Hong Kong needs more land to build a better living environment to retain the city's young talent, and the key to meeting this target lies in compromise, Chief Executive CY Leung says.

He was speaking at a youth forum on housing today, and called for a concerted effort by the community to work for a better living standard.

He said Hong Kong needs land as big as Sha Tin district every 10 years just to build enough homes for people to live in, not to mention making improvements to their living environment.

He said the city lags behind Mainland centres like Shanghai and Beijing in terms of the average size of private housing, which is, at present, less than 500 square feet.

There is no solution that can satisfy all demands, he said, adding that Hong Kong people must compromise, and accept facilities such as public housing.

He said that, while the Government will face opposition to its plans, it must continue to think of ways to solve the long-term housing problem.

He said he hopes the community will care about the future and the needs of Hong Kong as a whole, and give their views on how to best solve its problems.

Police are investigating an accident in Tsing Yi in which a 44-year-old man died.

He was starting the engine of a lorry on Cheung Tat Road when it suddenly moved forward and trapped him between its door and a wall, at about 12.50pm today.

The man was seriously injured and sent to Princess Margaret Hospital where he later died.

Witnesses should call 3661 1300.

The Centre for Health Protection is investigating a confirmed case of invasive community-associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus involving a 90-year-old woman.

She fell ill on May 3 and was admitted to hospital on May 7.

She tested positive for CA-MRSA. She is stable.

She has no recent travel history, and her home contact is normal.

The centre called on the public to use antibiotics only with professional advice, according to prescribed frequency and dosage.

Indiscriminate use of antibiotics can contribute to drug-resistance, it said.

Chief Executive CY Leung officially opened the Civil Aviation Department Headquarters today.

Located on the southeast corner of Airport Island, it has a gross floor area of 41,000 square metres.

It comprises a Regulatory & Training Building, an Air Traffic Control Centre with a state-of-the-art air traffic management system, and an Accident Investigation & Facilities Building. The centre will open in the second half of 2014, upon the completion of operational tests and training.

The headquarters also accommodates a centralised examination centre, dedicated aircraft accident investigation facilities, and a library and resource centre.

Mr Leung, accompanied by Secretary for Transport & Housing Prof Anthony Cheung and Director-General of Civil Aviation Norman Lo, said the new building brings all divisions of the department, which was scattered in various locations, under one roof.

He said the new Air Traffic Control Centre will be capable of handling the additional air traffic expected under the proposed three-runway system.

The headquarters is constructed with three main design themes, namely sustainability, environmental friendliness and education.

Over 30% of the site area and the roof of the headquarters are landscaped. Various environmentally friendly and energy-saving facilities such as solar powered pole lighting and a rainwater recycling system have been installed.

To boost the public's aviation knowledge, an education path has been constructed in the headquarters. It has three exhibition galleries introducing Hong Kong’s aviation history, its air traffic control operations, aviation security, flight safety, and accident investigation.

Barry Cheung's reappointment as Chairman of the Urban Renewal Authority Board is necessary to ensure the Urban Renewal Strategy is effectively implemented, the Development Bureau says.

In response to media reports today, the bureau said reappointing Mr Cheung as chairman provides continuity and leadership for the board. The Government has also considered many veteran non-executive members of the previous board will be retiring after six years of service, while the managing director of the authority retired in late February.

In view of Mr Cheung's extensive experience in urban renewal, after due consideration, the Government saw the need for flexibility in appointing the board chairman.

Under the established mechanism, the Secretary for Development recommends appointments of non-executive members of the board, including the chairman. The recommendations, with the support of the Financial Secretary, are presented to the Chief Executive for approval. 

Police have arrested a 29-year-old man for dangerous driving after a 62-year-old cyclist was killed.

His van reportedly struck the cyclist who was riding on Cheung Tung Road on Lantau Island about 12.15pm today.

The cyclist was sent to Prince Margaret Hospital with serious head injuries and later died.

Police have detained the driver for questioning.

Witnesses should call Police on 3661 1300.

Anita Fung has been reappointed as a member of the Airport Authority for three years from June 1, the Government announced today.

She has expertise in the banking and financial services sectors, and provides experienced advice to the authority.

The appointment will be published in the Government Gazette tomorrow.

The Centre for Food Safety has recalled a batch of Pura slim milk imported from Australia detected to have a high bacterial count.

The one-litre product’s expiry date is May 26. It was available for sale at several supermarket chains.

A sample of the milk was collected for testing under the Food Surveillance Programme. The total bacterial count of the sample exceeded the limit.

The centre has suspended the import of the product, alerted the trade to the incident, and issued a warning letter to the importer, which has stopped selling and recalled the product.

People can call the importer on 2882 2347 for enquiries.

The centre has informed Australian authorities, and will monitor the recall.

Liquefied petroleum gas ceiling prices for dedicated filling stations will fall 24 to 25 cents a litre in June, the Electrical & Mechanical Services Department announces.

Prices will range from $4.17 to $4.63 per litre.

The adjustment reflects the LPG international price movement in May.

Click here for details.

Police arrested two men in Tai Po last night, aged 20 and 29, for the suspected murder of a 30-year-old man in Sheung Shui on April 28.

They are being detained for questioning.

Officers earlier arrested 17 people in connection with the case. Three of them have been charged with murder.

The Hospital Authority says it is very concerned about the heart transplant incident at Queen Mary Hospital, and has asked it to form an inquiry panel to investigate the event thoroughly and independently.

The authority said a report with recommendations is expected to be submitted in eight weeks. The findings will be explained to the patient's family.

The authority has apologised to the patient and her family, saying it will ensure the hospital provides the most appropriate clinical treatment and care to the patient, and assistance to the family.

An apology was also extended to the donor's family, and it hoped the enthusiastic support of Hong Kong people for organ donation will not be affected by the event.

The Civil Service Bureau has received the Pay Trend Survey Committee Report on the 2013 Pay Trend Survey and has derived the net pay trend indicators by deducting the cost of increments paid to civil servants in 2012-13 from the gross pay trend indicators in the report.

The indicators for upper, middle and lower salary bands are 2.55%, 3.92%, and 3.92%.

The Chief Executive in Council will decide on the rates of civil service pay adjustment for 2013-14 having regard to the net pay trend indicators and other factors, namely, the state of Hong Kong's economy, the Government's fiscal position, changes in the cost of living, the staff sides' pay claims, and civil service morale.

Chief Executive CY Leung met the visiting acting Governor of Heilongjiang Lu Hao at Government House tonight.

Mr Leung welcomed Mr Lu, and said Hong Kong and Heilongjiang enjoy close economic and trade relationships.

He said he hoped the two sides can strengthen co-operation in service industries and foster exchange of talent to create more business opportunities.

The Pay Trend Survey Committee met today to consider the findings of the 2013 Pay Trend Survey, and the two Staff Side representatives of the Police Force Council did not agree to validate the survey findings.

One Staff Side representative of the Senior Civil Service Council accepted the survey findings with reservations, and the two Staff Side representatives of the Disciplined Services Consultative Council accepted the survey findings with great reservations. The other representatives accepted the findings.

The survey results reflect the pay trend in 109 companies covering 180,253 employees over the 12-month period from April 2, 2012 to April 1, 2013.

The gross pay trend indicators for the lower salary band (below $17,835 per month) is 5.3%, while those for the middle ($17,835- $54,665 per month) and upper ($54,666- $109,365 per month) salary bands are 4.79% and 3.38%.

Chairman of the Pay Trend Survey Committee Wilfred Wong said the committee will submit the committee report to the Government for consideration.

"The actual level of adjustment will have to be determined by the Administration in consultation with relevant parties having regard to an array of considerations."

The Monetary Authority today issued an alert on an email purporting to be sent from the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (Asia).

It asks recipients to give remittance confirmation, and may contain files with unknown content attached.

The bank has clarified that the email was neither issued nor authorised by it, and it has not asked customers or any other person to give the remittance confirmation.

The case has been reported to Police.

Anyone who has received any suspected fraudulent email purporting to be related to ICBC(Asia) should call the bank on 2189 5588.

The Department of Health is monitoring two new coronavirus cases reported to the World Health Organisation by Tunisia – the first confirmed cases of the disease in the country.

They involve a 34-year-old man and his 35-year-old sister. They developed mild respiratory illnesses and did not require hospitalisation.

Their 66-year-old father fell ill three days after returning from a visit to Qatar and Saudi Arabia on May 3. He was admitted to hospital, his condition deteriorated and he died on May 10. He tested negative for coronavirus.

The Tunisian health authority is investigating further, and close contacts of the family are being monitored.

Separately, a patient reported as ill earlier has died as a result of an outbreak at a healthcare facility in Saudi Arabia. To date, a total of 22 patients, including 10 deaths, have been reported in connection with the outbreak.

This brings the latest global number of confirmed cases of severe respiratory disease associated with novel coronavirus to 43, including 21 deaths.

The Centre for Health Protection will seek more information on these cases from the World Health Organisation and other health authorities.

No human infection with this virus has been identified so far in Hong Kong.

Secretary for Development Paul Chan says a planning and investigation study for a desalination plant in Tseung Kwan O will be completed by the end of next year.

Speaking to lawmakers today, Mr Chan said the plant will open in 2020 at the earliest. The study scope covers detailed feasibility studies, preliminary design and cost-effectiveness analysis.

The proposed plant will have an output capacity of 50 million cubic metres per annum, with provisions for future expansion to 90 million.

On the basis of a population of about 7.6 million in 2020, as projected by the Census & Statistics Department, and accounting for the estimated savings achieved by various water demand management initiatives, total fresh water demand will be about 990 million cubic metres.

“With an annual output capacity of 50 million cubic metres, the desalination plant will cover about 5% of total demand in 2020. The amount of water supplied from other water sources should not exceed the current levels,” he said.

Mr Chan also said the quality of Dongjiang water is closely monitored by the Water Supplies Department and Guangdong authorities. Regular monitoring results indicate water quality consistently complies with standards.

A trough of low pressure lingering around the Guangdong coast brought several episodes of heavy rain and thunderstorms to Hong Kong this morning, causing landslides and flooding in some places, the Hong Kong Observatory says.

The Black Rainstorm Warning Signal was issued from 4.10am to 9.45am. The signal was last raised in July, 2010.

From midnight till noon, more than 150mm of rain was recorded in many places across Hong Kong. Tseung Kwan O, eastern Kowloon, northern Hong Kong Island, Tuen Mun, and Tung Chung each saw more than 200mm.

The trough of low pressure is forecast to continue to bring rain and thunderstorms to coastal areas and the northern part of the South China Sea over the next two days.

Click here for the latest weather forecast.

Under the Elderly Health Care Voucher Pilot Scheme, seniors aged 70 or above can make use of the vouchers for dental services provided by private dental clinics and those run by non-government organisations.

Secretary for Food & Health Dr Ko Wing-man told lawmakers today the Government increased the annual voucher amount to $1,000 from January 1.

He said there are about 2,060 registered dentists in the city, and 372 are participating in the scheme so far.

Most elderly residing in residential care homes or receiving services in day-care centres are physically weak, so their frail condition has made it difficult for them to receive dental care at clinics.

"In the light of this, the Government launched the three-year Pilot Project on Outreach Primary Dental Care Services for the Elderly in residential care homes and day-care centres in collaboration with NGOs in April 2011 to provide outreach primary dental care and oral health care services to these elders. The Pilot Project is expected to provide services for about 100,000 attendances."

The Community Care Fund has also set aside $100 million for the Elderly Dental Assistance Programme to subsidise seniors needing dentures and other dental services, he said, adding it launched last September and is expected to run for two years, benefiting 9,680 people.

For elderly in financial difficulty, Dr Ko said dental grants are given under the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme to recipients aged 60 or above, disabled, or medically certified to be in ill health.

Requiring the minimum wage to rise at a higher rate than inflation would not be a suitable option, says Secretary for Labour & Welfare Matthew Cheung.

Speaking in response to a question in the Legislative Council today, Mr Cheung said such an arrangement would cause a self-perpetuating inflationary spiral of wages and prices chasing each other. The evidence-based approach adopted by the Minimum Wage Commission is more appropriate, he says. 

In arriving at its recommended rate, the commission analyses wage distribution data and surveys, referring to employment, social and economic statistics, he added. It also assesses the impact of the statutory minimum wage rate and conducts extensive consultations with stakeholders. Current socio-economic and employment indicators, including inflation data, are taken into account.

The commission has to maintain an appropriate balance between the objectives of forestalling excessively low wages, minimising the loss of low-paid jobs and maintaining Hong Kong's economic growth and competitiveness, he said.

The statutory minimum wage impacts the labour market, employment, society, the economy, inflation, productivity and competitiveness, factors which interact and vary according to socio-economic circumstances.

A rigid requirement tying wages to the inflation rate could not allow the flexibility needed to adjust to a changing social, employment and economic environment effectively, Mr Cheung said.

Since the statutory minimum wage was implemented, there has been substantial improvement in the earnings of grassroots employees, he noted.

For the period of January to March 2013, the average monthly employment earnings of the lowest tenth of full-time low-income employees registered a year-on-year increase of 7.7% (or an increase of 3.4% after discounting inflation), outpacing the overall average pay rise of 2.4%.