The educational chief said schools should not be "overreacted" on national education, citing the incident of St. Francis Xavier's School in Tsuen Wan that suspended 14 students from school for three days over "disrespectful behaviours" towards the national anthem and the flag-raising ceremony. In a radio programme on Sunday, Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin said that national education aimed to cultivate the young generation with patriotism, and the government would support schools with better professionalism in national education. "The disciplines are not meant to punish students but help them better understand the national anthem and flag," Choi said. "However, there is room for improvement when schools enforce the rules," she said, noting the involved St. Francis Xavier's School has launched an investigation. Choi added the education authority would strengthen the conduct guidelines and training for national security education on teachers.

Throat swab samples will be collected for free nucleic acid tests (NAT) conducted at community testing centres and inbound testing stations at the airport starting this Tuesday, replacing the current practice of collecting nasal and throat swab samples. "Switching to using throat swab to collect upper respiratory tract specimen for nucleic acid test can also achieve high sensitivity," the government announced yesterday. The self-paid testing arrangement at community testing centres and stations will remain unchanged. Unless otherwise requested, "combined nasal and throat swabs" will continue to be used for self-paid testing services. Members of the public may also opt for other specimen collection methods in the self-paid testing, including taking "nasal swabs", "nasopharyngeal swabs" or "throat swab" that suits their needs, such as meeting the entry requirement of their travel destinations, the government spokesman said.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Saturday said the confessed gunman in the killing of radio commentator Percival “Percy Lapid” Mabasa acted as the paymaster to his five accomplices in the assassination plot. ADVERTISEMENTIn his interview with dzBB radio station on Saturday, Remulla said Escorial gave a “very accurate” account of his role. Responding to a question, the justice secretary said the alleged gunman did not distribute all the P550,000 to his accomplices in one go. According to the AMLC report, Escorial made “many deposits” to the accounts of his accomplices within a “20-day period,” Remulla said without elaborating. READ: ‘2 cases’ seen in Percy slay; Bilibid’s ‘Tanda’ crops upRead Next

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a surge in hate incidents against Asians across the United States, with New York registering one of the biggest numbers of hate crimes directed at Asian Americans according to reports. Aside from legal options, other initiatives include a pilot program that would teach students about hate crimes. Naveed echoed this, explaining that education is a major pillar to the “comprehensive approach” in preventing hate crimes through community-based programs. There is no question that anti-Asian hate crimes continue to be a concern, but authorities are “exhausting every possible avenue” to address them. We’re also cooperating not only with Filipino-American groups but other Asian associations as well to get a more accurate picture of the reported incidents and see if these are really hate crimes or just random attacks by mentally unhinged individuals.

Secretary for Transport and Logistics Lam Sai-hung reminded the public that the grace period for the Small Unmanned Aircraft Order will cease at the end of November, at which point operators of drones weighing more than 250g must have registered with the Civil Aviation Department. Lam's blog published Saturday stressed that even if the operators have their registrations, it doesn't mean they can fly their drones recklessly. The Small Unmanned Aircraft Order has been in place since June 1, under which only category A1 drones weighing less than 250g, including Autel EVO Nano and DJI Mini drones, will be exempted from registrations. Those flying drones that weigh 7kg or more must obtain the Advanced Rating qualification and flight approval from the department, as it is much riskier and requires complex control. Since the Order came into effect five months ago, over 16,000 pilots have registered at the Electronic Portal for Small Unmanned Aircraft (eSUA), Lam added.

A man abandoned his vehicle and fled the scene after losing control of his car at speed and knocking down a jogger in Kwai Chung on Saturday morning. A black car then made an abrupt, tire-squealing right turn into Tai Lin Pi Road from Kwai Chung Road, where he lost control of the vehicle and mounted the pedestrian island, hitting the jogger. Upon seeing the incident, passersby immediately contacted the police as the driver failed to stop after the accident and drove off. When police arrived at the scene to investigate, they found the car about 280 meters away on Wing Yip Street with the driver already long gone. Police listed the case as a hit-and-run and are now contacting the vehicle's owner and hunting down the driver involved.

HONG KONG: Most Asian investors tentatively stepped back into the markets on Friday after the previous day's Federal Reserve (Fed)-induced sell-off, while the dollar held gains as focus turned to the release of key US jobs data. Fed boss Jerome Powell's pushback against expectations of a softer approach to monetary tightening sent shivers through trading floors and ramped up fears of a global recession. The decision came as other central banks have signaled they will tone down their hawkishness, even in the face of decades- or record-high inflation. With the Fed pointing to a still-strong labor market as a key reason for not shifting from its rate-hike strategy, traders are nervous that a big figure in the report will give officials room to tighten more. However, Tokyo was deep in the red as traders played catch-up with Thursday's losses after returning from a one-day holiday.

Earthshot – give it a shot! That is a simple idea worth a shot, an Earthshot. Check out the website of Earthshot Prize -https://earthshotprize.org and jog your mind after you read the past winners’ ideas. This is my Earthshot idea: Regenerative agriculture rather than chemical-based, weed-killer kind of agriculture. I hope to see the spread of this idea, whether we make it to the Earthshot prize or not.

Knowing where to tapHere is a fascinating observation. Then someone in the company remembered an old man who had been repairing machines for years. The old man put his hammer away and went back home. They know where to tap the hammer. Meanwhile, those who claim to be “gurus” and subject matter experts with embellished CVs may not have enough experience, wisdom, and knowledge to know where to tap the hammer.

A company founded by Otto Poon Lok-to, husband of former justice secretary Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah, is facing a fine of HK$150 million after it admitted violating antitrust laws. The Competition Commission said on Friday that it had been investigating Poon’s ATAL Building Services Engineering over a suspected air-conditioning works cartel. "The cooperation agreements entered into with several respondents in the case represent significant developments in the commission’s investigation into the multi-year air-conditioning services cartels," said the commission's CEO, Rasul Butt, in a statement. Analogue Holdings, meanwhile, said in a stock exchange filing that it will not be named as a party in the suit. Read more: Poon aircon firm in $2b cartel probe

A doctor from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital was charged yesterday for abusively prescribing and stealing over 1,000 bottles of cough syrup and over 400 tablets of psychiatric medication for his family members and acquaintances. According to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), Lee Chi-leung, the 47-year-old associate consultant doctor, was alleged of "misconduct in public office" over his prescribing of medication for his own use and retention between 2015 and 2020. He also faces charges of theft as being accused of stealing medicines from the hospital. During the period, it was found that Lee stole over 1,000 bottles of cough syrup and over 400 tablets for treating ADHD, worth approximately HK$15,000 in total. Lee is now in custody and will be brought to the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts tomorrow (November 4) for mention of his case.

The government announced today that people undergoing free testing services of nucleic acid screening will be required to provide their address in the Test Registration Code in their LeaveHomeSafe apps. “It will contribute to tracing the positive cases via the addresses provided,” said Winnie Chui Hiu-lo, Principal Assistant Secretary for Health. She added citizens need to prepare personal identification cards when showing the Test Registration Code to confirm the information. Chris Wong Lei-po, director of the Hong Kong Molecular Pathology Diagnostic Center, touted the Test Registration Code will help to reduce the waiting time in line for people to do Covid tests. “With the registration information provided,” he said, “the waiting time could be controlled under 15 minutes.”

Manila, Philippines — The Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) on Thursday reminded the public that the free ride program for students would end on November 5. Hernando Cabrera said that their free ride program, which began operations on August 22, has already benefited 1,527,219 students who rode LRT line 2 from Santolan to Recto Avenue. LRTA assured that the students would still get financial support by giving them a 20% discount on LRT line 2 starting November 6. The program is implemented to assist the students who have been highly affected by the pandemic. LRTA also announced that they have successfully reached their one million mark in giving students free rides in 58 days.

Police announced on Wednesday the arrest of two men who were suspected of using false cash and seized 37 counterfeit banknotes in Kwun Tong. The two arrestees, aged 34 and 41 respectively, were alleged to be engaging in a series of crimes for passing fake bills in the districts of Tseung Kwan O, Tsing Yi, and Kwun Tong in October. Officers also detected a printer that was believed to have been used for producing the fake cash during the operation. It is also found by the police that two arrestees have used the fake banknote to purchase food and second-hand goods on local online platforms. According to Hong Kong laws, anyone who produces or uses counterfeit notes or coins knowingly can be punished with imprisonment for 14 years.

MANILA, Philippines — The reported deaths left by Tropical Storm Paeng have climbed to 122, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said on Wednesday. ADVERTISEMENTMost of the deaths, 61, were caused by flash floods and landslides in Maguindanao del Norte. The other deaths were reported as follows:Western Visayas – 29Calabarzon– 12Eastern Visayas – 5Zamboanga Peninsula – 4Soccsksargen – 3Mimaropa – 3Central Visayas – 2Central Luzon – 1Bicol – 1Cordillera Administrative Region – 1A total of 103 were injured and 36 remained missing. The total agricultural damage is estimated to be P1.6 billion and infrastructural damage is P1.03 billion. On Wednesday, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. the following regions under a state of calamity:CalabarzonBicolWestern VisayasBangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim MindanaoRELATED STORIESatmRead Next