure over his handling of the war and the hostages — vowed Hamas would pay “the full price” for what he termed a violation of the truce deal over the return of Shiri Bibas.Israel’s military said that, after an analysis of the remains, Palestinian militants killed the Bibas boys, Ariel and Kfir, “with their bare hands” in November 2023.The family on Saturday said it has “not received any such details from official sources”.Hamas has long maintained an Israeli air strike killed them and their mother early in the war.Out of 251 people taken hostage during the October 2023 attack, 62 are still in Gaza including 35 the Israeli military says are dead.The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,215 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 48,319 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers reliable.
