The police have defended the actions of an officer who shot a Filipino man in Peng Chau late on Tuesday night, saying he believed his life was in danger. The man who was shot is said to be out of danger after surgery in Eastern Hospital. At a media briefing on Wednesday, police said the officer's actions followed the force's guidelines. Sean Kennedy reports:

The Chinese Consulate in Nagasaki has confirmed that at least one sailor has died and nine others are missing after a Hong Kong-registered ship went down in rough seas between Japan and South Korea on Wednesday. Japan's Coastguard said earlier that at least two sailors had died. The condition of the 12 crew rescued from the ship remains unknown, although the consulate said several were showing no signs of life. Coast guard rescuers and private vessels braved fierce winter winds in the rescue attempt. Andrew Chworowsky has the details:

The daily Covid caseload continued to decline over the Lunar New Year Holiday. Health officials reported 2,295 cases on Wednesday, continuing a trend of infections that are close to the lowest level in six months. Government officials are now pondering their next steps, with Health Chief Lo Chung-mau indicating earlier this week that more restrictions could be dropped after the holidays. However, respiratory medicine specialist Leung Chi-chiu, says officials should not rush to drop mandatory masking. Damon Pang has the details:

Hongkongers have been making the most of the first Lunar New Year without most Covid restrictions since the early days of the pandemic. People were excited to celebrate traditions the old-fashioned way, seeing relatives in person without worrying about Covid tests and visiting places without scanning the LeaveHomeSafe app. Travellers from the mainland and overseas have also been in town, taking advantage of the end of quarantine. Authorities said that, from Friday to Tuesday, some 62,000 mainland visitors entered Hong Kong. On the third day of the Year of the Rabbit, RTHK's Hailey Yip went out to see how people were enjoying the holidays:

Three years ago, queues for face masks stretched around the block here in Hong Kong, as nervous residents learned of a mysterious new virus circulating. Sensing opportunity, scores of entrepreneurs turned their hand to making masks, helped by government support. Now, the authorities are pondering how soon to end compulsory mask wearing, with officials indicating that an end to mandatory outdoor masking could come soon. So how are the businesses, set up to meet the demand for masks, preparing for the day when their product is no longer a daily necessity? Frank Yung has been finding out:

No sector has suffered more during the pandemic than the travel industry. And, although there are plenty of grounds for optimism with the end of most Covid restrictions and the resumption of quarantine-free travel to and from the mainland, leaders in the sector have been pessimistic over a quick return to normality. They are also dealing with changes in how travellers choose to spend their vacation time. So how are they meeting the challenge? The head of the Travel Industry Council has been putting forward some ideas. Vanessa Cheng listened in:

The Environmental Association, has called on residents not to dump their pots of mandarin or tangerine plants, saying that thousands of them end up in landfills each year. It has been a long-standing tradition for people to fill their homes with different auspicious flowers and plants during the Chinese New Year. Mandarin trees are one of the popular items as the Chinese word for the fruit is a pun on “luck”. The green group’s founder, Yau Wing-kwong, told Ben Tse that instead of throwing out these plants, people should keep them or donate them to farmers:

The Financial Secretary, Paul Chan, is preparing to deliver his budget on February 22, and there are no shortage of voices telling him what he should be doing. One key divide is over whether he should hand out a new round of consumption vouchers. Some political parties are calling for this to boost the economy and help grassroots families, but others say the end of Covid restrictions will provide enough stimulus. The debate rages as economists cast a wary eye over government finances. Natale Ching has been listening to some of the arguments:

The DAB says it wants the government to allow more mainland investors to trade stocks on the local bourse by lowering the threshold for using the Stock Connect scheme. It's one of several ideas the party is putting forward for next month's budget. Speaking after a Lunar New Year demonstration at the government headquarters, party lawmaker Holden Chow told Damon Pang this is one of the party's suggestions for boosting the economy:

The US President, Joe Biden, has announced the United States will send 31 tanks to Ukraine. In a significant policy reversal, Biden insisted the M1 Abrams vehicles would not be an offensive threat to Russia, but would help protect Ukrainian land. The announcement came after Berlin confirmed it would supply 14 of its Leopard tanks to Ukraine. It also announced that Poland and other allies now have Germany's permission to export Leopard tanks from their own stocks. RTHK's Washington correspondent Barry Wood told Mike Weeks that the Germans wanted the US to also commit to send tanks before acting: