Hong Kong has stepped up precautions over the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda, as the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the epidemic “a public health emergency of international concern.”

The WHO said on Sunday that there had been 246 suspected cases and 80 suspected deaths in the DRC as of Saturday, in addition to a handful of apparent cases in Uganda.

The outbreak was caused by the Bundibugyo virus disease, and there is currently no vaccine.

There are no confirmed cases in Hong Kong, but the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) has enacted a series of precautionary measures, according to a government press release on Sunday.

Although there are no direct flights from the affected areas, “the CHP will strengthen health screening for passengers arriving on flights from Africa at the airport… Suspected cases will be immediately referred to public hospitals for isolation and treatment.”

It will also bolster public awareness and health education efforts, and provide airlines, doctors and hospitals with updated information.

The CHP advises against visiting affected regions.

Highly lethal

Ebola is transmitted to humans through close contact with the blood, secretions, organs, or other bodily fluids of infected animals.

The virus is highly lethal and causes haemorrhagic fever, systemic inflammation, and multi-organ failure. The case fatality rates from past outbreaks range from 25 to 90 per cent, according to the WHO – the average is 50 per cent.

Meanwhile, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is preparing a large-scale response to the outbreak, the humanitarian charity said in a press release on Sunday.

“The number of cases and deaths we are seeing in such a short timeframe, combined with the spread across several health zones and now across the border, is extremely concerning,” said MSF Emergency Programme Manager Trish Newport. “In Ituri, many people already struggle to access healthcare and live with ongoing insecurity, making rapid action critical to prevent the outbreak from escalating further.”

The NGO is mobilising more teams comprising medical, logistical, and support staff experienced in responding to viral haemorrhagic fever outbreaks, it said.

HSBC’s Hong Kong mobile apps were down on Monday, with the banking giant saying they are experiencing technical issues.

Customers were initially shown an error message when opening banking apps stating that “access is restricted until we have your valid email address and mobile number.” By lunchtime, it was replaced with a message saying that the fault was temporary and that work was underway to restore services.

The city’s largest lender has seven million customers in the city.

It is the second outage this year. In January, HSBC online services and banking apps were down for several hours.

Earlier this year, HSBC made a full HK$14 billion acquisition of its subsidiary Hang Seng Bank. Local media reported that Hang Seng apps were also down on Monday morning.

An HSBC spokesperson told HKFP via email: “All our services returned to normal before 2:00 pm today. We again apologise for any inconvenience caused.”

A 67-year-old man has been handed a two-month jail term, suspended for 24 months, after he pleaded guilty to resharing a social media post urging a boycott of the 2025 “patriots only” legislative elections.

According to a press release from the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), Lam Kin-sik admitted on Monday to inciting another person not to vote, in violation of the Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance.

Whilst it is legal to cast a blank ballot or boycott an election in Hong Kong, it is unlawful to encourage another person to do so during an election period.

Magistrate Shirley Cornelia Hung said a custodial sentence was inevitable as it was a serious offence, but it was suspended considering Lam’s guilty plea and mitigating factors such as his health condition.

Lam was among three people prosecuted by the ICAC in November after they shared social media posts by two overseas activists – Alan Keung and Tong Wai-hung – who called for a boycott of what they described as a “fake election.”

In the Monday statement, the anti-corruption watchdog said that the defendant shared a post published by Tong.

“A warrant for Tong’s arrest, who has since left Hong Kong, was earlier issued by a Magistrate upon the ICAC’s application,” the ICAC said.

See also: Hong Kong woman given suspended jail term for reposting calls to boycott legislative polls

Those found guilty of inciting another person not to vote, or to cast an invalid ballot, face up to three years’ imprisonment and a fine of HK$200,000.

In March 2021, Beijing passed legislation to ensure “patriots” govern Hong Kong. The move reduced democratic representation in the legislature, tightened control of elections and introduced a pro-Beijing vetting panel to select candidates. Authorities say the overhaul ensures the city’s stability and prosperity. But the changes also prompted international condemnation, as much of the traditional opposition remains behind bars, in self-exile or has quit politics.

A new UN study has named Hong Kong’s data centres as some of the most carbon-intensive in the world, blaming the city’s heavy dependence on a fossil-fuel-powered energy grid.

The report, titled “Environmental Cost of AI’s Energy Use,” examined the global carbon, land and water impacts of the infrastructure powering AI, saying that by 2030, data centres could consume 945 terawatt-hours.

That is “nearly triple the combined annual electricity use of Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nigeria, countries collectively home to more than 650 million people,” according to a UN press release.

“Indonesia, India, and Hong Kong (SAR) are among the most carbon-intensive grids with carbon footprints 62%, 51%, and 43% higher than the global average, respectively. Poland and Mainland China rank lower with carbon intensities at 30% and 21% higher than the global average,” the UN University’s Institute for Water, Environment and Health said in a report on Wednesday.

In comparison, the carbon footprint of electricity in the US, Germany, and Italy is 18 per cent, 24 per cent, and 32 per cent below the global average, respectively.

Energy in Hong Kong is 67 per cent derived from fossil fuels, 32 per cent from nuclear and just 1 per cent from renewables, the report said.

There is also a water footprint for cooling heat-intensive data centres, as well as a land footprint. “AI-related water consumption could equal the basic annual domestic needs of 1.3 billion people by the end of the decade, while its land footprint may exceed 14,500 square kilometres – roughly twice the size of the Jakarta metropolitan area,” the UN said.

However, Hong Kong was ranked among the lightest for water and land consumption, mostly because its energy mix does not rely on renewable energy sources, which require large amounts land.

As a trade and logistics hub, with around 300 internet service providers, Hong Kong remains a prime location for data centres. Its telecommunication networks connect to 12 external submarine optical fibre cable systems, with more under construction, according to the city’s Digital Policy Office.

The government is building a new 110,00 square metre data facility in Sandy Ridge, 90 per cent of which will be dedicated to data centres, according to a government press release in March.

Daily AI use, not training

The UN report said that day-to-day use of AI models accounted for around 80 to 90 per cent of total energy demand, as opposed to just model training. It cited the case of ChatGPT, which was processing around 2.5 billion prompts per day, with image generation requiring a thousand times more energy than a simple text query.

“China’s DeepSeek, launched in January 2025, attracted more than 20 million daily active users within three weeks, and had about 125 million monthly active users by mid-2025,” the report said.

According to the Digital Policy Office website, “data centre operators are all striving to enhance energy efficiency , so as to reduce their power consumption, their operating expense and also their environmental impacts.”

It cites existing policies by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD), which set rules for ensuring the energy efficiency of buildings and regulate the use of fresh water in cooling towers for air conditioning systems.

The EMSD’s Green Data Centres Practice Guide lays out initiatives for efficient data centre design, procurement, operations and disposal, whilst also promoting the use of assessment tools to measure environmental impacts.

The owners of a dredger, which has been stranded off Lamma Island all year, have been ordered to expedite their salvage plan after failing to remove the vessel by a previous deadline set for April.

The 50-year-old Sea Diamond, a dilapidated cutter suction dredger, remains partly submerged off Ha Mei Wan, a rural Lamma Island beach.

A Marine Department (MD) spokesperson said on Thursday that it had been in touch with the owners, who “had previously attempted to refloat the vessel by removing the superstructure and pumping out water from the flooded compartments in a bid to remove the vessel.”

“However, the progress has been delayed due to heavy rainfall from time to time in recent weeks. In addition, the damage to its hull was found to be more severe than anticipated, which has complicated the salvage operation. The MD is urging the shipowner to expedite the salvage process and remove the vessel as soon as possible,” the spokesperson added.

Dredgers are used as underwater excavators, cutting and sucking up material from the seabed before discharging it via pipelines.

The ageing Sea Diamond was built in Singapore in 1976. It is unclear who the current owner is.

The department said the owners had already breached the Shipping and Port Control Ordinance, risking a HK$10,000 fine, after they failed to report the incident within 24 hours. Legal proceedings are ongoing.

The MD said there were no reports of oil leaks or hazardous materials seeping into the ocean. However, “the shipowner deployed an oil containment boom around the vessel as a precautionary measure as requested” by the department.

According to Hong Kong’s Shipping and Port Control Ordinance, if stricken vessels are not removed by the owner, the Marine Department will make arrangements and recover costs from the owner.

HKFP has reached out to Islands District Councillor Lau Shun-ting for comment.

A US fundraising platform and a coffee association are switching Taiwan’s designation to “Chinese Taipei,” in line with Beijing’s preferred naming convention for the self-ruled island it claims as its own.

GlobalGiving offers fundraising tools in over 175 countries, including China. It has over 20 nonprofit partners in Taiwan.

A spokesperson for the platform did not respond to HKFP’s enquiries as to whether they faced pressure or when the update would take effect. But they said on Wednesday: “We work with thousands of vetted non-profit partners across more than 175 countries, including China, and comply with local laws and regulations in every country where we operate. Following local requirements allows us to build trust and connection between donors and trusted and relevant organizations. “

JustGiving partner Forward Alliance – a Taiwanese national security and civil defence think tank – said on Facebook on Thursday that it had been informed by the fundraising site of the upcoming update. “The change to designate Taiwan as ‘Chinese Taipei’ is unacceptable. It is part of an ongoing campaign to diminish Taiwan internationally,” it said.

Forward Alliance added that it was liaising with other local NGOs and actively engaging with the funding platform to seek a solution.

On April 28, the Specialty Coffee Association’s World Coffee Championships (WCC) also changed the designation of Taiwan’s competitors to Chinese Taipei.

In a statement, the WCC said that the update was “in alignment with the naming conventions used by international sporting bodies,” adding that it did not affect qualification pathways, competitor eligibility or the competition experience.

Disputed status

The Republic of China (ROC) government has ruled Taiwan since 1945 after Japan was defeated in World War II, ending 50 years of occupation. The ROC authorities fully retreated to the island in 1949 after being defeated by the Chinese Communist Party in the Civil War. Beijing has since claimed democratic Taiwan as one of its provinces, threatening to unify it by force if necessary.

See also: Explainer – Is Taiwan a country? The self-ruled island’s disputed status

Taiwan remains a self-ruled democracy of 23 million people, with its own government, currency, borders and passports. However, only a shrinking handful of states recognise it diplomatically, as Beijing seeks to isolate the island on the world stage.

In 1981, the International Olympic Committee settled on using Chinese Taipei in order to allow Taiwan’s athletes to compete, following years of controversy. The teams compete under a generic Olympic flag.

Vulnerable Hongkongers are being urged by the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) to get their Covid-19 jabs before current stocks expire.

The renewed call comes after the government confirmed two severe paediatric cases of Covid-19 infection, involving a one-year-old boy and a 19-month-old boy.

The CHP said last week that the two children were in critical condition and neither had received a Covid vaccine.

CHP Controller Dr Edwin Tsui warned that “certain high-risk individuals, especially young children, who have not received their initial dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and have not developed immunity through natural infection, face a higher risk of serious complications if they become infected.”

He urged that those who have not yet received their initial dose of the vaccine, including children aged six months or above, should get vaccinated as soon as possible and that high-risk individuals, especially the elderly and those with underlying comorbidities, should also receive a booster dose.

For children aged between six months and 11 years old, vaccination services will be available until July 10. Services for those aged 12 or above will continue until September 5.

A new batch of the LP.8.1 mRNA Covid-19 vaccines will be available in the final quarter of 2026, according to the CHP.

“During this transition period, eligible individuals will not be able to receive free COVID-19 vaccines through the Programme for a short period. As such, those in need are advised to make appointments as early as possible,” the CHP said.

Initial doses are free for residents aged six months and older.

Currently, priority groups eligible for a free booster under the Government Vaccination Programme include those over 65, residents of elderly care homes, people aged 50 to 64 with underlying comorbidities, anyone aged over six months who is immunocompromised, pregnant women and healthcare workers.

Dr Mike Kwan, president of the Asian Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases, said on Sunday that it takes a fortnight for the body to fully develop immunity after getting the jab, so high-risk individuals should act now.

“Pending the new strain of the vaccine coming to Hong Kong at the end of this year… there will be a gap where there will be no Covid vaccine available in Hong Kong,” Kwan said after a Commercial Radio programme, according to RTHK.

“If any individual, especially those high-risk individuals, including small children, elderly and compromised people, if they have not yet received the Covid vaccine or their vaccine was received more than six months ago since the last dose, please [get your] vaccination as early as possible to increase your immunity to protect against Covid infection,” he said.

Visit the CHP website for more information or details on where to book a jab privately.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is offering a HK$10,000 reward for information that may lead to the conviction of who may be responsible for the apparent mutilation and killing of a pet cat.

The cat was suspected to have died from poisoning in Hung Hom after having its tail severed, according to TVB on Sunday.

The two-year-old feline was kept at a funeral parlour on Lo Lung Hang Street in Hung Hom. The manager – who cared for the cat – called the police on Sunday after the pet returned injured. It had only been let out for a matter of minutes.

Several officers responded and are investigating whether animal abuse is involved.

“PETA is urging anyone with information about this incident to come forward to help ensure that whoever committed this attack is held accountable before more animals – or people – are harmed,” a spokesperson for the animal welfare NGO said in a Monday press release.

“Violence against animals is never an isolated issue—it is a well-documented warning sign of a broader capacity for violence that can escalate and pose serious risks to public safety,” added PETA Asia President Jason Baker. “Research consistently shows a strong link between cruelty to animals and violence toward humans. Authorities must act swiftly and send a clear message that such brutality will not be tolerated.”

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals dispatched staff to help remove the cat’s body. A preliminary examination by a vet suggested the feline’s tail had been severed with a sharp object.

Hong Kong’s transport chief has said that late-night aircraft noise over Tung Chung is within acceptable limits in terms of risks to residents’ health.

Lawmaker Chan Hok-fung relayed concerns from residents during a legislative Q&A on Wednesday. He said that the issue “has been aggravated significantly,” since the operating hours of the South Runway were extended to 2am in August last year.

His requests for the utilisation rate of the runway during midnight and 2am were not met by Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan. However, the minister said that the Airport Authority had conducted health impact assessments with regard to noise.

“The assessment indicates that both short-term and long-term potential health risks resulting from the operation of the 3RS [Three Runway System] are within acceptable levels,” she said.

The Aviation Environmental Federation, a UK-based non-profit, says high levels of aviation noise can lead to chronic sleep disturbance and long-term annoyance.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that the annual average outdoor noise level for aircraft, across 24 hours, remains below 45 decibels. The WHO uses a Day-Evening-Night level metric, taking account of quiet and loud moments throughout a year, whilst penalising night-time noise before averaging them out to a single figure.

In environmental impact assessments, Hong Kong uses the Noise Exposure Forecast (NEF) 25 contour, under which the day-night average sound level of aircraft should be kept at around 55 to 60 decibels.

Hong Kong’s Civil Aviation Department monitors aircraft noise by tracking the peak instantaneous noise level of individual flights passing overhead, rather than a continuous annual average. It then publishes the percentage of total flights which hit certain decibel brackets.

In the 12 months leading up to March 31 this year, 91.49 per cent of flights over Tung Chung emitted noise under 65 decibels – the rest exceeded the limit.

Mitigation measures

The transport chief said on Wednesday that a number of aircraft noise mitigation measures had been rolled out and aviation technology was improving to dampen engine sound.

“Relevant measures include control at source by prohibiting/restricting aircraft with higher noise levels from operating in Hong Kong, and reducing the number of flights overflying densely populated areas at night when weather and safety conditions permit, such as arranging arrival aircraft to land from the southwest over the water, thereby mitigating the noise impact on residents living in the vicinity of the airport,” she said.

“While consolidating and enhancing Hong Kong’s position as an international aviation hub, the Government will continue to balance community well-being and environmental benefits, proactively promoting the synergistic development of the aviation industry and the environment to achieve high-quality and sustainable growth,” she added.

Hongkongers may complain about aircraft noise by contacting the Civil Aviation Department hotline on 2769 6969 or emailing aircraftnoise@cad.gov.hk.

Meta has removed a series of scam ads impersonating the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) following HKFP’s enquiries.

The ads, targeting Hongkongers, appeared for weeks on Facebook. They urged users to get in touch with the global policing body if they wished to retrieve funds previously lost to scams – however, the ads were fraudulent.

The posts were published by a since-removed fake news outlet page called “Hong Kong Daily,” which falsely claimed to share an office address with HKFP.

INTERPOL told HKFP that such ads should be reported to the local police. “To confirm that INTERPOL never contacts members of the public directly, never demands money from people and never asks for bank details or any money transfer,” it said on Thursday. “Any such request or advert is fake. Members of the public should not engage and report any such emails or adverts to the local police.”

In response to HKFP on Friday, a spokesperson for the Hong Kong Police Force said they have been “actively engaging relevant authorities to verify and remove suspicious or fraudulent websites. In the process of removing such websites, cooperation with concerned parties, including various service providers, is essential. The Hong Kong Police Force is committed to safeguarding the interests of the public by working with these service providers to suppress fraudulent messages.”

The police force is part of the INTERPOL Member State of China.

Meta’s US$3.5 bn profits from scams – report

Last year, Meta banned over 3.7 million items of ad content in Hong Kong and 134 million instances globally. Also in 2025, the tech giant took down 10.9 million accounts associated with scam centres. The company owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

A spokesperson for Meta told HKFP on Friday that ads which impersonate organisations or seek to defraud people go against its policies.

“The flagged Facebook Page and associated ads have been removed for violating our policies,” the spokesperson said. “Fighting scams on our platforms is one of our top priorities and as scammers have grown in sophistication in recent years, so have our efforts. We use AI-powered detection technology to identify and remove scam ads at scale, and we also encourage anyone who encounters suspicious ads to report them through our in-app tools.”

Nevertheless, according to a report by Reuters news agency, Meta earns US$3.5 billion (HK$27.4 billion) from just a portion of scam ads every six months.

Citing internal Meta documents, Reuters said that the social media company projected that 10 per cent of its 2024 revenue would come from ads for scams and banned goods, amounting to US$16 billion (HK$124.8 billion).

Other fraudulent ads, appearing to target scam victims, remained online as of Monday, according to HKFP’s checks.

One ad targeting Hongkongers, published by a page called “Law Help,” urged those “affected by online fraud or an unregulated broker” to submit their details.

Scammers have been posing as law enforcement officers to defraud victims.

In March, Nikkei Asia reported that mock police stations and banks had been set up at scam centres, used to fool victims interacting via video call.

Another Hong Kong performance artist has been stopped and searched by plainclothes police after showing up in Causeway Bay on the eve of the Tiananmen crackdown anniversary.

Artist Chan Mei-tung appeared with balloons – one shaped like a golden question mark – at around 7:18pm near SOGO department store. The store is near Victoria Park, once the site of vigils to remember the 1989 dead.

Police demanded to see her ID card and searched her. When asked by reporters what the balloon represented, Chan said it was for a “proposal.”

Police then escorted her to the nearby MTR station, where she destroyed the balloon after police told her they were banned on the metro system.

Earlier in the evening, fellow performance artist Sanmu Chan was stopped and searched by plainclothes police after showing up in Causeway Bay. Chan later told reporters that he was displaying a piece of red string that was 6.4 metres long. The figure appears to be a nod to the date of the crackdown.

“It’s abnormal that, whenever we are saying or doing something, we are being monitored,” he said in Cantonese.

The Tiananmen crackdown occurred on June 4, 1989, ending months of student-led demonstrations in China. It is estimated that hundreds, perhaps thousands, died when the People’s Liberation Army cracked down on protesters in Beijing.

In response to HKFP’s enquiries about the two artists, police said officers patrolling East Point Road and Lockhart Road spotted a man and a woman loitering in the area. Officers approached them to understand the situation, and both individuals subsequently left of their own accord.

They did not respond as to whether paying tribute to the 1989 dead was legal, but said that any enforcement action is handled lawfully, based on actual circumstances. Operational deployments are made appropriately in response to potential threats to national security, public safety, and public order, they added.

Mass vigils replaced by patriotic fair

The mass candlelit vigils have not been officially held in Victoria Park since 2019. In 2020, Hong Kong authorities denied permission for the annual event, which typically attracted hundreds of thousands, citing Covid-19 pandemic restrictions.

After Beijing imposed the national security law on June 30, 2020, the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, which organised the annual event, was disbanded. The group’s key leaders are now facing a national security trial.

Since then, police have routinely searched and detained members of the public, activists, and artists on the crackdown’s anniversary and before.

This week, from Tuesday to Sunday, pro-Beijing groups are hosting the fourth edition of an annual patriotic food carnival in Victoria Park.

Last year, Chan Mei-tung was stopped and searched by police after chewing gum in the same area, at the same time.

A 63-year-old Ocean Park mechanical technician died after collapsing at work on Friday.

Police told HKFP that they received a report at 9:08am after the man, surnamed Luk, was found unconscious outside a staff restroom before starting his duties.

Paramedics discovered him with serious head and shoulder injuries. He was certified dead at 10:33am at Ruttonjee Hospital.

Police said that they are still investigating the case. The Labour Department arrived at the Aberdeen theme park at 11am to inspect the facility’s operational safety conditions, local media reported.

The park expressed sorrow over the staff member’s death and are supporting his family and colleagues, according to RTHK.