India has attacked nine sites in Pakistan and Pakistani Kashmir with at least eight deaths reported, while Pakistan said it was mounting a response as the worst fighting in years erupted between the two rivals. Armies of the nuclear-armed neighbours exchanged intense shelling and heavy gunfire across their frontier in disputed Kashmir in at least three places. India's offensive occurred amid heightened tensions in the aftermath of an attack on Hindu tourists last month.

Locally, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority says it has been reducing its holdings in US dollar assets as it continues to diversify its investment portfolios. The comment by the authority's chief executive Eddie Yue came as the Exchange Fund posted a 7.8 percent year-on-year increase in investment gains in the first quarter. Chloe Feng reports:

A new scheme has been unveiled to facilitate listings by tech and biotech firms. The dedicated "Technology Enterprises Channel", announced by Financial Secretary Paul Chan in February, is aimed at boosting the appeal of the city's fundraising capability amid growing appetite among mainland firms for raising funds offshore. Vanessa Cheng reports:

John Lee says tourism officials will study the travel patterns and interests of visitors while working out what mainland travellers like. Speaking after the Labour Day Golden Week holiday, the chief executive also said Hong Kong should welcome all types of tourists and cater to their needs. Azam Khan reports:

Most Hong Kong businesses did better at this year's Labour Day Golden Week than they did last year, according to the Retail Management Association. Retail sales grew as more than 900,000 mainlanders visited the SAR during the five-day holiday that concluded on Monday. Jacqueline Guico reports:

Executive Council convener Regina Ip says Hong Kong can play a more significant role in the country's space development. As Elvis Yu reports, she also expressed hope that commercial opportunities in the sector can be explored during the Global Prosperity Summit later this month.

The Labour Department has partially suspended works at a construction site in Fanling, after a worker fell to his death there yesterday afternoon. Vanessa Cheng reports:

The government has vowed to examine laws governing private healthcare facilities in the wake of the suspected abrupt closure of the Alliance Medical Group last week. Sophie Hui reports:

Consumer Council chief executive Gilly Wong has stepped down after 13 years as head of the watchdog. The council hailed her dedication to promoting and protecting consumer rights and interests, and stressed her role in the body's digital transformation. Charlie Chun reports:

The chief executive will lead a delegation to Qatar and Kuwait on Saturday to explore business opportunities. It will be John Lee's second trip to the Middle East since taking office. As Kelly Yu reports, he visited Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in 2023.

The Trade Development Council, or TDC, says it has been working non-stop to foster trade between Hong Kong and the Middle East. It noted firms from both regions are keen to diversify their portfolios and seek new areas of growth. Vanessa Cheng has the story:

Meanwhile, the TDC's director of research, Irina Fan, said the SAR can offer expertise in technology and professional services. Fan also said it is now a good time for companies to expand into the Middle East amid the trade war. She spoke to Kelly Yu:

Canada's new prime minister has visited the White House for his first talks with US President Donald Trump. Mark Carney won Canada's election in April on a promise to stand up to Mr Trump - and he seems to have done just that, bluntly telling the American leader that Canada would never be for sale. Jamie Clarke has more:

RTHK's US correspondent Simon Marks told Janice Lo that both Trump and Carney showed no signs of retreating from their massive differences in the ongoing trade dispute which has shattered decades of trust between the two countries.

German conservative Friedrich Merz has been elected chancellor by parliament in a second round of voting. That's after an historic loss during the first attempt which threatened the new government's promise of stability. Merz led his conservatives to a federal election victory in February and signed a coalition deal. Jamie Clarke reports:

Britain and India have clinched a long-coveted free trade pact. After years of talks, turmoil sparked by US President Donald Trump forced the two sides to hasten efforts to increase their trade links. People familiar with the UK-India talks say that global uncertainty sharpened the focus to get a deal done. Jamie Clarke reports:

Tech giant Alibaba recently unveiled an artificial intelligence model - the Qwen3 - that it says outperforms DeepSeek's R1, in China's latest open-source AI breakthrough. The Hangzhou-based company promises improvements in reasoning, instruction following, tool usage and multilingual tasks, rivalling other models in several industry benchmarks. RTHK's AI consultant, Raj Shroff, told Azam Khan about the benefits of Qwen3:

Over 100,000 people are expected to attend activities during Hong Kong's first Intangible Cultural Heritage, or ICH, Month. The event was first proposed by Chief Executive John Lee in his Policy Address. More than 100 programmes are scheduled, aimed at protecting and promoting the city's unique culture. All events are free of charge. Judith Ng, who heads the Leisure and Cultural Services Department's ICH office, spoke to Charlie Chun: