The government has proposed an across-the-board pay hike of 2.5 percent for all civil servants. Officials played down fears the proposal would undermine staff morale, after an official survey of salaries in the private sector suggested pay hikes of between two and seven percent. Damon Pang reports:

Senior manager of Randstad Hong Kong recruitment agency, Andre Springett, says the proposed pay rise of 2.5 percent for civil servants is generally in line with the private market but a bit lower when compared to some sectors. He spoke to Natale Ching:

A unionist lawmaker says a pay rise of three to four percent for civil servants would be more appropriate than the 2.5 percent proposed by authorities. Lam Chun-sing from the Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions, says the government's proposal does not take into account inflation, staff morale, and the previous two-year salary freeze. He told Samantha Butler that he hoped the government could make some adjustment after consulting with civil service and trade groups:

The Chief Executive John Lee says the government is reviewing quarantine requirements for incoming travellers, but stressed that such a move has to strike a balance between infection control and people's convenience. Officials are considering shortening the requirements to five days of hotel quarantine and two days of home isolation. Timmy Sung reports:

Health authorities say they are finding more infections involving the more transmissible Omicron subvariants, as the city logged 2,268 new Covid cases. More schools have been asked to suspend classes. Natale Ching reports:

The Chief Executive John Lee says he will be pragmatic in handling the city's housing shortage. Speaking before the first meeting of his new Executive Council, Lee said he'd be honest with the public if the government encountered any problems when tackling the housing issue. Maggie Ho reports:

The government is suggesting extending a ban on feeding wild animals to cover the whole of Hong Kong, as well as introducing tougher penalties for offenders. As Natale Ching reports, it is aimed at trying to reduce the number of boars causing a nuisance in urban areas:

The Hong Kong Wild Boar Concern Group say it does not oppose extending a wild animal feeding ban and increasing penalties, but it wants the government to scrap a policy that allows it to 'capture and kill' the feral animals and revive its contraception/relocation scheme. Roni Wong told Ben Tse that the government needed better urban planning to reduce conflict between people and wildlife:

Customs say they seized over $75 million worth of illicit cigarettes and alternative smoking products in June, arresting 88 people aged between 17 and 83. There were also just over 240 tobacco smuggling cases, which marked a 20 percent increase on cases in June last year. Divisional Commander, Joanne Cheung, attributed the increase to the resumption of the logistics trade. She told Kelly Yu that smugglers had come up with new ways to disguise the tobacco, such as hiding them in household products:

An administrator of a Telegram group has been jailed for six months for calling on people to join unauthorised assemblies and to disrupt traffic on Hong Kong Island last year. Frank Yung reports:

Businesses, schools and restaurants in Xi'an will close for one week, after the mainland city logged a handful of Covid cases. The historic city of 13 million people endured a month-long lockdown at the end of last year. Kenny Hodgart reports:

Vice Premier Liu He is said to have had a "constructive" exchange over macro economies and global supply chains in a video call with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Vicky Wong reports:

Two of the UK government's most senior ministers have resigned from Boris Johnson's cabinet, plunging the government into a major crisis. The Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak and the Health Secretary Sajid Javid have both handed in their resignations. Johnson has been accused of making several misleading statements, most recently about the behaviour of a colleague who had drunkenly groped fellow members at a private club. RTHK's UK correspondent Peter Anderson told Samantha Butler that the resignations follow a 'partygate' scandal, by-election failures, and a no-confidence vote within his party: