The Standby Signal No. 1 will remain in force for some time on Thursday morning as Podul, which has weakened into a tropical storm, made landfall in Fujian province at around midnight. But the Observatory says the chance of issuing higher tropical cyclone warning signals is low, unless Podul adopts a more southerly track closer to the Pearl River Estuary. Earlier, Podul lashed southeastern Taiwan, shutting down schools and businesses and disrupting public transport. It made landfall in Taitung county on Wednesday afternoon packing winds of 191km per hour. Lau Hon-ting has more.

Environment Secretary Tse Chin-wan says the government may use elephant mosquitoes to control the spread of the mosquito-borne chikungunya fever. Elephant mosquitoes prey on the larvae of other mosquitoes and do not suck blood. Sophie Hui reports.

Tuen Mun Hospital says it's investigating a case involving a patient in intensive care who was connected to a ventilator that didn't operate normally. The 48-year-old suffered a cardiac arrest while he was intubated, and his heartbeat was restored after two minutes of resuscitation. The patient remains in intensive care, as Damon Pang reports:

A 15-person multidisciplinary team of experts from the Prince of Wales Hospital and Chinese University of Hong Kong have successfully treated a pregnant woman with a rare case of aortic dissection last year, saving her life and those of the twins she was carrying. Professor Randolph Wong from CUHK's department of surgery said the potential risk of death for the 36-year-old mother and her twins was high, and the team faced enormous stress. He told Wallis Wang that the case was extremely rare:

University of Hong Kong researchers have urged the government to roll out more policies to assist local residents seeking healthcare across the border. A survey by the university found that about 60 percent of those questioned have been going north for medical attention since 2019, up from less than six percent before 2011. Professor He Shenjing, who led the research, told Charlie Chun why services on the mainland are attractive.

Police say they've arrested three males aged 11 to 13 on suspicion of stealing plush toys worth about HK$1,000 from a claw machine. Aaron Tam reports:

The government says it plans to hold a large-scale counter-terrorism drill by the end of the month, to simulate responses to attacks on critical local infrastructure. Damon Pang reports:

Tickets for the National Games will be sold in phases, with the first batch to be offered at the end of this month. The organisers said buyers must register with their real names to prevent scalping. Hailey Yip reports.

The UK Home Office says more live facial recognition vans will be introduced across the country to better track down terrorists and suspects linked to serious crimes such as homicides and sexual offences. The technology was first introduced in 2017 at the Champions League final in Cardiff, and its use has since gradually expanded elsewhere. The government says 580 arrests were made in London through facial recognition over the past 12 months. RTHK's UK correspondent, Gavin Grey, told Janice Lo why a concern group is launching a legal challenge over the scheme:

European leaders have urged US President Donald Trump to work towards a peace in Ukraine that safeguards European and Ukrainian security. That's according to the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. His comments came after a virtual meeting held between the American leader and European counterparts. Trump will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday for discussions on the war in Ukraine – as Jamie Clarke reports:

Israel's military has been pounding Gaza City, prior to a planned takeover. The Gaza health ministry said another 123 people had been killed within 24 hours across Wednesday, the worst in a week. Of those, 25 were killed on Wednesday by Israeli gunfire while seeking aid. Those latest figures come as Hamas has held further talks with Egyptian mediators. Egyptian state-affiliated news has reported the militant group expressed its keenness on a speedy return to Gaza ceasefire negotiations. Jamie Clarke has more:

South Korea's former first lady Kim Keon Hee has been arrested over a range of charges, including stock manipulation and corruption. She was detained late on Tuesday night after a court in Seoul reviewed a request from prosecutors for an arrest warrant. Lau Hon-ting reports.

Wildfires are still wreaking destruction across southern Europe, burning homes and forcing thousands of residents and tourists to flee. Caused by arsonists or thunderstorms, and fanned by a heatwave and strong winds, the fires have affected nearly 440,000 hectares in the eurozone so far this year. That's double the average for the same period of the year since 2006. Jamie Clarke reports:

The Cathay Group says it is actively pursuing new partnerships to expand the use of sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, across its global network, reaffirming its commitment to decarbonise aviation and achieve its environmental targets. The group aims to source 10 percent of its total fuel consumption from Saf by 2030, a critical milestone in its bid to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Hailey Yip reports.

Vendors have expressed mixed feelings about business prospects at the upcoming annual Hong Kong Computer & Communications Festival. The four-day computer fair is set to start on August 22nd at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre and will feature more than 200 local and overseas exhibitors. One booth operator has predicted sales to drop by 20 percent compared to last year. Saaleh Hafeez is the product manager of MSI, a company that mainly sells gaming laptops. He spoke to Elvis Yu.

Another participating firm, Belkin, expects a 10 to 20 percent year-on-year sales increase. They are an American company that sells consumer electronics. Their associate director of marketing, Crystal Chu, told Elvis Yu they even put in extra money to secure a prime spot at the fair.

To sports...and European champions Paris Saint-Germain began the new season in thrilling style, as they came from behind to defeat Tottenham Hotspur 4-3 on penalties in the Uefa Super Cup in Italy. As Robert Kemp tells us, PSG's victory marks the first time any club from France have won the annual match, contested between the winners of Europe's two biggest club competitions: