The government is extending its vaccine pass scheme to children aged five to 11 to try to get more youngsters vaccinated. At the moment, over 60 percent of youngsters aged between three and 11 have had two shots. Health authorities say more details will be unveiled next week. Frank Yung reports:

The chief executive says Hong Kong people travelling to the mainland will soon be allowed to fulfil their quarantine requirements here, before crossing the border in a closed loop. John Lee says Guangzhou and Shenzhen authorities have agreed to the scheme in principle. Maggie Ho reports:

Roundtable lawmaker Michael Tien says he welcomes the "reverse quarantine" proposal, under which mainland-bound travellers will be allowed to quarantine in Hong Kong. He says isolation facilities can be built in Lok Ma Chau, and mainland agencies can be commissioned to testing those under quarantine to ensure they do not carry the virus across the border. The lawmaker told Violet Wong that rising Covid infection figures here should not affect the reverse quarantine plan if arrangements were watertight:

Hong Kong's daily Covid caseload has topped 10,000 and health authorities expect the upward trend to continue. Timmy Sung reports:

The Ombudsman has urged the government to step up monitoring of unlicensed ferry services to outlying islands, to ensure public safety. Winnie Chiu singled out the Marine Department for particular criticism, saying it carried out few inspections of such illegal transport operators. Violet Wong reports:

Southern district councillor, Paul Zimmerman, says the government should review the licensing system for small ferry services, known as 'kaitos', as there is not enough of them to meet demand. Zimmerman criticised the Ombudsman for taking a 'limited view' on the issue, saying safety was not the problem. He said the government should address the growing demand for such boat services and not use what he called an “outmoded mechanism to control growth”. He spoke to Samantha Butler:

China has dismissed a long-delayed report on Xinjiang by the United Nations human rights office as a ‘farce’ based on false information, saying it is designed to be used as a political tool by the west against the country. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet released the report just minutes before her four-year term ended, and following her visit to China and its far western region in May. Mike Weeks reports:

21 million people have been locked down in Sichuan's capitcal city of Chengdu, as it launched four days of citywide Covid testing. Residents were ordered to stay home from 6 pm on Thursday, with one person per household allowed out each day to shop for necessities. Frank Yung reports:

The yen has hit its weakest level against the dollar in almost a quarter of a century. The sharp fall is mainly due to Tokyo and Washington's different monetary policies - though the dollar has also strengthened against other currencies. Japan has been easing to promote growth while the US central bank, the Federal Reserve, looks set to raise interest rates further to tackle inflation, fuelled by the fighting in Ukraine. Robert Kemp reports:

The International Monetary Fund says Sri Lanka will receive a conditional US$2.9 billion bailout to repair its battered finances. The relief package comes after a bruising economic crisis that saw the island nation's president chased from the country in July. Natale Ching reports: