The Hospital Authority has announced plans to shorten the duration of its nursing programme starting from the new academic year in September, allowing students to complete the entire course in 3.5 years instead of the current four years. The HA launched the Professional Diploma in Nursing three years ago, offering classes in its three nursing schools at Caritas Medical Centre, Tuen Mun and Queen Elizabeth hospitals. Upon graduation, students can choose to become registered general nurses...

The Transport Department said early on Monday that Clear Water Bay Road was back to normal, after being disrupted by a landslide. A slope measuring 30 metres long and 40 metres deep collapsed, and part of the pavement also caved in. The slip forced officials to implement an arrangement in which two-way traffic shared the same lane near Wing Lung Road in Hang Hau. Transport minister Lam Sai-hung said earlier that Clear Water Bay Road should be open again by rush hour on Monday morning,...

A climbing carnival took place at Cheung Chau on Sunday, ahead of the island's traditional bun-scrambling competition on Buddha's Birthday. The 14-metre-high bun tower frame is already in place for the competition on May 15, and carnival-goers were given the chance to see whether they could climb it. Ms Chung said her son had managed the feat. "We've tried bun scrambling over the years. When my son was young, he couldn't reach the top. Last time we came, he was able to get there at a...

Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung said the total number of mainland tourists coming to Hong Kong should reach the estimated 800,000 mark with the Golden Week holiday wrapping up on Sunday, adding it would boost the economy by over HK$2 billion. Speaking on a radio programme on Sunday, Yeung said approximately 670,000 mainland tourists had already come to the territory in the first four days despite the rainy weather. "The entire Guangdong Province was affected by the...

Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak on Saturday said 12 care teams have been deployed to Sai Kung in response to the severe rainfall that hit the area. At one point, the Observatory recorded over 200 millimetres of rain in the district, causing significant flooding on several roads, including Po Lam Road North and Wan Po Road in Tseung Kwan O, as well as Pak Sha Wan Street in Sai Kung. The home affairs minister said some care team members were already on duty in temporary...

The Hong Kong Observatory cancelled the amber rainstorm warning signal at 8.45pm on Saturday. It said heavy rain over Hong Kong had started to ease. The Observatory had issued the amber signal to replace the red rainstorm warning just before 4pm. However, the forecaster has also warned that another intense band of thundery showers is edging towards the Pearl River Estuary, and this might still affect Hong Kong. The red signal had been in place since about 9 am and, at around noon, the...

The Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun on Saturday said the new minimum wage formula will provide support to Hong Kong's 17,000 low income workers, who currently earn an hourly rate of HK$40. The new formula - which bars any reduction - takes effect next year, after being given the go-ahead on Tuesday by the Chief Executive, John Lee, and the Executive Council. Speaking to reporters after appearing on a Commercial Radio programme, Sun said the reform balanced the interests of both...

Catering sector representative Simon Wong on Saturday said restaurants saw 10 percent less business than usual this May 1 public holiday, which was also the first day of the mainland's Golden Week break. Speaking to reporters after appearing on a radio programme, the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades president said this was partially due to 20,000 fewer mainland arrivals on that day, although the May 1 firework display had helped trade near Victoria Harbour. “We see...

The Observatory on Saturday said it may issue the Black Rainstorm Warning Signal, as heavy rain continues to batter Hong Kong, particularly in the east of the territory. It had issued the Red Rainstorm Signal just before 9 am, as the rainy weather that has hit Hong Kong over the past few days worsened. Sai Kung and Tseung Kwan O have seen very heavy rain with the Observatory saying more than 200 millimetres have been recorded and that severe rainstorms would continue to affect the eastern...

The Hospital Authority (HA) is launching a new round of its overseas training sponsorship programme, fully subsidising eligible participants to earn a bachelor's degree in podiatry at the University of Northampton in the UK. The scheme to send people abroad for training on foot treatment was first introduced in 2005 due to the lack of recognised programmes among local tertiary institutions. Stanley Wan, who works as a resident podiatrist at Yan Chai Hospital, participated in the programme...

Education minister Christine Choi on Friday said students taking Chinese History in the DSE exams will be allowed to skip part of the test from 2026. Under the new arrangement, pupils can choose to take only a compulsory test that covers Chinese historical events ranging from the ancient Xia dynasty onwards, or they can also sit a paper that focuses on the political, religious, social and other aspects of different periods. Students only sitting the compulsory paper will be able to get a...

The data of around 17,000 people who were required to undergo Covid tests at the peak of the pandemic has been exposed online, the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) has warned. In a statement issued late on Thursday, the department said names, phone numbers, identity card numbers and addresses of residents were collected during lockdown operations between March and July in 2022. The information was stored on an online server accessible to authorised staff using a...

Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) is launching a series of new programmes from May, covering topics from news and current affairs to youth, family, and community activities, as well as education and culture. The new programmes will be broadcast across RTHK's eight channels. Speaking at the launch ceremony on Thursday, RTHK’s assistant director, Vincent Lee, said RTHK is committed to innovative production, nurturing new talent, and recruiting skilled individuals. He noted that over 80 new...

The Inland Revenue Department on Thursday said it expects a 12 percent increase in the amount of tax it collects this year, following a drop last year. Provisional figures show the department collected HK$342 billion in the last tax year, which was HK$18.2 billion or about five percent lower than in 2022-23. But it said it expects tax revenue to rise to HK$382 billion this year. The department said stamp duty revenue is likely to hit HK$71 billion this year, following a 30 percent...

Environment minister Tse Chin-wan on Thursday said the pay-as-you-throw trial would continue this month as planned, despite feedback that cleaners and participants are having a hard time with the scheme. The government selected 14 buildings and premises to test the waste-charging scheme, which began last month, with participants using designated garbage bags and tags to dispose of their rubbish. The government had earlier delayed the scheme's full rollout from April to August. On...

Privacy Commissioner Ada Chung on Thursday criticised the Consumer Council over a data breach last year, saying the watchdog contravened the Personal Data Ordinance with its deficiencies. An attack by hackers resulted in the leak of personal data on more than 450 individuals, including staff members and people who filed complaints with the council. Chung's office said the council started allowing staff to connect to its server using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) when work-from-home...

The executive director of the Hong Kong Tourism Association, Timothy Chui, on Thursday said tourist figures for the first day of the mainland's Golden Week holiday were in line with expectations. The Immigration Department said arrivals in the SAR exceeded 460,000 on May 1, including around 180,000 from the mainland. Some tourists complained on social media platforms like Xiaohongshu that bad weather marred a fireworks show over Victoria Harbour on Wednesday evening. Chui told an RTHK...

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on Wednesday his country will sever diplomatic ties with Israel, whose leader he described as "genocidal" over its war in Gaza. "Tomorrow (Thursday) diplomatic relations with the state of Israel will be severed... for having a genocidal president," Petro, a harsh critic of the war against Hamas, told a May Day rally in Bogota, referring to Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel's foreign minister on Wednesday said Petro's decision to cut...

Deputy Chief Secretary Warner Cheuk on Wednesday said a trial has shown that there are still many problems with the government's long-delayed waste charging programme. The pay-as-you-throw scheme was tested at 14 locations from last month, covering homes, shops and restaurants, but only about half of the households participated by using designated bags to dispose of trash. Cheuk said a working group had been meeting every week to discuss the plan. "According to our initial observations,...

The Tourism Board on Wednesday said an 8pm pyrotechnic display over Victoria Harbour will go ahead as planned. The show had been in doubt because of inclement weather, but the board says forecasts show it's fine to go ahead, warning people attending to bring rain gear and check the conditions. It's good news for tourists in town for the Labour Day holiday who had been anxiously checking the weather ahead of the fireworks show, which is the first in a series planned to mark holidays and...

The chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions (FTU) on Wednesday said authorities should give more weight to the growth of the SAR's economy in a new formula for calculating the minimum wage. The Executive Council on Tuesday approved recommendations to review the minimum wage every year instead of every two years, and under the new mechanism, the minimum wage would not be reduced. The new formula will take into account the consumer price index and 20 percent of the difference between the...

Scores of movie lovers on Tuesday bade farewell to President Cinema in Causeway Bay, bringing the curtain down on almost six decades of showing films. Its operator, Newport Circuit, had announced last week that the theatre on Jaffe Road was closing after Tuesday, though it did not say why. Still, Newport Circuit thanked customers for their support throughout the years. While some people were just there to snap pictures, others bought tickets for the final shows at the theatre that first...

Six spot bitcoin and ether exchange traded funds (ETFs) gained in their Hong Kong debut on Tuesday. The launch of Asia's first cryptocurrency-based ETFs comes three months after a similar move in the United States. Unlike in the US, however, crypto enthusiasts in Hong Kong can also invest by swapping their own tokens, as well as buying with cash. After listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange, bitcoin ETFs launched by China AMC, Harvest and Bosera climbed more than 2 percent by midday,...

Scholars on Tuesday called on the government to offer more support for people who look after children or elderly relatives while living in subdivided housing. In a survey conducted by Lingnan University and Chinese University, 95 percent of the 315 caregivers surveyed, who live in subdivided homes, were found to be stressed out, while 20.5 percent of respondents exhibited signs of depression. Speaking at a press conference, Ruby Lai from Lingnan University's Department of Sociology and...