2027-28 undergraduate tuition fees for non-local students are going up by an average of 17%, based on the posted fees by 7 of the 8 Hong Kong public universities • CityU and Baptist will raise fees by 26% • HKU will raise fees by 12% www.scmp.com/news/hong-ko...

Hong Kong public universities’ non-local fees jump by up to 26% as quota expands

HKU medicine, dentistry fees more than double to HK$590,000, with online users on RedNote saying hikes are ‘going too far’.

scmp.com

As a public service, here are the last three seconds of his diatribe. Note his effective use of a hand gesture

Joel Chan@kjoules.org · 24h ago

Hey guys Yonden Lhatoo just wasted six minutes of my life saying people who are a general nuisance should be spanked

Hey guys Yonden Lhatoo just wasted six minutes of my life saying people who are a general nuisance should be spanked

Hong Kong retail sales, August 2026 • HK$32.059 billion, ↑5.6% compared to August 2025 • Accounting for inflation, retail volume ↑2.9% y-o-y • By selected category, - Food ↑1.9% - Clothing ↓0.3% - Alcohol ↑8.3% - Jewelry/valuables ↑11.9% - Consumer durables ↑14.0%

Hong Kong’s minimum wage for foreign domestic workers will increase 2.35%, from HK$5,100 to HK$5,220 per month, for all contracts signed on or after October 3 • The food allowance remains unchanged, at HK$1,236 per month www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/...

After an initial surge following the deal to break the 11 Skies lease with the Airport Authority, New World Development was trading at HK$5.87 at the mid-session interval, down 18 cents from Wednesday's close

A 58-year-old New Zealand man has died after he was suspected of drowning while taking part in the Peng Chau Challenge Open Water Swim Race on Thursday. In full: hongkongfp.com/2026/10/02/m... Photo: Tom Grundy/HKFP.

Hong Kong’s Antiques Authority today named Hung Shing Temple (Queen’s Road East, Wan Chai) and Stanley Mosque (inside Stanley Prison) as historic buildings www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/...

305,544 visitors entered Hong Kong on October 1, the largest daily figure since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to data from the Immigration Department • 277,304 mainland visitors entering Hong Kong is also the largest daily figure since the pandemic

Hong Kong 🇭🇰 Influenza & Covid-19 update, week ending Sep 26 2026 🚨 Week 13 of summer flu season • Trend: Elevated • 56 severe cases (↑3), 44 deaths (↑7) • Hospital admission rates for flu: 0.64/10K pop. (↓0.07) • CHP samples positivity rate: 11.53% (Elevated) * Covid-19 levels low

A more accurate headline would be John Lee’s entire speech was about Hong Kong’s Five-Year Plan

Hong Kong Free Press HKFP@hongkongfp.com · 2d ago

Chief Executive John Lee hailed the city’s first Five-Year Plan at a celebration on Thursday marking the 77th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. In full: hongkongfp.com/2026/10/01/c... Photo: GovHK.

Hong Kong’s DFI Retail Group (part of Jardine Matheson) has sold its 50% stake of Maxim’s Caterers, in exchange for complete ownership of the Starbucks-licensed business in Hong Kong, Macau, and 🇸🇬 🇹🇭 🇻🇳 🇰🇭 🇱🇦, plus US$340 million www.channelnewsasia.com/business/dfi...

DFI Retail to take over Maxim's Starbucks-licensed business in seven Asian markets

DFI Retail Group said on Wednesday (Sep 30) its unit will assume Maxim's Caterers' existing interests in the Starbucks -licensed business across seven Asian markets, as part of a reorganisation initia...

channelnewsasia.com

President Trump said he discussed the case of Hong Kong businessman Jimmy Lai with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during their summit last week, but did not give details on whether it yielded any result

Trump Says He Raised Case of Hong Kong’s Jimmy Lai With Xi

President Donald Trump said he discussed the case of imprisoned Hong Kong businessman Jimmy Lai with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during their summit last week, but did not offer details on whether it yielded any results.

bloom.bg

Visitors to Hong Kong, September 2026 (ImmD) Total 4,031,508 ↑22.4% y-o-y Mainland visitors 3,168,406 ↑29.0% Other visitors 863,102 ↑3.3% January to September: Total 40,706,916 ↑11.6% Mainland visitors 31,881,109 ↑14.0% Other visitors 8,825,807 ↑3.8%

The arrest was announced by the Hong Kong government at 2:42 am this morning. "The so-called '831 incident' has been proven without factual basis. It is a lie manipulated by persons with ulterior motives to spread lies, attack the HKSARG and smear the Police Force" www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/...

Joel Chan@kjoules.org · 3d ago

Sing Tao reporting that Tang Ho-wing, the founder of the one-person online news operation Boom News, has been arrested by Hong Kong's National Security Department for publishing false information with an alleged seditious/incitement purpose www.stheadline.com/breaking-new...

With exactly one year to go until the 2027 Rugby World Cup, a look at debutantes Hong Kong China, who can't wait for the opportunity to play against Australia and the All Blacks in their pool www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/s...

The Breakdown | Hong Kong China’s minnows relish a Rugby World Cup baptism of fire

The debutants will face Australia and All Blacks and full-back Paul Altier admits he and his teammates are more used to ‘watching it as fans’

theguardian.com

Hong Kong's Airport Authority press release, as NWD surrenders 11 Skies to the Airport Authority for no payment and will provide more than HK$3 billion in cash and other considerations in exchange for being released from its lease and financial obligations www.hongkongairport.com/en/media-cen...

Joel Chan@kjoules.org · 3d ago

Breaking News: New World Development has struck a deal with the Airport Authority to terminate the lease agreement at 11 Skies on April 1, 2027, more than 39 years before the original lease was supposed to expire, and will take a HK$18.3215 billion net loss on 11 Skies. Terms of the agreement ...

New World Development posted a HK$26.8 billion loss for the financial year ending June 30, 2026, largely because of an HK$18.3 billion writedown and provisions related to the 11 Skies airport project. • Loss attributable to shareholders was HK$28.1 billion

Joel Chan@kjoules.org · 3d ago

Breaking News: New World Development has struck a deal with the Airport Authority to terminate the lease agreement at 11 Skies on April 1, 2027, more than 39 years before the original lease was supposed to expire, and will take a HK$18.3215 billion net loss on 11 Skies. Terms of the agreement ...

Breaking News: New World Development has struck a deal with the Airport Authority to terminate the lease agreement at 11 Skies on April 1, 2027, more than 39 years before the original lease was supposed to expire, and will take a HK$18.3215 billion net loss on 11 Skies. Terms of the agreement ...

Today's high of 34.2°C at the Hong Kong Observatory is the highest-ever recorded on a September 30 since records began in 1884 • The previous high on September 30: 33.6°C, achieved twice, in 2014 and 2023

“Police apprehended a suspect just hours after the editorial team of Sing Tao Probe, a consumer advocacy platform under the pro-Beijing Sing Tao News Corporation, received a threatening letter containing an unidentified white powder on Monday.”

Hong Kong Free Press HKFP@hongkongfp.com · 3d ago

Hong Kong’s biggest press union has welcomed the police’s swift response after a local newspaper received a threatening letter, urging authorities to handle similar cases at other outlets with “equal efficiency.” In full: hongkongfp.com/2026/09/30/p... Photo: Selina Cheng/HKFP.

The government just announced it will extend the lantern carnival for another 3 nights, until Wednesday October 7

RazvenHK@razvenhk.bsky.social · 6d ago

Mid-Autumn Festival lanterns at Victoria Park, Hong Kong.

“HSBC RedCoin” will be the name of the HKD-denominated stablecoins issued by HSBC starting by the end of this year, and would be offered to all PayMe users for money transfers, shopping, or dining www.scmp.com/business/ban...

HSBC dubs its stablecoin for 3.3 million PayMe users RedCoin

A survey by the lender shows that 74 per cent of customers know at least one use case, but there are also misunderstandings.

scmp.com

Sing Tao reporting that Tang Ho-wing, the founder of the one-person online news operation Boom News, has been arrested by Hong Kong's National Security Department for publishing false information with an alleged seditious/incitement purpose www.stheadline.com/breaking-new...

警國安處拘網媒人「爆炸頭」 涉發佈假消息煽動

消息表示，今日（30日）早上約7時，警方國安處採取行動，拘捕網絡媒體「Boom News - 爆炸頭」的創辦人兼網主「爆炸頭」鄧浩榮，他涉嫌發佈假消息煽動。《星島頭條》正向警方查詢事件。 綽號「爆炸頭」的鄧浩榮，畢業於香港中文大學電腦科學系，曾任前「高登新聞台」及「中大學生報」記者。他營運網媒「Boom News 爆炸頭」，活躍於 YouTube、Facebook、Instagram 及 Thre

stheadline.com

Times Higher Education, World University Rankings, 2027 1 Oxford 2 MIT 3 Princeton 3 Stanford ↑2 5 Cambridge ↓2 11 Tsinghua ↑1 13 Peking 15 NU Singapore ↑2 33 HKU 42 CUHK ↓1 58 HKUST 70 CityU ↑3 79 PolyU ↑1 205 Baptist (last year: 201-250) 212 EdUHK ↓17 257 Lingnan (301-350)

Earlier this February, the chairman of a major Italian bank was duped into wiring US$108 million to accounts based in China and Hong Kong, after he received a WhatsApp from the CEO which turned out to be an AI deepfake • €36 million (out of 95) has yet to be recovered www.reuters.com/legal/govern...

AI messaging scam costs Italy's top bank Intesa millions, sources say

Fraudsters using AI to impersonate senior executives stole €95 million ($108 million) from Fideuram, the private banking arm of Italy's biggest lender ​Intesa Sanpaolo , two sources familiar with the ...

reuters.com

The World Intellectual Property Organization's 2026 Global Innovation Index is out, and Hong Kong ranked 14th overall, up one spot from last year. • Korea, Singapore, China, and Japan were the Asian countries ranked higher GovHK's (pleased) response: www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/...

Police have asked Apple to be on the lookout for more fraudulent credit card charges on Oct 16 when iPhone Duo pre-orders begin, after 1,503 reports of transactions involving the iPhone 18 Pro/Pro Max • All transactions were cancelled, with no losses news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/comp...

Apple asked to review online transaction process - RTHK

Police chief Joe Chow said on Tuesday all transactions related to 1,503 suspected credit card scams were halted followin...

news.rthk.hk

Customs officers at Delhi airport arrested 3 men who brought 10 military-grade drones equipped with thermal imaging and laser rangefinders worth ₹10,300,000/HK$842,000 and attempted to cross the green channel. • The men flew from Hong Kong via Vietnam www.thehindu.com/news/cities/...

10 military-grade drones seized from three Indian passengers at Delhi airport

Three Indian passengers were intercepted at Delhi airport with 10 military-grade drones worth more than ₹1.03 crore, customs officials said.

thehindu.com

Another great piece by Nathan Batto, this time on Taipei’s mayoral election, which in recent days has become very exciting frozengarlic.wordpress.com/2026/09/27/o...

Ocean current hits Taipei mayoral race

It wasn’t supposed to be this difficult.  Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) was supposed to coast to an easy reelection victory. He is young, good-looking, likable, and, most importantly, he ha…

frozengarlic.wordpress.com