Now that people are no longer required to wear masks in public, a medical expert has warned that a flu outbreak in Hong Kong is much more likely. The mask mandate was dropped from Wednesday, although in parts of the city it seemed the majority of people still chose to wear them. Respiratory medicine expert, Leung Chi-chiu, said the flu risk was especially high in schools, and among young children who had not had the chance to build up immunity. Frank Yung reports:

On day one of the scrapping of the mask mandate, RTHK reporters around town saw many people go mask-free, while a majority of MTR commuters kept theirs on. Vanessa Cheng reports:

A catering industry representative says many workers in the trade are keeping their masks on. Howie Wong from the Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades also says the end of the mask mandate in Hong Kong will not have a strong positive impact on business. He spoke to Leung Pak-hei:

The principal of Ying Wa College says he observed the majority of students wearing masks on their way to school, but once they entered campus, most removed them. Dion Chen, who is also the chairman of the Hong Kong Direct Subsidy Scheme Schools Council, said some students expressed concern about flu risks while many welcomed no longer having to do rapid tests for Covid. Chen told Ben Tse that the community as a whole learnt a lot about personal hygiene and resilience from the three-year pandemic:

Hong Kong's last remaining community isolation centre for Covid patients has officially closed its doors. Officials held a ceremony to mark the shutting down of Penny's Bay on Lantau, which has seen a total of about 270,000 people spend time there. Wendy Wong reports:

The government has expressed outrage after a blunder at an ice hockey match in Bosnia saw an incorrect song played in place of the national anthem. Violet Wong reports:

The Customs Department says it will step up inspections for contraband after reporting a surge in drug trafficking cases last year. Officers say they seized seven tonnes of drugs, involving smuggling via cargo and passenger channels - a 70 percent jump from 2021. As Ada Au reports, the announcement comes as tourism resumes and inbound travellers return to the SAR:

China has lashed out at a new US congressional committee dedicated to countering Beijing. It wants committee members to ditch their ideological bias and zero-sum Cold War mentality. Wendy Wong reports:

India is hosting Foreign Minister Qin Gang, US Secretary for State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minster Sergey Lavrov at the G20 Foreign Ministers' meeting, as the conflict in Ukraine entered its second year last week. The meeting started on Wednesday and came after the G20 Finance Ministers meeting failed to agree a joint communique, with no consensus being reached on the conflict in Ukraine. Aaron Tam spoke with RTHK's South Asia correspondent Murali Krishnan, who said the Foreign Ministers’ meeting would be a test of Indian diplomacy: