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Hong Kong Local

Fri, 29 Jan 2021 17:34:24 +0800
HK economy suffers record battering over Covid
The Hong Kong economy has taken a record beating amid Covid-19. The economy shrank 6.1 percent in 2020, the worst annual economic performance ever. It's the second straight year the economy has contracted. GDP fell by 1.2 percent in 2019. In 1998,...

Fri, 29 Jan 2021 17:33:05 +0800
Covid cluster emerges at another housing block
Health officials on Friday ordered some people living in a private residential building in Tsuen Wan to be put under quarantine after a cluster of coronavirus cases emerged there. Six residents from four different units on the 18th floor of Block R ...

Fri, 29 Jan 2021 15:58:13 +0800
China to stop recognising BNO passports from Sunday
Beijing said on Friday that it will stop recognising British National Overseas (BNO) passports as valid travel documents or for identification purposes starting from January 31. Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian made the announcement at a regul...

Fri, 29 Jan 2021 15:22:19 +0800
Teacher's suicide could have been avoided: coroner
The coroner's court ruled on Friday a primary school teacher who fell from height at her Tin Shui Wai school in March 2019 committed suicide, and that a meeting with the principal the day before "pushed her over the edge". The coroner said the trage...

Fri, 29 Jan 2021 15:13:02 +0800
Govt seeks end to anonymous mobile phone use
The government has announced plans to require people to register their identity when buying pay-as-you-go mobile phone SIM cards, saying the move is needed to help tackle a range of serious crimes, from phone scams to bombings. Under the proposal, ...

Fri, 29 Jan 2021 13:49:59 +0800
Fourteen fined after surprise Covid test checks
Authorities said on Friday that they had fined 14 people in Sham Shui Po HK$5,000 each for failing to comply with a compulsory Covid testing order, after surprise checks were carried out in the area. At 7am, officers from the police, Auxiliary Medic...

Fri, 29 Jan 2021 12:33:28 +0800
Centre for Health Protection gets new chief
The government on Friday announced a sudden change in the leadership of the Centre for Health Protection. A Deputy Director of Health, Dr Ronald Lam, has replaced Wong Ka-hing as the centre's controller. Wong, meanwhile, has been moved to a new h...

Fri, 29 Jan 2021 12:04:06 +0800
Cathay urged to compensate crews for quarantine plan
The chairwoman of Cathay Pacific's Flight Attendants Union, Zuki Wong, has urged the company to compensate staff who would be affected by its plans on how to deal with new quarantine rules for flight crews that are in the pipeline. The government is...

Fri, 29 Jan 2021 11:46:47 +0800
'Fined cafe staff were just following police orders'
The owner of a restaurant that was sealed off as part of an “ambush-style” lockdown in North Point said on Friday morning that seven of his staff had been fined for not getting coronavirus tests – but claimed they were simply following police i...

Fri, 29 Jan 2021 11:35:48 +0800
North Point ambush lockdown was useless: expert
A medical expert said on Friday that the government was too slow to lock down a residential building in North Point, rendering the move useless in stopping a Covid outbreak from spreading. Health authorities found no new infections despite testing ...

Fri, 29 Jan 2021 10:01:57 +0800
Lockdown put residents' minds at ease: Carrie Lam
Chief Executive Carrie Lam has dismissed criticism that the lockdown in North Point was a waste of resources, after the operation found no new Covid-19 infections among the 475 residents who were tested. District councillor Lee Yue-shun earlier desc...

Fri, 29 Jan 2021 09:10:39 +0800
UK says upholding freedom, autonomy with new HK visa
Britain's government on Friday vowed to stand by the people of its former colony Hong Kong against a Chinese crackdown as it prepared to launch a new visa scheme potentially benefiting millions. Holders of British National (Overseas) status – a le...

Fri, 29 Jan 2021 09:03:47 +0800
No infections uncovered in North Point lockdown
Hong Kong's second "ambush-style" coronavirus lockdown has found no new infections among the 475 people tested. The government sealed off the Tung Fat Building on Kam Ping Street in North Point on Thursday night, forcing residents to stay at home un...

Thu, 28 Jan 2021 19:31:22 +0800
North Point building on 'ambush-style' lockdown
A residential building at the centre of a coronavirus outbreak was put on lockdown on Thursday evening, the second such "ambush-style" operation by the government this week. Tung Fat Building on Kam Ping Street features four housing blocks, and the ...

Thu, 28 Jan 2021 18:59:43 +0800
'HK needs more aggressive carbon cutting policies'
The Hong Kong government has been urged to roll out aggressive policies to cut carbon emissions – and roll back projects considered highly polluting, such as the mega-reclamation project off Lantau – in order to meet its goal of climate neutralit...

Thu, 28 Jan 2021 18:11:16 +0800
Watchdog slams RTHK over scrapped Headliner show
The communications watchdog has again “strongly advised” RTHK to more closely observe codes of practice, after finding that complaints levelled against the now-scrapped political satire show Headliner were justified. However, the Communications ...

Thu, 28 Jan 2021 17:46:10 +0800
Officials urge caution over drop in new infections
Health officials have urged the public to remain vigilant against the coronavirus despite a slight drop in new infections, saying the virus is still being transmitted widely in the city. Authorities reported 39 new Covid cases on Thursday, all but o...

Thu, 28 Jan 2021 17:25:27 +0800
Govt appeal sees man sent back to prison
A man who admitted carrying two iron pipes with him has been given a three-month prison term, after the Department of Justice (DOJ) successfully challenged his original, more lenient punishment. Szeto Ho-sun, 21, was previously jailed for 10 days af...

Thu, 28 Jan 2021 16:19:20 +0800
Customs arrest two over 'contaminated' face masks
Customs officials have arrested two people for allegedly producing and selling a batch of contaminated face masks. The department said it found bacteria exceeding the permitted limit by 12.5 times on more than 1,500 pieces of multi-coloured masks pr...

Thu, 28 Jan 2021 15:53:26 +0800
Activist jailed for desecrating national flag
Veteran activist Koo Sze-yiu was sentenced to four months in prison on Thursday after being convicted of desecrating the national flag. Koo, 74, was accused of displaying a tainted national flag when he showed up outside court in July last year in s...



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