Two heavyweight consortia are bidding for the government's first major area development pilot under the Northern Metropolis initiative. Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn hailed their entry as a sign of strong market confidence. Hailey Yip reports:

Customs officers have seized suspected counterfeit World Cup items worth almost 160 million dollars. Officers arrested 13 people, four of whom were under 18 years old. Janice Lo has the story:

Sports and tourism chief Rosanna Law says local businesses have cashed in from the World Cup tournament, as football fever swept across the city. Passionate fans gathered at shopping malls around town to watch the final between Spain and Argentina during the small hours of yesterday morning, undeterred by the time difference. Several venues broadcast the match live, with Kai Tak Mall one of the hotspots. Hailey Yip reports:

One of Hong Kong's best-known entertainers, Patrick Tse, has died at the age of 89. The veteran actor had a glittering career in films and TV that spanned decades. Janice Lo takes a look back.

Fresh water supply in Shau Kei Wan has been restored after being disrupted. Supply came back in fits and starts on Monday morning, but stopped again after a pipe joint sprang a leak. Emergency repairs continued and normal service was restored at noon, according to the Water Supplies Department. Wallis Wang reports:

The director of the Hong Kong Palace Museum says he's hoping to bring artefacts and treasures from Uzbekistan to the city, after the museum signed a co-operation agreement with the Islamic Civilization Center of the Central Asian country. Louis Ng said the agreement will foster bilateral cultural exchanges and facilitate strategic collaborations between the two sides. He told Swara Kamble the significance of the partnership:

A member of a think tank says the opening of the redeveloped Huanggang Port will lead to closer links between Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area. The remark by Witman Hung follows the passage of the Huanggang Port Hong Kong Port Area Bill last Friday. The bill has since beern gazetted. Hung is the director of the Greater Bay Area Research Center of the China Silk Road i-Valley Research Institute. He spoke on RTHK's Backchat programme:

Standard Chartered has forecast a 4.3 percent growth for the local economy this year, which would be higher than the 3.6 percent expansion in 2025. But it also warned that risks remain if the current AI "super cycle" that's been fuelling the city's trade and logistics industries, suddenly takes a pause. Speaking in an interview with RTHK, Tommy Wu, a senior Standard Chartered economist, also noted higher spending among local residents. He spoke to Chloe Feng.

Standard Chartered has maintained its forecast that the world's second-largest economy would grow by 4.6 percent year-on-year for 2026. The mainland economy grew by 4.7 percent in the first half of the year. Ding Shuang, head of Greater China and North Asia Economic Research at Standard Chartered, pointed out that growth had been "uneven", with exports soaring on the global AI boom but domestic sectors continuing to show weakness. He told Chloe Feng that policymakers may focus more on existing policies and increase fiscal spending.

As temperatures continue to soar across China in one of the hottest summers on record, residents in some cities have come up with novel ways to beat the heat. Azam Khan reports:

Andy Burnham has become the UK's seventh prime minister in a decade, pledging to reshape its politics to deliver a new economic model and revive a nation "fed up" with a revolving door of leaders. In front of dozens of supporters outside 10 Downing Street, Burnham said politicians had failed to bring the stability needed ?to raise living standards. As Jamie Clarke reports, the new leader promised a long-term plan to restore Britain's fortunes.

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis say they're imposing a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia. The move opens a new front in the war between the United States and Iran and widens the threat to global energy supply and trade beyond the Gulf. Jamie Clarke has more:

The Mexican drug lord known as "El Mayo?has been sentenced to life in prison in the United States. The kingpin made a plea deal last year, in which he admitted to shipping millions of kilogrammes of cocaine over decades as leader of the powerful Sinaloa cartel. Jamie Clarke has more:

The World Cup may be over, but the party is just getting started for Spain. The newly-crowned champions returned home to a heroes welcome after beating Argentina in the final of the showpiece tournament to claim their second-ever title. As Robert Kemp tells us, more than two million jubilant fans lined the streets of Madrid for a victory parade, which saw the Spanish squad board an open-top bus throughout the city.