The Hong Kong government has said it is open to making a controversial labour importation scheme permanent, with tighter hiring rules for the catering industry and stiffer penalties for non-compliant employers to take effect on Tuesday. Commissioner for Labour Sam Hui Chark-shum said on Monday that the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme (ESLS), launched in September…
Hong Kong may enter its summer flu season earlier than usual this year, with a peak likely to occur later this month, health authorities have said, urging unvaccinated residents to receive jabs for protection. Dr Edwin Tsui Lok-kin, controller of the Centre for Health Protection, said on Tuesday that influenza activity in the city had…
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. The Hong Kong Observatory issued an amber rainstorm warning for more than three hours on Tuesday evening. The warning, the lowest level in a three-tier system, was issued at 6.15pm and cancelled at 9.55pm….
A Hong Kong school that instantly dismissed its principal after he was filmed swearing at security guards in Singapore has published an advertisement to recruit a new head, requiring applicants to have “excellent character”. The advertisement was posted on the school’s website on Tuesday morning, six days after its governing board decided to terminate principal…
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. Hong Kong issued its first “very hot weather” warning of the year on Tuesday, with temperatures expected to reach as high as 33 degrees Celsius (91.4 Fahrenheit). The forecaster said an anticyclone aloft would…
Standard Chartered global CEO Bill Winters on Friday said he was “sorry” for comments describing “lower-value” workers, made while announcing job-cut plans earlier this week. Winters apologised in a LinkedIn post as he tried to cool debate among upset employees after he announced on Tuesday a 15 per cent cut of back-office staff at the…
A man plunged to his death from the balcony of his public housing flat in Hong Kong on Wednesday night after a dispute with his wife and son over education expenses, police said. A source said on Thursday that the man’s wife, 52, and their 21-year-old son were arrested, with preliminary investigations suggesting the death…
Ten people have been injured in a crash involving a truck and a bus outside a shopping centre in Hong Kong’s Kwun Tong. Police said they received a report of the crash in Sau Mau Ping at about 6.20am on Tuesday, where a light goods vehicle collided with a KMB double-decker bus, leaving eight passengers…
A Hong Kong sushi restaurant has apologised after a customer spotted a threadlike parasite crawling out of a piece of sashimi, triggering widespread food safety concerns across social media. Popular Japanese chain Gatten Sushi, which debuted in the city in September 2024, issued an apology on social media on Tuesday after footage of the incident…
Hikers should not underestimate the risks of climbing in Japan during the volatile spring transition in May, a mountaineering expert has warned after two Hong Kong men became stranded in the Northern Alps, one of whom later died. Veteran mountaineer Chung Kin-man said on Wednesday that climbers might develop a false sense of safety due…