The culture, sports and tourism minister, Kevin Yeung, on Monday said it was unacceptable that repeated mistakes were made by the chairwoman of the city's weightlifting and powerlifting body. He also called on Josephine Ip of the Hong Kong, China Weightlifting and Powerlifting Association to publicly address her mistakes. "It is unacceptable for th…

Hong Kong's tourism industry should learn to be more accommodating to ethnic minority travellers from the mainland, DAB lawmakers said on Monday, after the central government announced it was adding eight more cities to the individual visit scheme. From May 27, residents from eight more cities – including Hohhot of Inner Mongolia, Lhasa of Tibet, a…

Labour and welfare minister Chris Sun said on Monday there was "nothing political" about him saying the governance of the statutory body overseeing social workers must be improved, and that the motivation was about raising the sector's professional standards. Last Friday, he wrote on social media accusing the Social Workers Registration Board of ig…

Labour and welfare minister Chris Sun on Monday said he hopes the community living rooms in To Kwa Wan, Hung Hom and Nam Cheong would open by the end of the summer holidays, as part of efforts to help the newly identified 950,000 people for targeted poverty alleviation. Speaking at a Legco panel meeting, Sun hoped the three facilities, aimed at pro…

Dozens of students walked out of Duke University's commencement ceremony on Sunday to protest its guest speaker, comedian Jerry Seinfeld, who has supported Israel throughout the war in Gaza. About 30 of the 7,000 students present left their seats, chanting “free Palestine” amid a mix of boos and cheers. Some waved the red, green, black and white Pa…

Representatives of the retail and hotel industries on Monday praised the move to boost Hong Kong's tourism sector by adding eight mainland cities to the individual visit scheme, but views were divided on whether direct flights from those cities were necessary. From May 27, travellers from Taiyuan in Shanxi Province, Hohhot of the Inner Mongolia aut…

The Hospital Authority (HA) said it is seeking to streamline the process for adding new drugs to its registry, with a view to cut half the time needed to obtain the medicines. Currently, drug companies write to clinical doctors directly in the application, and it takes around 10 months before a drug could be added to the HA's formulary. The authori…

Mainland students studying in Hong Kong have been urged to be vigilant as more of them are being targeted by phone scammers. Senior inspector Eddie Lam said there were 39 cases of mainland students falling victim to fake-official ruses in the first quarter of this year, up from 29 cases during the same period last year. "We discovered that scammers…

Around a hundred Hongkongers who’ve mastered the art of doing nothing on Sunday gathered at the Cha Kwo Ling Promenade for a zoning out contest. The “Chill and Relax Festival” is jointly organised by the Development Bureau, the Harbourfront Commission and the Playground Association to raise awareness over the importance of mental health. Participan…

Celebrations are underway across Hong Kong on Sunday to mark Mother's Day. Some restaurants RTHK spoke to said they logged a jump in business, as families flocked out to celebrate the day. Others, meanwhile, bought flowers as a show of love and appreciation for their mothers. "By giving her flowers, I would say thank you to my mom for taking care o…

Justice Secretary Paul Lam on Sunday said an injunction over the 2019 protest song "Glory to Hong Kong" helps define the red line and provides a stronger deterrence against those who would use the song as a tool to promote "Hong Kong independence". Speaking on a radio programme days after the Court of Appeal granted a temporary injunction order ban…

Kowloon Motor Bus (KMB) on Saturday said it's not ruling out applying for a fare hike this year, after operating costs rose. The higher costs also included its investment in electric buses, with a new batch of electric double-decker buses beginning a phased roll-out on Saturday. But the franchised bus operator called for more government subsidies, …

A government-led primary healthcare scheme has found that about 40 percent of participants who took part in screenings for chronic diseases were diagnosed with pre-diabetes, myelitis, and hypertension, 10 percent more than expected. Speaking on a Commercial Radio programme, Pang Fei-chau, commissioner for primary healthcare in the Health Bureau, sa…

A paediatrician warned on Saturday that the winter and summer flu seasons may be merging, given the rising number of cases. Mike Kwan from the University of Hong Kong's Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine said the flu season may not end. "The number of cases is still increasing. We don't know when the situation will stabilise or even …

Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak on Saturday said the Legislative Council is reviewing the Building Management Ordinance, to urge tenants to carry out renovation work, especially for old buildings. Her comments came after five people died in a fire last month in a building with substandard fire safety equipment. Mak told an RTHK radio…