The 15th National Games Basketball (Men’s U22) test event held at the Hong Kong Coliseum today and yesterday concluded successfully, the National Games Coordination Office (Hong Kong) (NGCO) said.
The test event was organised by the NGCO and co-organised by the Basketball Association of Hong Kong, China and the Eastern Sports Club, with the Chinese Basketball Association as advisor.
The test event featured four basketball teams – Hong Kong A1 Division Championship basketball teams Hong Kong Eastern, Winling and Tycoon, as well as the Hong Kong Men’s U22 representative team. The four teams played in the group stage and then vied for first place, with the Hong Kong representative team ultimately claiming the championship title.
The test event covered a wide array of areas, including event operations and procedures, competition organisation, venue setup, sports and prize presentations, information systems, security, medical services, volunteer services and broadcast arrangements.
NGCO Head Yeung Tak-keung said that to ensure full preparation for the eight competition events to be staged in the city in November, Hong Kong has completed test events for seven sports, with the final test event of fencing scheduled for the end of May at Kai Tak Arena in Kai Tak Sports Park.
Click here for information on the 15th National Games.
The Auxiliary Medical Service (AMS) today held an open day event to celebrate the 75th anniversary of its establishment, with activities aimed at enhancing the public’s awareness of national security and deepening their understanding of its services.
Secretary for Health Prof Lo Chung-mau said at the event that the AMS provides a wide range of services to the public, such as participation in anti-epidemic operations during the COVID-19 pandemic and deployment to hospitals to assist healthcare professionals during the influenza seasons.
The other regular duties of the AMS consists of giving first aid coverage during large-scale public events, in country parks and cycling tracks during weekends and public holidays.
He added that training of the AMS has well-equipped its members to respond to challenges involving national security risks and emergencies such as “biosecurity” and “nuclear security” at any time.
The open day activities included game booths, medical seminars, health screenings, healthcare professional symposiums and display of emergency vehicles, giving the visitors access to health information and insights into developments in healthcare professions.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
The results of the Central Allocation for Primary One Admission (POA) 2024 will be mailed to parents from Wednesday to Thursday (June 5 to 6).
Parents who completed the Choice of Schools Form for the Central Allocation on or before January 28 this year will receive the Primary One Registration Form delivered from June 5 to 6 through the Local CourierPost service provided by Hongkong Post. If door delivery by Hongkong Post fails, a Mail Collection Notification Card will be left for parents to collect it from the designated post office starting from the afternoon of the following working day. If parents have not received the Primary One Registration Form or the Mail Collection Notification Card issued by Hongkong Post by June 7, they could collect the Primary One Registration Form at the designated collection centre from June 8 to 9 (please refer to the EDB’s POA System webpage for details then).Parents are required to register their child with the school allocated from June 11 to 13 (Tuesday to Thursday) during school hours.Should parents decide to give up the place allocated because of special circumstances, such as moving to another district far from the school allocated, they should not register their child with the school allocated. Under such circumstances, they are advised to go to the EDB’s School Places Allocation Section, Podium Floor, West Block, Education Bureau Kowloon Tong Education Services Centre, 19 Suffolk Road, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon, to make necessary arrangements for transfer. They should bring along the Primary One Registration Form, the original and copies of documents showing proof of the new address (such as a rental contract, rates demand notes, or water or electricity bills bearing the name of the parent or the guardian of the child).
Any parent who finds it necessary to transfer his/her child to another school after registration is strongly advised to obtain an assurance of acceptance from that school before retrieving the Primary One Registration Form from the original school because retrieval of the registration form means cancellation of the allocated school place.
In case of inclement weather or other special circumstances during the period for the announcement of results or on any day(s) designated for registration, parents should pay attention to announcements on radio and television for special arrangements for Central Allocation or registration.
Enquiries
Parents wishing to obtain general information regarding POA procedures can call the EDB’s 24-hour automatic telephone enquiry service at 2891 0088. Further enquiries can be made to the School Places Allocation Section at 2832 7610 (for Hong Kong Island and Islands), 2832 7620 (for Kowloon), 2832 7635 (for New Territories West), 2832 7659 (for New Territories East) and 2832 7700/2832 7740 (for general enquiries) during office hours, as well as from 9am to 4.30pm on June 8 (Saturday) and June 9 (Sunday).
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
SCST to visit UAE and Saudi Arabia Miss Law will visit the UAE from April 27 to 30, during which she will attend the Arabian Travel Market 2025. She will also meet with relevant government officials, trade representatives, and cultural and tourism organisations. On May 1, she will continue her visit to Saudi Arabia.
Miss Law will depart for Hong Kong on the night of May 1 (Thursday). During her absence, the Under Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Mr Raistlin Lau, will be the Acting Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism. Issued at HKT 16:00
In a first and a unique milestone for the Armed Forces, the Department of Ophthalmology in Army Hospital (Research and Referral), New Delhi has performed the minimally invasive glaucoma surgery using 3D Microscope. This three-dimensional visualisation system is very useful for eye surgeries, including treatment for squint, cataract, corneal, glaucoma and retinal issues.
This system utilises special 3D polarisation glasses, and a 55-inch 4K ultra-HD display. Potential advantages include significantly lesser surgical time/complication rate compared to conventional microscope, decreased power of endoilluminator, reduced photo-toxicity, ease of use in uncommon and complicated situations and high surgeon and nurse satisfaction scores.
This initiative is a testament to the unwavering commitment of the Indian Army in ensuring top-tier medical services reach to our clientele at the apex institutes. This facility aims to offer cutting-edge eye care services, enhancing the hospital’s capabilities in treating a wide range of ocular conditions.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Hong Kong Customs detects three dangerous drugs cases and seizes suspected drug worth about $19 million In the first case, through risk assessment, Customs on April 24 inspected an air cargo consignment, declared as LED lights, arriving in Hong Kong from the United States at HKIA. Upon inspection, Customs officers found a total of about 55kg of suspected cannabis buds concealed in 23 packing boxes in the consignment. After a follow-up investigation, Customs officer conducted a controlled delivery operation yesterday (April 25) in Tsuen Wan and arrested a 58-year-old man and a 35-year-old woman. After that, Customs officers further arrested two men aged 27 and 26 in Yau Tong and further seized about 200g of other suspected cannabis drugs and a batch of packing tools from the vehicle they were travelling in. The first two arrestees have been released on bailing pending further investigation, and the last two arrestees had been jointly charged with two counts of attempting to traffic in a dangerous drug. They will appear at the Kwun Tong Magistrates’ Courts on April 28.
In the second case, Hong Kong Customs conducted a joint operation with the Mainland Customs yesterday and inspected an express parcel, which was declared as coconut oil, arriving in Hong Kong from Thailand via Shenzhen at the Shenzhen Bay Control Point based on intelligence analysis. After examination, about 2kg of suspected liquid etomidate with an estimated market value of about $2 million were found concealed inside 4 bottles. After a follow-up investigation, Customs officers conducted a controlled delivery operation in San Po Kong on the same day and arrested two men, aged 14 and 24, suspected to be connected with the case. The two arrestees have been charged with trafficking in a dangerous drug and the 24-year-old arrestee with one additional count of resisting a member of the Customs and Excise Service, they will appear at the Kowloon City Magistrates’ Courts on April 28.
In the third case, Hong Kong Customs today detected one drug trafficking case involving a passenger at HKIA and seized about 7kg of suspected heroin, with an estimated market value of about $5 million.
A 22-year-old male passenger arrived in Hong Kong from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, today. During customs clearance, Customs officers found the batch of suspected heroin inside his check-in suitcase. He was subsequently arrested. The arrested person has been charged with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug. He will appear at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on April 28.
Customs will continue to enhance enforcement against drug trafficking activities through intelligence analysis. The department also reminds members of the public to stay alert and not to participate in drug trafficking activities for monetary returns. They must not accept hiring or delegation from another party to carry controlled items into and out of Hong Kong.
Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, trafficking in a dangerous drug is a serious offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $5 million and life imprisonment.
Members of the public may report any suspected drug trafficking activities to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hkIssued at HKT 21:50
The President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu attended the funeral Mass of His Holiness Pope Francis at Saint Peter’s Square in Vatican City today (April 26, 2025). Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs, Shri Kiren Rijiju, Minister of State Minister for Minority Affairs, Shri George Kurian and Deputy Speaker of Goa Legislative Assembly, Shri Joshua De Souza, who are part of the official Indian delegation, also attended the ceremony.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
LCQ9: Student Activities Support Fund The Government established in early 2019 a $2.5 billion Student Activities Support Fund (the Fund) to support primary and secondary students with financial needs to participate in school-organised or recognised out-of-classroom life-wide learning activities, so as to foster their whole-person development. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the annual and cumulative (i) amounts of revenue and expenditure of and (ii) numbers of school and student beneficiaries as well as activities organised (together with the types and natures of the activities) under the Fund since its establishment;
(2) whether there are schools which have never or scarcely applied for subsidy under the Fund; if so, whether the authorities know the reasons for that, and whether assistance has been provided to such schools to ensure that all students with financial needs are given the opportunity to participate in life-wide learning activities;
(3) as it is reported that situations such as low birth rate, decline in the number of school-age children and the addiction of many students to online activities arise in Hong Kong, whether the authorities will encourage schools to make use of the subsidy granted under the Fund to organise more life-wide learning activities conducted in groups and physical settings;
(4) whether the authorities have received complaints on or identified problems in the operation of the Fund since its establishment; if so, of the follow-up actions; and
(5) whether the authorities have assessed if the operation of the Fund since its establishment can achieve its intended objectives; whether a comprehensive review of the overall operation of the Fund will be conducted in the light of the experience gained in the operation of the Fund, feedback of stakeholders, development of society, changes in students’ needs, etc.?
Reply:
President,
The Education Bureau (EDB) has been providing resources for schools to organise a wide range of learning activities and schools may deploy such resources flexibly to support student learning and offer after-school student activities to foster students’ whole-person development. Starting from the 2019/20 school year, the EDB has been providing a recurrent Life-wide Learning Grant (LWL Grant) with an annual provision of about $900 million to support public sector and Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) schools in taking forward life-wide learning based on the present foundation. The LWL Grant aims to help students develop lifelong learning capabilities and foster their whole-person development through the knowledge, skills and positive values and attitudes acquired in experiential learning. At the same time, the Government set up the Student Activities Support Fund (SAS Fund) in 2018-19 with an allocation of $2.5 billion, and the investment return of the SAS Fund has been used to provide the Student Activities Support Grant (SAS Grant) for public sector and DSS schools to support students with financial needs to participate in out-of-classroom life-wide learning activities organised or recognised by schools. While the SAS Grant is supplementary in nature, schools should make good use of the LWL Grant and the SAS Grant, having regard to their own development contexts and students’ needs.
Our consolidated reply to the question raised by the Hon Tony Tse is as follows:
(1) and (2) The SAS Grant has been available for schools’ application since the 2019/20 school year. The amount to be disbursed to a school is calculated based on the number of students of the school in receipt of the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) or the full-grant under the School Textbook Assistance Scheme (STAS full-grant) in that school year (based on the number in December of the school year). The rate for each primary student is $350 and that for each secondary student is $650. Noting that some families may be in need of support but are not in receipt of the CSSA or STAS full-grant for various reasons, so besides providing support for students receiving the CSSA or STAS full-grant, schools are given the flexibility to, at their discretion, deploy up to 25 per cent of the total provision of the SAS Grant for the school year to support students who are identified as needy according to the school-based criteria (e.g. students receiving the STAS half-grant) to participate in out-of-classroom experiential learning activities. Since the 2019/20 school year, nearly 95 per cent of schools have applied for the SAS Grant. For the schools which have not submitted any application, the main reason is that their numbers of students with financial needs are relatively small and they have flexibly deployed the LWL Grant and other resources to support student learning.
From the 2019/20 to 2023/24 school years, the incomes and expenditures of the SAS Fund, the numbers of beneficiary schools and the numbers of students are set out in the table below:
School year($ million)($ million)(Provisional figures)(Estimate)# Due to the epidemic, life-wide learning activities were generally reduced during the suspension of face-to-face classes. Consequently, the usage rates of the SAS Grant were lower than expected and the numbers of school applications were also slightly affected.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
The Education Bureau (EDB) will hold the Information Expo on Multiple Pathways 2024 (Info Expo) from 10am to 6pm on 10 and 11 May 2024 (Friday and Saturday) at Rotunda 2 of the Kowloonbay International Trade & Exhibition Centre.
Around 30 institutions and organisations will set up exhibition booths at the Info Expo to provide information on locally accredited post-secondary programmes (including programmes eligible for various government subsidy schemes as well as vocational and professional education and training (VPET) programmes and applied degree programmes), the Diploma of Applied Education programmes, as well as relevant online platforms such as the Information Portal for Accredited Post-secondary Programmes (iPASS), the Electronic Advance Application System for Post-secondary Programmes (E-APP), the Concourse for Self-financing Post-secondary Education (Concourse), and the Qualifications Framework.Time：10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Venue： Rotunda 2 of the Kowloonbay International Trade & Exhibition Centre Website：https://www.cspe.edu.hk/en/Resources-CareerGuidance-MultiplePathwaysExpo.html
World Veterinary Day 2025: National Workshop in New Delhi Honours Veterinarians behind India’s Livestock Powerhouse “Veterinarians Are the Backbone of Rural Economy”: Prof. S.P. Singh Baghel Calls for Stronger Veterinary Infrastructure and Skills in the Livestock Sector
Need to Focus on Indigenous Breeds, 100% IVF Adoption and Enhancing Veterinary Role in FMD Eradication : Prof. S.P. Singh Baghel
Posted On: 26 APR 2025 6:40PM by PIB Delhi
In a tribute to the silent sentinels of India’s livestock economy, the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, celebrated the World Veterinary Day 2025 with a National Workshop in New Delhi today.
The event was inaugurated by Prof. S. P. Singh Baghel, Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying and Panchayati Raj, who hailed the veterinary community as the “backbone of rural economy and national biosecurity.” India is home to over 536 million livestock, the largest in the world and nearly 70% of rural households depend on animals for income, food, and security. Yet, the people who ensure those animals remain healthy are rarely in the headlines, he added. Union Minister of State in his address said that “There is no healthy India without healthy animals,” while emphasizing upon the government’s commitment to modernizing veterinary infrastructure, enhancing skill development, and future-proofing India’s animal health systems. Highlighting this year’s theme, “Animal Health Takes a Team,” he stressed the importance of collaborative efforts among veterinarians, para-veterinary staff, scientists, and public health professionals to ensure integrated animal, human, and environmental health. Prof. Baghel spotlighted key initiatives under the national vaccination program like the National Animal Disease Control Programme (NADCP), which aims to eliminate Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) by 2030, noting that over 114.56 crore FMD vaccines and 4.57 crore Brucellosis vaccines have been administered in the country so far. The NADCP aims to control FMD by 2025 and eradicate it by 2030 with vaccination.
Prof. S.P. Singh Baghel emphasized the vital role of indigenous breeds of livestock in strengthening the country’s animal husbandry sector. He noted that these breeds are not only well-adapted to local climatic conditions but also play a crucial role in ensuring sustainable and resilient livestock production systems. He stressed the importance of adopting advanced reproductive technologies, particularly the use of sex-sorted semen, goal of achieving 100% use of in vitro fertilization (IVF) to enhance productivity and breed quality. The Union Minister of State praised the use of digital platforms like the National Digital Livestock Mission (Bharat Pashudhan) for traceability and disease monitoring. Addressing the rising threat of zoonotic diseases, he emphasized India’s adoption of the One Health approach, commending veterinarians for their role in disease surveillance, inter-sectoral coordination, and early warning systems to protect public health.
Joining the national workshop virtually Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD) Ms. Alka Upadhyaya called for a comprehensive overhaul of India’s veterinary ecosystem. Speaking at the World Veterinary Day 2025 event, she emphasized that veterinarians have significantly contributed to enhancing livestock productivity, making India the largest dairy producer globally, second in table egg production, and the fourth-largest meat producer. While India has become aatmanirbhar in advanced technologies such as IVF, sex-sorted semen, cattle immunization, and dairy equipment manufacturing, the Secretary highlighted the acute shortage of veterinary professionals across the country. She urged for an increase in veterinary education seats, the establishment of state-of-the-art facilities in veterinary colleges, and a curriculum that provides students with practical expertise in surgeries and livestock medical care. She further advocated for stronger public-private partnerships, and more academic conferences to modernize veterinary education. She also laidemphasis on mainstreaming of animal welfare initiatives while improving productivity. Addressing the growing threat of zoonotic diseases, Ms. Alka Upadhyaya stressed upon the need for a strong surveillance system, synchronized vaccination programs across states. “Veterinarians are the first line of defense in ensuring national biosecurity,” she concluded.
Joining virtually from Rome, Dr. Thanawat Tiensin, Assistant Director-General and Chief Veterinarian at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), lauded India’s pivotal role in global One Health efforts, and praised the country’s recent recognition under the Pandemic Fund for Animal Health Preparedness, a major global endorsement of India’s leadership in veterinary public health.
In his address, Dr. Abhijit Mitra, Animal Husbandry Commissioner and Chairman of the Animal Welfare Board of India, highlighted India’s progress in mass vaccination campaigns, early disease detection, and the use of digital tracking systems to strengthen animal health services. He emphasized the role of veterinarians as the unseen protectors of food systems and crucial defenders against future pandemics. He drew attention to the vital connection between animal welfare and public health, asserting that animal welfare is not just an act of compassion but a fundamental pillar for ensuring food safety and healthier livestock.
This year’s global theme of World Veterinary Day 2025 is “Animal Health Takes a Team”, underscores the idea that animal health isn’t a solo mission; it’s a collective national effort involving vets, scientists, public health experts and farmers. The event spotlighted the power of collaboration in protecting animal health, recognising that veterinarians, scientists, public health experts, and farmers form an interdependent network that safeguards not only livestock but the health and economy of the nation. The workshop also featured high-impact technical sessions on Use of Generic Medicines in animal husbandry to improve accessibility and affordability, the veterinarian’s role in preventing zoonotic transmission of diseases like avian influenza, strengthening Integrated Disease Surveillance and data sharing between human and animal health sectors alongside an engaging online national quiz, connecting hundreds of young veterinary students to the national conversation.
The event was also attended by distinguished dignitaries and stakeholders, including, Ms. Varsha Joshi, Additional Secretary, DAHD, Dr. Ramashankar Sinha, Additional Secretary, DAHD along with other senior officials from ICAR, National Veterinary Councils, FAO, WOAH, WHO and Directors of national research institutes and Vice Chancellors of several veterinary universities. The event saw participation from over 250 delegates and was live-streamed across India, attracting more than 3,000 virtual attendees including veterinary professionals, students, researchers, and farmers reflecting growing public awareness and interest in animal health.