The government has announced the further relaxation of social-distancing measures. Restrictions on the operating hours for restaurants and bars will be lifted on Thursday, while barbecue pits will reopen. Frank Yung reports:

The president of the Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades says the removal of operating hour restrictions will benefit only a handful of eateries. Simon Wong told Frank Yung that while the industry welcomed the move, he did not expect the relaxation to significantly boost business at restaurants:

Lan Kwai Fong group chairman, Allan Zeman, has welcomed the easing of Covid measures on bars and restaurants as 'a breath of fresh air' after three difficult years. From Thursday, restaurants can continue to offer dine-in services beyond midnight, and bars no need to close at 2am. Zeman said it meant that nightclubs could operate for longer than three hours a night. But he told Samantha Butler that real change would come with the dropping of all restrictions:

The government has been urged to relax infection-control measures for tour groups so they can visit restaurants, theme parks, museums and other places once they arrive. The call was made by the lawmaker who represents the tourism sector, Perry Yiu, a day after the oldest tourist agency in Hong Kong suspended its branch services because it is struggling to survive. Maggie Ho reports:

The Financial Secretary, Paul Chan, has tested positive for Covid-19 just a week ahead of when he is supposed to deliver a key note address to the Global Financial Leaders’ Investment Summit here. He is in Saudi Arabia and it is unclear when exactly he will now be able to return to Hong Kong, as Priscilla Ng reports:

The Monetary Authority's chief executive, Eddie Yue, says it is crucial for Hong Kong to have a clear roadmap towards normality and to not revert to tighter anti-epidemic measures, in order to strengthen overseas confidence in the SAR. As Violet Wong reports, both Yue and the government's financial services chief say firms and employees have started to return to the city since hotel quarantine was ended:

The Secretary for Culture, Kevin Yeung, says one possible reason that an award was not presented at a government literature competition was because the three works being considered did not comply with the law. He did not say why, but he did say creative people should not be too worried so long as they love the country. Damon Pang reports:

The government says international misunderstanding may be behind the SAR's fall in an annual index which measures the rule of law, among other things. Authorities, however, said the report proved the national security law had helped to improve order and security here, and they vowed to increase efforts to better explain the situation in Hong Kong. Annemarie Evans reports:

A 52-year-old woman has been arrested following a high-speed car chase by police from West Kowloon to Tuen Mun Road. It happened after officers said a patrolling vehicle noticed that the licence plate of a car travelling on the West Kowloon Corridor had expired. Todd Harding reports:

A 64-year-old man has been jailed for four years and three months for his role in the mob attack in and around Yuen Long MTR station more than three years ago. As Maggie Ho reports, the District Court convicted Ching Wai-ming of rioting and conspiracy to wound:

A conservationist says the desire to have an endangered turtle as a pet is threatening Hong Kong's freshwater species. Judy Wan, from the Ocean Park Conservation Foundation, says illegal hunting and trading, pollution and land development, are having a significant impact. Ocean Park will hold its annual Conservation Day next month with a call for the preservation of freshwater turtles. Wan spoke to Ben Tse about the work of the foundation:

3,000 cyclists are expected to ride in the 50-kilometre Hong Kong Cyclothon in mid-December, billed as Hong Kong's biggest outdoor sporting event since the Omicron wave at the start of the year. As Frank Yung reports, participants will have to be triple-jabbed and present a negative PCR test before they can pedal around the city in the mega event:

A North Korean ice cream factory, which was personally commissioned and had its construction fast-tracked by leader Kim Jong Un, has opened in the capital, Pyongyang. State broadcaster K-C-N-A described the factory as "modern", saying it will provide people with better desserts. Altis Wong reports: