Monday, May 13, 2024
Weather in Hong Kong Today it will be generally cloudy with a few showers and sunny periods during the day. The maximum temperature is about 29 degrees. Blowing a gentle breeze, gradually turning to a gentle easterly wind. Looking ahead to the next few days, there will be sunny and strong winds for a short time.
Hong Kong news
According to the website of the Macao SAR Government, Xia Baolong, Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the Central Committee and Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, will visit Macao from May 13 to 19 to learn about the latest social and economic developments in Macao. On behalf of the Macao Special Administrative Region, the Chief Executive of the Macao Special Administrative Region, Ho Iat Seng, thanked the Central Government for its long-term concern and support for Macao, and warmly welcomed Director Xia Baolong to visit Macao again after last year.
■Yesterday (12th) was Mother's Day, and the Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, learned flower arrangement from the garden team at the Government House, thanking his mother and wife for their selfless dedication to the family. A number of senior officials also wrote articles on social media platforms to pay tribute to mothers in Hong Kong. This year's flower prices are the same as last year, from 20 yuan a branch to 800 yuan a bouquet, and many citizens buy a few bouquets in one go to give them to the female elders in the family. In terms of restaurants, the morning and afternoon markets are very prosperous, with business turnover reaching 90% before the epidemic, while in the evening markets, more people choose to cook at home to share their families.
■Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po published a blog yesterday (12th), mentioning that the HKTB launched a promotional campaign to promote Hong Kong in a number of Gulf countries in May, including leading the largest ever industry delegation to Dubai last week to participate in the largest annual international travel trade exhibition (Arabian Travel Market) in the Middle East.
■At about 0:00 a.m. today (13th), an 18-inch diameter fresh water pipe under Chatham Road North in To Kwa Wan burst, and a large amount of yellow muddy water mixed with sand and gravel gushed out of the road. Upon receiving the report, the police closed a number of nearby streets, and the staff of the Water Supplies Department turned off the water valves at the scene to carry out emergency repairs.
■Since NWS Holdings (659) was restructured last year, it was separated from New World Group (017) and changed to a subsidiary of Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, and its environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards and targets have to be reformulated. In an exclusive interview with Hong Kong Commercial Daily, NWS Holdings' Chief Financial Officer Lin Zhan said that as a conglomerate, NWS Holdings attaches great importance to ESG strategies, and has set carbon reduction targets for each business, and even considers ESG factors in mergers and acquisitions.
■The State Council approved the addition of eight more cities for the "Individual Visit Visit" to Hong Kong and Macao from 27 May, covering a population of 33 million. According to the Hong Kong Federation for Democracy, the further expansion of the "Individual Visit Scheme" to all provincial capitals in Hong Kong and Macao will inject "new blood" into Hong Kong's tourism and retail industries, facilitate more Mainland residents to travel and spend in Hong Kong, help boost the tourism and retail markets, and continue to enhance the momentum of Hong Kong's economic development.
■May 12 is the International Nurses Day every year, DAB Health Spokesperson and Legislative Council Member Leung Hei held a press conference yesterday (12th) with representatives of the Hong Kong College of Nursing and Midwifery to share views on the shortage of nurses and the effectiveness of manpower retention measures, and put forward suggestions to improve the remuneration of nurses to retain and attract talents.
■A 37-year-old mainland man fell off a cliff in Lion Rock and died after being taken to hospital for rescue. The police received a report at about 12 noon yesterday (12th) that the man was walking with more than 10 people and fell while climbing. GFS assisted in transporting the injured to the Eastern Hospital where he died.
■The Hong Kong Stock Exchange (388) announced that, based on the principle of the home field of the mainland A-share market, it will no longer publish the northbound buy and sell turnover and total turnover in real time from the 13th, and will no longer publish the available northbound daily quota balance in real time, but will instead publish the available daily quota balance in real time when the balance is less than 30%, otherwise it will be displayed as "available".
synthesis
At the invitation of Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Doi-yeol will visit China from May 13 to 14. South Korean media said that this is the first visit to Beijing by a South Korean foreign minister in six and a half years since 2017.
■On the evening of the 11th local time, the first direct flight from Shenzhen to Mexico City operated by China Southern Airlines Group Co., Ltd. landed at Benito Juarez International Airport in Mexico City, the capital of Mexico. This is currently the longest non-stop international passenger route in China's civil aviation. Chinese and Mexican personages said that the opening of this route will help promote the development of the two countries' economy, trade, tourism, and other fields, and strengthen China's relations with Latin American countries.
■The 20th China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industry Fair (Cultural Expo) will be held from May 23 to 27 at the Shenzhen World Convention and Exhibition Center. It is reported that the famous ink painter Yin Jinghua will bring his latest works to the fair, including "Xiangxue", "Laughter and Conversation", "Master Hongyi", "Zhaojun Out of the Plug" and other masterpieces in recent years, showing the new trend of contemporary ink figure painting.
■According to Xinhua News Agency, North Macedonian President-elect Davkova was sworn in in the capital Skopje on the 12th, becoming the country's first female president. Speaking at the inauguration ceremony in parliament on the same day, Davkova said she would strive to unite the left and right in parliament and be committed to serving the people of the country, regardless of their ethnic, religious and political views. She also called on women across the country to strengthen their solidarity and take on more responsibility.
According to a news release on the website of the Russian President on the 12th, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a presidential decree appointing former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu as secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation. On the same day, Putin also signed a presidential decree removing Nikolai Patrushev from the post of secretary of the Security Council and appointing him to another position. According to the news released by the Russian Federation Council (upper house of parliament) on social media on the evening of the 12th, Putin nominated Andrei Belousov, who previously served as the first deputy prime minister, as the Russian defense minister, and nominated Sergei Lavrov to remain as foreign minister, Sergei Naryshkin to remain as head of the Foreign Intelligence Service, Alexander Kulenkov to remain as minister of emergency situations, Vladimir Kolokoltsev to remain as minister of internal affairs, Konstantin Thuichenko to remain as minister of justice, and Alexander Konstantin to remain as minister of justice. Bortnikov remained as head of the Federal Security Service, and Viktor Zolotov remained as commander-in-chief of the National Guard. In addition, Valery Gerasimov remained in the post of Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces.
■A residential building in the city of Belgorod in southern Russia, near the border with Ukraine, collapsed after an attack on the 12th, killing 12 people. The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations posted on social media on the same day that the remains of 12 victims have been found in the rubble of the collapsed residential building. Gladkov, the governor of the Russian Belgorod region, informed on social media earlier in the day that the Ukrainian army launched an attack on the city of Belgorod and Belgorod Oblast on the same day, resulting in the collapse of a residential building in the city of Belgorod. At least 20 people were injured in the incident, including two children.
■The National Seismological Agency of Mexico announced on the 12th that a 6.2-magnitude earthquake occurred in the sea near Chiapas in the south of the country on the same day. No casualties or property damage have been reported. According to information released on the official website of the National Earthquake Administration of Mexico, the earthquake occurred at 5:39 local time (19:39 Beijing time). The epicenter was located 76 kilometers southwest of Hidalgo, Chiapas, at a depth of 10 kilometers. Local people said on social media platforms that the tremors were felt in some cities in Chiapas.
■On May 12, local time, the military administrator of Ukraine's Kharkiv region, Sinegubov, said that the Vovchansk region of the Kharkiv region is currently under large-scale attacks by Russian artillery and other areas. More than 4,000 people have been evacuated from settlements in the Kharkiv region. Earlier, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine said that the Russian armored forces launched an offensive at around 5 a.m. local time on the 10th, and the Ukrainian army is trying to stop the Russian army from advancing towards Kharkiv, the second largest city in Ukraine.