More than 200 Chinese citizens, including three Hong Kong residents, have been evacuated from Lebanon with the help of the Chinese embassy in Beirut. It comes amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, with intensified Israeli military operations in Lebanon. Jamie Clarke reports:

The United Nations Secretary General has condemned Iran’s missile attack on Israel, calling again for an end to the ongoing war in the Middle East. His comments came as the UN Security Council held an emergency meeting on Wednesday to address the spiralling conflict, as Jamie Clarke reports:

The NGO, Oxfam Hong Kong, says the city's wealth gap has widened with almost 1.4 million people living below the poverty line. The charity blamed the ageing population giving rise to the number of elderly people in poverty. Frank Yung reports:

The Centre for Health Protection says it is investigating a local case of mpox, the virus that has caused a global health emergency. The infection has been on the rise in Africa after health authorities discovered a new strain, with more than 17,000 cases confirmed on the continent. Kelly Yu reports:

Researchers from the University of Hong Kong say more support should be allocated to help fathers of children with special needs, after their study found that they faced guilt and shame. Assistant lecturer Lo Kai-chung, who took part in the research project, said some of their stress arose from the stigma that society had towards stay-at-home dads, as well as towards special needs children. He spoke to Charlie Chun:

The government says companies providing essential services may be given more time to report serious security incidents. It comes after a public consultation exercise was held on a proposed new law to improve critical infrastructure cybersecurity. Kelly Yu reports:

The Hong Kong Blind Union has called on the government to step up efforts to help visually impaired people in the SAR. The union made its suggestions to the government ahead of this month's Policy Address. They include creating more jobs for the visually-impaired, incorporating digital accessibility designs, and providing resources for schools to specifically help visually-impaired students. The union's president Billy Wong told Vanessa Cheng that the government should also look into enhancing anti-discrimination laws in the city:

President Xi Jinping says Beijing is ready to boost cooperation with Russia. He also expressed the hope of better ties with Japan. Natale Ching reports:

Ahead of the European Union’s vote on whether or not to impose tariffs on China-made electric vehicles on Friday, the German Economy Minister says a vote to do so would be counterproductive. He called for the European Commission to instead be open to a political solution. Jamie Clarke reports:

Local stocks have closed up 6.2 percent, registering gains for the sixth session in a row. The Hang Seng Index surged 1,310 points to end the day at 22,443. Turnover was a hefty HK$434 billion. Investors returned from the National Day holiday to continue a market frenzy that began last week when Beijing unveiled economic stimulus measures. Several mainland property stocks rose by about 40 percent at one stage during the day, while tech firms also did well. Damon Pang asked the founder of Asian Market Sense, Andrew Sullivan, about the reasons behind Wednesday's rally:

Americans who watched the vice presidential debate between Democrat Tim Walz and Republican JD Vance were in for a big surprise: a cordial tone and an emphasis on ideas that the two have in common. Democrat Walz and his Republican rival Vance shook hands at the start of the more than 90-minute debate and lingered afterwards to introduce their wives. It was a welcome relief for some US voters, unhappy with the tenor of politics in the run-up to the November 5 election. Jamie Clarke reports:

In tennis, Carlos Alcaraz has come out on top to win his first China Open title in Beijing, in what was a nail-biting final on Wednesday night between him and Italy's Jannik Sinner. But as Vanessa Cheng reports, the 21-year-old Spaniard had to hold his nerve to defeat the defending champion:

A workshop in Taiwan is turning trash into trendy eye-ware. Trash Kitchen is a zero-waste facility in Taipei, giving customers the hands-on experience of turning their garbage into a pair of sunglasses in just two hours. It comes as the island tackles a record amount of rubbish despite 20 years of waste reduction efforts. Jamie Clarke reports:

Classical music from 1860 to 1920 was known as the Late Romantic period. The sound was less traditional in form and focused more on expression and emotion. Johannes Brahms was one of the era’s leading composers and an upcoming concert features two of the German composer's most celebrated works. Ben Tse and Jacqueline Guico find out more in Broad Strokes, RTHK's weekly arts and culture-inspired podcast: