Medical experts have sought to allay concerns over a rebound in Covid-19 infections here due to a new Omicron subvariant. But they also suggested the government buy a new vaccine that targets two other mutant strains of Omicron. For the first time, Hong Kong has reported imported cases of new subvariants, BA.2.75.2 and XBB.1. Both cases were asymptomatic. Meanwhile, the city logged 4,874 new Covid infections for Monday, including 396 imported ones. There were 10 more Covid-related deaths. Wendy Wong reports:

The High Court has granted leave to hear a challenge against the government's decision to invalidate more than 20,000 Covid-19 vaccination exemption certificates issued by seven private doctors who are said not to have examined the patients. A direction hearing is scheduled for Tuesday morning. Maggie Ho reports:

A survey by the University of Hong Kong suggests that over a third of older adults suffered from emotional distress - such as depression, anxiety or loneliness - during the fifth Covid wave earlier this year. The research team, from the Jockey Club Holistic Support Project for Elderly Mental Wellness, spoke to around 5,000 people over the age of 60 between April and the end of June. The researchers found the risk of depression and anxiety surged by over 50 percent since their last survey, just after the start of the pandemic in 2020. Terry Lum from the University of Hong Kong's Department of Social Work and Social Administration led the research. He told Kelly Yu that more support should be given to elderly people who struggle with their mental health:

A survey has shown that Hong Kong's happy index has returned to the level of 2018. Researchers polled more than 1,100 people in August for their annual index of happiness. It is at 6.59 out of 10 - a slight rebound from last year's 6.44, and higher than 6.54 in 2018. But Christina Lee, the executive director of Wofoo Social Enterprises, told Janice Wong that even though the level had gone up, results were still far from a perfect 10:

The government is speeding up legislation to compel people to report suspected child abuse. It is among dozens of recommendations that it has put forward to tackle the problem in childcare centres, some of which have already been carried out. Violet Wong reports:

Two advocacy groups have called for a roadmap to develop brownfield sites in next week's Policy Address. They say it could provide a quick fix for Hong Kong's housing shortage, as Violet Wong reports:

A senior campaigner at Greenpeace says 100 hectares of the 433 brownfield sites that it identified for development are already vacant. Chan Hall-sion told Samantha Butler that if the government focussed on developing such sites, it would not have to go ahead with ecologically-damaging projects and less efficient projects, such as building on country parks or creating artificial islands through massive reclamation:

Police are looking for three suspects in connection with a heist at a Tsim Sha Tsui jewellery store on Monday in broad daylight. The gang made off with a jade necklace worth $20 million, as Mike Weeks reports:

The government has confirmed it will not take any action over a superyacht which dropped anchor in Hong Kong last week, despite sanctions imposed by some western governments against its Russian billionaire owner. The Nord is now moored in the western harbour off Tsing Yi, as Altis Wong reports:

The government has warned that people who cash in by hogging bookings for public sports and recreation facilities are to face tougher penalties, including lengthy bans. The Leisure and Cultural Services Department says it is also working on a system that will introduce a ballot for bookings instead of 'first-come, first-serve', as it seeks to weed out those who book facilities with the intention of turning a profit. Ada Au reports:

The ICAC says an arrest warrant has been issued for a former academic who is accused of concealing his interest in two companies that his employer bought goods and services from. As Vanessa Cheng reports, the 58-year-old worked for the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST):