A People’s Liberation Army helicopter’s unprecedented flight in the Taiwan Strait has raised concerns in Taipei that Beijing is rehearsing a new kind of operation for a potential cross-strait conflict.

Taiwan’s defence ministry said it detected four PLA aircraft, including a helicopter and an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), operating around the island on July 20 and the following morning.

The helicopter and drone crossed the median line and remained east of it for nearly 9.5 hours in the “R9” area

Hong Kong authorities issued 21 fixed-penalty notices in the first six days of a citywide ban on smoking on construction sites, the labour commissioner has revealed, describing the situation as not ideal.

Commissioner for Labour Sam Hui Chark-shum said on Saturday that about 530 construction sites had been inspected during the first six days of the ban, which took effect on July 17.

Apart from the 21 fixed-penalty tickets, authorities also issued five improvement notices to contractors, with one case currently undergoing

Close to 170 mainland Chinese motorists are expected to arrive in Hong Kong on Saturday under an expanded cross-border travel scheme, with hotels rolling out accommodation, dining, shopping and parking packages to attract the new visitors.

The Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles scheme was extended to cover five more cities – Shenzhen, Foshan, Dongguan, Huizhou and Zhaoqing – from Saturday, with the daily quota of urban trips doubling to 200.

A total of nine mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area are now eligible,

On a sunny July afternoon along the shores of Hong Kong’s Lamma Island, the receding tide reveals an unassuming patch of greenery that scientists describe as the “ultimate underwater superheroes” for boosting marine biodiversity.

Seagrass – an easily overlooked marine plant – can lock away climate-warming carbon 35 times faster than tropical rainforests.

But levels of this vital vegetation in local waters have plummeted by 60 per cent over the past two decades, while sightings of local green turtles, which feed on it, have also dropped

The administrator of the fire-hit Hong Kong estate is still settling contracts and gradually issuing refunds to owners after organising tens of thousands of documents, the city’s home affairs minister has said in response to residents’ concerns.

Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak Mei-kuen said on Saturday that Hop On Management Company, the government-appointed administrator of Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, was gradually refunding owners from the remaining balance of the estate’s major repair fund and prepaid management fees.

She explained