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Flights Cancelled in Hong Kong, China's Guangdong as Typhoon Saola Nears

A woman walks past a closed fast food outlet with windows taped up for protection on Lantau island in Hong Kong on September 1, 2023, hours before the expected arrival of Super Typhoon Saola. (Photo by Peter PARKS / AFP)
A woman walks past a closed fast food outlet with windows taped up for protection on Lantau island in Hong Kong on September 1, 2023, hours before the expected arrival of Super Typhoon Saola. (Photo by Peter PARKS / AFP)
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Flights Cancelled in Hong Kong, China's Guangdong as Typhoon Saola Nears

A woman walks past a closed fast food outlet with windows taped up for protection on Lantau island in Hong Kong on September 1, 2023, hours before the expected arrival of Super Typhoon Saola. (Photo by Peter PARKS / AFP)
A woman walks past a closed fast food outlet with windows taped up for protection on Lantau island in Hong Kong on September 1, 2023, hours before the expected arrival of Super Typhoon Saola. (Photo by Peter PARKS / AFP)

Hundreds of flights were cancelled in China's Guangdong province and Hong Kong as Super Typhoon Saola moved closer to the mainland on Friday, forcing authorities to raise a strong storm advisory and closing businesses, schools and financial markets.

Three tropical cyclones have formed in the northwest Pacific Ocean and South China Sea, with Saola and Haikui already labelled typhoons while Kirogi, the most distant from land, still classified as a tropical storm, according to weather forecasters.

Saola is packing winds of more than 200 kph (125 mph) and is moving towards the coast of eastern Guangdong, the province which encompasses Hong Kong. It could be among the five strongest typhoons to hit Guangdong since 1949, Chinese authorities said on Thursday as they issued their highest typhoon warning.

Saola could make landfall Friday night or Saturday morning as a severe typhoon along the coast from Huidong to Taishan in Guangdong, China's National Meteorological Centre said, which has kept its highest typhoon red warning in place. Hong Kong and neighboring Macau lie in the center of that coastline.

Weather conditions could deteriorate rapidly as the typhoon makes landfall, the Hong Kong observatory said, adding it would consider the need to issue higher cyclone warning signals later on Friday.

Hong Kong has five rankings for typhoons, 1, 3, 8, 9 and the highest 10, and currently has Signal 8 in force.

All schools in Hong Kong will be closed on Friday, despite being the first day of term for many, Reuters quoted the government as saying.

Nearby cities Shenzhen and Guangzhou also closed schools, while tech hub Shenzhen went a step further, suspending work, businesses and financial markets from Friday afternoon.

In Hong Kong on Thursday, crowds were seen jostling at fresh food markets in downtown Wan Chai district with many vegetables already sold out. Supermarkets saw long queues with people stocking up ahead of the storm.

Hong Kong's observatory said it expects heavy rain and violent winds while the city's water level is expected to "rise appreciably" until Saturday, with the potential for serious flooding.

The city's flagship carrier Cathay Pacific said all flights in and out of Hong Kong between 2 p.m. (0600 GMT) on Friday and 10 a.m. (0200 GMT) on Saturday have been cancelled.

Further flight delays and cancellations may be required based on the typhoon's path on Saturday morning, it said.

By 10:55 a.m. (0255 GMT) Friday, Zhuhai and Shenzhen airports cancelled hundreds of flights, data from Flight Master showed.

Guangdong authorities suspended all trains in and out of the province from 8 p.m. (1200 GMT) Friday to 6 p.m. (1000 GMT) Saturday.

The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge that connects the three cities will be closed from 3:30 p.m. (0730 GMT) on Friday to ensure of transport safety, the local Southern Metropolis Daily reported, without giving a date for opening of the bridge.

Macau's Weather Observatory said it would raise its wind warning level to Signal 8 between 1 p.m and 3 p.m. on Friday. It said it expects to raise it to the highest Signal 10 early on Saturday morning.

Meanwhile, Typhoon Haikui is approaching Taiwan and expected to make landfall on the northern part of the island on Sunday before heading towards the southeastern Chinese city of Fuzhou, according to Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau.

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World

Iran Suggests Blasts Are Not US Attacks as Both Sides Report Ships Hit

Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, November 3, 2026. (Reuters)
Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, November 3, 2026. (Reuters)
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Iran Suggests Blasts Are Not US Attacks as Both Sides Report Ships Hit

Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, November 3, 2026. (Reuters)
Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, November 3, 2026. (Reuters)

Iranian media suggested explosions in southern Iran on Saturday evening were related to Iranian military activities rather than US strikes while both sides reported that shipping had been hit in or near the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran's state television said officials had not confirmed any missile strikes on Iranian territory following blasts heard in several areas, including on Qeshm Island in the strait.

President Donald Trump had hinted at renewing major attacks on Iran after last week's US midterm elections but there has been no sign of a large-scale US military operation, which Iran has said it would respond to by striking US and Israeli targets.

Both sides have continued strikes on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, however, restricting exports of energy and other commodities vital to the world economy.

Iran's state television said the evening explosions might be related to Iranian military ‌activity in the ‌waterway, where Iran said two vessels had hit mines and a third had caught ‌fire.

The ⁠US said its ⁠air force had disabled a vessel in the Gulf of Oman beyond the strait.

Tasnim news agency said two missiles had struck Qeshm Island, with no official information on possible damage. Neither Iran nor the US has commented on that report.

Washington said on November 2 that it had struck the island in a limited defensive measure against Iranians using surface-to-air missiles against US assets.

Since the US and Israel began attacks on Iran in February, Tehran has sought the upper hand by hitting vessels in the Strait of Hormuz to block Gulf energy exports, while US forces began blockading movements to and from ⁠Iranian ports in April.

The US military said on Saturday evening that its air ‌force had fired at the stern of a commercial vessel in the Gulf ‌of Oman, disabling it as it tried to get through the blockade.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards Navy said two oil tankers had caught fire ‌after hitting mines while attempting to pass through an "unauthorized route" in the Strait of Hormuz. A third tanker had also ‌suffered an explosion and caught fire, the semi-official Fars news agency reported later.

Reuters was not able to confirm any of the reported strikes.

Monitors from the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said a bulk carrier and military forces were involved in an incident in the Gulf of Oman, approximately 18 nautical miles east of the United Arab Emirates' city of Khor Fakkan, with damage unknown. It was unclear ‌if it was related to the reported US attack.

Qatar, which has been mediating in talks to try to end the conflict that has shaken the world economy, on Saturday denied reports that the US and Iran had failed to reach a deal.

The Qatari prime minister had affirmed that both sides were continuing to work toward an agreement, it said.

Iran has submitted a nuclear proposal to Washington through Qatar, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Thursday, saying the US was reviewing it but discussions would depend on Washington first meeting Tehran's seven demands.

These include sanctions relief, access to frozen assets and war reparations, while Washington insists nuclear issues must feature in initial talks.

On Saturday, the US military said it was launching a task force to crack down on the movement of advanced weapons and other sanctioned material to Iran via its land borders and the Caspian Sea – part of economic measures to try to pressure Tehran.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards dismissed the plan as "wordplay", saying it would not work because Tehran had made preparations and communicated closely with its neighbors.

World

Trump Says Elections Were ‘Giant Step Back in History' for US

US President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media at President Donald J. Trump International Airport in Palm Beach, Florida, US, November 6, 2026. (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media at President Donald J. Trump International Airport in Palm Beach, Florida, US, November 6, 2026. (Reuters)
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Trump Says Elections Were ‘Giant Step Back in History' for US

US President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media at President Donald J. Trump International Airport in Palm Beach, Florida, US, November 6, 2026. (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media at President Donald J. Trump International Airport in Palm Beach, Florida, US, November 6, 2026. (Reuters)

President Donald Trump vowed Sunday to bounce back stronger from a massive midterm elections loss that he called a "giant step back in history" for the United States.

Democrats captured both chambers of Congress in last Tuesday's midterms that dealt historic losses for Trump's Republican Party in states they had dominated for decades.

"America took a giant step back in History with the results of the last Election," Trump said in a post on Truth Social, saying that the stock market that had grown during his tenure took a loss after the vote.

"But have no fear, we will be back, BIGGER AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE!"

While Republican lawmakers have been licking their wounds over the setback, Trump has sounded defiant and on Friday appointed hardline advisor Stephen Miller as his new chief of staff, signaling a bare-knuckle fightback.

Democrats have pledged to hold the Trump administration to account and fight "every step of the way" against Miller, architect of Trump's tough immigration policy.

World

Tens of Thousands March in Amsterdam, Pressing the Dutch Govt on Gaza and Israel

Demonstrators march during a "Red Line" protest in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 08 November 2026. (EPA)
Demonstrators march during a "Red Line" protest in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 08 November 2026. (EPA)
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Tens of Thousands March in Amsterdam, Pressing the Dutch Govt on Gaza and Israel

Demonstrators march during a "Red Line" protest in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 08 November 2026. (EPA)
Demonstrators march during a "Red Line" protest in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 08 November 2026. (EPA)

Tens of thousands of people, many of them dressed in red, marched through Amsterdam on Sunday in a mass demonstration aimed at pressing the Dutch government to take more decisive action against Israel over Gaza.

The organizers of “Red Line” demonstrations in the Netherlands called for measures including stricter trade sanctions on Israel, officially declaring that Israel’s actions in Gaza amount to genocide and halting all arms sales to Israel.

The Dutch branch of Amnesty International, one of the organizers, said in an online post that more than 200,000 people joined the march.

“What is happening there is inhumane,” Mike van Dongen said as he walked in the huge throng of people. He was critical of the Dutch government’s actions. “As far as I’m concerned, they are doing nothing,” he said. “They don’t dare take any serious steps.”

As the protesters marched along a normally busy Amsterdam street that was closed to traffic on Sunday, a man stood on a bus stop with a loudspeaker shouting, “Free, free Palestine!” Many of the marchers echoed his cry as they passed.

Israel strongly rejects suggestions it is committing genocide in Gaza in its military campaign that followed the attacks by Hamas-led fighters in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Gunmen killed around 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and destroyed much of Gaza.

More than 1,550 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by the Israeli military since a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began in October 2025, according to the territory’s Health Ministry. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants, though it says women and children make up roughly half of the dead.

The campaign in Gaza has strained relations between the Netherlands and Israel. The Dutch foreign minister resigned last year after failing to secure new sanctions against Israel.

Since then, a new minority coalition government has taken power and introduced an import ban on products from Israeli settlements, which the Dutch government and most of the international community consider illegal - a move that provoked a diplomatic spat with Israel.

Prime Minister Rob Jetten, who took part in a march last year but was not present on Sunday, defended his government’s actions at his weekly press conference on Friday.

“Every single day and every single week, we do what we can to alleviate the terrible situation there,” he said.

He added that his administration is “exerting greater political and diplomatic pressure" on Israel to abide by its agreements on Gaza.

Simultaneously, he said, his government is applying more pressure on Hamas and other organizations that continue to carry out "various operations that endanger the safety of ordinary Israelis.”