The government has proposed banning the use of loudspeakers for peddling. Under amendments to the Noise Control Ordinance, offenders will be slapped with a fixed penalty of $10,000. And as Kelly Yu reports, officials have also proposed easing noise restrictions during certain holidays:

The Office of the Communications Authority says it is working hard to set up a registration system for SMS senders in a bid to foil scammers. That came as police announced that fraud cases jumped 58 percent in the first five months of this year, from the same period last year. Elvis Yu reports:

Cruise passengers, who arrived in Hong Kong on Wednesday, say they are happy with the new transport arrangements to take them away from the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal. Concerns had been raised about the accessibility of the terminal after passengers coming off cruise ships at the weekend complained of a lack of transport to take them to the heart of the city. Kelly Yu reports:

The government has been urged to engage the private sector in designing and managing public playgrounds. Even children who have used public playgrounds have said they are too dull. Anne Chan reports:

DAB lawmaker Nixie Lam says one common complaint of public playgrounds is that they are all the same. As a former district councillor, she recalled having only one booklet of choices, as government guidelines stated only government-approved contractors could build the facilities. She told Ben Tse about the importance of playgrounds in stimulating creativity, building muscle and coordination:

The Central Government has warned of crop and animal diseases breaking out as flood waters retreat from rural areas in the province surrounding Beijing, while cities struggle to restore drinking water supplies after the worst flooding in six decades. Vanessa Cheng reports:

Cathay Pacific chairman Patrick Healy says the airline is on the right track for a return to pre-pandemic business levels. Cathay has bounced back from a $5 billion loss in the first half of last year to report a $4.3-billion net profit in the six months to June. Ada Au reports:

Official data from the National Bureau of Statistics show consumer prices on the mainland posted their first annual decline in more than two years in July, while factory gate prices extended falls. Hailey Yip reports: