

Hong Kong Today
Description:
RTHK's morning news programme. Weekdays 6:30 - 8:00
Presenter:
Ben Tse and Samantha Butler2022-06-16
Thursday
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Selected audio segments:
Daily Covid tally exceeds 1,000
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Health officials have asked about 60 students from Pui Ching Middle School to stop attending classes for the rest of this week, after at least six schoolmates who went to a dinner with them on June 10 came down with Covid-19. The move comes as authorities announced that the daily Covid total had topped 1,000 for the first time since mid-April. Aaron Tam reports:
Officials urged to better regulate oximeters
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The Consumer Council says the government should review the voluntary registration scheme for medical devices, after an investigation into the use of oximeters - which have become popular during the pandemic. The devices measure blood oxygen levels and were included in pandemic packs that the government distributed to patients isolating at home. Violet Wong reports:
'Inaccurate oximeters can be dangerous'
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A specialist in respiratory medicine says inaccurate oximeters can give misleading results, which could be dangerous. Dr Jane Chan agreed that the authorities should better regulate such devices so the public could choose the better brands. She told Ben Tse how best to use the devices:
Legco passes government restructuring plan
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Lawmakers have almost unanimously approved the government's restructuring plan, which will expand the policy bureaus from 13 to 15. A new Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau will be set up, while the Transport and Housing Bureau will be split into two. New People's Party chairwoman Regina Ip said it was also important to create new deputy positions to assist the chief secretary, financial secretary and the justice chief, but election Committee member Chan Siu-hung said he found the government's explanation of the roles of the three new deputies to be unclear. Others are concerned about efficiency and proper inter-departmental coordination. Councillor Yan Chan, former political assistant for food and health, told Damon Pang she was concerned that some departments connected to public health would fall under the future Environment and Ecology Bureau:
Inquest finds helper died of natural causes
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Following a week-long inquest, a four-person jury at the Coroners' Court has ruled that a 46-year-old Filipino domestic worker died of natural causes. She had been found unconscious in her employer's home in 2017. Wendy Wong reports:
Call to limit helpers' working hours
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The Asian Migrants Coordinating Body has urged the government to come up with measures to limit the working hours of live-in domestic helpers, so they will not be overworked and exploited. The group's spokesperson, Eman Villanueva, says many helpers work between 11 and 16 hours a day. He told Samantha Butler that the situation occurs because the helpers are forced to live in the place that they work:
New sports venue booking system on the way
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The government says the Leisure and Cultural Services Department is developing a new system to improve and facilitate the booking of public sports and recreation venues. The acting home affairs secretary, Jack Chan, says it is expected to come into operation in two phases starting next year. Frank Yung reports:
HK up two spots in competitiveness ranking
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Hong Kong has moved up the table of most competitive places in the world. It is now ranked fifth by the International Institute for Management Development, up from seventh last year. Maggie Ho reports:
Rain triggers deadly China landslides
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Heavy rain on the mainland has claimed at least six lives this week and forced the evacuation of some 200,000 people. Aaron Tam reports:
UK vows to push ahead with Rwanda asylum plan
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The British home secretary, Priti Patel, has been accused of "government by gimmick" after insisting she will push ahead with plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda. Her shadow counterpart from the opposition Labour party called the policy "a shambles" and "shameless". Patel said she had been disappointed and surprised by a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights which effectively blocked the departure of the first planned flight on Tuesday. Annemarie Evans spoke to RTHK's UK correspondent Gavin Grey about what the Home Secretary was now planning: