The government's labour advisors have agreed to relax the definition of a continuous contract. It should allow more workers to be entitled to a range of benefits, such as vacation and sick leave. The plan is to reduce the criteria by four hours over a four-week period. Damon Pang reports:

Unionist lawmaker Lam Chun-sing has welcomed the decision on continuous hours, saying it plugs a loophole. Lam, from the Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions, said some employers would give workers long hours in the first three weeks, but less than the required hours in the fourth week, meaning the workers would not receive employment benefits. He also told Ben Tse that the new arrangement should have only a minimal impact to employers:

The Mental Health Association says an index gauging how many Hong Kong people are suffering from depression reached a record high in the last year. It has revealed the results of its survey of some 3,000 people between May and November 2023. Anne Chan reports:

Lawmaker Connie Lam is calling on authorities to set up "carer support centres" where they can receive professional assistance and take a rest. Her proposal follows an apparent attempted murder-suicide case this week in an MTR station, involving an elderly couple. Lam - deputy chair of Legco's subcommittee on promoting carer-centric policies - told Violet Wong that the welfare minister Chris Sun should step up efforts to identify high-risk families and support them:

A concern group says more promotion is needed of the free or low-cost mental health support that is available for ethnic minorities as many of them are unaware of these services. Hong Kong Christian Services, along with the University of Hong Kong and the Chinese University, surveyed 273 South and Southeast Asians and found nearly a third were at high risk of a mental disorder. The group's service head, Mike Cheung, told Anne Chan that the situation was a concern:

A man has died a day after being arrested in a joint anti-drugs operation by police and customs in Yuen Long. The suspect had been linked to a HK$100 million drug case. Kelly Yu reports:

Actor Gregory Wong and three other men have been convicted of rioting over the storming of Legco on July 1 in 2019. Wendy Wong reports:

The national security trial of Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai has heard that a former publisher of the newspaper decided to "tell the truth" because of his own conscience. Cheung Kim-hung stressed he was not asked by the police to become a prosecution witness. Frank Yung reports:

A study by the Chinese University has found that men with an enlarged prostate are at a much higher risk of urological complications after having a Covid infection. The condition of having an enlarged, but non-cancerous, prostate is known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The university analysed data from 18,000 patients who were treated at public hospitals in 2021. Dr Alex Liu from the Department of Surgery at the Prince of Wales Hospital, was involved in the study. He told Azam Khan about the complications that Covid sufferers could later develop:

The wing tips of two passenger jets have "scratched" each other at an airport in Osaka. No injuries were reported. It is the latest in a string of aviation mishaps in the country. Altis Wong reports:

Leading local banks HSBC, Bank of China (Hong Kong) and Standard Chartered are keeping their lending and savings rates steady. It comes after the Hong Kong Monetary Authority decided to retain its base rate at 5.75 percent, in line with an interest rate decision in the United States. Chloe Feng reports: