In Brief

More than 8 million expected to cross the border this week

More than 8.4 million cross-border journeys will be made during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, an increase of nearly 10 per cent compared with the same period last year, according to Simon Peh Yun-lu, acting director of the Immigration Department. Mr Peh told a radio programme yesterday that he expected most of the holidaymakers would take the train to the Lo Wu checkpoint. But he believed the new crossings on the Western Corridor and for rail passengers to Lok Ma Chau could ease flows.

Warnings issued over tainted Walkers crisps

Consumers are advised not to eat certain batches of crisps made by British manufacturer Walkers Snack Foods, which is recalling the products after they were found contaminated with yellow rubber pieces, the Centre of Food Safety has said. The affected products, which come in different flavours, are: the Walkers Max 50g pack, Walkers Crisps standard 34.5g single pack, 'Big Bag' 50g single pack, 175g pack, and Barbecue six-pack. The centre said yesterday that according to the British food safety authorities, the concerned products had expiry dates of March 15 and 22 this year.

Bus catches fire in Tate's Cairn Tunnel, five in hospital

Five passengers were admitted to hospital and about 80 were evacuated from a double-decker bus which caught fire inside the Tate's Cairn Tunnel. The vehicle's engine emitted black smoke at about 4.30pm as it was travelling to Kowloon on route 82X. The fire was put out by tunnel staff before firemen arrived. All the passengers were led out of the tunnel and five of them reported feeling sick after inhaling the smoke. Kowloon Motor Bus, which operates the route, said the bus underwent an examination in December. The fire caused serious traffic jams in nearby areas as the tunnel was closed to Kowloon-bound traffic for an hour.

Many children unable to recall parents' birthdays, survey finds

More than a third of people did not know or failed to say correctly the birthdays of their parents, according to a poll carried out by the Family Planning Association of Hong Kong. The association interviewed about 300 elderly people and their children in the past three months and reported that up to 35 per cent of the respondents had little idea when the birthdays of their parents were. About 60 per cent also failed to name their parents' most-wanted wishes. The association said children should communicate more with their parents during the Lunar New Year.