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The White House said on Wednesday it opposed "unilateral recognition" of a Palestinian state after Ireland, Norway and Spain announced they would establish relations but warned Israel against withholding funds in retaliation.

President Joe Biden "has been on the record supporting a two-state solution," his national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told reporters.

"He has been equally emphatic on the record that that two-state solution should be brought about through direct negotiations through the parties, not through unilateral recognition," he said.

He stopped short of criticising the decision to formally recognise the State of Palestine by the three European countries, all close allies of the United States.

"Each country is entitled to make its own determinations, but the US position on this is clear," Sullivan said.

Israel has responded angrily, including by withdrawing envoys, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accusing the European nations of offering a "reward for terror."

Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich told Netanyahu that he wants to take retaliatory action including severing an arrangement in which Norway handles funds intended to the Palestinian Authority.

Under peace agreements brokered in part by Norway in the 1990s, Israel collects money for the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited autonomy in parts of the West Bank.

But Israel has blocked transfers since the aftermath of the October 7 attacks by Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip.

Sullivan said that funds should keep going to the Palestinian Authority which the Biden administration wants to strengthen in hopes it can assume control of Gaza from Hamas.

"I think it's wrong on a strategic basis, because withholding funds destabilises the West Bank," Sullivan said of Israeli moves to stop funds.

"It undermines the search for security and prosperity for the Palestinian people which is in Israel's interests, and, I think, it's wrong to withhold funds that provide basic goods and services to innocent people," he said.

Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken have been pushing Israel to move forward on a timeline for a Palestinian state, in part by dangling the prospect of Saudi Arabia normalising relations with Israel.

But Washington vetoed a recent UN Security Council bid to recognise the State of Palestine, saying that recognition could only come through negotiations that take into account Israel's security interests. (AFP)

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday set July 4 as the date for a national election that will determine who governs the UK, choosing a day of good economic news to urge voters to give his governing Conservatives another chance.

Speculation about an imminent election had mounted throughout the day after Sunak called a Cabinet meeting for Wednesday afternoon – rather than the usual Tuesday – and Foreign Secretary David Cameron flew back early from a trip to Albania to attend.

Sunak’s centre-right party has seen its support dwindle steadily after 14 years in power. It has struggled to overcome a series of crises including an economic slump, ethics scandals and a revolving door of leaders in the past two years.

The centre-left Labour Party is strongly favoured to defeat Sunak’s party.

Britain must hold a national election by January 2025, and Sunak has repeatedly said it will be in the back end of 2024.

He stuck to that line on Wednesday, answering a lawmaker’s question about whether there would be a summer vote: “Spoiler alert: There is going to be a general election in the second half of this year.” (AP)

The chairman of the MTR Corporation on Wednesday said the railway giant had been successful in its recent property sales with the market picking up, adding the Tung Chung East project would be tendered again, after the rail firm failed to receive any bids last year.

Rex Auyeung and Jacob Kam, the firm’s CEO, were speaking to reporters ahead of the company's annual general meeting.

"The Tung Chung East Station development project will be tendered again in the next 12 months. As for the Siu Ho Wan Depot Site project, we are carrying out preliminary work and we will announce tender details when we are ready," said Auyeung.

Meanwhile, Kam said last year's station flooding was due to the impact of flash flooding, not maintenance problems, adding the recently installed flood sensors at 26 stations would now allow for a prompt response by staff.

He said the railway operator had put measures in place for dealing with the upcoming typhoon season to ensure the safety of its staff and passengers.

"During typhoon [signal] No. 9 or above, all train services on the open sections will be suspended. Now, if there are still trains out there running on the open sections during the transition from typhoon 8 to typhoon 9 or above, we will of course try to continue those services already on the open sections to the original destination, or at least to the nearest stations with enough space to let the passengers off the trains so that they can stay in a safe place until the weather improves," he said.

"To do that, we have actually in place our train crew, our maintenance staff, and our station staff to be prepared for that."

As for plans by Shenzhen authorities to redevelop the control point at Lo Wu to allow for smoother connectivity between the two locations, Kam said the two sides were still discussing the details and the MTR would cooperate when a decision had been made.

Hong Kong is at the forefront of the international fight against corruption, Chief Executive John Lee said on Wednesday, while vowing to sustain the territory's "pioneering role" in anti-graft work.

He also told the opening ceremony of a symposium in Wan Chai that the SAR has a clean and efficient government and zero tolerance for corruption.

The three-day event, co-hosted by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) and International Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities, attracted more than 500 participants, including anti-corruption experts, legal professionals and academics.

"Under the unique 'One Country, Two Systems' principle, Hong Kong maintains a robust regulatory regime in line with international standards, and is renowned globally for its clean and efficient government, level-playing field for doing business, sound rule of law, a judiciary with independent judicial power, and zero tolerance for corruption," Lee said.

He also said the anti-corruption body had championed the fight against corruption in the city for half a century.

"It is a priority of the Hong Kong SAR government to sustain our pioneering role in combating corruption. We are pleased and proud to back the ICAC in widening its international network and cooperating with overseas counterparts," Lee said.

"We are committed, as well, to ensuring that our legal framework and anti-corruption institutions, as well as public and private sector governance, reflect the highest international obligations and standards."

Danny Woo, the commissioner of the anti-graft body, told the same event that the Hong Kong International Academy Against Corruption had organised 70 training courses for more than 40 agencies around the world since it was established in February.

He said there would be a training programme on the use of innovation and technology to combat and prevent corruption following the symposium.

"A unique feature of this training programme is a three-day study tour to the city of Changsha of China. Participants will witness first-hand China's latest development and anti-corruption initiative during the trip," Woo said.

Also at the symposium was the signing of memoranda of understanding between the ICAC and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, as well as anti-corruption authorities from Kazakhstan, Mauritius, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa.

One passenger was killed and 30 injured after a Singapore Airlines flight from London hit severe turbulence en route on Tuesday, forcing it to make an emergency landing in Bangkok, officials and the airline said.

"Singapore Airlines offers its deepest condolences to the family of the deceased. We deeply apologise for the traumatic experience that our passengers and crew members suffered on this flight," the airline said, adding it was working with Thai authorities to provide all necessary assistance.

One male passenger died, Kittipong Kittikachorn, Director of Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport, said. Eighteen people have been hospitalised and 12 are being treated in hospitals, Singapore Airlines said.

It was not immediately possible to reconstruct the incident from publicly available tracking data, but a spokesperson for FlightRadar 24 said it was analysing data at around 3:49 pm Hong Kong time, which shows the plane tilting upwards and return to its cruising altitude over the space of a minute.

A passenger who was on the flight said that the incident involved the sensation of rising then falling.

"Suddenly the aircraft starts tilting up and there was shaking so I started bracing for what was happening, and very suddenly there was a very dramatic drop so everyone seated and not wearing a seatbelt was launched immediately into the ceiling," Dzafran Azmir, a 28-year-old student on board the flight said.

"Some people hit their heads on the baggage cabins overhead and dented it, they hit the places where lights and masks are and broke straight through it," he said.

The spokesperson for FlightRadar 24 said with regard to data showing a drop in height, "our initial thinking is the turbulence event is prior to the standard descent from 37,000 to 31,000 feet. That appears to just be a flight level change in preparation for landing".

The Boeing 777-300ER plane with 211 passengers and 18 crew was headed to Singapore when it made the emergency landing, the airline said.

Singapore news outlet CNA carried blurry pictures supplied by readers that it said appeared to be from the flight. They showed anxious passengers clinging to seats, with oxygen masks hanging from above, personal items strewn across the aisle and rubbish spilled on the floor of the cabin crew area.

Suvarnabhumi airport said the plane requested an emergency landing at 4:35 pm Hong Kong time and landed at 4:51 pm.

Singapore Airlines, which is widely recognised as one of the world's leading airlines and is a benchmark for much of the industry, has not had any major incidents in recent years.

Singapore Airlines has had seven accidents according to records by the Aviation Safety Network.

Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Reuters)
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Last updated: 2024-05-21 HKT 21:01

Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong on Tuesday said the government is considering turning the film set of local movie "Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In" into a tourist site.

Speaking at a press briefing on Hong Kong's mega events, Wong said the movie set, which resembles the now-demolished Kowloon Walled City, has been well maintained.

"With regards to the set used in the movie 'Walled In', discussions are taking place. The set has been dismantled, but it's still there. They've been keeping it in rather good condition," he said.

"Discussions are ongoing as to whether they can let us have some parts of the set and it will be put up for display at a suitable location in Hong Kong."

Wong said Hong Kong will host 106 mega events in the latter half of this year, a couple less than the 108 organised in the first six months.

But he said the events still to come are expected to attract more visitors compared to those already held.

"The number of events taking place in the first half of this year is actually more or less similar to the number of events taking place in the second half. But in terms of scale, we noted that some of the events in the second half actually have a much larger capacity in terms of attracting visitors," he said.

"We believe that the number of visitors coming to Hong Kong for those mega events will actually be bigger than those in the first half."