Hong Kong schools have reported that suicides recorded in the first 11 months of the year have far surpassed the annual figures from the past five years. Education authorities have said they have launched a suicide-prevention system. Frank Yung reports:

A psychiatrist says a popular children's toy raises safety concerns, especially in schools. May Lam, founder of the Hong Kong Mental Wellness Association, says the 'carrot knife' - a blunt, orange, plastic blade - could send the wrong message to children that violence is normal to resolve conflicts. Authorities say the carrot knife meets Hong Kong safety standards. But Lam told Samantha Butler that schools may want to ban it on campus and parents should be on the alert for toys that could cause what she described as 'irreversible damage':

The Securities and Futures Commission says police have taken action to block the websites of two virtual asset platforms suspected of fraud. The SFC warned that BitCuped and HongKongDAO, or Hong Kong Digital Research Institute, had disseminated false and misleading information. Kelly Yu reports:

A talent report has found that finance professionals in Hong Kong are more proactive than their global peers in upgrading their skills to stay relevant in the evolving industry. The Hong Kong Institute for Monetary and Financial Research, in collaboration with the non-profit CFA Institute, interviewed about 1,200 professionals across major international financial centres, including New York, Singapore and Hong Kong. Wendy Wong reports:

Chief Executive John Lee says anyone suggesting that his government focuses only on national security would be engaging in soft resistance. Violet Wong reports:

A political commentator says a candidate's track record is what members of the public will consider when they vote in Sunday's district council elections. As Frank Yung reports, housing, transport and social welfare are just some of the issues voters seem to be most concerned about:

The contractor linked to an accident in February at United Christian Hospital - when a surgical light fell on an anaesthetist in an operation room - has published an apology in several newspapers. Violet Wong reports:

The government says it disagrees with Moody’s decision to change the credit outlook of Hong Kong to "negative" from "stable". It said Hong Kong’s tight linkage of credit profiles with the mainland should not be a rating constraint. Despite the downgrade of the credit outlook, Moody's affirmed Hong Kong's long-term issuer rating at Aa3', the fourth-highest. Kelly Yu reports:

Ratings agency, S&P Global Ratings, says there have been no changes in its ratings on China, a day after its peer, Moody's, downgraded its outlook on the country's credit rating to "negative". Chloe Feng reports:

Digitalisation, advancements in financial technology, cross-border banking and commerce, as well as smart construction are among the potential expansion agendas of Southeast Asian firms operating or planning to operate in Hong Kong as they eye new opportunities in China. They're part of a delegation from Belt and Road countries that visited Shenzhen and Guangzhou this week, touring leading tech and auto giants such as Huawei, Tencent and BYD. Chloe Feng reports:

China and the United States have said their top diplomats who discussed the Israel-Hamas conflict have agreed on the need to de-escalate the war. Kelly Yu reports: