Politics
Hong Kong shuts down ahead of world’s biggest typhoon this year
Hong Kong shut down ahead of Super Typhoon Ragasa on Tuesday, the world’s most powerful tropical cyclone this year, with authorities urging people to stay at home, while most passenger flights were due to be suspended until Thursday.
People piled into supermarkets, leaving little on the shelves, as panic buying set in and residents stocked up on necessities for fear that shops could be closed for two days.
Windows in homes and businesses across the city were taped up, with residents hoping it could help reduce the impact of any shattered glass.
Ragasa, packing hurricane-force winds of up to 220km/h (137 mph), is posing a “severe threat to the coast of Guangdong”, the Hong Kong Observatory said, referring to the Chinese province that neighbours the financial hub.
It will maintain super typhoon intensity as it edges closer to the coast of Guangdong, and as it impacts Hong Kong, mainland China and Taiwan, after sweeping through the northern Philippines on Monday. It is expected to make landfall along Guangdong’s coast from midday to late Wednesday.
Guangdong authorities evacuated over 770,000 people, state broadcaster CCTV said, adding that more than one million people are expected to be relocated across the province on Tuesday.
Hong Kong issued the typhoon signal 8, its third highest at 2:20pm, which urges most businesses and transport services to shut down. More than 700 flights have been disrupted, including in the neighbouring gambling hub of Macau and in Taiwan.
The weather is expected to deteriorate rapidly later on Tuesday and the observatory said it will assess whether to issue a higher warning late on Tuesday or early Wednesday.
Hurricane-force winds offshore and on high ground were likely in Hong Kong on Wednesday, with heavy rain expected to lead to a significant storm and sea surge in the densely packed city.
It warned of rising sea levels, which it said would be similar to those seen during Typhoon Hato in 2017 and Typhoon Mangkhut in 2018, both of which caused billions of dollars in damage.
Water levels will rise about two metres (six feet) along Hong Kong’s coastal areas and maximum water levels could reach four to five metres (12-15 feet) in some areas, the observatory said, urging residents to take appropriate precautions.
Local authorities handed out sandbags for residents to bolster their homes in low-lying areas, while many people stockpiled daily necessities.
A 35-year-old resident surnamed Mak said he had already bought some groceries but still needed to get more and was preparing his home for the typhoon.
“We shut the windows and doors closely at home and checked if there is leaking,” he said
While some businesses were hoping to profit from people working from home, with one bar on the outlying island of Lantau offering 20% off all drinks throughout a T8 signal.
Hong Kong’s Stock Exchange will remain open. It changed its policy late last year to continue trading whatever the weather.
Storm surges
At Ragasa’s peak intensity on Monday, maximum sustained winds near its eye topped 260 kph (162 mph), making it the world’s most powerful Category 5 storm in 2025.
The typhoon has since weakened slightly but is still capable of wreaking havoc on the densely populated Chinese coast as a Category 4 typhoon. Chinese authorities have activated flood control measures in several southern provinces, warning of heavy rain from late on Tuesday.
More than 11 cities in Guangdong, including technology hub Shenzhen and coastal city Zhuhai had suspended work, transport services and schools due to warnings of storm surges and high waves.
China’s Environmental Forecasting centre said that coastal waters off Guangdong would be hit by huge to extremely rough waves with heights of up to seven metres (21 feet).
Authorities in Shenzhen have prepared more than 800 emergency shelters, while in the city’s Nanshan district, teams were chainsawing tree branches along main roads in preparation for the typhoon.
“It’s just the bigger ones where there’s a risk. We’ll be out all afternoon all over the district,” said a worker surnamed Zhang, surrounded by piles of logs from behind a taped-off area of pavement
Residents in the world’s largest gambling hub of Macau also braced for a significant impact. All its casinos will be forced to shut by 5pm when the former Portuguese colony lifts its typhoon signal to 8.
Taiwan logged almost 60 cm (24 inches) of rainfall in its mountainous east and reported 25 people injured, while transport disruptions continued for a second day on Tuesday with 273 flights cancelled.
- Trump hails meeting Muslim leaders and praises their efforts.
- Proposes Israeli withdrawal and Gaza rule without Hamas.
- US seeks Arab troops and funds for Gaza’s rebuilding.
US President Donald Trump’s meeting with leaders of Muslim-majority nations, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly focused on the situation in Gaza and the wider Middle East.
Participants included Turkiye, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Egypt, the UAE and Jordan.
The 50-minute meeting saw Trump call it an honour to meet Islamic leaders and praise their efforts, saying, “You all have done an excellent job, which is commendable.”
The Turkish President described the talks as extremely productive. None of the other Muslim leaders spoke to the media after the meeting.
Later, Trump declared the meeting extremely important and spoke to the media about ending the Gaza war, saying it could possibly be concluded soon. He added, “We are going to end something that we did not start.”
He also outlined US plans for an Israeli withdrawal and post-war governance in Gaza without Hamas involvement, according to US media.
Washington is seeking Arab and Muslim nations’ agreement to send troops to Gaza to enable Israel’s withdrawal and to fund transition and rebuilding programmes, Axios reported.
As per Al-Jazeera, the Gaza plan was reportedly not drafted by Israel, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been made aware of the details. It is believed to envisage some future involvement by the Palestinian Authority (PA), something Israel has repeatedly said it will not tolerate.
Israel faces global condemnation over its military conduct in Gaza, where local health authorities say more than 65,000 Palestinians have been killed.
In recent weeks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has begun a long-threatened ground assault on Gaza City, with no ceasefire in sight.
But Washington remains Israel’s staunchest ally.
The US and Israel boycotted a summit in New York on Monday convened by France and Saudi Arabia, where dozens of world leaders gathered at the United Nations to embrace a Palestinian state.
No matter how many countries recognise Palestinian independence, full UN membership would require approval by the Security Council, where the United States has a veto that it frequently uses to oppose resolutions that are critical of Israel.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres backed the moves for recognition while speaking at the Security Council later on Tuesday.
“This is the clearest path to a two-State solution: Israel and an independent, sovereign, democratic, viable and contiguous State of Palestine,” he said. “We must seize this momentum.”
- Trump hails meeting Muslim leaders and praises their efforts.
- Proposes Israeli withdrawal and Gaza rule without Hamas.
- US seeks Arab troops and funds for Gaza’s rebuilding.
US President Donald Trump’s meeting with leaders of Muslim-majority nations, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly focused on the situation in Gaza and the wider Middle East.
Participants included Turkiye, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Egypt, the UAE and Jordan.
The meeting lasted about 50 minutes. Calling it an honour to meet the heads of Islamic countries, Trump praised their collective efforts, saying, “You all have done an excellent job, which is commendable.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan described the talks as extremely productive. None of the other Muslim leaders spoke to the media after the meeting.
He also outlined US plans for an Israeli withdrawal and post-war governance in Gaza without Hamas involvement, according to US media.
Washington is seeking Arab and Muslim nations’ agreement to send troops to Gaza to enable Israel’s withdrawal and to fund transition and rebuilding programmes, Axios reported.
Israel faces global condemnation over its military conduct in Gaza, where local health authorities say more than 65,000 Palestinians have been killed.
In recent weeks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has begun a long-threatened ground assault on Gaza City, with no ceasefire in sight.
This is an ongoing story and is being updated with additional details.
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he believes Ukraine, with the support of the European Union and NATO, can win back all of the territory Russia has taken since its invasion.
Trump, who met with Ukraine’s leader at the United Nations earlier on Tuesday, has previously said that both Kyiv and Moscow would have to cede land to end the war.
“With time, patience, and the financial support of Europe and, in particular, NATO, the original borders from where this war started, is very much an option,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
In the post, Trump criticised Russia’s prosecution of the war, saying it had been fighting “aimlessly” in a war that a “real military power” would have won in “less than a week.”
“Putin and Russia are in BIG economic trouble, and this is the time for Ukraine to act,” the post continues.
Trump said the US will continue to supply weapons to NATO “for NATO to do what they want with them.”
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