Asia gets first swine flu case in Hong Kong

September 18th, 2009 Ex-Morgan Stanley banker gets 7 years jail in HKHONG KONG — An ex-Morgan Stanley banker was sentenced Friday to seven years in prison in Hong Kong's biggest insider trading case. Du Jun, a former managing director of the New York-based investment bank, also was fined about 23 million Hong Kong dollars ($3 million).

September 8th, 2009 HONG KONG - A bank Wednesday marked its 150th anniversary in Hong Kong by launching what it claimed to be the world's first 150-dollar bank notes. Standard Chartered Plc, one of three note-issuing banks in the wealthy city of seven million, has printed 1 million of the 150-Hong-Kong-dollar notes, worth $19.35 each.

September 7th, 2009 HONG KONG - Eleven people were injured when a man threw acid during an altercation Sunday in a bustling market district, the fourth such attack in Hong Kong this year. Local television reports said victims had to be carried on gurneys to ambulances, their heads covered in bandages.

August 13th, 2009 HONG KONG - A 109-year-old tea has gone on sale at Hong Kong's first international tea fair, a media report said Thursday. Just 10 grams of the pu-erh tea, which takes its name from Pu'er county in Yunnan province in south-west China, costs 8,000 Hong Kong dollars ($1,025), the South China Morning Post newspaper said.

May 21st, 2009 HONG KONG - Hong Kong's leading bank, HSBC Holdings, Thursday was offering interest rates so low that customers would need to save $250,000 for a year to earn enough interest to buy a cup of coffee. A record low interest rate of 0.001 percent was being offered by HSBC, which has 4.2 million customers in the city of seven million, because of what it described as rock-bottom interbank rates.

May 7th, 2009 SEOUL - South Korea Thursday confirmed its third case of infection with the influenza A(H1N1) swine-flu virus. The latest case was a 62-year-old woman who was found to have been infected with the virus after returning from a recent trip to the US, the Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said.

May 2nd, 2009 SEOUL - South Korea Saturday reported its first human case of swine flu, a nun who had recently travelled to Mexico - taking to four swine-flu infection in Asia after one was confirmed in Hong Kong and two in Israel. The 51-year-old has been isolated in hospital since Tuesday after displaying flu symptoms after her return a week ago from the country worst-hit by the virus, the Korea Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said.

April 29th, 2009 HONG KONG - Wealthy Asian travellers are considering flying by private jet to avoid the risk of swine flu exposure on commercial flights, a news report said Wednesday. Private jet service Asia Jet has seen a 40 percent rise in inquiries about its flights, at a cost of $5,900 an hour, since the swine flu scare spread Monday to Asia, the South China Morning Post reported.

April 23rd, 2009 HONG KONG - Hong Kong lawmakers Thursday approved a tax on every plastic bag handed out by supermarkets in the city as of July in a move to cut the mountain of waste created by the bags. The tax of 50 Hong Kong cents (6 US cents) will be levied from July 1 in a total of 2,000 shops, including every major supermarket, in the high-rise city of seven million.

April 19th, 2009 Winners at the 28th Hong Kong Film AwardsHONG KONG — A list of winners in the top categories at the 28th Hong Kong Film Awards announced Sunday at the Hong Kong Cultural Center: Best film: "Ip Man" Best director: Ann Hui, "The Way We Are" Best actor: Nick Cheung, "The Beast Stalker" Best actress: Paw Hee-ching, "The Way We Are" Best supporting actor: Liu Kai-chi, "The Beast Stalker" Best supporting actress: Chan Lai-wun, "The Way We Are" Best screenplay: Lou Shiu-wa, "The Way We Are" Best cinematography: Arthur Wong, "Painted Skin" Lifetime achievement award: Josephine Siao

March 29th, 2009 HONG KONG - A bottle of rare champagne fetched 164,560 Hong Kong dollars ($21,097) at a wine auction here, setting a new world record for the price of any bottle of champagne sold at an auction. The auction collected an impressive 35 million Hong Kong dollars ($4.5 million), with 96 percent of the stocks sold to buyers from Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Indonesia, among others.

March 20th, 2009 HONG KONG - Life would be meaningless and not worth living without the Internet, nearly one in seven Hong Kong youngsters said in a survey released Friday. Just under 14 percent of 1,800 respondents aged 12 to 25 insisted they could not live without the Internet while 80 percent described it as essential.

January 30th, 2009 HONG KONG - Cigarette consumption in Hong Kong is up almost 14 percent since a smoking ban was introduced in the city two years ago, a news report said Saturday. Government figures quoted by the South China Morning Post show that 3.79 billion cigarettes were bought in 2008, compared to 3.33 billion the previous year.

January 20th, 2009 HONG KONG - Hong Kong shares fell by almost three percent Wednesday as overnight losses on Wall Street and profit warnings from Chinese companies listed in the city deepened market gloom. The blue-chip Hang Seng Index ended the day down 376.14 points, or 2.9 percent, at 12,583.63.

January 4th, 2009 HONG KONG - Hong Kong stocks continued their positive start to 2009 Monday with a second day of gains, rising by almost 3.5 percent. The blue-chip Hang Seng Index climbed 520.5 points, or 3.46 percent, to close at 15,563.31.