Many residents were terrified after seeing a wobbly tower crane in Kwun Tong on Monday and worried it could be affected and collapse in the upcoming rainy days. After the tragedy in Sau Mau Ping that took three lives and injured six in September, the general public's concern about the safety of tower cranes significantly increased. Their concerns flared up after an online viral video showed a tower crane at a construction site on Lai Yip Street swinging left and right. Passersby were worried about the tower crane's stability, as rainy days ahead and the winds would become more robust. Some stated that it was best to warn the workers beforehand as the crane was close to the traffic and pedestrian roads.

Hong Kong's latest unemployment rate dropped to 3.1 percent between January and March, with some 115,100 citizens still hunting for jobs, according to data released by the Statistics Department on Monday. The latest rate marked a 0.2 decrease compared with the one logged between last December and this February. The underemployment rate also declined by 0.1 percent to 1.2 percent. During the January to March period, the unemployment rate decreased notably in the decoration, repair and maintenance for buildings sector; and wholesale sector. Decreases in the underemployment rate were mainly seen in the wholesale sector.

Private doctors in Hong Kong said they do not have enough oral Covid drugs to prescribe to patients as cases in the territory climbed in the past two weeks. He said the doctors might be unable to prescribe the oral Covid drugs to each patient as authorities have limited private doctors to getting six courses each of the two drugs - MSD's Molnupiravir and Pfizer's Paxlovi - when they acquire the medicine from the government. He also said some doctors would not prescribe the drugs to patients aged 60 or above, prescribing them to patients with severe symptoms instead. Chan believed it was likely for the doctors to empty their inventory of Covid drugs in a single day should they prescribe it to each patient aged 60 or above. He called on patients to visit the public clinics on weekdays in order not to exhaust the private clinic’s inventory for people in need.

5.6 quake jolts IsabelaMANILA, Philippines — A magnitude-5.6 earthquake jolted the province of Isabela yesterday afternoon, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. Phivolcs said the quake, whose epicenter was located 18 kilometers east of Maconacon town, occurred at 5:19 p.m. Instrumental Intensities 5 and 4 were recorded in Peñablanca and Gonzaga in Cagayan, respectively. State seismologists said Instrumental Intensity 3 was recorded in Ilagan, Isabela. Phivolcs said the quake was not expected to cause damage to property, but it could generate aftershocks.

The Sixers romped into the next round of the playoffs with a dominant 96-88 victory over the Nets that completed their 4-0 triumph in the best-of-seven series. Philadelphia trailed by 11 points early in the third quarter but transformed the contest with an 18-4 run to take the lead before closing out victory with a fourth-quarter rally. The Sixers' win was all the more impressive given the absence of Most Valuable Player candidate Embiid, who suffered a right knee sprain in Thursday's 102-97 game three win. Tobias Harris led the scoring for Philadelphia with 25 points and 12 rebounds, while De'Anthony Melton came off the bench to produce 15 points and lead the fourth-quarter surge. They led by as many as 29 in the second quarter as they rolled to a 111-101 victory.

Police arrested a 49-year-old father recently for attempting to rape his underage daughter in December last year. Kowloon West Police District started their investigation after receiving a report on Friday (Apr 21) stating that a 12-year-old girl was nearly raped in an apartment in Mong Kok. A 49-year-old man was arrested Friday night in Mong Kok on suspicion of attempted rape and is currently remanded in custody. It is understood that the rapist and the victim were father and daughter.

BI warns of ‘love scammers’MANILA, Philippines — “Love scammers” are back, and this time they are forging the signature of Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco to dupe foreigners of money, the BI said yesterday. The BI said the letter stated that Victoria was being held for lacking documents to travel with gold bars and she needed to pay $4,000 for an ownership certificate for the gold bars. “It’s the same story over and over again for these scammers, but this time they are targeting foreign nationals using Filipinos,” Tansingco said. He said the BI “has no business inspecting the luggage of travelling passengers. There is a separate government agency for that.”BI agents, according to Tansingco, are “not authorized to receive money through wire transfers for immigration processes.”

A Chinese Coast Guard vessel is pictured near the Philippine-occupied Thitu Island, in the disputed Spratly Islands, South China Sea, March 9, 2023. (Reuters)Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his foreign secretary met Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Saturday with Manila and Beijing pledging to work together to resolve their maritime differences in the South China Sea. Manila refers to the part of the South China Sea that it claims as the West Philippine Sea. Qin and his counterpart, Philippines' Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo, discussed views on strategic and regional issues during bilateral talks that started earlier on Saturday. Marcos is set to meet U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington in May, days after more than 17,000 Philippine and U.S.

According to DICT, out of 168 million SIM cards in use, only 73.03 million (43.47 percent) were registered as of April 17. ADVERTISEMENT“Let’s spread the word that all must enlist their SIM for their protection and peace of mind,” Poe said in a statement. On April 19, DICT announced that it would not extend the SIM card registration despite various groups’ calls for an extension. Unregistered SIM cards will be deactivated on April 26, based on Republic Act 11934 or the SIM Registration Law. RELATED STORIES:95 million SIM cards still unregistered, but DICT won’t extend listupSIM card registration: A step-by-step guideAs SIM card registration deadline nears, what happens next?

AUREA Reaso scored a fantastic goal to earn the University of the Philippines a 1-1 draw with De La Salle in the UAAP Season 85 Women's Football Tournament on Saturday at the UP Diliman Football Field. Reaso unleashed a long-range attempt from outside the La Salle box in the 37th minute, leaving Lady Booters goalie Jessica Marie Pido helpless. In the second half, it was all about hanging in there," continued Gonzales as UP defeated La Salle in the first round, 1-0. La Salle took the lead in the 36th minute thanks to Stephanie Goñe's goal. "All the training we did, nothing," rued La Salle coach Hans-Peter Smit.

I feel like the luckiest person in the world because I get to be part of Ice's celebration of journey and love through Becoming Ice. ‘Becoming Ice’ concert series hits Davao on April 28. From one chapter to the next chapter — it is a journey, a movement from love to love. Slowing down with his movie career, he began discovering another love — music. Grab your tickets at SM Tickets online: http://bit.ly/BecomingIceDavao.

MJ Phillips PVL PHOTOPetro Gazz middle blocker Mar-Jana 'MJ' Phillips got picked fifth overall by the Gwangju AI Peppers on Friday, April 21 in the first-ever 2023 KOVO Women's Asian Quota Draft of the Korean V-League. Phillips, the second best middle blocker of the 2023 PVL All-Filipino Conference, is the first and lone Filipino to have been picked in the said draft. You'll see a lot of grit, of passion, and a lot of hard hitting balls [from me]." Phillips, who helped lead Petro Gazz to a 2022 PVL Reinforced Conference championship and a 2023 All-Filipino Conference runner-up finish, is set to join a Gwangju team that finished deadlast in the 2023 Korean V-League season. The AI Peppers tallied a 5-31 win-loss card with 14 points in the seven-team league.

(AFP)The Philippines and China pledged on Saturday to work together to resolve their maritime differences in the South China Sea, where the two have competing claims, and to deepen bilateral ties. Manila's relations with Beijing are more than just their differences over the South China Sea, Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said as he began talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang in Manila. The two neighbors need to work together to continue a tradition of friendship, deepen cooperation and properly resolve differences, Qin said in his opening remarks. More than 17,000 Philippine and U.S. soldiers are conducting their largest ever joint military drills in the Southeast Asian country, drawing criticism from Beijing, Manila's rival in the South China Sea. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines have competing claims in portions of the waterway.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo meets China's Foreign Minister Qin Gang for talks in Manila that included Taiwan and disputes in the South China Sea. (AFP)The Philippines' top diplomat has expressed his concern to Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang over escalating tensions in waters around Taiwan, Manila said on Saturday. China claims Taiwan as its territory and has vowed to bring the island under its control one day, by force if necessary. China and the Philippines are also locked in a bitter maritime dispute in the strategic South China Sea. Manalo said differences in the South China Sea "are not the sum total" of relations between the two nations, which have agreed to manage disagreements through dialogue and cooperation.

6 more BIFF bomb-makers yield to ArmyThe six members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Liberation Front yielded assault rifles and a grenade launcher to the Army’s 34th Infantry Battalion. Major Gen. Alex Rillera, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, Saturday the six BIFF members agreed to surrender through the backdoor intercession of officials of the Army’s 34 Infantry Battalion and Brig. The six surrenderees had confessed to their having fabricated IEDs that the BIFF had used in recent bombings in central Mindanao. Rillera said Midsayap Mayor Rolly Sacdalan had assured to help reintroduce the six erstwhile BIFF terrorists to mainstream society. A total of 289 BIFF members had surrendered to units of the 6th ID in different towns in the provinces of Cotabato, South Cotabato, Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani since 2022.