Health authorities say private hospitals are making more beds available to take in patients from public hospitals to tackle the rising Covid-19 caseload, as Hong Kong's daily tally nears the 10,000 mark. Frank Yung reports:

The Sports Commissioner, Yeung Tak-keung, says there are currently no plans to require spectators going to the Hong Kong Sevens this November to get tested before entering the stadium. But he pointed out that players taking part will have to be tested daily. The commissioner says the authorities have devised a closed-loop arrangement for those competing in the event. He spoke to Natale Ching:

Guangzhou has become the latest Chinese city to step up anti-Covid measures, with officials there warning that the risk of infection is high. It joins Shenzhen and other major metropolises, including Chengdu and Tianjin, in battling small local flare-ups of the virus. Natale Ching reports:

The Chief Executive John Lee is set to hold a virtual meeting on Thursday with Guangdong officials and city representatives from Guangzhou and Shenzhen. He says they will discuss ways to deepen collaboration, including “cross-border exchanges” between the people. But it is not clear if easing border restrictions will also be on the table, as Maggie Ho reports:

The DAB party says its members will visit five Asean countries early in September to promote the SAR and clarify any "misunderstandings" people there may have about Hong Kong. One of the party's lawmakers said this was necessary because international media - in his estimation - had not properly reported the whole situation, in particular what really happened during the widespread social unrest in 2019. Violet Wong reports:

DAB lawmaker, Kennedy Wong, says in the previous two to three years, Hong Kong has not been able to receive business people, so the party hopes its Asean tour can promote the SAR as an international finance centre, and a trade and business hub. He says a delegation of DAB lawmakers will leave on Sunday on the self-funded trip, with the message that since the social unrest of 2019, stability had returned to Hong Kong. He spoke to Samantha Butler:

The Chief Executive John Lee has appointed Justice David Lok as the Chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission for a three-year term starting from Thursday. He will replace Justice Barnabas Fung, who had been in the position since 2009. Kelly Yu reports:

Police are investigating a robbery case at a watch shop in Causeway Bay in which watches worth $10 million were stolen. Officers are now looking for four suspects, as Joanne Wong reports:

US regulators are reported to have selected e-commerce majors, Alibaba and JD.com, among other US-listed Chinese companies for audit inspection starting in September. This follows Friday's landmark audit deal between Beijing and Washington that allows US regulators to vet accounting firms on the mainland and in Hong Kong, potentially ending a long-running dispute that threatened to boot more than 200 Chinese companies from US stock exchanges. Altis Wong reports: