Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Baghaei said two staff at the French embassy in Tehran have been barred from returning to Iran.

Zhuhai Border Inspection Station said the National Immigration Administration approved, and in coordination with the Macau Public Security Police Force, it will implement three facilitation measures under an optimized "cooperative inspection, one‑time release" model at the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge, Hengqin and Qingmao cooperative inspection ports from 00:00 on Aug. 18, 2026. Measures include streamlined document checks for Hong Kong and Macau residents, dedicated cooperative fast lanes and expanded eligibility for joint one‑stop vehicle lanes. Authorities say the changes are intended to speed passenger clearance and ease people flows across the Guangdong‑Hong Kong‑Macao Greater Bay Area.

Hong Kong close: Hang Seng Index +1.34%, Hang Seng TECH Index +1.58%. Optical-communications and semiconductor stocks led gains: 06869.HK +12.0%, 03308.HK +8.2%, 01347.HK +7.45%.