A government adviser on the pandemic has urged people not to wait for second generation Covid jabs, saying the emergence of new subvariants of the virus is likely to make them quickly ineffective. Professor Lau Yu-lung was speaking on a radio programme about two new strains of Covid that arrived here this week. 4,656 new Covid cases were reported on Tuesday, 373 of them imported. Nine more patients with Covid have died. More than 16,000 people with the coronavirus are being treated in public hospitals, 13 of them in intensive care. Kelly Yu reports:

A High Court judge has put on hold the invalidation by the government of some 20,000 Covid-19 vaccination exemption certificates issued by seven private doctors, pending a legal challenge. Violet Wong reports:

The Chief Executive says he will just "laugh off" any sanctions imposed on Hong Kong officials, describing such measures as "barbaric". John Lee made the comment when fielding questions about the super yacht owned by Russian oligarch, Alexey Mordashov, which is currently berthed off Tsing Yi. Frank Yung reports:

A secondary school in Tsuen Wan has confirmed that it suspended 14 pupils for three days for disrespecting the national anthem and emblem by failing to turn up for a flag-raising ceremony. The Education Bureau has asked the school for a report on the incident. Joanne Wong reports:

The Education Bureau has been urged to revise its guidelines on school flag-raising ceremonies, to give more details on penalties. Mervyn Cheung, the chairman of the Hong Kong Education Policy Concern Organisation, says the suspension of students for failing to attend the ceremony was "drastic" and suspension should be a last resort. He told Ben Tse that a full investigation was needed on the reasons for the students' behaviour:

With the Chief Executive set to deliver his maiden Policy Address next Wednesday, the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors has made 10 proposals on how John Lee could boost housing supply, including developing brownfield sites and converting the use of greenbelt zones. The institute also said the government could redevelop old housing estates to shorten the waiting time for public flats. Lau Chun-kong, the group's former president and the current chair of its land policy panel, spoke to Samantha Butler:

Hong Kong tourists packed on to flights to Japan on Tuesday to make the most of the country's newly-eased Covid restrictions. As Ada Au reports, some said they had been left sleepless and excited by the prospect of finally getting back to one of the SAR's favourite destinations:

Shanghai and other big cities on the mainland, including Shenzhen, have again ramped up testing for Covid-19 as infections rise slightly, with some local authorities hastily closing schools, entertainment venues and tourist spots. Cases on the mainland are running at their highest levels since August, with the uptick coming after increased domestic travel during the National Day "Golden Week" holiday. Natale Ching reports:

The rise in Covid infections on the mainland - the most since August the 20th - was among the factors that battered Hong Kong stocks again on Tuesday, as the Hang Seng Index finished below the 17,000-point mark. It fell 2.2 percent to 16,832. Selina Sia, the head of Greater China Equity Research at Credit Suisse Wealth Management, told Joanne Wong that market sentiment was fragile and unlikely to improve anytime soon:

The International Monetary Fund has cut its growth forecasts for China for this year and next as strict Covid curbs and a crisis in the property sector fuel a slowdown in the world's number two economy. Robert Kemp reports:

The ratings agency Moody's says it has pulled its ratings for debt-laden mainland property developers China Evergrande and Kaisa. Mike Weeks reports.