Undersecretary for Security Michael Cheuk Hau-yip said on Friday that three Hongkongers have sought help from the authorities saying they are being held captive in Southeast Asia, in addition to eight others officials were already aware of. Cheuk told RTHK this morning that the three latest suspected victims are in Thailand and Myanmar and although they are being held prisoner after apparently falling prey to job scams, they are able to maintain communication with their families. But if they didn't do well in their work, or refused to work, they would be beaten or abused," he said. Asked about this, Cheuk said he wasn't sure which person the reports referred to, but authorities will help arrange quarantine facilities or travel documents for trafficking victims if necessary. The undersecretary said the police's organized crime and triad bureau are investigating all the suspected trafficking cases and whether the gangs involved have accomplices in Hong Kong.

Nadal was ambushed 7-6 (11/9), 4-6, 6-3 in his second-round start by Croat Borna Coric, ending his hopes of overtaking Daniil Medvedev for the world number one rankings. Third-ranked Nadal was rocked by his loss after six weeks away as he healed an abdominal muscle injury that forced his withdrawal from a Wimbledon semifinal against Nick Kyrgios. Now Nadal goes into the US Open, which begins on August 29 in New York, with only one summer hardcourt match. The 36-year-old Spaniard with 22 Grand Slam titles said he hopes to feed off fan energy at the US Open, where Nadal won titles in 2010, 2013, 2017 and 2019. "I've had unforgettable moments there and I'm going to try my very best every single day to be ready for that."

An Indian gang operated a fake police station from a hotel for eight months where they dressed up as officers and are believed to have extorted money from hundreds of people, an official said Thursday. They would then charge money from locals coming into the fake station to file complaints and cases, while pocketing cash from others by promising to help them secure social housing or jobs in the police. They also paid people from the largely rural area daily wages of about 500 rupees (around $6) to pretend to be other police officers working at the station. But the scam fell apart when a genuine police officer spotted two members of the gang carrying guns made in local workshops instead of service-issue weapons. At least six members of the gang including two women were arrested but the ringleader is still at large, Srivastava told AFP.

Thirty people were arrested for alleged corruption over the Three-runway System Project (3RS Project) of the Hong Kong International Airport, according to the Independent Commission Against Corruption. The four arrested Airport Authority staff were also treated to restaurants, nightclubs, and other entertainment establishments by staff members of the relevant main contractors and subcontractors on several occasions. The 3RS Project was launched in 2016 by the Hong Kong International Airport. Some engineering professionals, including the four arrested Airport Authority staff, were employed on short-term contracts to assist in managing the Project. They were responsible for handling various contracts of the Project, including the main reclamation works and works for the new runway.

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Lawmakers in the Legislation Council today pushed for discussing with Beijing the chartering of flights to the mainland for Hong Kong students. Hong Kong students have reported not arriving in time for registration at mainland universities under the current quarantine rules. The government currently provides only 2,000 quotas for booking designated quarantine hotels in Shenzhen daily. Yang added that a male Hong Kong student lost the opportunity to register at his university in Shanghai due to not being able to book a quarantined hotel. Over 13,000 student Hong Kong secondary school graduates chose to go to the mainland for further study in 2022, according to a report.

MOSCOW — Russia reported 33,106 new daily coronavirus cases on Wednesday, authorities said, the highest figure since mid-March this year. Sixty-three people in Russia died of coronavirus over the past day, the country’s taskforce against the virus said. ADVERTISEMENTRussia said in early July that it was ending all restrictions to combat the spread of COVID-19, including the requirement to wear masks, citing a steady decline in deaths from the virus. RELATED STORIESRussia reports highest number of COVID-19 cases since late MarchRussia sees largest COVID-19 cases daily increase since AprilRussia’s daily COVID-19 deaths hit new record highRussia’s daily COVID-19 death toll hovers near all-time highFor more news about the novel coronavirus click here. For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH Hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150.

The Committee on Review of Residential Child Care and Related Services announced the completion of the first version of the review report, raising 30 suggestions to improve the service quality in children’s residential homes. In addition, it is proposed to increase the staffing ratio from the current ratio of childcare workers to children under their care from 1 to 6.2 to 1 to 4.5 and to create new positions of childcare assistants to share the workload with childcare workers. to children’s centers. The Committee also emphasized that the superintendents of children’s centers should identify the child being abused or neglected and supervise the staff on time. “It is difficult to recruit child care workers for residential child care centers compared to other child care services,” he said, “I hope the salary standard of them could be raised, which could benefit better services for children.”

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ANOTHER official who signed the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) board resolution allowing the importation of 300,000 metric tons (MT) of sugar has resigned. Beltran signed Sugar Order (SO) 4 as the representative of sugar millers on the board. InventoryAn agricultural group on Monday said the government should conduct an inventory of sugar stocks in warehouses to determine if there is a shortfall. "The stocks of sugar are being kept in the warehouses that's why we are surprised on the high retail price of sugar," So said. So said he believes that traders are trying to control the release of sugar stocks.

DEBT payments by the national government plunged in the first half of the year following an even steeper drop in amortizations, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) data showed. Debt servicing for the period totaled P458.35 billion, down 40.76 percent from the year-earlier P773.702 billion. Interest payments, on the other hand, increased by 23 percent to P257.215 billion from P208.533 billion. In June alone, debt payments dropped from P150.195 billion a year earlier to P44.286 billion, a decrease of 70.51 percent. Despite the rise, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno gave assurances that the Marcos administration would be able to reduce the country's debt burden.

MANILA, Philippines — An additional 3,484 new infections of COVID-19 were logged by the Department of Health (DOH) on Monday, with the active tally slightly decreasing to 38,982 from the previous day’s 40,016. The new cases then increased the country’s total caseload to 3,835,422 nationwide, with recoveries now at 3,735,362 and deaths at 61,708, based on the DOH’s COVID-19 tracker on its website. ADVERTISEMENTThe new cases are lower than the average daily cases recorded from August 8 to August 14 at 4,001. Meanwhile, the tracker showed that only 16,131 individuals were tested for COVID-19 on Sunday, much lower than the average number of tests conducted these past few weeks, which was usually more than 20,000. For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH Hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150.

ISTANBUL — The first ship carrying Ukrainian wheat to be exported under a U.N.-brokered deal arrived in Istanbul on Sunday, the Joint Coordination Center based in the Turkish city, said. The Belize-flagged vessel is the first to carry wheat from Ukraine through the Black Sea since Russia’s invasion. The Sormovsky was loaded with 3,050 mt of wheat and had left Ukraine’s port of Chornomorsk on Friday. The agreement, brokered by the United Nations along with Turkey, was reached last month amid fears that the loss of Ukrainian grain supplies would lead to severe food shortages and even outbreaks of famine in parts of the world. RELATED STORIESUN-chartered ship in Ukraine readying for journey to AfricaRussian separatists say Ukraine shelled brewery, caused ammonia leak—InterfaxChina calls US ‘main instigator’ of Ukraine crisisTwo more grain ships sail from Ukraine as third port opensSubscribe to our daily newsletterSign me upRead NextMOST READ

SYDNEY — Covid-19 vaccine maker Moderna announced Monday that it will open an mRNA vaccine manufacturing facility in the Australian city of Melbourne, a first for the southern hemisphere. ADVERTISEMENTModerna’s Spikevax was one of a new class of inoculations developed during the coronavirus pandemic that uses a cutting-edge technology called messenger RNA (mRNA). FEATURED STORIESConstruction on the mRNA manufacturing facility is set to begin this year and be complete in 2024 — with vaccines production starting soon after. Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Monday that it was a “show of faith” in Australia by vaccine giant Moderna. For Australia, the facility is not only about health or science, he said, but “also about national security” after the country experienced serious vaccine shortages during the pandemic.

"We will study with a fine-tooth comb all proposals that will be submitted to us," said Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri in a recent interview. House Speaker Martin Romualdez, a first cousin of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., has been less vocal about asserting the bigger chamber's independence from the executive branch. As in previous congresses, the House leadership of the 19th Congress appears to be more cooperative in pushing the President's legislative agenda. While Zubiri has been consistently vowing to assert the independence of the Senate, Romualdez has been emphasizing pursuing the administration's unity agenda. Clearly, Marcos has Congress at his disposal, with close allies and relatives occupying important positions in both chambers.