Hong Kong holds New Year's Day flag-raising ceremony

A flag-raising ceremony was held on Wednesday morning at the Golden Bauhinia Square in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) to welcome the first day of 2025.

At 8:00, as China's national anthem resonated through the square, China's national flag and the flag of the Hong Kong SAR were hoisted to the top of the mast.

When the two red flags reached the top, enthusiastic applauses and cheers erupted from the crowd.

U.S. President Donald Trump posted "Tuesday, 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time!" on social media on Sunday, a message that appeared to signal a possible extension of the deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

On March 21, Trump threatened to hit and obliterate Iranian power plants if the country fails to fully open the strait within 48 hours. Two days later, he postponed strikes on power plants for five days, claiming to have held productive conversations with Iran.

On March 26, Trump again pushed the deadline back, saying that he will pause planned strikes on Iranian energy facilities for 10 days, to April 6, the upcoming Monday at 20:00 Eastern Time. On Saturday, Trump reaffirmed that Iran has 48 hours to strike a deal on opening up the strait or face "Hell."

However, in the post on Sunday, Trump appeared to hint at extending the deadline for Iran to reopen the strait for another time.

In a post earlier Sunday, the U.S. president threatened that Tuesday would be "Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one" for Iran, and again urged Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz.

Despite the threats, Trump said on Sunday that he believes a deal can be reached before the deadline, adding that Iran is currently negotiating. If Iran refuses, he said he is considering bombing everything and seizing Iran's oil.

Ali Abdollahi, chief commander of Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, responded Saturday that the Iranian armed forces would not hesitate for a moment to defend the country's rights and protect national assets and will put the aggressors in their place.

Trump also claimed that earlier this year, the U.S. sent weapons to Iranian protesters through the Kurds, though he believes the Kurds took them.

He also said he was very satisfied with a recent operation to rescue the pilot of a U.S. fighter jet that was shot down in Iranian airspace. He said Israel had assisted with the rescue, describing the bilateral relationship as big brother and little brother.